John Parish: Screenplay (Thrill Jockey, 4/16/13)
Producer, film scorer, and PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish has a busy April, with three releases that he produced being released on different labels. But his most important April release is his own, Screenplay, a collection of soundtrack work for short and feature-length films.
Ben Moody, front-man of We Are the Fallen and formerly of Evanescence (we know; you don’t have to say it), is a bit of a Star Wars fan. So when friends were shopping around for a proper gift and came across the work of customizer Travis Stevens and his Millennium Falcon guitar, they knew they had to commission a custom piece.
Chicago has announced the artists for its free summer concert series in Millennium Park, Downtown Sound and Loops and Variations. Clear your Mondays and Thursdays.
Meshuggah: Koloss (Nuclear Blast, 3/27/12)
It’s been a little over a year since the blast of atomic rage that is Meshuggah’s Koloss, and things haven’t slowed down for the band. In addition to touring at home and overseas, the band has dropped a video for “I Am Colossus,” and it’s a reality-twisting piece of stop-motion animation that simultaneously evokes Tim Burton and Tool‘s entire music-video catalog.
Efterklang: Piramida (4AD, 9/25/12)
Having recorded Piramida in a ghost town, its perhaps unsurprising that one of the tracks on Efterklang‘s fourth album was entitled “The Ghost.” A droning composition with bells, brass, and an echoing percussive background, it’s reminiscent of some of the more ambient work of groups like Underworld and Radiohead, which is to say that it’s unique and beautiful.
Finntroll: Blodsvept (Century Media, 3/26/13)
Finnish folk- and cinema-metal band Finntroll resembles nothing so much as rejects from Jim Henson’s Labyrinth by way of the local steampunk convention. All floppy ears, goggles, and horns, the band has six albums of dark, cartoonish metal featuring accordions, brass, and more.
Como Asesinar a Felipes: Comenzará de Nuevo (Koolarrow, 4/9/13)
Chilean band Como Asesinar a Felipes is making its worldwide debut April 9. Comenzará de Nuevo, its fourth album, is dropping on Billy Gould’s (Faith No More) Koolarrow Records, and if the video for “Alto” is anything to go by, the band’s brand of jazzy hip-hop fusion is something on which to keep an eye.
If you’re anything like us, you’ve been wondering when you’d have a jetpack, a personal robot servant, and meals in pill form since you were a kid. These were all things we were sure would have happened by now (Back to the Future: Part II, you have two years), but they don’t appear to be coming anytime soon, unless you count Roombas (which you shouldn’t).