Week 41 – Oct 10th
In aid for Mental Health today, it’s ambient moods and soundscapes this week. On the roster – we have exciting post-punk newcomers dust, sombre soundscape of Car Culture, spooky pressings from Nightbus and lush dream-pop songwriting from Jay Som. Each project is expertly equipped with something that makes us feel…interesting.
Sky is Falling
dust
Australian post-punk act dust allow nothing to settle with a visceral follow-up to their debut in 2023. Which, for the most part, was as restless and ground-breaking as anything else. With their second, Sky is Falling, is nice to see formalities have remained as they are. A whirligig of alternative sound – be it the swooning of Ridgway’s saxophone or the dual vocalists of Teale and Stove – dust’s Sky is Falling is a glaring reminder that what’s coming out from the other side of the world is equally as genre-defiant as what is happening closer to home.
The jagged leads of Drawbacks and Just Like Ice comes at you like a bullet train – fast and tense in instrumentals, it marks a rarity of a band still in-keeping with their raw spontaneity of their first project. Alastair draws out a sound embedded in mournful inquiry, while the records’ closer is a distant remark something not quite from this records’ MO. A gloomy cornerstone in honour to those shoegaze pioneers before them, it reflects a band ever-evolving in style and substance.
Rest Here
Car Culture
The life of Daniel Fisher is one of bootleg edits, techno splices and innumerable alises. A Queens DJ by trade, the artist – best known as Physical Therapy – has been splicing his way through scenic narratives for the last fifteen years. Now, as Car Culture, Fisher shifts focus to his sentimental side. A tranquil glitz of techno stomps and electro-acoustic swirls, Car Culture’s Rest Here is a demonstration of an individual truly honing his craft. A holistic experiment of niceties, it’s perfect for those early nights drawing the blinds in.
Passenger
Nightbus
A fresh take on ’80s synth-pop, Nightbus and their new project Passenger bring their late-night electronics to those in need of decluttering their overworking headspace. Nightbus wades us into city life with Angles Mortz, an unearthly reprise of airy vocals, echoic chords and jittery synth. Ascension takes us to the marbled dancefloor while Landslide is the companion for the walk home after hours. A hypnotic soundscape unmistakably their own, it rings out as fresh but old-school all the same, taking soundbites from the pop world of Kraftwerk and Eurythmics.
Belong
Jay Som
Belong cements Jay Som as one of the most masterful voices representing the indie community. A dream-pop soundscape of foot-gazing narratives and swirling instrumentals, Jay Som returns as an artist – after garnering her badges as a sought-after producer for the likes of boygenius and Troye Sivan. The inner chapters of Belong – lush overtones of Float, the vocal-defiant Past Lives starring Hayley Williams – is an intimate, cathartic spiralling from an artist who makes it look (and feel) far too easy.
mvm 
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