Notable Releases and Indie Basement took last week off to celebrate Thanksgiving (and because there wasn’t much new music to speak of anyway), but now we’re back with brand new albums to review and a little catch-up from last week. I highlight 8 new albums below, and Bill tackles more in the basement, including Guided by Voices, Harp (ex-Midlake), the guest-filled Trevor Horn covers album (ft. Iggy Pop, Toyah & Robert Fripp, Tori Amos, Marc Almond & more), and the Adam Green tribute album (ft. Jenny Lewis, Father John Misty, Regina Spektor, The Lemonheads, The Libertines, Frankie Cosmos & more).

On top of those, this week’s honorable mentions include Peter Gabriel, AZ, Gabby’s World, Thy Slaughter, Czarface, Milo J, Elzhi & Oh No, Erica Banks, Masicka, Big Scarr, Wiz Khalifa, OMB Peezy, Jonathan Rado (Foxygen), Love Minus Zero (Tiga & Hudson Mohawke), Arone Dyer & s t a r g a z e, Witching Waves, The Seafloor Cinema, Codeseven, Dillon Francis, Sea Ray, Lil Lotus, The 50×50’s, Going Off, Demoncy, Othiel, Killing Me Softly, TyFontaine, Millyz, We Owe, House of Harm, Dove Cameron, Glazed Eyes, Epilogio, Dorothy Carter, the Minor Threat outtakes EP, the Feid EP, the Get Wrong (Martha, The Spook School) EP, the BigXThaPlug EP, the Atmosphere EP, the Ritual EP, the camping EP, the DJ Haram EP, the Real Lies EP, the Unflirt EP, the Sophie Meiers EP, and the Khruangbin live album.

And on top of that, last week’s honorable mentions include Treaty Oak Revival, Kamaiyah, Busta Rhymes, Underdark, Tozcos, Raze Regal & White Denim Inc, Spector, Smile High, Take That, The Gurdjieff Ensemble & Levon Eskenian, Ingri Høyland, Palle Mikkelborg, Jakob Bro & Marilyn Mazur, the Jodie Faster/Corrupt Vision split, the Nate Dionne (ex-Snowing/Glocca Morra) EP, the No Turning Back EP, the Pole EP, the Snow Strippers EP, the Full Body 2 EP, the O. EP, the Teen Daze EP, The Veldt’s “lost” record Illuminated 1989, Joe Jackson (performing the work of 19th century Music Hall-era British artist Max Champion), DJ Muggs & Dean Hurley’s Divinity score, the Tina Turner comp, and Light in the Attic & Friends.

Read on for my picks. What’s your favorite release of the week?

Full of Hell and Nothing – When No Birds Sang
Closed Casket Activities

Full of Hell and Nothing have both existed within various niche margins of heavy music for over a decade. Full of Hell generally lean faster, harsher, and noiser, while Nothing lean slower, prettier, and more atmospheric, but the two also have a lot in common. “Both Full of Hell and Nothing deal with the same genre-phobia,” said Nothing’s Domenic Palermo via the press release. “We’ve been called any style you can think of, but we’re both simply intent on making soul crushers.” They make a great pair on When No Birds Sang, which ranges from sludgy, heavy/beautiful post-metal with shrieks from FOH’s Dylan Walker to blissful shoegaze with airy hums from Domenic to ambient soundscapes. It’s even more “genre-phobic” than most of Full of Hell and Nothing’s proper albums, and it’s among the most towering records that either band has put out.

Dowsing – No One Said This Would Be Easy
Asian Man Records / Storm Chasers LTD

Longtime staples of the Chicago DIY emo scene, Dowsing are back with their fifth album and still doing what they do best. No One Said This Would Be Easy is 10 tracks of no-frills emo, with a little drive and a little breezy jangle, a lot of catchy melodies, and a worldview that’s nothing if not totally sincere. It’s Midwest emo in the hooky, Promise Ring-y sense, and it’s always a treat to hear a band of this ilk just busting out great chorus after great chorus like Dowsing does.

Clark – Cave Dog
Throttle Records

Earlier this year, electronic musician veteran Chris Clark released Sus Dog, an album that emphasized Chris’ own voice for the very first time, with executive production and guest vocals by Thom Yorke. He now follows it with the companion album Cave Dog. The album came to be as he was making “new, related music” for video vignettes promoting Sus Dog, and that music turned into an entirely new album. Chris’ voice shows up on Cave Dog too, though this one’s less of a “pop” record than Sus Dog. It’s also split into two halves, a beat-driven first half and a much more ambient second half. It’s intended to be listened to as one piece of work, and it’s both a rewarding listen and a worthy companion to Sus Dog–not a collection of leftovers.

