Cerca:theme theme ep

Within Temptation, the renowned Dutch symphonic metal band, are set to captivate fans with their eighth studio album "Bleed Out". Bleed Out signifies a bold leap forward for the band. From contemporary, hard-hitting djenty riffs to soaring melodies displaying their symphonic roots, Within Temptation have created a sonic journey that fuses diverse musical styles and thought-provoking themes. Embracing a new era of musical exploration and lyrical depth, Within Temptation have pushed boundaries and showcased their artistic evolution, delivering a fist-in-the-air proclamation of both their moral convictions and their fearless approach to music. This is an album that is as epic as it is unflinchingly outspoken, and now more than ever, this is a band who aren’t afraid to make a stand on issues they care about.

2023 repress! clear with pink vinyl.

Beach Fossils' sophomore album, Clash the Truth, is modern post-punk triumph that's left a lasting impression on the music scene it was born out of. After releasing their self titled debut and the beloved EP, What a Pleasure, songwriter and composer Dustin Payseur began recording dissonant and introspective demos reflecting on his southern upbringing and young adulthood in New York. The tracks that would eventually make up Clash the Truth involved Payseur taking his songwriting in a new direction, employing jagged instrumentals, existential lyrics, and socially conscious subject matter. The darker themes of Clash the Truth still come out vibrant through bright guitar tones, locomotive drumming, and Payseur's inventive home recording techniques. Referencing the sounds of Factory Records releases, New York's no wave scene, and 90's avant-pop, Beach Fossils expanded their sound past the perimeters of bedroom dream pop.

After an international tour, the multi-instrumentalist FKJ presents his new 6-tracker jazz EP : Ylang Ylang

Produced in an intimate context, the project, both bright and melancholic, is a real journey within the artist's time capsule.

Its numerous instruments - often accompanied by warm choruses - between apotheosis and rhythmic lull, tell the different parts of his life. Story of musical and familial love, loneliness and passing time, this project spotlights his name, coming from a soothing local flower.

Full of influences, there is Bas - the first rapper signed on Dreamville, label created by J.Cole - on the single "Risk", which deals with similar themes. French Kiwi Juice introduces us to a sweet orchestral ballad. Finally, between gratitude and lightness, he states "I am still the same".

With the album "Souvent Fauché Toujours Marteau", Bérurier Noir completed seven years of permanent agitation. More than a title, it's a demand that puts a masterly end to the epic of the herd of rock. The themes dear to Les Bérus blend together in the ultimate uproar: anti-militarism, resistance to drugs, nostalgia for the squats that nurtured a rebellious youth, revolt in the ghetto suburbs, international solidarity... all underlined by a zest of Bérurière madness. The band also experimented with hip hop sounds and surprising, welcome oriental resonances, echoes of folklore from the world zone. However, this album abandons the satirical aspects with which its predecessors were imbued. The tone is no longer one of facetiousness: our two clowns have written their epitaph, and it is resolutely black.

“coming of age” motif flows freely through She’s In Parties’ debut EP, End Scene. The four piece wanted to construct a record that’s influenced by the idea of a final, reflective monologue scene in a movie, and would fit nicely in an 80’s coming of age film like The Breakfast Club, but with their own generational twist to it. The listener can expect quintessential developmental milestones interwoven throughout the listening experience, with themes centering platonic and romantic relationships, mental health battles, illicit substance experimentation and more.

“We’re coming of age ourselves - apart from Granddaddy Matt,” the members joke, with 3⁄4 of the band having just begun their journey into their 20’s. “It’s something we relate to and, whether we like it or not, reflects itself in our music writing".

