Vulture Feather : "It Will Be Like Now"

 In many ways, they are picking up where they left off on "Liminal Fields." The vocals are dramatic. They continue to remind me of a cross between Shudder to Think and Spacehog. Musically less angular than Shudder to Think, but not a glam as Spacehog, they find their own niche that they ride into more of an accessible indie rock middle ground, though less indifferent, which might be too much for kids that did not grow up in the 90s.  Rather than being riffy, the guitar plays a more atmospheric, ringing sound on "Into Space" that creates a Velvet Underground-like floating feeling under the bass and drums kick in. It counterbalances the mood of the first song so I can appreciate that. 

"Flesh and Electronics" has more of a '90s indie rock shuffle. His voice dips a little lower in how the vocal melody swings over the jangling guitar. It is certainly a mood, though not as catchy as the first two songs. The vocals have greater intention and grit behind them on "Calling From Afar." Though the song itself has more of a drone but it works. There is a more speculative shimmer to "Sweetest Friend". The vocals feel more likea a yodelled texture. But I can appreciate he puts his guts into it and displays vocal power. 

There is more of an Arcade Fire feel to "Like Now". The vocals are either a little more sparse or I am more stoned. The vocals are more of a centerpiece to "Onlyholy Names". It's a mix of post-punk mesmerism with a hypnotic indie rock pulse. The last song kinda drags, but overall the album is a more organic 90s feel from where they came from I will give it a 9. 

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Gothtober - Heartworms :'Glutton For Punishment'

I've had this album for a while, and I've simmered on it before reviewing, as I wasn't able to fully form my thoughts on it. Heatworms has received a fair amount of hype online, with Podcasters already claiming it's one of the best darkwave albums of the year. There are some interesting things going on. Though, how dark is it? Well, dark enough for me to sandbag this review til Gothtober. There are organic qualities blended with a chamber-pop sound that brings Dresden Dolls to mind in equal doses as Rasputina, though, as evident on the first track, there is more guitar than either, and this is allowed to build in a more rock fashion.

Helmed by Jojo Orme, this project is mroe organic and capable of rocking out than your average darkwave band, with songs like "Jacked' falling on the more post-punk side of the equation. The guitars are capable of delivering the needed jagged tension. The album spends a great deal of time juggling the more electronic elements against a jangle of guitar that leans left of center into a moodier indie on the catchy "Mad Catch" which would not have been out of place on alternative radio in the late 90s, as it rubs shoulders with bands like the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs or Coco Rosie. But there is enough shadow in the groove to keep my attention. 

The strength here is that these are well-written songs that overcome the confines of genres. There is a more atmospheric moodiness beyond the beat of "Extraordinary Wings. Orme's voice goes into more of a purr on this song. There is almost a Tori Amos-like feel to it.  Things shift into brighter sounds for the more dramatic steampunk pop of "Warplane". It's very dynamic, so hard to complain about it as the beat carries it with great urgency. "Celebrate" marries lo-fi beats with dream-pop tendencies. Not dark enough to be darkwave, but it works for what it is; they do allow it to jam out into a more Tim Burton-esque place.

There is more of a wandering rock feel to 'Smugglers Adventure". Does it flirt with Siouxsie-like tendencies at times? Yes.  In fact, it might be one of the more elegant goth-leaning songs on the album. Her expressive singing sounds great here as she really belts it out. The unexpected folk rock ending is interesting. Then things take on a more folk feel for the last song. While it's going to take a few more listens to decide what this is, it is evident that it is really well-written and catchy fun songs, even if they are not as dark as they want them to be. I will give this a 10 and see how it grows on me.  

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Imaginary People : 'Alibi"

Here's another band to file under the there is some really weird post-punk adjacent music coming out lately. The delicate, anxious nature of Dylan Von Wagner's vocals. The songwriting does not hold the typical tension of post-punk, blending elements of indie rock into the more expansive sound created here. The guitar flirts with an almost dream pop-like atmosphere. Things get even more dynamic for "Renegade".  Some of the songs do begin to work with a similar sonic cadence, finding me having to go back and give second listens to decipher things. Some of this lies in the quivering nature of the vocals. At times, this creates a Bryan Ferry vibe if he were covering Interpol. 

