New Music Report – Apr 3, 2020
This week is HUGE. I’ve been looking forward to this one for quite a while now. These past few weeks have been full of good music, but they really all felt like opening acts for this week. It’s absolutely stacked with big releases, all of which are really very diverse, as well, which keeps things interesting. If you’ve been bored during this quarantine, this should keep you occupied for a little while.
August Burns Red – Full disclosure, this is like 80% of the reason why I’m so excited for this week’s releases. Don’t get me wrong, everything else is awesome, but when the undisputed kings of metalcore put out a new album, you should pay attention. I’m actually not actually sure these guys are capable of writing bad music, but I can already this is gonna be a classic. First off, it’s got the hardest hitting opener of any ABR album; this is undoubtedly the heaviest album this band has written. But it also has this wonderful balance of the rawest vocals we’ve ever heard from Jake Luhrs paired with some of their most refined hooks. Not to mention riffs for DAYS. It lacks some of the progressive elements of Rescue & Restore in favor of strong, classic metalcore that I just love. I can go on for days, but this album just made me feel really, really good. This is a fucking gem.
Cabal – Cabal haven’t quite made a mainstream impact stateside just yet, but they definitely have a loyal following willing to sing their praises whenever possible. I’m one of those people. This band is incredible and are only now starting to get the attention they deserve. They’re a really unique style of incredibly heavy, sludgy deathcore. And I know “sludge” and “deathcore” fundamentally don’t really belong together, but when you hear it, it just makes sense. It really doesn’t get much heavier than this. This album is also chock full of incredible guest features, like Matt Heafy from Trivium and Jamie Hails of Polaris. I highly recommend this one, this band deserves all the attention they can get.
Purity Ring – Man, I love The Purity Ring so much. They’ve always been my favorite of all the chillwave/electropop bands. Probably cause they were generally darker, more hypnotic, and more melancholy than most of their contemporaries. And this album actually compounds on that. There are fewer pop hooks, and more ambient, deep, minimalistic soundscapes, giving it an even more bleak and eerie backdrop to the shimmery vocals. It may not be a jump to the mainstream, but I’m loving this direction.
Emancipator – Whenever people ask me who my favorite DJs are, I always tell him, “I don’t really listen to electronic music, except Emancipator.” He has been my caveat for years now. That said, I’ve kind of fallen off recently, the newer releases just didn’t have the same feel that I loved from Soon it Will be Cold Enough or Safe in the Steep Hills. But this new album is really incredible. It’s got the same beautiful, almost tangible soundscapes; it almost feels like you’re living each of these songs, like if you close your eyes you’re there; in it, experiencing it. And it’s the most peaceful, relaxing feeling in the world. And that’s what I’ve always loved about Emancipator.
Singles
Umbra Vitae – This band is just a fucking powerhouse. It’s the death metal project fronted by Jake Bannon from Converge, featuring members of Job For a Cowboy, The Red Chord, and Hatebreed. This really expands on the elements of metal that we have always heard in Converge, given the proper stage to breathe. You can always tell that, while Converge isn’t technically a metal band, it’s always been a big part of their influence, and now we get to hear Bannon’s personal interpretation of that in full. It’s rad. This full length is going to be great.
*Note* Bury Tomorrow – I was really looking forward to their new album, which was supposed to come out today, but it has since been pushed back to July 3rd. So expect coverage of that at a later date.
Read More
Get Ready to #WatchTheMoonrise With Full Lineup Playlist
–Written by Kevin Madert
This August, Pimlico Race Course will again be the site of now-annual electronic soiree Moonrise Festival. For year number three Steez Promo diversified their aural portfolio, bringing on heavy hitters from the house & techno scene to compliment a boatload of bass-focused acts.
To keep you up to speed on the whole shindig, we’ve compiled one of our world-famous* playlists, covering the lineup from top to bottom. On top of that, we’ve hand-picked our can’t-miss artists & given them each a few words. Come August 6-7 you’ll wow your friends and snag the festival sweetheart of your dreams with your sexy superior knowledge. Read on!
Read More
Show Spotlight: Emancipator Brings The Ensemble to Philadelphia + Pittsburgh
–Written by Kevin Madert
Trip-hop veteran and general expert on all things chill Emancipator (real name Doug Appling) released one hell of an album a few weeks ago. Since then, the Pacific Northwest’s downtempo gem has been beating feet across the United States, backed up by his full-band Ensemble and with hand-selected opening support from Wax Tailor and Yppah.
While the last Ensemble tour made a stop at Baltimore’s Soundstage, DMV natives hoping to catch them this time around have a little trekking to do. The two closest stops on the Seven Seas tour are Friday, October 16 in Philadelphia and Tuesday, October 20 in Pittsburgh. Trust us when we say these drives are worth it – AltFreq will be hitting the road bound for the Rex Theater in Pittsburgh next week.
