Alright, chumps, guess who’s got ten minutes of free time and an overblown sense of self importance? That’s right, it’s me again, with another issue of “What I’m Listening To” which I’ve decided to rebrand as “Fresh Recs” because nothing in life is sacred, everything is fluid and changing, and the mind of a creative is as effervescent as its soul.

Here’s some stuff that’s come out recently that I enjoyed and I think you’ll enjoy, too.

ICONOCLASTS - ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF

I was first introduced to AVH with her album All Thoughts Fly, an eerie and atmospheric solo pipe organ album that defied my expectations of what that could possibly sound like. Her music, to me, feels like the sonic equivalent of reading Lovecraft - a dense and surreal experience that only hints at an undercurrent of horror rather than an explicit display, wrapped in a beautiful adornment of prose. It is enjoyable both on the level of a casual listen and a deep excursion; the deeper you go, the more you unravel.

That same surreal beauty and eerie depth carries through to her latest release, Iconoclasts - one of the few albums this year I’ve purposely listened to all the way through more than once or twice. The instrumentation is dense, featuring haunting string ensembles and woodwinds and at-times devastating drums, layered together with her signature pipe organ and - a lovely surprise to me - expressive and powerful vocals. This has quickly become one of my favourite albums of this year, and I fully recommend a complete listen from front to back; though if you’re in a hurry, Struggle With The Beast and Stardust are my two standout picks for a sample of the madness that lies within this masterwork.

Hop on the roller coaster.

PSYCHOWARRIOR: MG ULTRA X - MACHINE GIRL

This one’s for my fellow freaks who love to get fucked up by fast beats.

If you know Machine Girl already then I don’t need to tell you about this - you already own it and have played it five times this week. MG ULTRA, MG’s 2024 full-length, was a solid release; one that I recommended wholeheartedly even to people not in my typical music landscape. It maintained the essence of Machine Girl’s earlier work while being much more accessible (and casually listenable) which may have been a turn-off for some long-time fans who wanted another U-Void Synthesizer. While I do love U-Void, The Ugly Art, Wolfgrl (especially Wolfgrl), I do have a soft spot for when MG dials the harsh noise back a bit, like in Reporpoised Phantasies and the Neon White soundtrack.

Psychowarrior: MG Ultra X is, I think, the best album yet to strike a balance between harsh and accessible. It’s fast, it’s freaky, it’s noisy… and it’s fun as all hell. It never got grating to listen to, and the over-the-top drums and groovy bass lines keep things pumped and locked in throughout. Another contender for my favourite of this year; standout tracks for me being Come On Baby, Scrape My Data and Ignore the Vore.

Get a little freaky with it.

FADED DREAM - NEON NIGHTMARE

Anyone who tells you album art doesn’t matter is a fool and a liar. At least, that’s been my experience; I find that a good cover not only elevates the listening experience, but greatly increases the likelihood that I’ll listen to an album in the first place. Such has been in the case in the past with albums like Forked Tongues (Craven Idol) and Solitude (Cloudkicker), and such is the case most recently with Neon Nightmare’s latest full-length, Faded Dream.

User SophiaC on Bandcamp describes this album as “The closest you can get to Type O Negative without Peter Steele”. I’m going to have to refer to their expertise on this matter because, truth be told, I have not listened to much of Type O Negative. Having now listened to Faded Dream, I suppose I ought to, because this album is really, really good.

From the opening the band crafts a deeply nostalgic, chorus-laden production that hearkens back to the late 80s/early 90s, and the vibes are impeccable (as the kids say). The guitars feel like they’ve been lifted straight out of The Cult’s Sonic Temple, with huge sustained power chords providing the backing for deep and powerful vocals, every sound heavily saturated and bleeding into each other like watercolours. This is the kind of album you put on for a night drive in the rain - it’s dark, it’s brooding, and it’s righteous. Give this one a good listen - my standout picks are She’s Drowning and Lost Silver.

Hopefully I didn’t make a Type O.

Rule of three determines that I can’t do focused pieces on anything else I liked so here’s a list of other songs I’ve been listening to recently. No, I’m not making a playlist - do some work yourself, for once in your life. It builds character.

• Pennsylvania Furnace - Lingua Ignota

• Less Than - Nine Inch Nails

• I’m Your President - Mother’s Cake

• Over The Middle - Forbidden

• Eminence Front - The Who

• LCD (Liquid Crystal Disease) - Vektor

• Crush - Pendulum

• Venomous Rites - Craven Idol

• Dragon - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

• Phantom Island - King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

• CD Player Pt III - death’s dynamic shroud

• Look Your Back! - Himiko Kikuchi