Hekla - Turnar (2025)

Hekla Magnúsdóttir shares her name with the tallest volcano on Iceland. There's no connection to her music, I just like these geographical-musical facts. The artist herself released her third album this year and frankly speaking, it's gotta be my favourite one of the two which is backed up by the fact that Hekla received a lot of attention recently.

Hekla is a theremin player. I wouldn't be able to hear that I think, the music on the album sounds like it could well be made out of samples and synthesizers, but there is something special about playing such an outstanding instrument. Does it always sound so... dark? Mysterious but mostly ominous? No wonder that her Bandcamp account advertises the album as a "paranormal plane of haunting dread". I can hear the elements of ethereality and cosmic psychedelia, but I feel mostly darkness pouring out of each of the compositions. But maybe it's just the state of my mind. Still, I feel the strength of this music lies in the fact that everyone will be affected in a slightly different way. The only common thing is how beautiful the album is.

Turnar costs 9 EUR (7 GBP).

Check: Í Ösku og Eldi

Country: Iceland

Genre: dark theremin ambient

Label: Phantom Limb

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terraplana - natural (2025)

The Brazilians from terraplana made it to my blog already two years ago with their debut album and they are back so soon. Their sophomore release called natural proves that making the melodic, noisy and very honest music for them is, well, natural.

This is the kind of shoegazey, noisey music that feels like fun indie rock reworked to be airier and noisier with a big addition of the DIY honesty to the compositions. It is led by the duality of vocals with the more cheerful female ones provided by Stephani Heuczuk and the gloomier male ones. Interestingly enough, the new album features also a collaboration with Boston-based Winter and I have to say that hear a whisper has to be my favourite track here, the whispery additions fit so well to the otherwise upbeat song. I'm very happy to hear that the gazey scene in Brazil is alive and kicking and terraplana is my favourite proof for that.

Natural costs 10 USD.

Check: hear a whisper

Country: Brazil

Genre: noisy indie rock

Label: Balaclava Records

terraplana - olhar pra tr​á​s (2023)

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Wombed - Developing Phobias (2025)

And so André Leo finally released the debut album under the moniker of Wombed. I remember his first EP being extremely slowcore and intimately quiet while the new album is more about showing emotions. In the end, this half of Medicine Boy ended up in similar musical regions as Lucy Kruger (and The Lost Boys) as they both explore the darker minimalist rock music and both do it very well.

Although Wombed is now a full line-up band, the album is ruled by the moments when Leo lets the emotions run freely be it in the form of his angrier voice (slightly angrier, let's be real) or surprisingly rough sounds of electric guitar. It's this kind of one man music that is very dependent on the vocals-guitar collaboration, although when you listen closely, some songs present more three-dimensional compositions. In any case, I still like the atmosphere very much: the slightly airy and very intimate music that, I'm sure, is especially good when played live for a smaller audience.

And yes, as it's been the case pretty much always, Lucy Kruger helped with providing backing vocals. It's good to see former band members helping each other with post-split-up careers.

Developing Phobias costs 6 EUR.

Check: Cloud Hum 

Country: RSA/Germany

Genre: dark art rock

Wombed - Still Nothing (2021)

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The Infinity Ring - Ataraxia (2025)

"New England’s best kept secret", The Infinity Ring released their sophomore album and I have to say that there is tons to unveil here. This collective atmospheric but also very artsy and very dark rock music is meant to enchant everyone who tastes it. One can only appreciate the range of feelings the album triggers: from the intimate melancholia up to the euphoria of the loud crescendos.

The first thing you notice when listening to the Americans' music is how deep Cameron Moretti's vocal is. It's almost Leonard Cohen-esque so you can imagine the structure of the voice you can practically feel on your skin. The second thing would be how beautifully complex their compositions are. Always starting from the point of calm darkness and sometimes maintaining this atmosphere til the very end, sometimes bursting into loud and noisy, orchestral-like giant made of notes, out of which each is equally important. I, being a post-rock fan, prefer slightly the latter with the absolute masterpiece entitled Elysium in the first place.

And since the loudness and the calmness here are both fueled by violin sounds, you can be sure that the atmosphere on the album is the most important thing. Being an enormous challenge to make, the album itself is a monument to "the exploration, the emotional toll and ultimately the ecstasy of creation" while the band is praised not only for not breaking under the pressure of the process but also for live performances. I hope to be able to experience the latter on my own one day.

