New Music Friday: Rust Belt Metal, Euphoric Minimalism
June 26 releases include Zao, Downtown Boys, Steve Gunn, Dylan Mattingly.
Hit the ground running this week, so I listened to a lot less music than usual. Meant to get around to new albums by Lau Ro, James Brandon Lewis and Truck Violence, but I really like this lineup below. I also love to see what y'all are digging!
Elsewhere…
On NPR's All Songs Considered, I made metalheads mad by admitting that I like the Pike-less Sleep track, plus shared new music from minimalist composer Sarah Davachi and mod-punks Perennial.
Stream the Viking's Choice Guide to New Music Friday mixtape. Follow me on Bandcamp and check out previous mixes via Buy Music Club.
Zao, Pillars
Well, that logo takes me back to the feral riffs and stark vulnerability that reshaped the metal/hardcore scene just before the turn of the millenium. Zao pays loving and loud tribute to its early rust belt influences with Creation is Crucifixion, Puritan, Passover and Abnegation covers.
Downtown Boys, Public Luxury
Oh, how I've missed this band. Fun, fiery punk anthems that contend with a world on fire, but uplift the power of people. More Latin grooves, some surprising power-pop moves.
Steve Gunn, Steve Gunn
The 2007 solo debut, reissued. Plenty of psych/raga moves carried over from the drone-folk trio GHQ, but even this early experiment showcases Steve's melodic and easygoing approach to fingerstyle.
Dylan Mattingly, The Wild Heart
This, to me, is how minimalism evolves. The tenets of repetition and variation remain, but there is a patchwork of American music that guides this ambitious piece — folk, blues, ragtime and rock music, all rolled into a jumbled euphoria.
Alden Hellmuth, Tether
An alto saxophonist with an immediately distinct personality is hard to come by these days. Sharp and stately, yet underpinned by a reckless punk energy.
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