Author: Jon

Album Review: Big|Brave – “A Gaze Among Them”

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big brave - a gaze among them

It is a fairly common experience for people (read: me) getting into meditation for the first time to experience difficulty in quieting one’s mind. Repeating mantras over and over can sometimes be helpful , because that repetition gives the conscious mind a concrete task to focus on, which frees up the rest of the person. The language used can change based on the tradition it’s found in of course, but the idea of using repetition to lower defenses and experience something wonderful is all I have been able to think about as I continue to sit with Big|Brave‘s new album, A Gaze Among Them.   Continue reading →

Album Review: Astronoid – “Astronoid”

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astronoid self titled

On the Scriptnotes podcast, professional screenwriters John August and Craig Mazin dispense advice to young and aspiring writers, and a recurring thread is the idea that building a career of screenwriting isn’t about writing one perfect script, but about being able to repeat that process on an ongoing basis. While not diminishing the merits of a single particularly good work of art, longevity requires more than that. That is the question that is asked of Astronoid’s self-titled sophomore album.   Continue reading →

Album Review: Azusa – “Heavy Yoke”

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azusa - heavy yoke

Over the years, graphics in video games have evolved from tiny pixelated 8-bit characters to much more photo realistic art styles, and while this is generally seen as an advancement of the medium, in the last 10 years or so, there’s been another movement to bring back that old 8-bit aesthetic, using modern tech to evolve that style to do things it never could in its original incarnation. Think of it as an alternate history. While it’d ever be a mistake to call anything that Swedish extreme metal band Extol did basic, their 5-album discography covered a lot of ground, and any of those albums could provide foundational anchor for a whole band. In the year 2018, we receive just such an album in Heavy Yoke, the debut album from Azusa.  Continue reading →

Interview: Joel Violette of Thrawsunblat on “Great Brunswick Forest,” Musical Reinterpretation, and How to Spot a Moose in the Wild

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thrawsunblat band photo

Over the course of three albums and a handful of EPs, Thrawsunblat have carved a space for themselves in the genre of black metal by integrating the Maritime folk of their home province of New Brunswick, Canada. With their newest album Great Brunswick Forest, which is out October 19, the trio of Joel Violette, Rae Amitay and Keegan MC immerse themselves and their listeners wholeheartedly into that Maritime folk. Careful listeners of the band’s discography should recognize the familiar elements that make Thrawsunblat what it is, and yet this does feel like a big step forward. We reached out to Joel to talk about the creative process for the new album, his fascination with re-interpreting songs and also a bit of Maritime tourism. Continue reading →

Album Review: Sumac – “Love in Shadow”

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Sumac - Love In Shadow

The music of Sumac seems to always exist in states of perpetual construction and deconstruction. On a macro level, the trio of Aaron Turner, Nick Yacyshyn and Brian Cook frequently conjure up some truly giant apocalypses. And yet on a micro level, there’s all kinds of jagged and uneven sonic qualities brought to the surface that create a texture of crumbling brittleness. Picture a skyscraper heavily damaged, still standing but with huge swaths of rebar exposed. In this metaphor Love in Shadow, Sumac’s most recent 2018 album, tries to patch up the crumbling sections without losing its distinctiveness.   Continue reading →