Making an effort to listen to at least one new (to me) album each month.
For the other sad zoo animals out there looking to spice up their cages for an hour.
NOVEMBER

PATIENCE by Mannequin Pussy


All the feels of the Joan of Arc/Kinsella bros Philly emo scene; rad female vocalist and one of the last live shows I saw before the shutdown.

Favorite tracks: Drunk II, Patience, F.U.C.A.W

︎ BANDCAMP

DECEMBER

DEVIL IS FINE by Zeal and Ardor


High concept music project mixing American Black folk with black metal; totally delivers on the premise.

Favorite tracks: What Is A Killer Like You Gonna Do Here, Come On Down

︎ BANDCAMP
JANUARY

JAAGO by Lifafa


Vernacular electronic music project of Suryakant Sawhney; chill vibes and gorgeous lyrics.

Favorite tracks: Din Raat, Mere saath

︎ BANDCAMP
FEBRUARY

ON by Altın Gün


The 70s psychedelic revival in Turkish rock music right now is my jam, and I’d be wearing lines in the vinyl if I had a physical copy of this album (waiting til next Bandcamp Friday to order).

Favorite tracks: Drunk II, Patience, F.U.C.A.W

︎ BANDCAMP
MARCH

GRAB THAT GUN by the Organ


This album fell neatly into my life when I heard that first driving bass line. Dunno how I missed it when it came out, but it’s here now and that’s what matters. Equal thirds Screaming Females, Joy Division, and it’s own dang thing.

Favorite tracks: Memorize the City, Sinking Hearts

︎ YOUTUBE
APRIL

DUST by I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness


The dark indie pop post rock of your dreams.

Favorite tracks: 69th Street Bridge, Come Undone

︎ BANDCAMP
MAY

SAVAGE TIMES by Hanni El Khatib


Come for the punk bangers, stay for the disco tear-jerkers. Hanni El Khatib delivers again.

Favorite tracks: Mondo and His Makeup, Black Constellation

︎ BANDCAMP
JUNE

ANTIPHON by Alfa Mist


My cousin rec’d Kamasi Washington and I realized I was woefully illiterate in modern jazz. Very chill jazz sophisticated through the lens of hip-hop; echoings of J Dilla.

Favorite tracks: Breathe, Keep On

︎ BANDCAMP
JULY

WINDFLOWER by Herb Ellis & Remo Palmier


Jazz guitar album from the late ‘70s I’d never heard; melodic and exuding the feelings of death and renewal that come with spring.

Favorite tracks: The Night Has a Thousand Eyes

︎ YOUTUBE
AUGUST

SPACE ECHO by Various (Analog Africa)


The Mystery Behind the Cosmic Sound of Cabo Verde Finally Revealed!” There’s so much good ‘70s electronica from Africa, and this fantastic compilation of different artists with a very insane backstory is a must-listen.

Favorite tracks: Dia Ja Manche, Mino Di Mama

︎ BANDCAMP
SEPTEMBER

DROWNER’S WIVES by Monte Luna


Old school garage heavy feeling; just some good dark psych metal.

Favorite tracks: Night of Long Fangs, The Water Hag

︎ BANDCAMP
OCTOBER

CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS by OM


I’d never gotten to hear this album before! It’s perfectly emblematic of why I fucking love them. Search the reddit thread of stoned grad students pouring over the lyrics to add the cherry on top.

Favorite tracks: At Giza

︎ YOUTUBE
NOVEMBER

THE JUNE FROST by Mournful Congregation


Textured metal outfit from Australia with the range of black metal but the tone of doom.

Favorite tracks: The June Frost, Descent of the Flames

︎ BANDCAMP
DECEMBER

LIFE METAL by Sun O)))


As someone put it recently, this album is the soundtrack to the big bang. Monoliths & Dimensions always overshadowed it before, but after really giving it the time of day I say why pit two kings against each other. I think actually they were talking about M&D with that quote. Y’all ever been sent that meme with Sunn O))) and a vacuum cleaner that’s all “where’s the difference?” Not to take the funny seriously, but the difference is my cats lose their g-damn minds when the vacuum is on but absolutely vibe when Sunn O))) blasts through the airwaves – which, luckily for them, is much more often than when I vacuum.

Favorite tracks: Aurora

︎ BANDCAMP
JANUARY

LIBERTY BELL by DARKSIDE


Dark electrowave - not a genre of music I generally flock to but I could and have listened to this song on repeat for days.

Favorite tracks: Liberty Bell

︎ BANDCAMP
FEBRUARY

WHAT’S YOUR PLEASURE by Jessie Ware


2021 is beginning with an attempt to branch out more.  I have difficulty connecting with pop music… but you give me a new disco record titled from a Hellraiser quote and I’ll fucking stan.