"Soft Toke' has a more flowing melody that hooks me in more than the previous song. The atmosphere underlying the guitars keeps things flowing in a dreamy direction. "Bronx Girl' leans into the mellower side of where they take you, with a reflective vocal line that makes it an interesting indie rock ballad. They work off a more rock n roll groove for their cover of Bruce Springsteen's "State Trooper".  Sonically, it holds very little common space with the original, which works for me. They maintain the pace going into "Crazy Eight," which feels like a more manic jam off the previous song. "Neon Age' reminds me of older Arcade Fire. 'Five Days" carries a little more of a rockabilly vibe to the instrumentation. 

'David's Eyes' strips things down to just a well-written song. It is a more compact arrangement with fewer over-reverbed out layers, which work, but they needed something like this to give a dynamic range to the album. 'Sun Change" balances concise songwriting with the more vulnerable, emotive side that seems to be the dominant personality of this album.  I will give this one a 9.5, as it's a pretty interesting and impactful listen, very honest in its aspirations and fueled by an original sonic vision. It drops on September 12th. 

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The Top 10- Indie Rock / Shoe-Gaze Albums of 2025 ... so Far

As the Doomsday Clock races, time speeds up, as 2025 is at its midpoint. With the impending end of times comes the need to get high, and these bands are making substantial soundtracks for that. These lists serve as a decent snapshot of where the year is heading in terms of music. I have already received promos for albums dropping as far out as August in my inbox, so they will need to bring it to compete with the top five albums on this list. For the mid-year report card list, I'm combining shoegaze with its close cousin, indie rock.  So basically, they all are more surreal than post-punk, not punk, and left of center when it comes to rock n roll.  I have included links to full reviews if you want to check these out, and with all that said, here are the top 10 indie-rock / shoegaze albums of 2025 so far. 

10- Korean Cars -"#1" 

This band proves Norway is capable of exporting more music than metal. This band is are fantastic musicians weaving challenging but nuanced instrumentals that find most of the vocals are incidental, but creatively employed. If you like prog that flows and unfolds as it jams along, then these guys are worth a listen. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/korean-cars-1.html

9-Jaye Jayle-"After Alter"

 This project went from being Evan Patterson’s solo project that explored sounds outside of what he did in Young Widows, and has now become a full-fledged band. What makes this album work so well is its vision and artistic direction, not an album that rocks out, but an album that lurks within.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/01/jaye-jayle-after-alter.html

 

8-Black Country New Road - 'Forever Howlong" 

The third album from these British indie folksters who flirt with rock music less and indulge in more woodwinds and jazz-tinged passages this time around. The vocals are what anchors them in indie rock, as the more folk notions lie in the poetic melodies that run the center course of their songs.  Most of it flows really well and seems like how things just progressed. There is a more Beatles-like tone to things on this album. It reminds me of the more quaint pastoral moments from the White Album. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/04/black-country-new-road-forever-howlong.html

7-Smut -"Tomorrow Comes Crashing" 

The  Cincinnati-sourced band plays a raw punk-influenced take on indie rock that pulls from the more emotional side of 90s alternative rock. Tay Roebuck has both sugar and spice to her voice, with a syrupy knack for melodies that spill over the attack of the well-layered and intentionally lo-fi guitars.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/smut-tomorrow-comes-crashing.html

 

6-Mogwai- "The Bad Fire" 

11 albums into their career, this Scottish band has a clear focus on their sonic journey. Showing they still have room to grow when it comes to their willingness to use vocals again.They give you what you want from them. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/01/mogwai-bad-fire.html

5-Bleed -"s/t" 

This Texas band takes you back to the 90s in a weird, unexpected manner.  By unexpected, this does not mean I have not already seen the writing on the wall when it comes to nu-metal making a comeback. These guys just go about it differently. The flourishes of DJs spun, scratched ambiance at the edges of their throb point this band's sound in the direction of nu-metal. There is some darker tension to the grooves that the vocals coo over. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/04/bleed-st.html

4-Swans - "Birthing" 

