OPM: Conveniently Weird

Particle Dogs – Particle Dogs

A vibrant set of groovy, swinging lo-fi hip hop, downtempo, funk and alt-rock instrumentals. Laid back even when it gets a bit uptempo and positively bursting out of the speakers, these tracks show off a fascinating sonic aesthetic that encompasses everything from woozy chillwave to nods at post rock within its putative “lo-fi beats to vibe to” blueprint. 

Each track tends to introduce yet another genre callout or stylistic left turn, keeping things fresh all thru. It makes for a nice and inviting collection of tunes whose biggest weakness is its primary strength – it’s way too eclectic to pigeonhole (and thus, market)! Good thing it’s easy to listen to, then.

(Listened to the entire album)

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Schall und Stille – Malers Hüs

A fascinating album that twists up tropes and techniques from krautrock, opera and prog with IDM and New Wave into organic electronic avant-pop. These are dramatic songs – big moods realized with expansive, rich production, bold timbres and striking arrangements. 

Traditional rock guitar sounds coexist with operatic vocal swoops; electronic tones play alongside and complement recorders. Overall it makes for a solid, engaging selection of songs for those that like their pop music polished, sophisticated and smart.

(Listened to the entire album)

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Foel – “Ogof” / “Melltydd”

Experimental IDM/techno with a playful bent and an ear for intriguing timbre. Minimal, spacious, dubby and weird, this is techno in spirit but IDM in function – these are less dancefloor bangers and more sexy aural mindfucks. “Ogof” incorporates some intense, high BPM electro breaks: little bursts of rhythm that spin in space, suggesting a structure more than actually creating one. 

Even when it slips into something steady, it’s only for a moment and then it’s over. “Meltydd” fuses slips and scraps of sound in a shifting tapestry of timbre and harmony. Sounding like a lost ‘80s horror soundtrack turned inside out and tortured into giving up its secrets, it’s a dark and moody treat.

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Stereo Valley – Get In the Trunk

Scrappy garage rock from a classic power trio lineup with a deep love of pop. Catchy riffs and hooky basslines are the order of the day, and each of these songs will usually offer a couple of each, minimum. The guitars are frequently fuzzy, with the occasional twangy, clangy or jangly variation thrown in. The basslines burble and swing and grab you by the gut, as needed. 

And the drums? They rock, of course. Top it off with some classic sung/shouted/spoken garage-band vocals to finish. It’s a potent mix drawing from everything that ever got played in the garage and/or at the bar – “Nuggets” psych, several varieties of punk, power pop, et al – and distilling it into a classic, fun-forward form. 

(Listened to the entire album)

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Veal LLC – 6/13/25 EP

Dizzyingly varied but nearly always noisy and bordering on shambolic collection of experimental rock, post rock, and noise. Oh, and there’s a nice, quiet synth horn-driven track (“An Older Day”)  that sounds like a lo-fi refugee from an early ‘70s B-film soundtrack in between the clangorous soundscape of opener “Comfortable, Wow!” and “Smokey Fingers,” a weird, chipmunk-alien voiced freakout. 

Wrapping this up is “Regrets” a drum machine workout turned blown-out indie rocker, and closer “Break Down,” which harnesses a smoky downtempo vibe into something that wouldn’t sound out of place as the character selection menu music in a weird post apocalyptic fighting game.

(Listened to the entire EP)

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