20 albums and 25 years into her recording career and only now does Thea Gilmore feel enough of herself to make the self-titled album that renews her vows to music - her first love. The album is released on 6th October. The album was entirely written, played and produced by Thea. Thea Gilmore is absolutely the record she wanted to make. In many ways the record she had to make. Sustained by the very public dissection of her personal life laid bare on her last full-length release, the stunningly intimate Afterlight, Thea's hard-earned reputation as one of the most distinctive, strident and bold singer songwriters of her generation propels her to reach for new ground and this new release feels like a great leap forward into tomorrow. "That's why this is my first self-titled album," she explains. "On my last album I changed by name to Afterlight and drew a line under everything I'd done up to that point. Not to invalidate it, but to put an end to the 'before'. It was a very inward-looking record that was rooted in the darkness of everything that happened to me up to 2019, whereas this album has its head up and is eyeing the world as a challenge. It's a logical forward motion - the emergence from the shadows of Afterlight into the relative lightness of Thea Gilmore - in a renewal of my vows to music; my first love. In a weird way it feels like a debut of sorts so it made sense to make it eponymous." Across 12 tracks Thea delves into the cracks between the paving slabs of life's big themes. She's exploring the understanding that comes with experience, choosing her battles and finding out who she is now. The stunning 'She Speak In Colours' is a song for love and loss written as part of BBC Radio 2's critically lauded 21st Century Folk project; while 'The Next Time You Win' with its simple piano figures and its collage of spoken and sung lines seems to both accept the way the world works while reaffirming the pledge to stand on the frontline of change. Thea is also excited to bring the album to the stage. She will play London’s Union Chapel on 12th October and then an 11-date tour around the UK in early 2024. Full dates below. Thea Gilmore has made 20 albums since the release of her first, Burning Dorothy, in 1998. The veteran of hundreds of festivals, she has sold out shows across the globe.

Indonesian trio Grrrl Gang builds on their considerable worldwide buzz with Spunky!, their full-length debut album. Released on 22 September 2023 by Green Island Music in partnership with exclusive licensees Kill Rock Stars (United States), Trapped Animal Records (United Kingdom) and Big Romantic Records (Japan and Taiwan), the album is preceded by its title track and first single dropped on May 30, featured from the same title of the album, 'Spunky!' Spunky! arrives following some major life changes for Angeeta Sentana (vocals, guitar), Akbar Rumandung (bass, vocals), and Edo Alventa (guitar, vocals), including a switch in locale from Yogyakarta, the city where they formed the band while still in college. “This is Grrrl Gang’s first release after we graduated and got day jobs that made us have to move to Jakarta, which is undeniably 180 degrees compared to Jogja,” says Rumandung. “But moving to Jakarta enabled us to work with Lafa on Spunky! from start to finish.” The song itself essentially describes Sentana's experience during a manic episode. “I feel like I’m on top of the world, untouchable. I do things without thinking, always chasing after that feeling of instant gratification. I feel extra confident in myself to a point of grandiose thinking and that I could do anything,” Sentana explains. That would be Lafa Pratomo, the in-demand producer brought in to help shape the ten tracks that make up Spunky! With a resume that includes the likes of the chanteuse Danilla and legendary singer-songwriter Iwan Fals, Pratomo might not seem the obvious choice to take the Grrrl Gang producer’s chair. But according to Rumandung, “In terms of production, this was something new for us by working with someone outside of Grrrl Gang’s comfort zone.” Indeed, Pratomo considerably beefs up Grrrl Gang’s sound particularly Alventa’s guitar tones, Rumandung’s rumbling bass, and touring drummer Muhammad Faiz Abdurrahman’s muscular beats while preserving the band’s signature raucous energy, catchy melodies, and Sentana’s attitude-filled, equal-parts-honey-and-vinegar vocals. The music video for Spunky! premieres on the Grrrl Gang YouTube channel on the same day as the release of the song. The video, directed by Bathroom Girls, is part of a continuous movie, with Spunky! being the second chapter. It tells the story of an introverted girl who goes to a house party to validate herself among her peers. Despite facing challenges to her self-esteem, she manages to overcome her discomfort to survive the night. During the party, she watches Grrrl Gang perform Spunky! and is mesmerized by the confident performance of Angee, the lead singer. The girl imagines herself as Angee, a confident and cool person that she will never be. Hailing from the cultural city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Grrrl Gang is a rising force in the independent music scene with their infectious melodies, anthemic songs, and electrifying live performances. The power trio, composed of Angee Sentana on guitar and vocals, Akbar Rumandung on bass, and Edo Alventa on guitar, has been making waves in the Southeast Asian music scene since their formation in 2016. Grrrl Gang's music is a celebration of their collective roots and a testament to the power of pop music to connect people across cultures and borders. Their lyrics touch on themes such as feminism, mental health, and relationships with a raw honesty that speaks to a generation of young listeners. With their infectious energy, socially conscious lyrics, and unique sound, Grrrl Gang is poised to take the global music scene by storm and become a voice for a new generation

