Julia Gjertsen & Gustav Davidsson - Wandering Mind, Drifting Weather (2025)

When two Scandinavian neoclassical artists come together to create a beautiful soundscape, it almost never disappoints. This time the Norwegian pianist and the Swedish trombonist charm not only with the sheer quality of the music but also with the a new and exciting (at least to me) match of instruments.

I'm not a fan of trumpet and similar instruments in music. I can't describe exactly what I dislike in those, but with some exception I tend to avoid trumpet-led compositions. And yet this album sounds so perfect! Especially that Gustav Davidsson manages to create melancholic sounds on the trombone without sounding too on the nose or even cringey. That's why it works so well with the subtle piano melodies that play the role of lively yet atmospheric backgrounds. 

As it is the case with many Scandinavia artists, Gjertsen and Davidsson are inspired by the weather in their countries that can be especially picturesque. Judging by the track titles, those days were very much Scandinavian-like: melancholia-inspiring and slow. If that was the case, the album makes a perfect soundtrack for them.

Wandering Mind, Drifting Weather costs 6 EUR (5 GBP).

Check: Black Cloud

Country: Norway/Sweden

Genre: trumpet-led neoclassical

Label: whitelabrecs

Julia Gjertsen & Juha Mäki-Patola - Dive (2023)

:bandcamp:

:facebook (Julia Gjertsen):

:instagram (Julia Gjertsen):

:instagram (Gustav Davidsson):

:spotify:

Ciśnienie - [angry noises] (2025)

"Note: this album is designed to be played loudly. Listen as loud as you can or as loud as you’re allowed." How many release, regardless of the genre, have to include such a disclaimer? But in the case of the Polish less and less jazzy and more and more noisy Ciśnienie, it's well-justified. One of my favourite Polish bands have just released their new album and it's a chaotic wonder.

I've had numerous occasions to see the band live and I have to say that their philosophy never to release albums created in studios in traditional way, but rather record live performances is what leads the band's career forward. There is so many good things about their music, but the best one is the energy and the creative ways of showing heated emotions that drive the artists. This results in music that is chaotic (in the best way!), noisy (in the best way!) and overwhelming. The complex compositions are filled with parts that prepare you for the sudden burst of sound and create tension, parts that are the sudden bursts of sound and parts that come after the sudden bursts of sound but are somehow even louder and noisier.

This all makes me always mention Ciśnienie when asked about the best Polish post-rock group at the moment. Even though the artists escape easy genre divisions and are difficult to classify. The way (angry and energetic) baritone sax and (angry and energetic) violins lead this music makes it exceptional but it's the overall anger and energy what makes the band so unique. A broader audience in Poland got to know Ciśnienie recently thanks to their performance at OFF Festival, but the band is even better in smaller clubs, so if you have a chance, don't miss it!

[angry noises] costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Gówno (gowno)

Country: Poland

Genre: chaotic noisy post-rock

Ciśnienie - Radio Edit (2021)

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

chirrp. - Lurid (2025)

Following the trail of lo-fi shoegaze bands from Asia from last week, this time it's time for a new group from a country with solid shoegaze traditions. chirrp. are young and beautiful but already showing great skills at noising up melodic songs and making them as hazy as possible.

They say that they are "good at kneading broken sounds and space into a soft but solid wall of sound, and then hiding behind it" which is such a lovely way of saying that their music is filled with indie pop-rock melodies with a healthy dose of noise. Accordingly, the warm, twee vocals add to the extremely inviting an open atmosphere of the album. It's clear to me that the artists have fun doing their music and that it must be equally fun to see them performing live. 

Running to the Sun is a perfect example: a perfectly mesmerizing melody supported by suddenly raising guitar noise. No wonder that it's already visibly more popular than the rest of the songs here. The only thing I don't like is that Silhouette is clearly inspired by Slowdive's Dagger, a little too close to the original I feel. I think that the talented artists from Taiwan don't need to use hit melodies that already exist.    

Lurid costs 8 USD.

Check: Running to the Sun

Country: Taiwan

Genre: lo-fi hazy indie rock

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:streetvoice:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Takahiro Kido - INSOMNIA (2025)

The artists around the Japanese Ricco Label have inspired me more or less from the beginning of this blog. Anoice, Mizu Amane, Tokyo Ambient Collective they all appeared here and for a good reason: the label is basically a quality stamp for music revolving around neoclassical and ambient soundscapes. And around Takahiro Kido himself.

