New Music Drops: September 2023

New Music Drops is a monthly series on T&E where we share some of our favorite new releases from this year in rock, pop, metal, punk, hip-hop, and global music. In the September installment, you'll find psychedelic death metal, Houston hip hop,  dark indie folk, cyberpunk techno, and much more!

Pop/Rock/Etc.
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The Low Wires - Trash Star
Genre:  Hard rock
Bluesy rock just shy of metal.  Talented musicians back an equally strong singer who also plays the sax.  Hopefully a sign of things to come with bands such as The Warning leading me to believe this can turn into a phenomenon.  -A. Iwasa 
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TV Star - Hallucinate Me
Genre:  Dream pop
Chill music, lovely vocals.  Sounds like it could have been cut in the 1990s by Echobelly.  -A. Iwasa
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Zaumne - Parfum
Genre: Ambient
One of my favorite ambient works of the past several months. Incredible use of field recorded samples, expertly produced to feel like each layer swirls between your ears and dissipates slowly in your head (and on that note, an album that sounds excellent on headphones). Heady, dark and falls more on the maximalist than minimalist side of ambient. For fans of Space Afrika, Massive Attack, the sound of a bird chirping in the distance, listening to spooky French dudes whisper in your ears, etc. - Parisa

Shizuka - III
Genre: Indie, dark folk
The first reissue of Japanese indie lofi folk artist, Shizuka. Originally recorded in the ‘90s, this husband and wife duo self-released four cassettes that were barely heard or distributed outside of their inner circle. We’re all truly so lucky to have had this saved from obscurity. These songs are all so delicate, hazy, ethereal - combining “a fragile, yet explosive mystical power; an atmospheric alchemy of psychedelic rock, folk and noise with Shizuka's ethereal vocals invoking loneliness, yearning and dark providence.” It feels like you’re being sung to by a ghost who is bringing in a gentle breeze. This may end up being one of my favorite reissues of the year. - Parisa
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Public Service Broadcasting - This New Noise
Genre: Art rock
An art rock, at times almost post-rock, trio that creates instrumental music centered around samples of BBC public service announcements. This album is a recording from a live show they did with the BBC symphony orchestra, and if this all isn’t already the most British thing you’ve ever heard, I’d like to also point out that the names of the two main composers are  J. Willgoose, Esq. and Wrigglesworth. Not a groundbreaking album or anything of that nature, sometimes the grandiosity of the instrumentation comes off a bit disingenuous to me, but it’s a fun concept at the very least. - Parisa 

Telekrimen - El Circo del Brujo
Genre: Surf
A short 2-track EP off of my favorite fuzzed out garage label, Slovenly Records. Mexico City’s Telekrimen make organ-led cumbia surf rock that’s thumping melodies and swirling, twangy guitar lines make it as cerebral as it is danceable. Includes a pretty sweet cover of Eddie Meduza. - Parisa
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Kabeaushé - The Comming of Gaze
Genre: Pop ??? other things ????
I thought this was a compilation the first time I listened because of the sheer variety of sound and genre on this album. Kenyan multi-instrumentalist, singer, and producer Kabeaushé brings a shmorgishborg of creativity and inspiration that brings together hyperpop, hip hop, funk, bedroom pop, minimal electronica, and a distinctly East African club scene sound. While not all of it works for me personally, I still love this release for how genuine it is and the potential it carries. The track “Potassium” is stunning and has been on repeat all week. He has also put out a brand new single three days ago off an upcoming EP that’s great, linked below.  - Parisa

M(h)aol - Attachment Styles
Genre: Post-punk
A fiercely feminist post-punk album from Ireland with a dry wit, heavily sarcastic humor, tight percussion, jarring and jagged guitar lines, the general post-punk works. Favorite track: “No One Wants to Talk to Us”. For fans of Wet Leg, Dry Cleaning - Parisa
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Black Market Brass - Hox
Genre: Funk, afrobeat
An afrobeat album that pays homage to traditional drumming cultures of Nigeria and Ghana, but with a unique production style that factors in more electronic sounds and sci-fi elements. It also gives way to other experimentation that doesn’t make this a strictly afrobeat album - lots of spacious moments, no call and response, more free-jazzy in composition and even some krauty repetitive elements as well. - Parisa
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Squid - O Monolith
Genre: Post-punk, krautpop
An excellent follow-up to Squid’s last album, which was one of my favorites of 2021 so a lot of hype riding on this. Evolving their Contortions-esque noodley post-punk sound into a darker territory and leaning even further into free-jazz and experimental music. So freakin’ GOOD. - Parisa 

