Warren Smith - Dragon Dave Meets Prince Black Knight From The Darkside Of The Moon - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Hole Erth, Chaz Bear's eighth full-length studio record as Toro y Moi, is the genre shapeshifter's most unexpected and bold move to date, with Bear diving headlong into rap-rock, Soundcloud rap and Y2K emo. The album blitzes anthemic pop-punk next to autotuned, melancholic rap - two genres that inform one another now more than ever before - and packs in the most features ever on a Toro y Moi album. A sense of nostalgia sneaks it's way into almost every Toro y Moi , but angst is an emotion that Bear has never intentionally explored the way he does here. Tracks like InchTuesday' channel a specific, yet forever-relatable sense of adolescent unease. A distorted guitar riff leads into a repeating chorus that conjures misunderstood teenagers singing aloud, maybe too loud, while riding bikes through American suburbs. This foreboding can also be heard on InchHOV, Inch though not without poking some fun with lines like InchRomance is so cold / My advice? To bring a coat.InchBear has the energy, but is acutely aware that his energy isn't forever. At a time when the internet is blending multiple genres into one at an increasingly rapid pace, Bear accomplishes the rare feat of keeping up with the contemporary alternative listener. Constantly changing, evolving and experimenting is the heart of Toro y Moi, and on Hole Erth Bear challenges but also reclaims himself, embracing the myriad sounds and eras that formed him, while crashing new worlds together. Album Tracks 1. Walking in the Rain 2. CD-R 3. Hov 4. Tuesday 5. Hollywood 6. Reseda 7. Babydaddy 8. Madonna 9. Undercurrent 10. Off Road 11. Smoke 12. Heaven 13. Starlink

Album Tracks 1. Influx 2. Carnival 3. Interior 4. To Live Forwards 5. The Public 6. Between Two Worlds 7. Hope of Glory 8. Mirror 9. Test of Freedom 10. Turn the World 11. Rite of Passage 12. Either/Or 13. Great Small

East My Love, the resplendent, country-tinged 12th album byCurrent Joys, feels familiar. It's meant to the 12 songs contained within divedeep into the rich folklore of the American West to tell time-worn tales of loveand trauma, heartbreak and spiritual renewal. Cast with a warm glow andfinding Current Joys' Nick Rattigan tapping into some of his lushest, mosthigh-fidelity production to date, it's the kind of album that listeners could seethemselves within, and, hopefully, keep close when they're most in need ofreassurance or escapism. For Rattigan, though, it's all that and more.Rattigan wrote East My Love alone in the woods in Tennessee, withno cell reception and nobody in earshot for miles. Composed three yearsbefore Love + Pop, the experimental pop double record he released in 2023and 2024, the songs on East My Love felt too raw to confront until he felt welland truly out from underneath the cloud that had been cast over him.Rattigan describes the songs as InchlandminesInch that, for years, threatened toupend his carefully balanced mental state. InchThey were just triggers thatwould put me back in this emotional space, and I think eventually I got to aplace where they were more comforting,Inch he recalls. InchThat's what I hopepeople find out of the record - a solace from any anxieties or depressions.InchAlong with that comfort comes pain, and an acknowledgementthat any repair requires some level of breakage. Lead single InchCalifornia RainInchacts like a tableau depicting Rattigan's attempt to escape his demons, it'splacid lyrics a distinct counterpoint to the tidal-wave production InchIsn't it niceto get away?/Clearing my head up, and dull away the pain.Inch It speaks to thealbum's constant coin-toss between peace and chaos InchIt's like you're trying tooutrun your demons, but at a certain point, they become your friend, and youhave to walk alongside them,Inc