Ataraxia costs 7 EUR (11 CAD).

Check: Elysium

Country: Massachusetts, US

Genre: dark&artsy post-rock

Label: Profound Lore

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BRUIT ≤ - The Age of Ephemerality (2025)

As I have stated a couple of times, I respect bands who decide not to use Spotify and this kind of streaming platforms while it still makes me sad. Because I can't freely access their music (even if I buy digital files from Bandcamp) and because the world of music industry is what it is. Nevertheless, there are bands like BRUIT ≤ whose music HAS TO BE listened to, even if it's not that easy. And the French band confirms that with their spectacular second album.

This is the most complicated post-rock music ever. In the sense that it is made with guitars, orchestral instruments as well as the electronic manipulations. I can't think on any other band who goes to so many places to make their music and make it sound so coherent at the same time. There are almost math rock parts on the new album and they sound like weird collages made of drones and social media, but they are mostly used as intros and backgrounds. The music is made with instruments and later heavily packaged into the modern, glitchy post-rock form which makes it double as attractive in my ears.

This correspondents with the band's world view that is really this kind of technocratic punk, rebelling against the oppressions of the modern world, politics, society. Everything that hurts us even if we don't recognize it. This album is for everyone who would want to start recognize them and follow the band in chanting "We hope to be among the damned who refuse to have faith in their masters and who do everything to escape the cameras in the streets".

The Age of Ephemerality costs 8 EUR.

Check: Progress / Regress

Country: France

Genre: modern punk post-rock

Label: Pelagic Records

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Kwoon - ODYSSEY (2025)

Oh, wow, a comeback that I did not expected nor have heard about! But what a beautiful surprise it is! I remember the project led by Sandy Lavallart's fantastic music from 10 years ago (the single called Swan) and 15 years ago (their last album release). This year they are back with a long and instantly memorable (and fittingly named) ODYSSEY.

This kind of post music that doesn't really match the common definition of post-rock, is not folky enough to call it post-folk, much rather sits somewhere there sounding beautiful. It is what Her Name Is Calla did and what Piano Magic were so good at, it is what slowcore and post-rock with a lot of artistic soul can sound like, it is one of the most intimately meaningful kinds of music out there. The artsy slowrock of the French band is stunning. Sometimes it is slow and quiet, sometimes it gets louder with the help of the vast range of classic instruments to create orchestral moments of euphoria (like in my favourite track Jayne) fueled with choire-like backing vocals (so beautiful in Life). 

But the vocals are equally important, creating the folk-like focus on narration and words. The soft vocals sound emotional and very close to the audience, sometimes contrasting with the orchestral grandeur of the music. Every composition is complex and artistically engaging yet still very welcoming for any newcomer who happens to discover this band. And if they do, they are very lucky.

ODYSSEY costs 9 EUR.

Check: Jayne

Country: France

Genre: artsy slowrock

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Glare - Sunset Funeral (2025)

A good dreamy debut album alert. Glare, a band from Texas with fuzzy guitars and soothing vocals is here to make you stare. At their music. Somehow. Anyway, the music is great: it's airy and noisy and melodic, just how you like 'em.

I'm shocked with how accurate and sly the description of their album is asking about what people envision when listening to the airy guitar music and answering: "Vistas big enough to be forgotten in. Deserts which stretch back to the beginning of time. Infinite horizons melting into pink bokehs. It’s Texas, isn’t it?". I thought it was northern Sweden, but they may be right! Never been to Texas. But this music is not only about geographical comparisons, it is  all about emotions. Like you do when you write dreamy music. The band states that it is aimed "for people who don’t know how to talk about how they feel."

I can feel it in every track at the album, especially in the ethereal vocals contrasting with the rougher music. I especially like the songs that have tons of atmosphere, but there are the summits of very noisy guitar sounds towering over it form time to time, which is especially noticable in 2 Soon 2 Tell and its finish. If metal screaming was played on guitars, it could sound like this part. A very promising debut from the Americans.

Sunset Funeral costs 8 USD.

Check: 2 Soon 2 Tell

Country: Texas, US

Genre: noise dream pop

Label: Deathwish Inc./Sunday Drive

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