kathryn mohr – Nine Circles

Rainbows in the Dark: Ian’s Best of 2022

January 1, 2023December 28, 2022IanLeave a comment

Wow, it really has been a while since I’ve visited this column, huh? Things got really busy really fast over here, and it’s kinda hard to sit and write two articles a week when life is finally starting to pick up. However, the tunes did not stop this year, and some of my favorite and most anticipated releases this year were from more than just the metal world. It’s my pleasure to bring you another year of the best of all things metal-adjacent and non-metal. Any of these albums can stand up to the world of buzzsaw guitars, blast beats and screamed vocals. Maybe not in terms of sheer force, but in terms of emotional depth and good times, absolutely. Without further ado, here we go:

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The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 259 (11.26.2022)

November 26, 2022November 26, 2022ChrisLeave a comment

For those of you who celebrate it, welcome back from the throes of mass turkey consumption, of stuffing annihilation, and of pie decimation. For the rest of you, simply welcome back. I got a huge Thanksgiving gift when I learned Elder released their latest album Innate Passage a day early on Bandcamp, and then it just kept coming when I finally got to hear the totality of the new Spiritworld album. Both albums are putting serious crimps in my already drafted end of year list, so let’s kick off with them for this, the 259th Nine Circles Playlist.

The rest of the gang managed to pry themselves off the couch and offer up the usual assortment of metal maladies to get your body in shape for the holiday rush. We’ve got Jade, Fvnerals, live Der Weg Einer Freiheit, new Nothingness and Shedfromthebody. We’ve got a big ol’ epic from The Otolith, tracks from Esquela Grind, Intranced, and Reeking Aura. You want a little more moody and a little less extreme? Okay: we’ve got you dialed in with some Kathryn Mohr, some Silversun Pickups, and for the countryheads out there even a little slinky funk courtesy of Paul Cauthen. And one of the best bands in the world to close it out.

Get listening. Stay safe. See you next week.

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– Chris

Rainbows in the Dark: Kathryn Mohr — “Holly”

October 23, 2022October 22, 2022Vincent1 Comment

I stake much of my reputation on being someone who adores lo-fi indie music, in case you hadn’t picked up on the number of times I mention The Mountain Goats on a podcast dedicated to music that is decidedly unlike The Mountain Goats. I am a person who loves simple, uncomplicated music that packs a lot of heart, and there is something about the sound of fuzzy, blown out instruments that works with my ears and brain very nicely. It is through this lens that I come to Holly, the new EP by San Jose based experimental artist Kathryn Mohr, which presents a kaleidoscope view of the world through synthesizer, guitar, and vocals.

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The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 249 (9.17.2022)

September 17, 2022September 17, 2022ChrisLeave a comment

You know what it is. I’m too tired and too hung over to get a more pithy introduction out for the 249th edition of the Nine Circles Playlist, so let’s just get to the music, huh?

A lot of new music out this week, but I keep finding myself drawn back to the latest from Mork, who kill it with their raw, atmospheric black metal. We also have the debut from Sonja finally in our hands, and I may have more to say about that next week, pairing them off with the wicked retro thrash of Transgressive. We also have new music from Lorna Shore, Wolfheart, Trocar, the Anitchrist Imperium, Dream Unending, Woods of Desolation, AWS, Behemoth, and Psychonaut, not to mention a killer classic of post punk from Pink Turns Blue.