Like an annabac, the first seconds of the first song from the first album by SAFFRON EYES (a group from Saint-Etienne including members of Raymonde Howard, Le Parti, ThOmas.W...) summarize, for those in a hurry, the themes and feelings that will be developed on the short half-hour of music that the disc contains: smiles in front, blows in the back, amicable breakups and deaf threats. Smile Until It Hurts encapsulates all of this: pleasure in offering (racy and referenced songs, in the fine tradition of indie rock), joy in receiving (pies in the mouth). If the previous EP - first recording act - of the group Pursue a Less Miserable Life (released in 2020 on our label) had a taste of the end of summer, this one clearly smells of the Cold War. He is degreased, boned and only the desire to fight remains, mischievously camouflaged under a form of obvious beauty that whistles in the shower. A production fed on indie rock and its roots (blues, post-punk and a hint of doo-wop), bringing together around a happy campfire the Pixies, Jesus Lizard, Wet Leg, Fugazi, The Cramps, The Gun Club, La Luz, The Feelies, The Bad Seeds, Kathleen Hanna, Anna Waronker…

The latest release from members of GOTHBOICLIQUE (Horse Head x Lil
Tracy x Nedarb), "Under Your Spell" is a 4-song EP presenting the next
chapter for both GBC, and each individual artist
This collection of songs features nostalgic up- tempo themes, as heard in the
follow- up track "Last Night in LA, Pt. 2.," while also drifting into, an at times,
somber driving sub-sonic wall of sound, as found in the track "Floorboards" feat.
fellow GBC member Cold Hart.
Side B includes rare instrumental versions of the songs. The initial 1st pressing
will be printed on clear- colored vinyl. Look for GBC, playing select live dates
throughout the summer, including "So What Fest" with Thursday, The Used, Head
Automatica and Freddie Dredd.

Die amerikanischen Black-Metal-Herrscher WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM kehren mit einer neuen EP zurück, Crypt of Ancestral Knowledge. Sie enthält vier neue Tracks, die die Bandbreite von WOLVES INTHE THRONE ROOMs cineastischem Black Metal und düsterem Akustik-Folk abbildet und den Hörer mit auf eine Reise durch atmosphärische Industrial-Tracks und dunklere klangliche Territorien nimmt. Eröffnet wird die EP mit "Beholden to Clan", einem flammenden Stück Symphonic Black Metal. GitarristKody Keyworth kommentiert: "Hoch oben auf einem heiligen Berg erinnert der Song an die Bedeutung des Zyklus der Wiedergeburt des geopferten Königs durch die halluzinogenen Rechte der Vorfahren. Es ist ein wilder Trip. Hail Othila!" An anderer Stelle folgt "Twin Mouthed Spring".

Dieser neue Track enthält Gesang und Akustikgitarre des WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM-Gründungsschlagzeugers Cedar Serpent, der vor kurzem nach einer jahrelangen Live-Pause auf die Bühne zurückgekehrt ist. Er kommentiert:

"Dieser Song ist eine Reise zu einer tiefen Quelle von Leidenschaft und Kreativität. Themen aus der keltischen Mythologie werden auseinandergenommen und neu interpretiert." Seite B der EP zeigt eine andere Seite der rätselhaften Band: "Initiates of the White Hart", eine atmosphärische Industrial-Interpretation von "Spirit of Lightning", führt die Band in tiefere, dunkle, psychedelische Gewässer.