Myke Towers – LVEU: Vive La Tuya… No La Mia
One World International/Warner

It’s an especially big year for Puerto Rican trap and reggaeton giant Myke Towers, whose 23-song March 2023 album La Vida Es Una is one of his biggest and best albums yet, and who now wraps up the year with 23 more songs. (Well, technically 22 more; both albums include “Lala.”) Myke says the idea for the album was to break down barriers between street, perreo and commercial, and it touches on all three of those things throughout this vast, very likable collection of songs, while also flirting with Afrobeats, club beats, bachata, and more. 45 songs in eight months from a single artist is a lot to take in, but it’s hard to argue with the quality of it all.

Krallice – Mass Cathexis 2 – The Kinetic Infinite
self-released

In a constantly-changing world, at least one thing remains a constant: Krallice are gonna remain prolific, release albums out of nowhere, and they’re always gonna be good. Earlier this year, they released the black metal/synthwave fusion Porous Resonance Abyss, and they wrap up 2023 with “two EPs pretending to be an album,” Mass Cathexis 2 and The Kinetic Infinite, packed as one eight-song release. Mass Cathexis 2 is a sequel to 2020’s Mass Cathexis, and it finds the core lineup of Mick Barr, Colin Marston, Lev Weinstein, and Nick McMaster joined by frequent collaborator Dave Edwardson (of Neurosis and the first Mass Cathexis) growling his head off. The Kinetic Infinite is just the core four, with McMaster switching from bass to clean guitar and Marston switching from guitar to synth and synth bass. Each EP is chaotic and weird in the way that Krallice always is, and they are very clearly two different releases with two different vibes. No matter what’s trendy or buzzy, Krallice are always off in their own world, making music on their own terms, and we’re lucky that we can keep relying on them to always deliver.

Panopticon – The Rime of Memory
Bindrune

Panopticon’s The Rime of Memory came in at #6 on Decibel‘s year-end list before it was released, so, needless to say, the anticipation has been high, and now it’s here in all its highly ambitious glory. With six tracks in 75 minutes–most of which are near the 15 or 20 minute mark each–it finds Panopticon’s mix of traditional folk music and harsh black metal in characteristically great form. Like basically every Panopticon album, the whole thing is a towering feat; an overwhelming, demanding listen and totally worth it.

Cruciamentum – Obsidian Refractions
Profound Lore

Also on Decibel‘s list is the sophomore album from UK death metallers Cruciamentum that came out last week. To quote Evan Mester’s recent feature for Invisible Oranges, “Obsidian Refractions builds atop the foundation laid by Charnel Passages, with Cruciamentum pushing its cocktail of unrelenting aggression and sinister ambiance to hellish new extremes. More dense and dissonant than its predecessor, Obsidian Refractions retains Cruciamentum’s uncompromising brutality while, in the same breath, embracing further experimentation rather than resting on its laurels.” That feature includes a lengthy interview, and you can read the whole thing for more.

Sexyy Red – Hood Hottest Princess (Deluxe)
Open Shift/Gamma

It’s been the year of Sexyy Red for so many reasons, and she caps off this breakthrough year with a deluxe edition of Hood Hottest Princess, which is really just another entirely new 11-song album. (The original version is also 11 songs.) If you’re looking for more where “Pound Town” and “SkeeYee” came from, you’ll definitely find it here, along with guest appearances from 42 Dugg, Chief Keef, Summer Walker, Sukihana, G Herbo, and “Pound Town” producer Tay Keith. Some of the strongest tracks are near the end, so keep listening.

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Read Indie Basement for more new album reviews, including Guided by Voices, Harp (ex-Midlake), the guest-filled Trevor Horn covers album, and the guest-filled Adam Green tribute album.

Looking for more recent releases? Browse the Notable Releases archive or scroll down for previous weeks.

Looking for a podcast to listen to? Check out our new episode with Wiki.

Also, BrooklynVegan launched pre-orders for its first-ever special edition 80-page magazine, which tells the career-spanning story of Alexisonfire and comes on its own or paired with our new exclusive AOF box set and/or individual reissues. Pick up yours in the BV shop.