Vetle Nærø - All Moments Must Pass (2025)

From Moments

I know the Oslo-born neoclassical artist's music from 2023's album From Moments. This year, Vetle Nærø is back with even better album filled with piano, soft electronica and tons of self-reflective abilities. It's worth listening to, even if all moments must pass as the title suggests.

The fourth album in the artist's discography is all about intimacy. The soft piano keys and even softer electronica feels closer than the skin. The main theme of the tracks, the airy, ever-changing and never-repeated nature of life can't be more personal for any human being. The omnipresent atmosphere of the tiniest of concerts is the definition of intimacy. Apart for the music, the artist (I presume) published some very wise words on his BC account, saying that "Impermanence is often seen as a source of suffering, as human resistance to change can be a central cause of our pain. Yet, within this very resistance lies the potential for profound growth".

This is the main theme of the piano-driven album. The overall psychedelic/oriental theme is further established with the use of Alan Watts's monologue sample in First You Are Born and titles such as Mantra and any other as all of them are closely connected to the main thought. Everything passes, but somehow we will be ok.

All Moments Must Pass costs 10 EUR.

Check: First You Are Born

Country: Norway

Genre: electronica-touched neoclassical

Label: piano and coffee records

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Osnova - Rise the Sun (2025)

Sometimes, the melancholic and dreamy music fans also want to dance. Three years after their debut album, the Californian trio brings another occasion to do just that with their second album rightly called Rise the Sun.

Jean-Claude Vorgeack and Sam Ribeyro's extremely airy guitars that blend together with drums into a warm and ethereal mist represent the dreamy side of the Americans' music. However, it is counterbalanced with high-pitched, fresh and distinctive vocals provided by Caroline McLaughlin. This is not your ordinary pairing and it bears extraordinary fruits as well: the mist becomes energetic and full of hopeful melody. Especially when the backgrounds become dominant as it is the case in the title track.

I appreciate this slightly different take on the dreamy music. maybe not everything has to be melancholic to the core. With this kind of lively, melodic music, it really is possible to raise the Sun.

Rise the Sun costs 6 USD.

Check: Blame the Fates

Country: California, US

Genre: lively dream pop

Label: Dune Altar

OSNOVA - OSNOVA (2022)

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Oak - EP (2025)

Oak is both a tree and a music band from France. As one could guess, the artists are very closely rooted (haha) to the allegory provided by the band's name, stating, amon other things, that it was "planted in 2009". It's been a while now and Oak don't have a massive discography so it's always a good thing that they decided to show something to the world with this year's EP called EP.

"Oak has not yet reached its canopy" is another of quotes form the band and I can't help but wonder what that will look like when it finally happens. Because the little material we have suggests that there is a huge potential for massive, atmospheric post-rock sound somewhere in Oak's core. The EP is short, even if the second track reaches some impressive time stamp, so it's very difficult to access, but I like what I hear. The guitar-oriented, classic post-rock doesn't really seek tons of melodies, rather it's focused on the heaviness of the sound and this is something I appreciate very much. I will keep my eyes on this one (another one with so many fantastic ones around!) French post-rock collective.

EP costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Fear Carries the Grace of Stillness

Country: France

Genre: heavy post-rock

Label: ITAWAK RECORDS

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Gloios - Polvorosa (2025)

A beautiful mess from Brazil; Rafael Xavier aka Gloios, the artist from São Paulo, himself calls his new album a mess that encompasses a shitload of various music genres. But the coherent slowcore warm atmosphere brings everything together, making Polvorosa a beautiful, musical journey.

Let me quote the artist further: "post-rock, ambient music, metal, dream pop..." but also Brazilian music like MPB, forró, samba, xote, baião which I know nothing about, all of this makes up the third album in Xavier's discography. Everything is based on slightly industrial electronica, but there is also some, very distant, very echoey and everything but clear vocals. And it doesn't really matter because you can hear the genres like you can see pebbles in muddy water. There is something there, but who knows what exactly? And the water is warm and welcoming, slightly terrifying, but you have to go in and let it go.