Favorite tracks: What’s Your Pleasure, The Kill

︎ YOUTUBE
MARCH

VEILS OF WINTER by Blackwater Holylight



“Motorcycle” starts out doom, then gets stoner psych, then goes full dark hippy butt rock guitar riff with dreamy vocal goodness. The rest of the album loses the butt rock but you bet your butts my neighbors are tired of hearing it.

Favorite tracks: Motorcycle

︎ BANDCAMP
APRIL

CELESTIAL by ISIS


A standby of post-metal glory that I’d never really heard in its entirety til now. “C.F.T” is my favorite, but as an avid Earth fan it’s the easy choice. Perfect soundtrack to the warming spring nights, which in the words of a dear friend, are “for acid and metal.”

Favorite tracks: Drunk II, Patience, F.U.C.A.W

︎ YOUTUBE
MAY

SUNSHINE RADIO by Tommy Guerrero


Forced chill on my brain. The relaxed but slight melancholy hits right in the fog-filled weirdness of Northern California redwoods and beaches for me.

Favorite tracks: By the Sea at the End of the World, Future Deserts

︎ BANDCAMP
JUNE

SICODELICOS by Los Destellos


Psychedelic cumbia supreme. A compilation of tracks from the 60s-70s and a great reminder to dig for older stuff since I’ve been enjoying contemporary bands like Bicicletas por la Paz.

Favorite tracks: Guajira Sicodélica


︎ YOUTUBE
JULY

ZEROIN by Dopesmoker


Stoner doom metal that comes on like a fever. I could listen to the track ‘Bush Woods’ on repeat for the rest of my life, and did for most of July.

Favorite tracks: Bush Woods

︎ BANDCAMP
AUGUST

AUTOMATIC WRITING by Ataxia


It’d be a lie if I didn’t admit August was characterized primarily by falling into my old habit of doing nothing but blasting Sackcloth and Ashes by 16 Horsepower on repeat ad nauseum. But coming in for the buzzer shot is this fantastic fugue state of an album. Not being big into either Fugazi or the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, I wouldn’t have checked this out if I’d known the lineup involved… but man I’m glad for whatever reason I found it. The devastating melancholic and headiness of the melodies and lyrics infected the fuck outta my brain. 

Favorite tracks: Addition

︎ YOUTUBE
SEPTEMBER

MANANA DOMINGO by Puente Celeste


I love his sparse, interesting rhythms throughout this whole album -- a song here is a bit Klezmer, a few songs there are a bit syncopated... Overall he captures incredibly nuanced emotions. “Chiquita” and “Toto” are captivating. A recommendation from a friend that has become a rotation standard.

Favorite tracks: Chiquita, Toto

︎ YOUTUBE
OCTOBER

EMPRESS RISING by Monolord


“Riff infested masterpiece” indeed. The time had never been right for Monolord and I in the past, but boy howdy how the times have changed! They’re touring in March with Firebreather and I want to go so bad. C’mon, pandemic!

Favorite tracks: Empress Rising, Watchers of the Waste

︎ BANDCAMP
NOVEMBER

BUSSE WOODS by Acid King


More like Bussy Woods, amiright? A solid classic of the stoner metal canon that I finally really heard and fell in love with. Not a single miss in the 45mins and 52sec playtime. I might have listened to this album on repeat for the entire month. I might recommend you do the same.

Favorite tracks: Drive Fast Take Chances, Carve the 5

︎ BANDCAMP
DECEMBER

ABYSSAL TRIP by Spelljammer


It was only a matter of time I guess until I became wholly Riding Easy Records-pilled. My early 20s were all about Sargent House, my mid 20s Southern Lord, and now it seems I’ve found the record label for my early 30s.  Just some bottomless, bottomless stoner doomy sludge. 

Favorite tracks: Lake

︎ BANDCAMP
JANUARY

U-MEN


Thanks to fellow cartoonist CJ Joughin for unearthing this proto-grunge Seattle punk gem. Great energy, great textures -- melodic guitarwork and sometmes goofy sensibilities hits that Meat Puppets-loving hole in my heart. “Gila” and “The Fumes” are right up there for me. Blasted this while reading through a lot of Grant Morrison’s New X-Men, enjoying the synchronicity. There’s a recent 3LP compilation that’s very tempting...

Favorite tracks: They!, The Fumes, Gila

︎ BANDCAMP
FEBRUARY

VISIT MALPHINO by Malphino


The cumbia undertows pull me in and away from metal every so often, and this is a fun and charming album. A diaspora band mixing tastes and textures from around the world to create a high-concept but groovy af soundtrack to a fantasy world. It’s a jam, listen to “Ototoa” and then give the rest a go.