A member of all of the above and a founder of the label comes back to releasing music under his name, after almost a decade since the last album, "The New World". And it's a great thing he does so. The music on the album is lead by piano keys, but a great deal of the fantastic atmosphere is created by string instruments (violins, violas, and cellos) played by the members of Anoice. There is a certain drama felt in the compositions, the spine-thrilling and unnerving at times passages are far from the relaxing or melancholic atmosphere often associated with neoclassical music. This time, it keeps the heart beating and the mind wondering what'll happen next.

And it's not a surprise since the album was inspired by insomnia, as suggested by its title. It is focused on a simply, yet captivating question: "Where is the boundary between reality and dream" which people suffering from this sleeping disorder may need to ask themselves more often then not. It also leads to the atmosphere, unnerving as I said but also dreamy and airy. Given the artist's background, it won't be a very novel thought that this music is basically a movie score without the movie, but it really describes it so well.

INSOMNIA costs 6.98 USD

Check: The Liquidator

Country: Japan

Genre: atmospheric neoclassical

Label: Ricco Label

Anoice - The Hidden Forest (2021)

Tokyo Ambient Collective - Healing for Damages (2020)

RiLF - My Beloved Farewell (2020)

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Deaf Center - Reverie (2025)

Somehow this is only the first time the Norwegian duo Deaf Center appears on my blog. It's a shame for me as Erik K. Skodvin and Otto A. Totland create their works of art for over two decades now. But their dark improvisation had to eventually turn up here and I'm glad it's this beautiful, yet unsettling album.

The new album includes two long compositions that balance the darker and unnerving atmosphere with the beauty of piano notes. The slow pace of the darkness that is woven into this music makes me think of a winter morning that will turn into a bright day but for now is still cold and unwelcoming. The album was recorded live and, as it is mentioned on their Bandcamp page, "as always, the duo favours improvisation, and what emerged on this evening turned out to be a truly magical encounter". The piano, cello and guitar sounds glued together with dark electronica give out peculiar but addictive vibes.

Reverie costs 7 EUR.

Check: Rev

Country: Norway

Genre: dark neoclassical

Label: Sonic Pieces

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:spotify:

Barrens - Corpse Lights (2025)

Their 2020 debut was a shock to me. How can you include such fantastic post-rock music on your first ever album? No wonder I recognize the Swedes as one of my biggest discoveries within the genre in recent years. Now it's time for a difficult step: proving your value on the second album. And, surprise, surprise, Barrens took the step with extreme grace.

The release starts strong with my two favourites: The Derelict and Sorrowed. Those tracks have everything: the engaging but not cringey melodies, the flow, the heaviness to the sound. These are absolute hits if post-rock music can generates hits at all. These must be the pinnacles of the live gigs (I don't know yet, but hopefully I'll find out if that's true soon). They are the parts of the album that will be remembered. After that duo, the Swedes step on the brake pedals and try to enchant the audience with some ambient atmosphere developing into slower grandeur-filled pieces, but, I have to say, I like them best when they are fast and furious.

The album is a well-balanced one. The way the band combines the melodic fragments with darker and heavier ones makes me think that any post-rock fan will surely like this album, but perhaps for different things. I like the darker and heavier, but also faster parts and can honestly say that it's a real continuation of the fantastic debut.

Corpse Lights costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Sorrowed

Country: Sweden

Genre: atmospheric post-rock

Label: Pelagic

Barrens - Penumbra (2020)

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:spotify:

The Stargazer Lilies - Love Pedals (2025)

I know the American band thanks to the regretfully discontinued Spacefest that used to create unforgettable psychedelic Novembers back in the day. The rays of the hazey sun The Stargaze Lilies' music is so good at providing, can still make my autumns warmer thanks to another great album from the Pennsylvania-based band.

Their sixth album opens in the best possible way: with an intriguing and noisey riff that automatically glued my attention to the music. And since the rougher guitars are skillfully balanced with the airiest of vocals and tropical-ish background effects, the listening session create a safe space for half-dreaming with tears in your eyes. Something like listening to Still Corners but less dreamy and more noisy. Melancholic summer memories? Me like that.

But the Americans are not such one-dimensional artists, it's not all about dreamy melancholia. There are parts that literally drown in guitar noise (By Your Side) or are based on My Bloody Valentine-esque pedal weirdness (the beautiful Shining Yellow). Lilies can create both intimate atmosphere and grand, almost orchestral one to overwhelm the audience. And sometimes both of them in one song. To me the versatile and yet coherent approach to dreamy music means that the duo is now very, very experienced and really knows what they do. Is it their best time yet?

Love Pedals costs 9 USD.

Check: Ambient Light

Country: Pennsylvania, US

Genre: warm shoegaze

The Stargazer Lilies - Cosmic Tidal Wave (2022)

The Stargazer Lilies - Lost (2017)

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:youtube:

:spotify: