Scrap Heap #17.5
Ok I said no scrap heap in June, but that was obviously a lie. There is a scrap heap. It's just small. Nine records for your consideration & one of my favorite YouTube Classics yet. Happy digging!
YouTube Classic
I've got a rec down below for a Susan Alcorn album where she interprets a piece from the Bulgarian Womens Choir 1975 debut Le Mystere De Voix Bulgares. After listening, I was scrolling around looking for videos of the choir & was thrilled to find a 2017 KEXP performance (fair warning, the choir is now a mixed gender affair). The group's interlocking melodies are entrancing, with off-time rhythms and shifting harmonies. If you're not already familiar, I guarantee it's like nothing you've ever heard.
Scrap Heap
Metal
jensen5g
Caustic Wound - Grinding Mechanism of Torment (Profound Lore, Apr '25)
Read the album title & then read it again. Exactly what it sounds like.
Blood Monolith - The Calling of Fire (Profound Lore, May '25)
I've got a big soft spot for DC-based bands, but I also have a soft spot for bands with names like "Blood Monolith." Led by an ex-Nails guitarist, there are some wild riffs in here. Plus, some great samples, including the all-timer Werner Herzog monologue on nature from The Burden of Dreams.
Full Of Hell - Broken Sword, Rotten Shield (Closed Casket Activities, May '25)
It was only a matter of time before the band ended up doing an Undertale album. Solid 7 song/15min EP, just pop it on and swish it around. There's a cool darkwave electronic song mixed into the grind, a noise rock track, etc. Side note: How many records can this band put out in a year?
Post Rock
Kosface Killah
Dianogah - Old Material, Larger (self-released, May '25)
Ooh buddy, do you know Dianogah? One of those Chicago bands that I'm always thinking on. They had two bass guitars! Sometimes vocals & sometimes instrumental! Recorded by Steve Albini! It's like a checklist of things that I'm annoying about. This album of odds & ends is a companion to the full repress of their discography & a nice little reminder that they were a great band.
Grails - Miracle Music (Temporary Residence, May '25)
Really satisfying full band post-rock – if you're into Do Make Say Think esque orchestral compositions with trombones and synthesizers, this is it.
Deerhoof - Noble and Godlike in Ruin (Joyful Noise, May '25)
Not my favorite of the Deerhoof albums, but there are a couple tracks on here where it sounds like they're playing 4 diff songs at the same time & that rules.
Electronic
Rrose - 2 or 4 Drops of Height Have Nothing To Do With Savagery EP (T4T LUV NRG, May '25)
I just threw this Dadaist minimal techno album on while I was grumpy at work, but it totally flipped my mood. Mostly just percussion with very light whispers of melody or harmony. Moody and thoughtful, just nice.
Emptyset - Dissever (Thrill Jockey, May '25)
You want to hear 7 songs that are made up of pulses and buzzes? Yeah you do. Come on, live a little.
Other stuff
sagov
Susan Alcorn - Uma (sd)
I'd somehow never checked out Alcorn's stuff until this month, but I truly loved this 4th World record of pedal steel guitar. She was a Baltimore-based musician who was very involved in the High Zero free improv music scene based around the Red Room. The 2nd track's interpretation of the traditional choir music from Bulgaria as performed by the Bulgarian Women's Choir really took me to another plane. Excited to dig into the rest of her discography.
Lukah - Why Look Up, God's In The Mirror (2021)
Great hip hop album, Lukah's got so much charisma & his rhymes are dark as hell while still being a little uplifting. I listened to this on the train to work, so it was like 7am sorry I don't have better notes. Gritty beats & some funny skits.
The Lijadu Sisters - Urede EP (Numero Group, May '25)
Love that Numero is repressing these Lijadu Sisters album. Electrifying & winding compositions, such a sick vibe. The sisters vocals are placed in the center of a whirlwind of percussion, sharp guitars, and keys. I'll prob be doing a deeper dive on the Lijadu Sisters for a full genius.