OPM: Weird Guitars & Windchimes

Robert Scott Thompson – Of Natural Magic and the Breathing of Trees

A series of longform electroacoustic pieces full of shifting sheets of metallic timbres, windchime-like sounds, buzzes, groans, processed samples and other not-quite-musical sounds repurposed into musical contexts. The longest of these pieces is a full 30 minutes; the shortest clocks in at 4:30. 

All of them require patience and a keen ear for detail – there’s a lot to be discovered here, but it doesn’t necessarily reveal itself all that easily. If you have the patience, and a taste for adventurous sounds, this is an intriguing collection that will reward your attention.

(Listened to the entire album)

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Mark Laramee – “Impossible Waves”

Super high energy electro house track with some nice builds and breaks. Edges its way up to the cheesy side of things, but stays just on the right side of the line (for my money, anyway;YMMV). Solid beat, great distorted low end, some nice sound design and a vibe that just doesn’t quit – all the ingredients for a successful track of this nature are found here. This would definitely work in the right DJ set/dancefloor.

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VAL/IN/TIME – “Acid Before the Eclipse”

Borderline frenetic lofi IDM breakbeat with an experimental bent. Honestly, this probably belongs to some microgenre I’m not cool enough to know about, but you don’t have to be cool enough either, as long as you can appreciate the off kilter vibe, weird shouty samples and surprising switchups and additions (like the acoustic guitar…). Unusual and unpredictable in all the right ways, this is an intriguing tune that has me wanting to hear more from this artist. 

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Where Ghosts Call You Family – Chapter 1: The Paper Kingdom

A prog punk concept album about a mysterious serial killer and the town that’s his hunting ground. Drawing from post hardcore, classic punk and good ol’ prog, these songs pummel you into submission musically while delivering an intriguing horror story along the way. The guitars squall away and climb the walls, the vocals are alternately sung and shouted, the drums are heavy and brutal – this thing has heft. 

In a lot of ways, this feels like a time capsule from the mid-’00s, when this kind of clever post hardcore with grand ambitions was in full flourish in the wake of At the Drive-In/Mars Volta opening the way. And honestly, since that micro movement never got the kind of attention it deserved at the time, it’s great to see it returning for another shot.

(Listened to tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9)

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Patrick Smith – Fences, Frames and Alleys

A set of solo acoustic guitar pieces with a heaviness and a pathos that belies the reputation that “solo acoustic guitar” might suggest. These tracks incorporate an unusual approach, relying on flashes of heavy, almost violent strumming, a deliberate and at times glacial pace, and a variety of techniques to really wring a lot of depth out of the guy-with-guitar paradigm – especially as there’s no vocals to help put the message across. 

In other words this is not what you’d expect from the solo classical playing of the guy quietly picking away in the corner of a fancy restaurant. There’s a heaviness, an edge, and a touch of dissonance to all of this that expands the typical landscape of this kind of release. 

(Listened to tracks 1, 6, 7, 13)

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A parting note: Running this blog/newsletter takes a tremendous amount of time and energy, and a fair bit of money (my hosting is ~$13.50/month). I don’t intend to charge for it ever, but it would be great if those of you who appreciate it would consider the occasional donation/tip. If you can spare a few dollars, maybe hit my Ko-Fi page and show your appreciation? Alternately, you could always buy some of my music…