sproux

[sproux]

Music Newsletter May

Thank you so much for subscribing to the very first Sproo music newsletter (Sproosletter? No!) as i started this early this month, you're getting the last months stuff first, deal with it :3

Favorite Album

Storm and Stress - Under Thunder and Fluorescent Lights (2000) Incredible mix of free improv and highly structured rock, borderline unlistenable while being just SO cozy, feels like the end of a rainstorm at night when there's just a couple drops of rain still coming down and everything is so quiet.

Noteworthy Albums

Do Make Say Think - & Yet & Yet (2002)

Jazzy summer post rock, I'm going to post a snippet from an absolutely beautiful review from rym user dsotgabriel_that really made me appreciate this.

"You're standing on the edge of a golden afternoon, where the sun hangs lazily in a cloudless sky, its warmth wrapping around you like an old, familiar embrace. The air hums with laughter carried on the breeze, a symphony of voices and nature intertwined, as soft waves lap at the shore and rhythmically kiss the sand. There’s a freedom in this moment, a spontaneity that feels unshackled from time — a volleyball arcs high against the sun, splashes of water sparkle like fleeting fireflies on the night, in the same place, around a campfire, with acoustic guitar melodies vividly echoing with singing of joy, and every sound blends into a seamless, organic harmony. The distant strum of a guitar, the muffled thud of a drumbeat from a speaker half-buried in the sand, even the crunch of footsteps as someone wanders off into the dunes — it all feels alive, interconnected.

This is the world that Do Make Say Think’s “& Yet & Yet” evokes, a sprawling, kaleidoscopic daydream that celebrates connection and warmth. With its intricate layering of melodies and rhythms, the album feels like a conversation between friends that stretches into the horizon, ebbing and flowing with unspoken understanding. It is at once deeply personal and universally resonant, capturing not just the beauty of the moment but the lingering glow it leaves behind."

Also Classic Noodlanding is an absolute BANGER of a song

Up Dharma Down - Fragmented (2006)

I don't even know what genre this is, but it's equally good as background noise as it is for active listening, a floating journey through 20 different genres while maintaining a strong cohesion "wait, it's breakcore now? i thought it was indie rock?"

Julee Cruise - Floating Into the Night (1989)

Dream pop, at night! Also this was produced by david lynch, very cool.

And a special mention from my back catalog

tUnE-yArDs - Whokill (2011)

Hey check out these cool songs :0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho7cDTgjY-c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJmCPAXuYfU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lm4sbjriH8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjeAWJNVJ5E

For more up to date reviews with number ratings, follow me on rym! https://rateyourmusic.com/~Sproux

See you next month!!

[sproux]

Black Eyes - Cough (5/10)

[No Wave, Art-Punk, Free Jazz, Post-Hardcore]

I was absolutely blown away when I heard this, it blends so many genres together into an energetic mess of punk-jazz, starting out good and getting much stronger in the second half, this is a must-listen for experimental punk fans.

Edit: I actually feel much less enjoyment with this one than i once did, i feel it's just sort of experimentation for the sake of it, and all the songs sound about the same, downgraded from a 10 to a 5

Bandcamp

Bonus Album

Nagrobki - Granit (8/10)

Strange polish post-punk that flows to whatever genre it feels like, good stuff!

Bandcamp

[sproux]

4Walls - Which Side Are You On (8/10)

[Avant Garde Jazz, Avant-Prog]

I listened to this 4 times the day i found it. Insane jazz album with constantly swapping time signatures and weird dissonant noises at times. The singer sounds like the "here comes the crabby patty" guy if he used significantly more meth, incoherently screeching and making weird guttural scatting noises in between stilted opera style singing.

I love it.

Youtube

Bonus album

my little pony is jesus, god is me :3 - emily is eating dinner emily is dead ^_^ (8.5/10)

[Screamo, bedroom pop, noise pop]

First of all, one of the best band names i've ever seen. Some of the most grating screamo i've ever heard, by all accounts this should be terrible but it's just, strangely compelling. I think this is a really good example of noise pop. if you liked stomach book but thought "I wish this sounded more extreme" this is the album for you!

Youtube

[sproux]

Horse Lords - Comradely Objects (9.5/10)

[Krautrock Modern-Classical Minimalism]

This album is amazing, it has a lovely shifting atmosphere throughout, while also managing to be both repetitious and engaging, a rare combination.

Bandcamp

Bonus Album

Cassiber - Man or Monkey (8/10)

[Experimental Rock - Jazz]

80's post punk deconstructed down to the basics and mixed with absolutely mangled free jazz, the title track especially just goes all over the place in its fantastic 16 minutes.

Bandcamp

#experimental music

[sproux]

The Fratellis - Costello Music (8/10)

[British Garage Rock]

I've been listening to this album for about 8 years, you may remember their song flathead from around 2008. The lyrics on this are very dumb (I met a girl and she was good/bad/hot), the songs are so catchy and upbeat, especially the great drumming and vocals, I can't help but love it every time i listen to it.

A Note: Listen to the UK version, Ole Black n' Blue Eyes is obviously meant to be the closing song and the US version puts Cuntry Boys & City Girls after it and it ruins the flow.

Youtube

[sproux]

Crass - Yes Sir, I Will (9/10)

[Experimental Hardcore Anarcho-Punk]

Just about the roughest sounding hardcore punk album I've ever encountered. Despite being recorded and written in an unbelievable 44 minutes (with lyrics being written as the band was performing??) it manages to straddle the line between catchyness and unlistenable noise in a way few others have. Bandcamp

Bonus Album

[Jazzy Experimental Post-Punk]

Dog Faced Hermans - Those Deep Buds (8/10)

I don't even know what's going on with this album, it follows none of the normal rules of making a punk song but it works really well! Just listen to "Lie and Swell" to get a sense of how strange and amazing this punk record is. Bandcamp