“Death Spells was something special. Introducing us to the beautiful and devastating world of Holy Fawn, it showcased stunning restraint for an act with everything to prove. While undeniably built upon the foundation of My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive with saturated shoegaze drenching every movement, don’t be surprised if you’re surprised with swaths of electronica, climactic metal crunch, and a knack for heart-wrenching melody. Holy Fawn is undeniably metal, and like good metal, labyrinthine.” What is metal?
Indie Rock
An Isolated Mind – A Place We Cannot Go Review and Album Premiere
“I’ll admit right now that after almost nine years of listening to hundreds of promos for review, there’s a ton of music that may have left an impression during that time, but honestly doesn’t stay with me once the review is submitted. Call it lack of staying power or my own need to move on to the next promo for review, but with a few notable exceptions, many albums that I’ve fallen for on first listen end up drifting to the wayside, destined to be forgotten. An Isolated Mind’s 2019 debut full-length, I’m Losing Myself, was certainly not one of those albums. An unflinching look at mental illness, I’m Losing Myself tackled a difficult subject with care and grace, and landed my top spot of 2019 in doing so.” Isolated but not lost.
Turtle Skull – Monoliths Review
“While other monoliths stagnate in dark and gloomy dimensions, Australian quintet Turtle Skull prefers to rely on bright and sunny desert safaris with their unique brand of metal, dubbed “flower doom.”” Smell the doom.
He Whose Ox Is Gored – The Camel, The Lion, The Child Review
“I have a penchant for picking bands based on their names alone lately. For the most part, doing so has yielded some pretty damn good results. So when the Grymm Grab Bag™ belched forth The Camel, The Lion, The Child, the debut full-length from Seattle’s He Whose Ox Is Gored, you can say that I was a bit nervous. Long band name? Check. Nietzsche-inspired album title? Check. The sound labeled as “progressive doom”? Check.” Progressive doom is progressive… and doomy.