Celebrated composer, performer, saxophonist, soloist, band leader, educator, activist, and mixed-media artist Matana Roberts returns with a new installment of their acclaimed Coin Coin series. For over a decade, Coin Coin has been the central artistic project for Roberts, a remarkable exploration of American ancestry and the nature of memory through "sound quilting": modern composition that draws on a wide range of musical sources and traditions, along with research-driven historical and genealogical narratives that yield prose and poetry both spoken and sung, field recordings, and graphic scores. The Quietus declares "when the 12-album cycle is complete, it will be regarded as a singular masterpiece of 21st century sonic and narrative art" and Pitchfork calls it "one of the most provocative ongoing bodies of work by any American musician." Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the garden... is the first new recorded audio chapter since 2019 and centers upon reproductive rights, summoning the story of a family ancestor who died in early adulthood, from a cause kept obfuscated and hushed, shrouded in disinformation and shame. Roberts reimagines diaristic and oral narratives, delivered in strident streams of spoken word that punctuate the hour-long work, with recurring musical themes frequently accompanied by the declarative refrain "my name is your name / our name is their name / we are named / we remember / they forget." As Roberts writes in the accompanying liner notes essay: I find it absolutely disgusting that the same trauma my grand ancestor, whose story we are telling in this chapter, is closely mirroring the experiences of some poor soul today as I write this... Our aforementioned grand, who perished at a young age, leaving her growing children motherless, did not have to die. The negative consequences of her death have reverberated down through generations in my family line, in the same way that a similar resounding might happen for someone else's ancestral line generations from today. While often jazz-adjacent, and with Matana's inimitable saxophone and indomitable voice at the core, Roberts situates Coin Coin outside the Jazz genre and within heterodox pathways of post-modern composition, electroacoustic music, sound collage, experimental voice, and sound art. In the garden... undeniably continues to express and expand upon the project's magnificent iconoclasm, nonetheless being the most jazz-inflected chapter since Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile(2013). Recorded in Brooklyn with a stellar acoustic ensemble that includes Stuart Bogie, Gitanjali Jain, Darius Jones, Matt Lavelle, Mike Pride, Ryan Sawyer, Corey Smythe, and Mazz Swift, abetted by some sparkling pieces featuring modular synthesis courtesy of album producer Kyp Malone (Bent Arcana, TV On The Radio), In the garden... traverses a vivid stylistic array of thematic overtures, excursions and set pieces, ranging from spacious textural invocations to gorgeously tempered horn-led compositions to driving free jazz and exhilarating through composed bursts of cacophony. With storytelling spoken-word lead vocals by Roberts channeled recurringly throughout, alongside various other deployments of layered and group voices, the album is alternately a meditation and fever dream of narrative potency. This is some of the most intense and intensive music Roberts has composed and captured to date, richly conceived and deeply felt, restless yet focused, unflinchingly substantive and unique. Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the garden... channels epigenetic trauma and tragedy with teeming complexity and fierce beauty _ a eulogy, testimony, and celebration, melding music and language in a stunning polychromatic flow of vernaculars and poetics. A powerful work of subjective commemoration and historical-cultural communion that speaks indelibly to the present moment.



2x10” in 350 gsm widespine jacket w/interior colour flood + 300 gsm printed inners + 20”x 10” fold-out insert + DL card

UNOS, a Belgian artist with roots in the Philippines, has long been a part of the Darker Than Wax family, repping the label in Europe and beyond for a number of years through her parties and DJ sets. As she begins to put her unique productions out into the world, we are pleased to give her first release a home on the label.

Borrowing its title from the exuberant Filipino dining tradition - a communal, bare-handed feast among friends and families - UNOS' debut EP Boodle Fight highlights her sincere love for communities forged through club culture. The release was conceptualised during her first Asia tour through Singapore, Bangkok, and Manila in 2019, where the artist became acutely aware of the crucial role that community plays in sustaining a culture. Shortly after these foundational travels, the pandemic threatened the lifeblood of this

culture, prompting her to draw on her feelings from the tour to maintain hope. With the release of the EP, UNOS revels in the return of togetherness to club culture after the pandemic - just like a musical boodle fight.

Boodle Fight ties together this celebration of community with a number of other influences and experiences in the artist’s life. First single ‘Angermanagement’ is a ballroom-inspired roller, focusing on contemporary voguing culture’s ability to translate anger into queer empowerment. ‘Powerslide’ is a piano-driven house cut that attempts to capture the energy of a legendary Darker Than Wax block party in Singapore in 2019, while the frenetic pace of ‘Headlock’ evokes imagery of a crowded club scene that the artist sorely missed in 2020. True to the spirit of a Boodle Fight, the bright chords and bouncy rhythms on ‘Flavourtown’ imagine the best aspects of an inclusive space where diversity is celebrated like a buffet. Closing out the record, ‘Loveletter to Summer’ reflects on the tropical warmth of her roots in the Philippines. Boodle Fight manages to pack in quite a few themes and inspirations, while still maintaining a polished consistency from front to back, and announces UNOS as a producer to watch.

Hotflush continues its celebratory 20th anniversary year with a vinyl-only sequel to Scuba’s Record Store Day UK release, “Hardcore Heaven”.

‘Hardcore Heaven II’ develops the theme of that first release back in April. Taking influence from producers like Top Buzz, Nookie, and Foul Play, the familiar collision of hard-edged beats, euphoric breakdowns, and helium vocals gets a Scuba-in-2023 update.

