Listening Diary 19

The best blackgaze record since "Sunbather", an ode to a retiring Indie act, and more

Hello! Here are ten songs that I enjoyed listening to lately. Some of these songs came up during my research for Drumming Upstream, others are from my ever in flux pile of “to listen to” releases. If you don’t mind me tooting my horn, this batch of tunes is a particularly good one. Cinematic pop rock from Singapore, haunting ballads from Berlin, and strange sounds that could only come from the online subconscious. The first two selections are free, the remaining eight are for paying subscribers only. Subscribe now to receive fresh recommendations every other week, or continue your day tuneless. Choose wisely.

“Remando” by Ondatrópica (Ondatrópica, 2012)

I recently re-read Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Marquez for a book club and, once finished, went looking for the coolest Colombian album I could find for my commute to meet up with the rest of the club. All credit to the good users of Rate Your Music for putting this one on my radar. The album jumps all over the place style wise, but whet your appetite with this instrumental jam. If my ears don’t deceive me it sounds like there’s three different percussionists going at it on this song, and yet nothing about it sounds cluttered or messy. Huge grooves.

“Soda Lake With Game Genie” by Fire-Toolz (I Will Not Use the Body’s Eyes Today, 2022)

My new favorite Fire-Toolz tune. All of the experimentation with adult contemporary, black metal, electronica, etc that you’d expect from this project, now packaged into an honest to god song-like shape. “Soda Lake With Game Genie” oozes creative confidence. You really have to leave the expectations of others in the dust to put out something as wildly idiosyncratic as this. Genuinely inspiring. Also, just say the phrase “Soda Lake With Game Genie” out loud a few times. Real pleasurable combination of syllables.