Whether these are ‘building blocks’ or not, the music here fully stands on its own merits.

The songs here are so well constructed, played, and sung that you certainly long for more. Well, maybe we can all search out the previous Butler/Oldham project.

Essentially, Scott Yoder shows with this album that quality glam rock is still alive and well.

Something that could have been overcomplicated and overbearing turns out to be quite an enjoyable art rock experience after all.

While many might proclaim that post-rock has reached its limits, Dead Bandit and their latest album prove that it just might still have some musical fuel there.

It turns out that ‘Escape Scenes’ is one of those melody-driven albums that simply stick to your ears.

Adding the fact that this is True Green’s debut album the results are even more impressive than the sum of its (nine) parts.

With all the variation in sound, there is a definite sense of consistency in the sound here as the listener is all the time aware it is one and the same artist/band that knows exactly what is supposed to go on here.

You can hardly do better as far as debut albums go than Tapir! come up with here.

Eventually, with ‘Opening Scene’ Richard E created an album that promises so much more to come.

It is van der Giessen’s now fully-developed songwriting that leads the way here with ‘Blueprint’ being exactly that – a blueprint for modern post-punk.

Dau was able to use repetitive patterns to his benefit and come up with real musical substance with the six compositions included here.

It is the same feel this trio of artists infused into their collaboration André 3000 on his album ‘New Blue Sun,’ taking the term ‘spiritual’ on both albums to a new, modern level.

Munson comes up with music that presents us with an almost perfect balance between modern classical music and pop (with some other elements seeping through for good measure).

What happens when a band that made a name for itself (however big or small) within the metal/prog genre goes ‘soft’?

It turns out that The Ghosts Are Coming Home is one of the albums that arrived close to the end of 2023, that will be often cited as one of the hidden gems of that year.

You can supplement or combine this one with all the holiday-themed music as you will and as the mood dictates.

While Betti’s work is in some aspects comparable to some other artists, it also has an abundance of individual elements to make it stand out on its own, making it quite a unique experience.

The cover of the album speaks volumes – it is all those dark shades of the night, with those ever-shifting small shapes hiding some multi-colored gems if you look at (listen to) them long enough.

As an artist who has scientific training, Zanov has ample capabilities to understand what the electronic instruments he uses can produce and is able to present “the convergence of technological advancements and human experience,” as he puts it here, sounding both ‘classic’ and ‘futuristic’ at the same time.

It might be a bit strange that a man from Texas has come up with a truly modernized British psych-folk of its prime era. But, then, who cares about that when it is this good?