As I write this, a hostile force is brutalizing my city. They've shot at least two people so far, one of them fatally. Hundreds more have been beaten, gassed, and detained. Thousands have been harassed and intimidated. And, of course, our president has threatened to make things even worse from here on out. 

In response, the people of Minneapolis have banded together rather than breaking apart. Citizens are forming ICE watch squads and patrolling immigrant-heavy neighborhoods. Donations are pouring in to people and groups affected by the occupation. Hotels where ICE agents are staying are treated to high-decibel demonstrations all night long, and the federal building where all detainees are taken has become the site of a constant protest. 

This brief summary is nowhere near adequate to describe what is going on in Minneapolis right now. A friend of mine wrote about it with much more depth and eloquence, which I invite you to read here (free signup). 

We are all suffering, and trying to find ways to cope with the intensity of it all. I still find solace in music. Below, share with me the small respites. 

Supervoid Choral Ensemble is a side project of Cloudkicker's Ben Sharp and Vinny Rosebloom of Gospel. Their new release, EP1, is four tracks of instrumental music that combines prog, post metal, hardcore, and indie rock into into a soaring, high-energy package. Heavy, unpredictable and downright fun, my sole complaint about this release is that it's only 15 minutes long. Absolutely killer stuff. 

True Blue is the new album by UK band Blanket, which reminds me a lot of Nothing. While there are some moments, especially near the end of the album, that dip into more hardcore territory, this is mostly the heavy shoegaze sound that's been in vogue for the last few years. And since Nothing turned me off by seemingly using generative AI in a recent music video, I've been looking for a band to fill that void. 

I had never heard of David Boring before today, but after listening to Liminal Beings and Their Echoes, I can easily picture them becoming another one of my musical obsessions. I checked them out because they were categorized as noise rock, which is all it takes for me to at least give a band a chance. I don't think that genre does them justice, though. This female-fronted Hong Kong-based band combines elements of noise and hard rock with a lot of warm electronic elements. It's noisy and discordant, but also funky and danceable. They remind me a lot of avant-garde electronica band/performance art group Chicks on Speed. It's fascinating stuff and I will definitely keep coming back to this one. 

Sticking with the international theme, Bimurta is a post-metal band out of India, and All skies lead to the sun is their debut EP. This release is most interesting when it combines standard guitar-driven metal with traditional Indian instrumentation. There are also some lovely female vocals that play off the somewhat generic male growling. I'll be curious to see where this band goes from here. 

From India let's head over to Germany to check out the new Kreator album. If you actually read these updates weekly, you may notice that I don't write about a lot of thrash. In fact, this may be the first thrash album I've written about on this site. It's true, I am not a big thrash guy. But, I actually have a ticket for Kreator's upcoming tour, because my beloved Carcass is along for the ride. Someday I'll have to write about my love of Carcass, but today's not that day. Anyway, I am not very familiar at all with Kreator, but they actually remind me quite a bit of a thrashier Carcass. They seem to have a similar hooky songwriting structure that makes their music so unexpectedly catchy. Goddam it, am I writing about Carcass after all? Kinda. Anyway, Krushers of the World connects with me far more than I expected. There's a kind of soaring maximalism to this album that works for me - big riffs, big choruses, lush production. Fun stuff and it should make for a great live show. 

Let's close it out with a crushing new single from Converge. Fast, angry, loud. What more could you want in a week like this?

Despite being a terrible week in Minnesota, America, and the world in general, it turned out to be a pretty good week for music. Let's recognize the positives when we can find them. Stay safe, stay sane.

They will not win. 

L'Étoile du Nord