The tracks on this EP add a twist of twisted breaks, early 2-step, and classic broken beat to the mix, as well as some moody vocal rubs and the customary dancefloor flavours.

The six tracks included here are presented on red and black splatter vinyl, limited to 500 copies with definitely no represses.

Après le succès de Birdman (quatre Oscars dont ceux du meilleur film et du meilleur réalisateur), le réalisateur Alejandro G. Inarritu repousse les limites de l'art cinématographique avec ce western épique : The Revenant. Avec Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic, Le Loup de Wall Street) et Tom Hardy (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Dark Knight Rises), tourné dans un Canada sauvage et glacé, à la lumière naturelle, The Revenant est une histoire de vengeance, de survie et de ténacité face à la fureur de l'homme et de la nature. Le film est en passe de devenir un grand favori de la critique, à l'aube de la saison des récompenses... Inarritu a choisi de sacrifier presque tout dialogue à un paysage sonore splendide et à une musique majestueuse. Un film de cette ampleur méritait un compositeur compréhensif de la création artistique pure et des passions déchaînées. Le Maître japonais Ryuichi Sakamoto (Furyo, Le Dernier Empereur - Oscar de la meilleure musique de film) a rempli le contrat haut la main. Avec son collaborateur Alva Noto (notamment au sein du Yellow Magic Orchestra), Sakamoto a créé une bande originale captivante qui sera assurément la bonne surprise de l'hiver. L'album contient également la musique additionnelle de Bryce Dessner (compositeur pour le Kronos Quartet et le LA Phil).

Zur Feier des 40-jährigen Jubiläums des belgischen Labels PIAS erscheint exklusive Auswahl an 12“-EPs mit Musik von einigen der wichtigsten und erfolgreichsten Wegbegleiter. Consolidated ist ein amerikanisches Kollektiv, das 1988 in San Francisco gegründet wurde. Sie waren bekannt für ihren linken politischen Aktivismus und ihre radikalen Texte, sowie für ihre innovativen Soundcollagen, die Industrial-, Hip-Hop-, Hardrock- und Funkmusik vermischten. Ihre Texte behandelten Themen wie Vegetarismus, Frauenrechte, Tierrechte, den Kampf gegen Rassismus und Homophobie, den Zweiten Weltkrieg und Holocaust, sowie die Gefahren des Kapitalismus und die Übel des amerikanischen Nationalismus.

Svart Records proudly presents the reissue of classic debut album by early 80’s Welsh punksters The Partisans! The Partisans, often described as “The Professionals meet The Clash”, were a punk band from Wales that started in '78, when all four members were still in their early teens. Their self titled debut album hit No.5 in the Independent Chart and No.1 in the Punk Chart when first released on (the highly collectable) No Future Records back in 1983. Police Story is an extended edition of their debut album accompanied with additional tracks from the Police Story / Killing Machine 7" (1981) and 17 Years Of Hell EP (1982). "Both consistent and powerful, this debut album by The Partisans contains a bevy of fine composition exploring themes of social protest and youth rebellion. An exciting version of “17 Years of Hell" accompanies new streamrollers like “No U-Turns” and “I Never Needed You”—possibly the best material this band has ever committed to vinyl." -Maximum Rocknroll

Svart Records proudly presents the reissue of classic debut album by early 80’s Welsh punksters The Partisans! The Partisans, often described as “The Professionals meet The Clash”, were a punk band from Wales that started in '78, when all four members were still in their early teens. Their self titled debut album hit No.5 in the Independent Chart and No.1 in the Punk Chart when first released on (the highly collectable) No Future Records back in 1983. Police Story is an extended edition of their debut album accompanied with additional tracks from the Police Story / Killing Machine 7" (1981) and 17 Years Of Hell EP (1982). "Both consistent and powerful, this debut album by The Partisans contains a bevy of fine composition exploring themes of social protest and youth rebellion. An exciting version of “17 Years of Hell" accompanies new streamrollers like “No U-Turns” and “I Never Needed You”—possibly the best material this band has ever committed to vinyl." -Maximum Rocknroll

The last time Canadian underground techno tastemaker Rennie Foster had a record on a French label it was the historic F-Communications. Back then Rennie’s penchant for bringing warehouse nostalgia together with hi-tech futurism was a consistent theme and in 2023 this fusion based musical concept is realized further toward the future through a new EP release, Cryptic Layers on Parisian imprint Skylax Records.


