Amulette
Creativity is, ideally, iterative, and Amulette is a living reminder of the power of resurrection and iteration. It is a common trap to hang it up and never return to the creative act, but Amulette challenged the power of inertia. Upon revisiting their past work as Mirrors, which toured and performed in the Northeast in the halcyon days during and around ~2010 C.E, the band brought in Ben (bass), whose classical background dovetails into the practiced and technical musicianship of Devin (guitar), Reed (guitar), and Jon (drums).
With a series of singles inspired by Devin’s ancestry, the band conjures a connection to the spiritual world of Shinto and its central role on Yoron Island. Kodama Dance is a sparkling romp through a magical dimension, with momentary references to surf rock, djent, and post-rock a lá Russian Circles. Upcoming mind-bender Bozé draws upon the traditions and power of the festival of Obon to guide us through swirling atmospherics, spine tingling time signature changes, curious sound elements more reminiscent of birds than guitars, and a latent sadness and sensitivity that drives the song forward from the first, creepy sonics.
Amulette is for thoughtful listeners who like to count, or who would rather not, but can surrender to the power of sound. Made simple: for fans of Damiera, Mogwai, Periphery, and big feelings made possible by the power of a loud fucking guitar, man.
Cloudbelly
A band that stands as a testament to the power of putting faith in the connective magic of songs, Cloudbelly is not new, but is in a new shape. Corey Laitman has performed behind its banner for years, but on their forthcoming full-band record, i know, i know, i know, Cloudbelly tapped into a new energy through connection with each other. At once sweeping and intimate, the record manages to call to mind both the detailed and thoughtful production of the 1975’s Notes On a Conditional Form and the subtle power of Ichiko Aoba. Rather than “sounding like” something, Cloudbelly is the sound of themselves, and powerfully so.
Obsessive in its pursuit of the perfect sonic atmosphere, the record builds a world to live in for the length of one good drive, one glass of scotch, or one long, wistful look out the window. While the frame of i know, i know, i know is, undeniably, the studied and deeply personal songwriting of Corey Laitman, the band shines when plugged into it, like turning on a Christmas tree by plugging it into a lightning bolt.
Baleen
Most of us have never seen a whale, nor will we ever. And yet somehow, because of cultural information, legend, or maybe just the remarkable madness of Herman Melville, we can all picture them; we can see them soaring up, salt water spraying from their slick bodies, cascading down into something like the absolute purity of magic.
It is difficult to imagine a more apt music for this image than the band Baleen, who somehow occupy two worlds at the same time, much like the mythical, mystical beast of the sea. Baleen has all of the wondrous roiling fuzz and wall of distortion that brings to mind our favourite shoegaze bands over the last decades, but they manage to bring more joy to the music than seems possible. Theirs is the sound of soaring.
Tetsu the Phoenix
There is a place in modern life for worship. The old gods of volume, density, and gain remain enshrined in the songs of Tetsu the Phoenix. As much a study in sound as examination of song, TTP conjures sounds familiar and novel by referencing classics in the libraries of desert rock, black metal, doom, and shoegaze.
Their debut record, See You Around, includes a song cycle based on Haruki Murakami’s The Trilogy of the Rat. Finding inspiration in the otherworldly of Wild Sheep Chase to the mundane of Hear the Wind Sing , the record spends time in Junataki-Cho Township - among other fan-familiar locales - in tracks 4-9. The songs represent an effort to bring Murakami’s world to a new dimension: that of sound. No narrative liberties were taken, and the story is conveyed as loyally as possible. For fans of pinball machines, magical spirit possession, and the consumption of beer.
Shadowcat
The first citizens of Strange Library Records, Shadowcat appeared in an instant and without premeditation. Their 2018 EP, Only, finds its way through classic sounds from Fleetwood Mac and R.E.M. to contemporary sonics reminiscent of Beach House and Mogwai. Affectionately dubbed “Valley Sad Bois meets Daria Cosplay” by frontwoman Katy Beyer, Shadowcat is best consumed loud. I’m trying desperately to be decent about this.