The Emancipator Ensemble performing “First Snow” in 2014
On “Seven Seas,” Emancipator Dives Deep, Sails Far, Stays Chill (Review)
–Written by Kevin Madert
These days, Doug Appling should be feeling pretty good about himself. In less than a decade, the man better known as Emancipator has grown from a promising young producer & performer into a well-respected, scene-renowned artist with a slew of stellar releases under his belt. He’s founded Loci Records, a music label which he utilizes to curate some of the finest sounds trip-hop and downtempo have to offer. He’s started a band – the eponymous Emancipator Ensemble – and toured the world, allowing him to reinterpret his studio-based music in a live setting. And now he’s stuck another feather in his plumage-laden cap with his fourth full-length album, Seven Seas.
The experimentation and maturation we first saw on 2012’s Dusk To Dawn continues here. Like a track and field star working his way from single events to the all-encompassing decathlon, Appling’s arsenal seems to grow with each subsequent release. From the gentle, intentioned bounce of album opener “All In Here” to the closing notes of the slow-building, multi-faceted “Barnacles,” Seven Seas is a work of serious merit from a producer both comfortable within his self-defined musical boundaries and eager to push against them in all possible directions. His ear for that intangible sonic space between steady chill and forward progression is also stronger than ever – the hurried, echoing guitar anchoring “Delta Trance” and frenetic violin-led, bass-drum backed breakdowns on “The Key” attest to that.
Of course, it never hurts to have good friends, and on Seven Seas Appling showcases his excellent choice in musical mates. Aside from longtime collaborator Ilya Goldberg – whose silken violin tones feature on five tracks – a plethora of additional guest appearances go miles in adding depth and texture throughout the album. “Canopy,” with its non-traditional percussion courtesy of Cedar Miller & Jamie Janover, plus the heavily augmented vocal work of Amy Obensky, is one of the album’s most fully realized songs. And while lyrics have rarely factored in Emancipator’s catalog, vocalists Molly Parti and Madelyn Grant prove they fit snugly into the puzzle, lending their talents to personal album highlights “Land & Sea” and “Seven Seas,” respectively.
Above all, it’s worth noting the entirety of Seven Seas exists on the same metaphorical tapestry. Thanks to little, seemingly inconsequential details – the occasional lapping of waves against the shore, guitars fed through effects pedals as if being played underwater, synths manipulated to create aural ebbs and flows – guide us through the album in one coherent trip. Chalk it up to a deftly crafted, purposeful ambiance – something Appling has explored, tested, and honed from day one. In 2006, Soon It Will Be Cold Enough took us on a melancholy, introspective stroll through snow-covered hills and woodlands. Four years later, Safe In The Steep Cliffs found us even deeper in the wilderness, a dark and often somber place. A few years after that, Dusk To Dawn saw us forgo the woods for a crackling bonfire at the water’s edge, feeling at many moments more upbeat and sporting some of Emancipator’s lushest production to date.
And now we have Seven Seas, wherein we abandon the safety of the shore in favor of the contemplative endlessness of the 0cean. Once more, Doug Appling has put painstaking effort into the conceptualization, writing, recording, and post-production of an album – perhaps his best to date.
You can grab a copy of Seven Seas now through all the standard channels (Bandcamp | iTunes | Physical copy). Emancipator is also currently on an extended North American tour in support of the album, with Yppah & Wax Tailor(*) / Blockhead & Manatee Commune(^) along for the ride – check the full schedule below + purchase tickets right here.
Seven Seas North American Tour Dates
10/14/15 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground*
10/15/15 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club*
10/16/15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of the Living Arts*
10/17/15 – New York, NY @ PlayStation Theater (formerly Best Buy)*
10/18/15 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom*
10/20/15 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theater*
10/21/15 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom*
10/22/15 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue*
10/23/15 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection*
10/24/15 – Detroit, MI @ Fillmore Detroit*
10/27/15 – St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room*
10/28/15 – Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note*
10/29/15 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre*
10/30/15 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Miramar Theater*
10/30/15-11/1/15 – Chicago, IL @ Freaky Deaky
10/31/15 – Minneapolis, MN @ Mill City Nights*
11/10/15 – Bellingham, WA @ Wild Buffalo^
11/11/15 – Victoria, BC @ Sugar Nightclub^
11/12/15 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue Nightclub^
11/13/15 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater^
11/14/15 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox Market^
11/15/15 – Eugene, OR @ Hi-Fi Music Hall^
11/17/15 – Ashland, OR @ Ashland Armory^
11/18/15 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst^
11/19/15 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom^
11/20/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Regent Theater^
11/22/15 – Pomona, CA @ The Glass House^
News: Emancipator Announces New Album + Ensemble Tour, Releases Lead Single
-Written by Kevin Madert
Chasers of the chill and denizens of downtempo rejoice: new Emancipator is on its way. The trip-hop project long helmed by producer/multi-instrumentalist Doug Appling will release Seven Seas on September 25 via his own Loci Records. Just four days later, a full-fledged US tour will kick off in support of the producer’s fourth full-length, beginning in New Orleans and wending its way through the US & Canada before concluding two months later in Pomona, CA.
Read More