OPM: Post Everything, Classic Rock, Weird Folk + More

Phosphorus Sky – The Hanging Shadow Is No Trick of the Light

Incredible distillation of some of the most interesting elements of post millennial rock into a set of haunting and beautiful songs. It’s not just post millennial, as in post 2000, it leans hard into a bunch of “post” genres – post punk, post hardcore, post rock – plus a bit of indie rock, electronic pop, and ambient. 

Quiet/loud dynamics, slow builds, some sharp guitar work, electronic textures, whispered vocals and drum machine beats are the core ingredients, and the resulting brew sounds like a celebration of some of the most interesting things happening in 2004-2009 era indie rock. It’s an approach similar in spirit to Radiohead’s, without sounding anything like them – a really interesting integration of a unique set of influences into a holistic whole that is unexpected but very welcome.

(Listened to the whole thing)

Rya! – “Blåstång”

This song is an otherworldly, but inviting, slice of jazzy Swedish folk pop. A beautiful woman’s voice delivers Swedish lyrics (which may as well be Martian to my monolingual ass), surrounded by an arrangement of drums, double bass, sax, violin, tuba, piano, occasional electronic elements and and Härjedalspipa (a Swedish folk flute) playing a jaunty and inviting tune.

Back in the day, this would have been marketed as ““world music” and I have to say, it would have been the most interesting thing on any “world music” compilation of that era. As cryptic as the vocal is to me, this is nonetheless warm, inviting and beautiful stuff.

Bottlecap Mountain – Electric Love Spree

All analog rock recorded on all analog equipment and sounding like the very best of ‘70s radio synthesized into its most essential form. There’s maybe a touch of the ‘90s approach to this material as well – think a more restrained and smarter Black Crowes, but this mostly harks back to the Original Stuff. I’m sensing a little Van Morrison, perhaps a touch of ELO, some Tom Petty, maybe a hint of Badfinger and Cheap Trick… and untold others that didn’t occur to me in the short time I had to spend with these songs. 

This is very much the kind of band you’d stumble on in a dive bar and be like, “Wow these dudes are pretty fucking good” then end up buying all their CDs at the merch table and maybe following them on tour for a spell. A treat for those who miss the good ol’ days of strong songwriting, tight playing and good times on wax. 

(Listened to tracks 1 thru 5)

VERFÜHRERVERGELTER – From the Void: Silicon Signals to a Dead Brain

Abstract noise/industrial ambient that communicates a lot of feeling with some very minimal elements. These tracks have a heavy reliance on texture, with little in the way of rhythms, melodies and riffs. It’s all surprisingly easy listening, even mellow, for such a noise-based endeavor. 

Few or no recognizable instruments on display here, just stuff like squealing belt noises, flatulent synth squelches, time-stretch tones and similar digital cruft, and the sound of amps destroying themselves, in a good way. Minimal, haunting and surprisingly engaging. 

(Listened to the whole thing)

Benjamin Da Ass – Musings

A set of four lo-fi piano and guitar instrumental explorations, light on production but heavy on feeling. There are a lot of emotions packed into these tracks, and there’s something very charming and intimate about the stripped down arrangements and near-total lack of polish. Heck they don’t even have names – they’re distinguished by a number and their key signature. 

My favorite is “Musing No. 3 in G sharp Aeolian”, with its heavy, repetitive piano chords and guitar interplay that sounds like the score to a weird euro indie art horror film – the kind that’s more existential horror, less gory splatstick. Honestly, all of these could be film cues, though Nos. 3 & 4 (the best of the bunch, in my opinion) particularly stand out in that regard. 

(Listened to the whole thing)

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