Listening to this album through headphones is recommended. This album is an event. Almost more of an art show than a rock album. Not their best work, but it remembers to employ similar moods that bring them closer to the more classic sounds of the Jarboe era.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/swans-birthing.html

3-Hotline TNT - "Raspberry Moon"  

Going in a more Stone Roses direction for this one. In doing so, this means more melody. The vocals got more love in the studio and are crooned with less apathy. On the other hand, this album jangles more and has less punk rock left in its veins. The atmosphere is thicker and often more melancholic. They are in many ways the same band, but attacking things from a different direction. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/06/hotline-tnt-raspberry-moon.html

 

2-Sharon Von Ettan & the Attachment Theory- " s/t" 

This album was spawned from Sharon walking into band practice and asking to just jam. The magic of spontaneity in this experience showed her that relinquishing creative control and being more collaborative was so freeing for her that it invited her band to become a part of the more organic writing process for this album

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/01/sharon-von-etten-attachment-theory-st.html

       

1-Superheaven - "s/t" 

The third album by this band has built buzz with their first two albums. They have a 90s sound that occupies the middle road between grunge and shoegaze, recalling "Gish" era Smashing Pumpkins, but with a less androgynous vocal approach. This album it gives you what you want from this sort of 90s shoegaze rock. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/04/superheaven-st.html

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Sharon Von Etten & the Attachment Theory : "s/t"

 

This album was spawned from Sharon walking into band practice and asking to just jam. The magic of spontaneity in this experience showed her that relinquishing creative control and being more collaborative was so freeing for her that it invited her band to become a part of the more organic writing process for this album. Despite opening with a more electronic pulse, you can hear how things are jammed out as the song evolves with the drummer employing a greater sense of dynamic playing when given free rein to do so.. 

Lyrically the first two songs seem to dwell on aspects of mortality. Her singing carries a more hopeful soul to it for "Afterlife". This finds her shedding some of the more brooding introspection. "Idiot Box" moves with a more post-punk groove. Aside from a few multitracked harmonies, the vocal production is more stripped down on this album."Trouble" cruises with a slightly more introspective ambiance draping her vocals. So fat, this one reminds me the most of her previous work. "Indio" picks up the pace with more of a brisk post-punk shuffle. Her vocal lines are interesting on this one. "I Can't Imagine" finds a Blondie-flavored take on Disco, bringing more groove to things. 

"Something Ain't Righ" makes it clear that the style of post-punk their inspiration is drawn from is the early New York-bred version that emerged in the mid-seventies. You can hear traces of the Talking Heads in "Something Ain't Right" as she asks if you believe in compassion for enemies. "Southern Life" employs similar grooves to those that powered Bowie's "Young Americans" album. Her vocals on the verses are more of a droning chant. 

Her hushed vocals step closer to the mic for "Fading Beauty."  The accompaniment on this one is more minimalist. It does put the brakes on the momentum the album established, but I understand why she chooses to indulge this side of her emotional currency. "I Want You Here" took a couple of listens in order to describe what is happening. It is often best to not overthink things, so by definition, the song is a ballad, though a dynamic one that allows her to really flex her pipes and makes for a stunning listen. I'll round this one up to a 10, she makes all the right choices here. Drops Febuary 7th on Jagjaguwar

thanks for reading, please "like" and share on social media to give music a voice 

https://www.facebook.com/abysmalhymns

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DIIV : "Frog in Boiling Water"

 

Weirdly, we have not reviewed this Brooklyn-based band before despite the fact they are solidly in the more indie rock-leaning wheelhouse of what we cover. I also do not remember them being this shoe-gaze either, which is my first impression of the opening track.  Another odd thing about this album is how it was created during a time of inner turmoil for the band. It was birthed from interpersonal tension, and outside issues threatening to break them up, but it sounds like the most serene dreamy floating bliss put to sound. In fact by the second song at this languid tempo, it threatens to be too sleepy for its own good. They did however capture some stunning guitar sounds.

The first hint of something darker under the surface is not really heard until " Raining On Your Pillow". The sedate hushed murmur of vocals at times makes me think of Elliot Smith. These guys bring a thicker atmosphere to the table. The Elliot Smith-like melancholy lingers on in the title track even as the tempo picks up into a steadier forward flow. The lyrics proclaiming you can see the world with a big gun in your hand, are obviously more rooted in the current state of geo-politics. But this is the way to bring up the subject as it is so subtle. 