The record opens with Let It Go, a simple title for a complex and dreamy piece of lo-fi rave house featuring clattering breaks, ear worm vocals and a drastic bassline driving the whole custom vehicle. Then the similarly, simply titled Just Do It explodes into action with an inspired mix of Detroit inspired dub techno chords, fierce amen breaks and a hip-house energy akin to both current urban style and authentic musical roots. These tracks sound like they could have been released at any time during the past decades but still sound current, or even futuristic. Apparent is craft, design and an understanding of dance music from the perspective of obsession, experience and passion.



The remixes come from absolute legends in the world of techno, representing Rennie’s other home-base territories, the techno cities Detroit and Tokyo. Japanese electronic music icon Ken Ishii provides a storming acid remix of Just Do It with liquid 303 bass, anxious and trip vocal snips, and punchy drums that will sound absolutely ace in a club. Detroit third wave pioneer Sean Deason closes out the record with a crisp dose of hi-tech funk that is sure to be a DJ weapon with it’s hypnotic energy and timeless production style.



The digital only portion of Cryptic Layers begins with a second version from Ken Ishii, this time sans vocals leaving the acid stripped down and bare. Two more original tracks by Rennie Foster are also on offer. Sadlands is an organ laden deep house, synth-wave, contrasting piece of melancholic dream dance while I Say Peace signs off the project in a layered classic house style with early rave stabs and grooving after-hours appeal.

Building off of the themes of identity, storytelling and experimentation on her critically acclaimed debut album, Khonnar (2018), Deena Abdelwahed’s upcoming album Jbal Rrsas is the next chapter of a reimagining of what club music could be. The album spans seven tracks of bass, techno, and experimental music, with Abdelwahed consulting with masterminds like Tunisian composer and multi-instrumentalist Khalil Hentati, aka Khalil Epi, and Iraqi-British multi-instrumentalist, composer, and researcher Khyam Allami, as well as Egyptian mastering engineer Heba Kadry, to help realise her vision.

Jbal Rrsas starts with the seductively apocalyptic opener, The Key to the Exit, a deconstructed sha’bi production. With tracks like Six as Oil and the delightfully intense Violence for Free, Abdelwahed leads users to a desert rave, where industrial rhythms are left unbridled. Abdelwahed’s vocals on Complain and Pre-Island are powerful and exposed, confidently placed on dizzying avant-garde productions. The Wire previously said “Khonnar is an assured debut that sits on the edge of a whole swathe of possibilities, not only sonic but also geographical, social and political.” With Jbal Rrsas finds Abdelwahed deftly navigating through those possibilities, frequently pushing against genres, labels, and social identifiers, while elevating club music to otherworldly heights.

The first vinyl release from American artist Sydney Spann, Sending Up A Spiral Of well encapsulates Spann’s body of work thus far. On their music, which reacts to themes of family systems and care work, Sydney writes, “people who have done care work —nannies, sex workers, therapists, nurses— may possess their own musical knowledge, developed over time through particular modes of voicing practiced to achieve a desired outcome in their labor. Attending intimately to these ways of voicing and listening and bringing them into a sound practice could be a way to legitimize a less recognized kind of musical knowledge.”

Sending Up A Spiral Of explores this unarticulated expression through sound and song. The titular piece traces Spann within some quixotic woodland, as if beginning inside of some urban fairy-story. Self-soothing singing quivers under dragging branches, peeling cement and other tactile grit. The work drops into a new proximity half-way through as electronic contours overtake the environment. Sine-tones smolder in a pulsating choreography, perhaps reminiscent of Richard Maxfield’s “Night Music” played at half-speed.

The second section of the record depicts a series of five smaller portraits, expressed (or disguised) as lullabies. An oceanic humming permeates them. “Possession” and “Purposeful Evening” are the most song-like lullabies, with their verse-chorus repetition and melodic simplicity. Innocuous words “baby” and “honey” are encoded with deeper, often painful connotations. Sydney’s voice and vision for this album is ambitious, cloaked in the strains and contradictions of what love means in the nuclear family.

A 16-page artist pamphlet of rubbings, photographs and sheet music accompanies the LP, along with a digital PDF of Spann’s thesis “Sending Up A Spiral Of: A Musical Epistemology Made Through Care Work.”