71 / 100 A solid closing to the trilogy, more suitable for hardcore noise/ambient listeners than casual explorers. Actually, I have several draft album reviews, but for some reason, I feel challenged to tackle the final piece of Nacht Plank ’s Friends Within the Darkness trilogy. Just imagine—three hours of music broken into 16 tracks! Yes, I had already finished listening to this album, but since I left no written comments, it became a looming burden that I had to eventually face. Friends Within The Darkness 3 by Nacht Plank This third installment was released in February 2024 and later compiled into a single collection on Nacht Plank ’s Bandcamp page, while the separate release is available through the Neotantra label. The cover photo, featuring a naked woman by the seaside taken by Jean Rollin, initially made me expect music that would feel like ecstatic bliss—but in reality, it was laced with experimental touches and electronic beat influ...

69 / 100 A niche drone/noise appeal, worth a listen if you’re into Sunn O))), Boris or ISON type atmospherics, but not essential outside that circle. If Beautiful Death leans acoustic, then A Death Cinematic  is the electric version. This project’s origins are largely unknown—no clear formation date, no real name given—only that it’s based in Michigan , according to the Bandcamp profile. Still, with the first release arriving in December 2008 , ADC can already be considered a veteran. singles and compilations by a death cinematic ADC’s debut was this compilation, Singles and Compilation s , containing five tracks totaling 42 minutes. It explores several styles: beginning with post-rock , then shifting toward space/drone on the final track—the only exclusive single not included in other compilations, unlike the rest. The music seems built from two or three or even more layers of guitar: one for the foundational drone-like background, wh...

78 / 100 Best described as a minimalist, immersive soundscape that works both as deep-listening noise art and casual ASMR . This album was already reviewed by me late last year in the Indonesian group Music Enthusiast Indonesia (MEI), though the piece was rather short. After all, Indonesians generally still have low reading interest, something even admitted by the group admin. At that time, in December 2024, two posts about the song “December” by Neck Deep crossed my feed; it made me want to “show off” too. But in my favorites playlist there were only two tracks titled December, one of which was December by December . December by December December is a 30-minute single of field recordings/noise —what’s popularly called ASMR —recorded by an artist known as (bleak), released on December 1st, 2021 via Poland-based experimental/noise label Gates of Hypnos . It was quite surprising because the cheap earphones I used at first listening versus now ...

79 / 100 Obi is a bold and intriguing one-off from Kafabindünya , balancing melancholic post-rock elegance with bursts of experimental grit. Actually, there’s Stratovarius ’ Survive (2022) waiting to be reviewed, but I don’t have the will yet. So I’m back to my current world: post-rock/ ambient again. This time it’s an older Turkish band with their only release from 2012, Kafabindünya – Obi . I first heard of Kafabindünya around the pandemic era— if I recall correctly—and was intrigued by their name, which in Arabic roughly means “sufficient of the world”, though perhaps the band has their own interpretation. The title Obi seems broader; my first thought was the Japanese word obi (帯). But the album cover, a husky dog edited to look alien, only makes the album feel more mysterious and detached from its title. This ties in with a statement from guitarist Burç : “Ordinary songs with lyrics limit the story that the listener imagines, by the ...

76 / 100 Seminky is an ambitious, experimental, and surprisingly colorful release for Ricco Label , showcasing Rémi Quéron ’s versatility as Akamatsu. After spending time with several releases from various artists, I began to feel lost about where to head next since my playlist was filled with different genres. So, I decided to divide them into groups of related genres to make reviewing and comparison easier, though that means others might not fully understand since some of these artists are relatively obscure. Lol :v Seminky by Akamatsu After accidentally diving into melodic death metal, I moved on to Akamatsu with the album Seminky , which connects back to Велосипед до Токио and reminds me quite a bit of 3epkano . Both in terms of musical character and geographical closeness, Akamatsu feels nearer to 3epkano . This is an electronica/neoclassical/post-rock project based in Nantes, France , led by a single composer, Rémi Quéron. Seminky wa...