When things break down into the strum of the guitar and the coo of the more fragile vocal emoting, the Elliot Smith comparisons also spring to life again, making me listen for the moment when this does sound like shoe-gaze Elliot Smith. The indie folk elements are well done, even though they do not play to their strength as a band  Even when things pick up into more of a 90s indie rock shimmer on a song like "Reflected" there is a very restrained feel to it. When the vibe picks up on "Somber The Drums" it finds them haunting a similar sonic space that Nothing occupies when flirting with grunge, though the bass tone here is less beefed up. 

Other moments are so sedate they breeze by rather than demand your attention, though there is not a moment on this album that is not well done, it just depends on the mood you are in. For if you really need to be rocked this is not going to be the album for you. However, if you are stoned and depressed more often than not they have a soundtrack for you. They make ears perk up with the ringing drone to the melody of "Soul-net". It is a simple song but it works for what they are doing here. When they step on the distortion it reminds me a little of the Cure. The album closes with a song that drifts past you in a hypnotizing manner that requires a second listen to digest what happened. I will give this album a 9, as they have some memorable songs that might otherwise just float away if left in less capable hands. 

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Liturgy : " The Ark Work"

Despite Hunter's best efforts I've remained a fan through all the hipster pre-tense Little Lord Hendrix has draped the project in. Even after the clean vocals and Bone Thugs being cited as an influence I have been waiting for this one. It opens with literal fan fare, not an actual song just an intro, that's horns. The first actual song splits the difference between the Sun Ra jazz and the black metal of old. If a real drummer is playing this and not a drum machine then it's impressive as hell. According to the credits it's Ben Fox who played on the last album. The second song sounds like and extension of the first with these glitches thrown in, which sound intentional, it could be the copy I downloaded is just pirate as hell. Tone wise the a guitar carries a similar ringing sound, maybe even less distorted . The rap elements come in on this song as well. But is sound more like chants since bass is thumping. Hunter isn't trying to really spit verses, it sounds like monotone ranting. This song grows more sonic and eventually wins me over.

"Follow II" is a much more twinkling piece of ambiance, almost bordering on the space riding tendencies of kraut rock . They explode into the song at the three minute mark. I can hear where the transcendental nature of the music lies as it is very soaring. This might have blast beats, but it's not black metal. I'm o.k with that, if you are not well they are like Rush in the fact they are not every ones bag. The vocals on this one sound like Indian chants and even when they used harshly screamed vocals it was just a layer of white noise with a more human touch.

If you clicked on this review chances are you already clicked on the single for "Quetzalcoatl". The rap thing is more predominant here. Dramatic synths swell before what is a pretty decent sweep of black metal that flows into the song. "Father Vorizen" is more deliberately paced and carries a tad more stomp to it. There is a tremendous increase in atmosphere on this album, a few little interlude like songs that carry you from one piece to the next. Synths are also more present, mainly creating string sound. Synths are pretty common in black metal so you can't fault him for that. "Reign Array" blasts into a shimmering sunrise rather than taking you to the grim winter's dusk most black metal travels to. Hunter's best attempt to sing occurs on this song as well and Rob Halford has nothing to worry about. They use the ten minutes of this song to swell similar sonic themes explored earlier on the album into radiant tapestry.

They harmonize layers of vocals in a round on "Vitriol" before  bringing more of the pseudo rap back into the picture. His lyrics are more distinguishable than when he previously tried to cold kick it.The lyrics are like something from Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" filtered through Layzie Bone. The fuzzy electronic undercurrent  is allowed to drip in from the song's cracks creating the albums most un-metal. "Total War" is almost like a slower reprise of "Quetzalcoatl" , it does float into a dark cloud. The production on this song and a few others sounds almost muffled. I'm sure this is intentional, I know they are influenced by Lighting Bolt, but for what they are doing a crisper sound might have benefited this album. This does leave me a little torn in scoring the album so I'll go on an give it a 9.5 and see how it stands the test of time.