Ah, I simply couldn’t resist posting this summary—even though it’s another mixed batch, mostly because I accidentally threw everything into the same “cage.” So, without further delay, here are six releases.
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-5°C / Sadness of Pluto – Annihilated to the Nothingness (2023)
A dark ambient split with two distinct characteristics. -5°C from Malaysia delivers cold, shadowy waves that feel like a chilling night wind, sometimes sharp in tone but produced fairly cleanly. Meanwhile, Sadness of Pluto sounds much dirtier and rougher due to the heavy feedback, creating a more disturbing horror-like dissonance. It almost feels like listening to amateur homemade recordings, anyway.
Dark ambient might already be common within the international niche scene, but if you’re curious about smaller Indonesian and Malay projects, Sadness of Pluto and -5°C could be worth checking out.
Highlight: -5°C – Travel Metaphors, The Real Absence
Amalia Nurul Kati & Fahmi M – Kata (2018)
Fahmi M or Fahmi Mursyid remains one of the more active experimental musicians from Indonesia. In this EP titled Kata, he presents two spoken-word pieces performed by Amalia Nurul Kati over piano arrangements.
The result made me stop and pay attention for the first time—even though I had tried listening to it years ago. It feels more like the reading of textual works rather than traditional poetry, accompanied by simple music, yet still emotionally effective. One slightly jarring moment appears in “Satu,” where the vocal volume is quite loud, though still tolerable.
At this point, it’s clear this EP deserves a place in my favorite playlist.
Highlight: Satu, Hilang
Author – Of Brighter Days (2015)
The debut album from Minnesota alternative/indie rock band Author. In some ways, it reminds me of Nothing from Pennsylvania.
The production is good. The music occasionally feels bright and energetic in an indie style, supported by synth layers—as heard in “Forget”—or reverb-heavy guitars like in “Clouds.” Meanwhile, tracks such as “Brighter” and “Shadows” lean more toward melodic and emotional territory. Overall, the mellow vocals blend nicely with the instrumentation, creating a fitting atmosphere.
So in hindsight, it isn’t as bland as I initially thought during my second listen.
Highlight: everything except Wander and Clouds
The Blood Mountain Black Metal Choir / Isleptonthemoon / Wounds of Recollection – All Things Which Came Before (2025)
The Blood Mountain Black Metal Choir sounds closer to post-black metal here, since tremolo melodies dominate more than atmospheric wall-of-sound layers. Isleptonthemoon presents something akin to blackgaze and nearly became my top pick—starting with clean vocals—before eventually switching to typical black metal vocals to match the other bands. Wounds of Recollection only really left an impression when the outro introduced emotional violin passages.
Honestly, I’d rather avoid writing about split albums like this, but the obligation to comment forced me to put something down. At this point, I’m starting to lose interest in concluding whether releases like this are “for someone” or whether they resonate with me or not.
Whatever. That’s it.
Highlight: Isleptonthemoon – It Never Gets Easier
The Colour Mellow – Who We Had Become (2015)
The second EP from Jakarta-based alternative rock/shoegaze band The Colour Mellow—yes, surprisingly from Jakarta rather than Japan, since I discovered them through the Japanese label Kiiro Records.
As expected from shoegaze, the sound is wrapped in noisy reverb layers with somewhat floating vocals. Unfortunately, none of the emotional impact reaches me as naturally as bands like Parasol do. Because of that, it may appeal more to dedicated fans of the genre (think My Bloody Valentine), though I can tolerate “Pauper,” which includes spoken-word elements.
Highlight: Pauper
Sevaskar – 2.0 (2020)
An industrial project from Arizona that I actually heard years ago, though seeing ten instrumental versions of the tracks on this album immediately makes me feel exhausted. So I’ll probably just focus on the ten main songs.
“Street Lights Serenade,” featuring Jcran, opens with a calm hip-hop vibe. The following tracks lean more toward acid techno influences, particularly “The Path of the True Devotion” and “A World of Shadows.” Meanwhile, “Hope” closes the main portion with melodic synthwave tones.
Sevaskar also carries Christian themes, so the presence of darkwave elements makes sense. If I’m not mistaken, some albums lean heavier toward industrial rock/metal, which might appeal to fans of Rammstein—though in a much lighter form.
Highlight: Cacophonic Quantum Convergence, Hecked, Hope
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