79 / 100 This EP stands out as a powerful emotional journey in the DIY post-rock scene . Its ability to move listeners with minimal instrumentation demonstrates strong songwriting and vision.  Велосипед до Токио ( Cycling to Tokyo ) is a DIY project by Slava Kotovsky based in Saint Petersburg, Russia . The project focuses on instrumental post-rock with elements of blackgaze , post-metal , and midwest emo . Мрак рассеется, а солнце будет согревать наши лица became an EP/single released in 2022, containing two main tracks: “Мрак” and “Но Мрак рассеется, а солнце будет согревать наши лица.” Мрак рассеется, а солнце будет согревать наши лица by Велосипед до Токио This release is no different from others in the sense that it conveys its message directly through the titles and musical character. Translated, the EP’s title means “ Darkness will fade, and the sun will warm our faces . ” It’s divided into two songs. “Мрак” carries a dark, slightly m...

75 / 100 Zainetica’s Summer Rain EP is a well-crafted but understated IDM release which is smooth, glitch -kissed, and pleasant without overindulgence. After passing through the noisy debut EP by Andrea Minucci , I continued my journey into the world of glitch/IDM with Zainetica ’s EP, Summer Rain . Zainetica is the project of London-based artist Mark Streatfield , who has been active for more than 20 years. Summer Rain by Zainetica According to Discogs, Summer Rain first appeared in 2004 under the netlabel Redose , which itself was under Mark’s own Rednetic Recordings . Meanwhile, the Bandcamp release date is listed as June 15, 2013. Well, that doesn’t really matter. The EP contains three tracks with a total runtime of 16 minutes. From my perspective, I interpreted the eye representation on the album cover—though not clearly a human eye—which somewhat clashes with the title of the opening track, “ Beautiful Eyes .” But yes, don’t judge a ...

68 / 100 Illyra ’s Untitled EP is a raw but intriguing debut that doesn’t fully establish a unique identity yet, but it shows potential and atmosphere. After trying out X7 ’s debut, I came across the debut of Andrea Minucci under the name Illyra , which is quite far from hip-hop—instead it falls into ambient/dark ambient/noise . This debut was a 2020 EP titled Untitled EP, consisting of three tracks with a total duration of 18 minutes. The track titles seem to have been taken from recording dates or something similar. Untitled EP by Andrea Minucci Of the three tracks, only “ 1.05.19 ” plays it relatively safe and works well as a hook. The droning is built from two main synth/pads: the ambient part taking the front while a rougher dark ambient layer sits behind, both intertwining like rising and falling waves as is typical. This track serves as both the opener and the best candidate on the EP. The next song, “ 16.03.20 ,” is a rather disturbing...

78 / 100 Tropixx feels like a well-crafted, atmospheric debut that succeeds in blending Brazilian bossa nova , lo-fi hip-hop , and tropical ambience into a coherent lounge experience. Perhaps my main influences at this point are melody and atmosphere in music, so compared to Fiendish – Phonograffiti XX (2022) , I feel far more optimistic about the debut release by X7 , based in Fort Worth, Texas . This is Tropixx , a 20-minute, nine-track album released independently in May 2017 . Tropixx by X7 The interesting aspect of this release is the mixture of bossa nova music plus tropical field recordings to reinforce a lounge atmosphere. Although primarily instrumental, X7 also incorporates vocal samples from this style, further enhancing the Brazilian tropical vibe. For example, on the songs “ AguA ,” “ Vacay ,” and “ Beach Loop ,” while the opener “ Sad Summer ” uses a rather melancholic sample of someone grieving. Meanwhile, “ Seaweed ,” “Cactu...