75 Dollar Bill - Power Failures
Genre: Psychedelic
An instrumental psych-sorta duo featuring a percussionist who plays very minimal and simple patterns on a wooden box and a modal guitarist that gently builds a simple rhythm into a full melody. Each song features a myriad of guest instrumentalists that build atop the repetition, including Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo) on sax! For fans of droney psychedelic music and Saharan desert blues style of guitar playing - Parisa
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Sweeping Promises - Good Living is Coming For You
Genre: Art punk, post-punk
This is the third post-punk album I’m mentioning for this blog and my noggin’ is starting to run out of new ways to say “it sounds like this and this and also it rules”, so just going to leave this here and say that this does, in fact, rule and also has a really killer raw production style. - Parisa
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Annie Taylor - Inner Smile
Genre: Alternative
Isn’t it wild when you’re finally old enough for music that you grew up with to have a “revival” period? Anyway, this is a great grunge revival album for fans of L7 and Veruca Salt. Angsty and guitar-driven alternative music but got just enough of that pop melody and harmony that makes it so irresistibly catchy. - Parisa
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Grian Chatten - Chaos for the Fly
Genre: Alternative
The first solo album from Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten, giving us those sweet, sweet Irish ballads but in a much more stripped down and vulnerable space than he has with the band. “Fairlies” is my favorite song he’s written in years. - Parisa
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Electronic
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TERR - Consciousness As A State of Matter
Genre: Electropop
From the iconic Phantasy music label comes another vivacious electropop record. Hailing from Barcelona, TERR makes club music with heavy stylistic influence from Girogio Moroder but with the unaffected vocal delivery and dry wit of electroclash club classics. “Only for Tonight” is such a tacky lil bop I can’t get enough. - Parisa
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​Noisepoetnobody - This City
Genre: Experimental noise
I’ve been a longtime fan of Seattle-based producer noisepoetnobody, but this has to be my favorite release from him yet. As explained in the release notes, “This new collection is inspired by the pressures of modern urban survival and absurdist philosophy. In ‘This City’, arguably the worst hit song of the ‘80s melts like a popsicle on the summer sidewalk into a pool of psychedelic bubbling liquid…remnants of previous live performances are mashed into a churning machine that holds no regret. Stark hardware beats give context for interruptions of past experience. The search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe.” The concept here is fully realized, it feels like walking into a fully immersive avant-garde art installation, but best of all -- it actually has a sense of humor. Has that ever happened on a noise record before?! - Parisa
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Sextile - Push
Genre: Techno
A new techno release from LA’s Sextile off of Sacred Bones. It’s got that 90’s punk/electronica crossover attitude, a la The Prodigy, with Crass-like punk vocal delivery on top of hard breakbeats. This would be a great album to listen to while wearing bright neon orange fishnets, hacking the deep web, dancing under tunnels with your cybergoth friends, roller skating in NYC on speed, etc. etc. - Parisa
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PÖ - Cociage
Genre: Experimental
French-Ghanian vocalist showcases an absolutely stunning array of talent on this LP, combining ambient with noise, rap, electronica, and Ghanian folk. Tracks ebb and flow from free-form floaty atmospheres to hallucinogenic and darkly distorted  nightmare sequences. An artist to definitely keep your eye on. - Parisa
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Rrrrrose Azerty - x_x
Genre: Synthwave
A royalty-free music label put out this queer French dark synthwave album that’s also self-described as “acabwave” and “hornywave”. So ultimately, if you hate cops but love being horny then this release is especially for you. There are some gems on here, especially for being a seemingly terminally online bedroom solo project, i.e. “Bille dans Saladier” 
 a catchy EBM dance track, “Tu connais \_/ La blague \_/ De la \_/ Chaise longue ?” that delves into industrial, and “Fuck This Shit Forever” that’s gets up on that 90s rave bullshit sound that I love so much. - Parisa
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Mort Garson - Journey to the Moon and Beyond
Genre: Electronica
A new posthumous release from the Mort Garson archives. It includes a soundtrack he created for the live broadcast of the Apollo 11 moon landing, which for decades was presumed lost until now. “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for Moogkind!” Just as joyful and fantastical as you’d hope any Mort Garson release would be. - Parisa
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Kojun - 水中庭園 The Water Garden
Genre: Electronic, Japanese folk
Although the album art for this would have you believe this is a sick grindcore release, it’s actually a reissue of '90s Okinawa-based synth producer Kojun, who created music specifically to make “not at all overbearing melodic accumulations” and pleasant music to spread a new kind of energy to the rest of Japan. His vision was to make electronic salon music, but unfortunately I’ve never hade my hair cut while listening to anything remotely as cool. Makes for a great album to listen to while you’re doing mundane chores and wanting to feel like you're in The Sims or Animal Crossing. - Parisa
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Jessy Lanza - Love Hallucination
Genre: Electropop
Sometimes you just gotta have that electropop record in your rotation that has that weird shrill baby voice thing going on. I don’t really know where this phenomenon comes from or why this combination works so well, but anyway, this record is great. RIYL: Grimes 
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Punk & Metal
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Deathgrave - It’s Only Midnight
Genre:  death metal
Brutal death with enough influence from other genres to keep it exciting.  -A. Iwasa 
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Schmutzhund - The Screaming Brain
Genre:  thrash
Thoughtful lyrics, straight forward old school thrash metal.  –A. Iwasa 
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ESOCTRILIHUM - ĄSŦRÅÅL ƇOƝSŦELLĄŦIOƝS OF ŦHE ṂAJÏϹKĄL ȤOĐIĄϹ
Genre: Blackened death
Some real bizzaro psychedelic French extreme metal with that choking-on-frog-legs vocal style (I also do love that the singer credits himself as the Reptilian Tongue of Cosmic Horror). An incredibly unique project with a lot of occultist and mystical surrealism 

