OPM: Independents Day

Doctor Body – Misalignment

Smart and sophisticated synth-driven art pop with a deep appreciation and understanding of the genre’s rich history. From moment to moment this duo will remind you of lots of stuff you love, from late period Japan to the Knife, and various points in between and beyond. 

And yet at all points, they’re delivering a coherent and unique aesthetic all their own, along with some solid and unusual songs. This album is a vibrant celebration of the rich history of some of the coolest music of the last 50+ years that makes its own intriguing contributions to the style.

(Listened to the entire album)

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Douibyorthst – Bewitching Tones

An album of high energy dance music aimed at both the dancefloor and the tabletop. So how do raving and gaming go together? Not too bad, honestly! Offering up a take on bright electro house with hints of trance and acid here and there, these tracks could definitely work at the rave. 

And the videogame techno/tracker vibes I get at times definitely have a good pedigree for gamers– there’s definitely some “boss fight music” DNA in here. Seems like maybe dungeon rave is fated to be a thing – and now you can say you were there when it happened. 

(Listened to the entire album)

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Palamecia – Palamecia 1

Fascinating and multilayered deconstruction of electro, industrial, techno, and noise into surprisingly inviting and fresh tunes. The beats – mostly heavy and four on the floor – serve as a skeleton to be fleshed out by blasts of noise, syrupy filter sweeps, weird tones, weirder spoken word samples and eerie choirs. Those are all elements that are common to multiple of these genres, and here they get deployed in some intriguing combinations. 

Like a spirited road trip thru the strange places its influences intersect and diverge, this EP offers a compelling argument to include more EBM into techno sets and vice versa. And if you need some great tracks to bridge some of the trickier transitions? This probably has what you are after.

(Listened to the entire EP)

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Johnny Wallflower – FAWM 2025

An eclectic grab bag of music, including folky protest songs, funky instrumental grooves, weird experiments and more. And when I say eclectic, I am not kidding – the opening three tracks whipsaw thru guy-with-guitar balladry, a “Can goes dubstep” protest song about Merrick Garland, and a roots rock boogie about nude sunbathing. It doesn’t really settle down from there, tho some approaches do make a repeat appearance eventually. 

It’s an almost Ween-like omnivorous approach to Wallflower’s presumably wide-ranging taste – certainly everything feels very sincere and knowledgeable. Give it a listen and if you don’t like a track, you can be pretty sure the next one will be something different.

(Listened to the entire album)

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Forestine – Mending

A small collection of languid, ever-shifting modular ambient pieces. Themed around transitions, the mood of these pieces is mostly quietly upbeat and determined, even hopeful, but the final track gets into territory that is more pensive, dark, and melancholic.

Sonically, they lean toward pleasant sonorities but aren’t afraid to dip into dissonance, noise or harsh timbre from time to time. They utilize motifs that come in and out as the track slowly evolves around them, making for deliberately paced and ever-changing pieces that exist just on the edge of what might be called experimental while still retaining a core musicality.

(Listened to the entire album)

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If you’d like to support my efforts to expose cool independent music to a wider audience, you can contribute to my year-long fundraiser via Ko-Fi. Alternately, you could always buy some of my music…