The occupation of Minnesota continues, although the people have scored some victories. Pocket-sized Nazi Greg Bovino has been shipped back to California, and there has been a talk of a drawdown of federal forces in the state. We continue to resist, and there is much you can do to help, even if you live outside of the state. Minnesota-based sci-fi author Naomi Kritzer, who also writes insightful political guides every election season, has put together a great post about what you can do to help fight the occupation. Read it here. 

There is much work still to do. As always, we will not be able to meet the challenges if we don't continue to make space for joy. Music remains my joy, and it gives me comfort to share that joy with you.

Let's start things off with the new single by Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean. One of the things I love about this band is that the create both slow, ominous doom and short, punky bangers. The new track, "An Adornment of Light," is definitely more in the doom mode, although there's a sludge quality to this track that will definitely appeal to fans of bands like Thou. I discovered this band a few years ago and quickly learned that their vinyl albums seem to be produced in very small runs, so I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for a preorder link for whatever these guys are cooking up. 

Up next is Time to Harvest, the new album by Italian instrumental band Sacri Suoni. The band calls themselves "cosmic doom" and that feels quite fitting - there's an epic, spacey vibe to this album, with a lot of soundscape-y, proggy sections mixed into the pounding riffs. This feels like a gateway drug to ease people into the more confrontational spacy music of Oranssi Pazuzu. ​

I had an electrician in my house the other day, and he noticed my record collection. We had a brief chat about music, and he told me that his favorite band was Tool, but he had cooled off on them a bit because other Tool fans were kind of annoying. If I had discovered Matador a few days earlier I would have told him about this band. They're a doomy post-metal band with a heavy dose of Tool influence based on this debut single, "The House Always Wins." While there's a lot of metal screaming on this track, the singer definitely has a Maynard James Keenan vibe on his clean singing, and I hear a lot of Adam Jones influence on the guitars. Apparently this album was recorded remotely, with some members in the UK and others in Australia. No word yet where their fanbase is located or whether or not they're annoying. 

Vestron Vulture is new to me, but apparently has been pumping out music for a long time. I fired up the new EP IM ZEICHEN DES KREUZES based on the black metal-coded cover only to discover very listenable dungeon synth. Based on what I've learned since, Vestron Vulture is pretty prolific and dabbles in a bunch of genres, including post-punk, goth, and darkwave. I'm excited to listen to more. 

Here's one for the latter-day Deafheaven fans. DREAMCRUSH is the new album by Mø​l, a band out of Denmark that have been doing the blackgaze thing since 2018. Like Deafheaven's Ordinary Corrupt Human love, there's a combination of black metal vocals and clean vocals on this record, often within the same track. Heavy and pretty in turn, this is one is highly recommended for anyone into the blackgaze or heavy shoegaze genres. 

Gavran hails from the Netherlands and features Tim de Gieter, a former member of Amenra. Unsurprisingly, that's the closest comparison I have for this new record, The One Who Propels. Combining doom, sludge, post-rock, and shoegaze with anguished vocals that definitely recall those of Amenra's CHVE, Gavran is a massive sound. An emotionally heavy album for an emotionally heavy time. 

Up next is Hi Hi Ha Ha, a noisy, punky album from It It Anita. This is one of those albums that you hear and immediately picture a wild, sloppy live show in a small venue that ends with everyone in the audience getting sprayed by cheap beer. Fun stuff. 

Finally, I have to end with ​Bruce Springsteen's new track, "Streets of Minneapolis." Thank you for your support, Boss.

Stay strong. They will not win.