Torture Rack - Primeval Onslaught
Genre: Death metal
Another absolutely savage release from 20 Buck Spin. All gore, all violence, and I do appreciate that while all their track titles paint some sort of grotesquely detailed picture of bloodshed and slaughter, the standout track is simply “Fucked by Death”. - Parisa

Incantation - Unholy Deification
Genre: Death metal
Another absolute crusher in the vault for Incantation, showing that even fourteen albums in they can not only prove their legacy but continually expand it. Death metal of untamed velocity and doom-laden dirges.- Parisa
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Progenitor - Eldritch Supremacy
Genre:  Blackened death metal
Thrash infused, plenty of blast beats, grinding double kick mayhem and clear lead guitar work leaving no questions about solid musicianship.  -A. Iwasa
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Tsjuder - Helvegr
Genre: Black metal
True Norwegian Black Metal! No frills, no synthy atmosphere, just the exact old school Norwegian black metal sound that Tsjuder came to help define since the genre’s inception. - Parisa
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V/A - NOT JUST A PHASE Vol. 2
Genre: Skramz
Another installment in my favorite skramz compilation, Not Just a Phase! The talent on this comp is absolutely stacked and a lot of variation within the skramz realm - i.e. emo violence, post-hardcore, etc.. Some super frenetic, mathy songs that remind me of music off the Three One G catalog. Favorite songs include “Super Cargo!” - Hetta and “Flowers of Mononoke” - Warren of Ohms. - Parisa

MESS - Under Attack
Genre: Oi!
I’m not generally a big Oi! fan, but I’ve been diggin’ the latest album from Mexico’s MESS. In the vein of UK82 bands, but with some more garage tones. For fans of The Chisel (who they recently did a split EP and tour with!) - Parisa
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Dirty Ass - Setubuhi Dirimu Sendiri
Genre: Garage punk
Jesus what a dumb fucking band name, but I guess it fits for this ultra scuzzy 'n scummy budget garage punk band. I'd never heard this sort of garage revival sound from Indonesia before so it was super rad to check out. Borders on a no-wave sound at times. - Parisa
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DFC - Drug Free Crew
Genre: Beatdown
LA-based vegan straightedge beatdown hardcore tellin’ it like it is! Chugging riffs and heavy breakdowns, a very solid debut release and I’m looking forward to hearing more from them. Favorite song: “From the Ashes”. - Parisa

Hip Hop and R&B
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Apollo Brown & Planet Asia - Sardines
Genre: Hip hop
West-coast rap legend Planet Asia (Cali Agents, Gold Chain Military, Durag Dynasty) and Detroit beat-making legend Apollo Brown collab for an LP that meets all the expectations one would have when two artists of their stature come together. Deep crate diggin’ results in jazz-laden orchestral beats that create a beautiful backdrop for Planet Asia to spit some grit. - Parisa

Fat Tony & Taydex - I WIll Make a Baby in this Damn Economy
Genre: Houston hip hop
Houston style hip hop over some super clean electronic dance music grooves. Effortless chemistry between these two, and together they create an uplifting message about thriving through the tumultuous times and getting by with your friends. I also just found out that this was featured on Bandcamp Daily, read the article here. - Parisa

Principe Q - trash, but fun to make VOL 1
Genre: Baile funk
The kind of jams you blast from your car when you wanna roll up and be the baddest mfer at the swap meet. The Limp Bizkit x cumbia remix is the exact kind of trash I live for - Parisa
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Aunty Rayzor - Viral Wreckage
Genre: Grime
Released today! From the underground Nigerian rap scene, Aunty Rayzor emerges with an absolutely rapid fire flow in her native Yoruba tongue. Trap-laden beats from Scotch Rolex (who produces for MC Yallah who I mentioned in the last NMD blog) - Parisa
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Mick Jenkins - The Patience
Genre: Rap
Chicago-based rapper proving himself as hungry, passionate and skillful than ever. Aggressive and conscious flows over jazzy instrumentals, and features some incredible verses from guest rappers Freddie Gibbs, Vic Mensa, Benny the Butcher and JID. - Parisa 

Global
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Madhuvanti Pal - The Holy Mother (Plays The Rudra Veena)
Genre: Indian classical
​A beautiful, minimal album of Indian classical music featuring the first ever recorded release of a woman playing the rudra veena. As noted in the liner notes, there are very few recordings at all of this instrument being played because of how difficult it is to record and capture its sound, but it's a stunning sound to behold! 



Find more global music releases on Global Rhythm Radio streaming here on T&E! Click the “DJ Mix” category on the right sidebar to find all the episodes. New episode featuring a ton of new releases coming this month! 

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