Favorite tracks: Ototoa

︎ BANDCAMP
MARCH

RITUAL DIVINATION by Here Lies Man


Again, Riding Easy Records-pilled. This band was described as “Sabbathy Afrobeat” and that’s a vibe they deliver on, wholly. The psychedelicized heavy rock riffs are elevated by the nuanced and exciting rhythms, and the lyrics hit the right level of spacey darkness for my heart. Blast this record to call down the spring equinox.

Favorite tracks: Cutting Through the Tether

︎ BANDCAMP
APRIL

IV by Part Chimp


Time for some solid sludge. The first 30 seconds of this album are pure bliss: sinister piano turned into darkly descending sludge riffage. I bet these guys are a riot to see live-- the slow, doomy songs balance well with the faster riffs. If you like Red Fang this is a band for you. And googly-eye-encrusted tubeworms is always a good design choice.

Favorite tracks: Namekuji, The Saturn Superstition

︎ YOUTUBE
MAY

DESERT DREAMS by Lonesome Shack


My taste intersects Blues at this particular weird-Americana crossroads. Thoughtful lyrics, bountiful minor-key guitar picking. The texture added by the percussionist expands the sound across the hills of the mind

Favorite tracks: King Clone, Past the Ditch

︎ BANDCAMP
JUNE

FLOODLANDS by Sisters of Mercy


Growing up in the '90s and early '00s meant often having isolated tracks but not full albums. My sister, fellow comic artist The Gorgonist, texted me about us doing a harp/violin cover of "This Corrosion" recently and I realzied I'd never really sat down with this whole album. Making up for lost time in my 30s, as happens. Late '80s Goth rock standard, deep vocals, echoing snare hits, and all.

Favorite tracks: Flood II, Lucretia my Reflection

︎ YOUTUBE
JULY

SVVAMP by Svvamp


Hot, sweaty summer makes the sticky bluesrock tones a home. On the cusp of being too, but kissed enough by dark to keep it on rotation as I sat in hot fog in the Blue Ridge Mountains, explored Richmond cemeteries, and packed up my life to move back to the PNW.

Favorite tracks: Burning Down, Serpent in the Sky

︎ BANDCAMP
AUGUST

IV by Black Mountain


Just when I think it's slipping into hippy buttrock, this album slows down to psychedelic postrock, or shifts the vocals to a pop-punk cadence. I've listened to Black Mountain spottily for a while, and this album was no exception. Flagged it in August but didn't really grock until late November, when the cosmic tones finally had room to fill.

Favorite tracks: Cemetery Breeding, Space to Bakersfield

︎ BANDCAMP
SEPTEMBER

SPIRIT'S FURNACE by The Bones of J.R. Jones


In my thirst for the richly dark Americana of 16HP, I'll take a sip of some sugar now and then. Aside from the tender two songs in the album's center which you can pass me on, this is a solid lineup of catchy blues/folk hooks and lyrics far better than the song arrangements. Don't mix close to 16HP if you want to enjoy, but I can't deny that despite its lackluster arrangement, "Hammers & Nails" is a joy and was on repeat for many trips across the city as I got set up in my new place. "Dirt always tells, dirt always tells."

Favorite tracks: Hammers & Nails, Dry Dirt

︎ BANDCAMP
OCTOBER

POSTHUMAN by Trees Speak


Branching out, as it were, and incorporating more electronica into my listening habits. Psychedelic enough to let me in the door, this album echoes of krautrock and trip-hop/nu jazz. The organic textures keep me in, strung along by the driving electronic undercurrent to dark mind-melting landscapes. Vibes well with Zombi and Forest Swords.

Favorite tracks: Glass, Elements of Matter

︎ SOTU
NOVEMBER

KENTUCKY by Panopticon


Blackmetal live is so compelling to me, but I struggle ever putting it on at home, which means I miss out on a lot of incredible albums. Panopticon melds their Appalachian folk into their cascade of heavy guitar and drums so richly, tying in vocal clips of coal miners illustrating the horrors and exploitation they face. "Autumn Eternal" is another solid album to get through the darkening days of the end of the year.

Favorite tracks: Bodies Under the Falls

︎ BANDCAMP
DECEMBER

MUSHROOM DEATH SEX BUMMER PARTY by Wine Lips


Fully back on my bullshit with this one. Grity, catchy hooks and garage whine for days. Inarticulate as I may be, this is an explosively fun album that makes me wish I were on some basement stage hollering along with them. Solid end to the year... looking forward to new tunes to blast in 2023.

Favorite tracks: Choke, Mall Walker

︎ BANDCAMP



Shorter than most.  Cartoonist & designer in the Wild West with a degree in psychology, focused on telling queer narratives in sci-fi/horror settings.
Let’s chat: alkcomics @ gmail dot com

A.L.KAPLAN

Shorter than most.  Cartoonist & designer in the Wild West telling queer narratives in sci-fi/horror settings.  alkcomics @ gmail dot com 

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A.L.KAPLAN