50 / 100 Phonograffiti XX comes across as a lightweight instrumental hip-hop instalment. While there are glimpses of creativity, much of the album feels underdeveloped and fails to leave a lasting impact. Fiendish is an instrumental hip-hop project by R.G. Taylor based in the United Kingdom and has been active since the early 21st century. Although the project is fairly old, its main Bandcamp releases began with Phonograffiti X in 2018, followed by Phonograffiti XX in 2022 for the 20th anniversary, thus it’s unclear whether these are compilations or not. Even though it carries lo-fi and lounge tags, the ten tracks across 20 minutes in Phonograffiti XX actually lean more toward straightforward hip-hop. Piano additions only appear on “First Up” with a rather dark tone and its most iconic synth/bass, and perhaps also in “Lowdown,” which comes closest to the lounge model. This is followed by “Fiendish Theme,” highlighting fairly emotional synth/...

74 / 100 A strong, promising, and unusually refined early release from a short-lived band. Before eventually releasing their one and only aggressive full-length, the post-metal band from Veneto, Italy named Affronto had previously dropped a three-track demo back in 2014, dominated by hardcore influences. Perhaps the Italian post-metal scene isn’t very well-known, even when mentioning Nero di Marte , who play closer to death metal, not many might recognize them. However, looking at Affronto ’s lineup, there’s vocalist Michael A. Foti and Simone Carraro —who also plays bass in the sludge/doom band Wojtek —who later reunited in the post-black band Die Sünde , while the two Alessandros went on to form another band, Çoban , after Affronto disbanded. Demo (2014) by Affronto This shows that they’ve been active within related genres and are experienced musicians. In fact, this demo doesn’t sound like what you might expect from a demo. It’s clean,...

68 / 100 Raw, wild, and this is what you can think about punk metal . Although labeled as heavy metal/punk , I can’t quite figure out how Powerlöad actually deliver it at first glance. This young band from Alberta, Canada has only released one demo and two singles so far, which all sound raw, wild, and lean more toward street punk . Maybe this comes from the two members who also play in the thrash metal band Malicious Intent , but in their demo, I also catch some hints of sludge metal . Demo ‘24 by Powerlöad Their demo is made just like a demo should be: raw, noisy, and sometimes stacked on top of itself. The guitar sounds abrasive, yet there are still some high heavy metal-style licks, while two of the middle go for a thick, slow sludge metal/hardcore tempo. Even though it’s raw, I can still hear the bass humming, except on “ Maniac ” where it gets buried under the guitars. The thrash metal influence clearly stands out in the vocal duet of Ba...

73 / 100 A strong and adventurous debut that successfully fuses screamo ’s emotion with punk, noise, while also hinting at post-rock’s atmospheric side. After releasing the single “ Power Stance ” in August 2019, Kansas-based noise rock/screamo trio Abandoncy put out their second track in a split release with Almanac Man , BIGHAND//BIGKNIFE , and Emma Goldman in March the following year. Early 2020 also marked their busy period working on their debut album, Hollow//Living . Most of the recording was done at Farewell Transmission from January to March and then released in August through Zegema Beach Records and The Ghost is Clear Records . Hollow//Living by Abandoncy Hollow//Living consists of nine songs running about 34 minutes, featuring several guest appearances such as Brittany Jo Sawtelle (vocals on the track “ Mudcrawler ”) and added power drill and saw sounds in “Interlude” by Hopyard Mathison and Max Popov. The main vocals are handl...

69 / 100 A pleasant but uneven lo-fi/ hip-hop hybrid that offers glimpses of atmosphere and charm, yet feels like a fleeting project. Yankee only notes being based in Anaheim, California , with their Bandcamp linking to an empty SoundCloud page, and even their genre tags feel off—except perhaps experimental . Even then, the term doesn’t fully capture their sound, as hip-hop-style drums are a key element. Dry Your Eyes for When Tomorrow Comes remains their sole album, released on March 12, 2016 , with ten tracks running a total of 38 minutes. It is available as a free download. Dry Your Eyes For When Tomorrow Comes by Yankee From the outset, Yankee delivers instrumental hip-hop with several notable tracks. “ Wall Flower ” has a lo-fi retro charm, while “ Devil’s Butoukai ” stands out with its darker piano tones. Two others lean toward the atmospheric side, though not fully trip hop : the retro ambience of “ 2nd Street ” and “ Forever Mine ,”...