I love it when music clearly shows where it comes from and you can have little doubt that this is the sound from Brazil. There is so much going on there: various rhythms, paces, dance moves, everything slightly hidden but also clearly felt. Just listen to the weirdness of Boiafria or my favourite, very mysterious Ficha.

Polvorosa costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Ficha

Country: Brazil

Genre: ethereal eclectic slowcore?

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Neue Welt - Spánek ti bude peřinou (2025)

Before attending a festival, I have a habit of listening to each and every artist performing there not to miss anything interesting. And this brings sometimes fantastic results as has been the case of the Praha-based band I discovered before this year's Pohoda Festival. I can't wait to hear their artsy noise rock live!

The band makes me think of this year's comeback made by the French band Kwoon. Similar vibes when it comes to the artsy approach to rock that meets incredible noise where necessary. Also the instruments feel familiar: not everything is done by the guitars here. Quite the opposite, the big role is played by violins and piano keys that both add up to the incredible atmosphere of the new release. There are segments that feel like instrumental ambient, some other even almost like a big band meeting dark jazz. But most of the time, the Czechs focus on their beautifully weird art rock meets folk meets post-rock compositions.

I love every aspect of the album. The louder parts feel euphoric, the slower feel artsy, the ones with vocals are melodic and captivating. I genuinely feel like I discovered a hidden gem just outside of my country's borders. And as already mentioned, soon I'm gonna see the band live at Pohoda. If I survive til the middle of the night that is.

Spánek ti bude peřinou costs 7 EUR.

Check: Kdybych brečet mohl

Country: Czechia

Genre: noisy art-rock

Label: 6000 Ωveček

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Tylko Nieświadomi Przeżyją - Tylko nieświadomi przeżyją (2025)

I'm gonna be honest: despite the fact that the band comes from my city and that I've seen some of those artists performing live in other projects, I got to know about this release in an exceptionally weird way. From my Chinese friend (good sides of globalization here). And it's good that it happened because this new project lies exactly on the border of my comfort zone as their music is as post-rocky as it is jazzy.

The soundscapes on the debut release are vast. The pace is slow and slowly developing. The sights are surreal. This is all thanks to the wide range of instruments appearing on the album, including saxophone, glockenspiel, harp... This chaotic line up makes up a psychedelic yet coherent whole, an orchestration of various sounds that go from impro-like dark jazz passages to louder, post-rock-esque sections and back. The single Nigredo is a perfect example here: slowly rising up to a jazzy but also loud and atmospheric crescendo. The longer tracks are indeed constructed with a similar idea in mind, making me feel like at my post-rock home.

The parts outside of my comfort zone certainly include the omnipresent saxophone (sorry, not my vibe) which, I have to admit, sounds pretty alright. I do also prefer where the music gets louder, more involving and slightly heavier, but there is a lot of space for the lovers of the instrumental ambient and dark jazz, mysterious soundscapes. I hope to see the band live soon, it must be so much fun!

Tylko nieświadomi przeżyją costs 6 EUR (25 PLN).

Check: Nigredo

Country: Poland

Genre: post-jazz

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Monochromatic Visions - Change Who You Are (2025)

It's only four tracks, but when something is that good, who cares? I have mentioned the British band a couple of times before and it's no surprise as their music makes a perfect blend of the noisy and the melodic. It was proven on their new EP.

Shoegaze, new wave, pop music. They all have their place within this short release. The music here feels light and unbelievably catchy, but there is a hint of a darker atmosphere and the omnipresent noise somewhere in the backgrounds, like something you catch with the corner of your eye but can't really focus your sight on. All for compositions are worth checking out, including the most poppy one, the first song of the album, I Told You. And frankly, I like it the most, probably because it's as catchy as it can be, a candidate for a summer hit within the noisier offstream world.

Change Who You Are costs 14 EUR (12 GBP) (which is slightly ridiculous to be honest).

Check: I Told You

Country: UK

Genre: melodic ethereal wave

Monochromatic Visions - REFORM (2022)

Monochromatic Visions - Monochromatic Visions (2017)

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