Fates Warning - And Yet It Moves (2013) [Progressive Metal]



A 14-minute proggy metal train ride into the perpetual night. Ray Alder's vocals are in peak form and there's some recurring melodies that elevate the song into something special. Driveworthy jam for sure.

The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen (1993) [Alternative Rock]



There's something vital and almost viscerally fun about early Afghan Whigs, and the title track from 1993 milestone Gentlemen swings like a sledgehammer and grooves fast & loose. The best boys on Sub Pop at the time for sure.

Toto - Don't Stop Me Now (1986) [Westcoast Jazz]



A pretty out-of-left-field cut even by Toto's prodigious standards. 'Don't Stop Me Now' is moody film score worthy jazz-fusion with a "sunset over L.A." peak vibe. The melancholy is amplified in a good way by the notable presence of the legendary Miles Davis, whose playing gets center stage on a tune you would have never expected him to appear on.

Thinking Plague - Warheads (1987) [Avant-garde / Post-Punk]



Elph's next favorite band. The ghoulish, glorious madness of Thinking Plague is something I've always appreciated since my childhood, and 1987's Moonsongs was particularly instructive to me for quite some time. Back in the Reagan years, this was the kind of demented dance floor funkiness you'd hear before somebody chopped you up into a thousand pieces under the Sicilian moonlight.

**** yeah.
Might have actually rec'd this to elph at some point. Not sure.

^ I think so, but he's never brought 'em up so not sure.


KSUKE feat. Tyler Carter - Contradiction (2020) [EDM / Trap / Weebmusic]



God Of Highschool is a fairly popular Korean webcomic (big international fanbase) whose anime adaptation started airing recently. Think Enter The Dragon martial arts goodness but with a strong influence from Japanese shounen tropes with a sprinkling of Mortal Kombat.

The show itself is pretty lit, but the music is also fantastic. Guest vocalist Tyler Carter is the frontman from experimental R&B/metalcore band Issues, and he's definitely got the swagger to make this kind of song work. Couple that great voice with some trap beats and a solid hook and you've got a winner.

Brian Auger's Oblivion Express - Voices Of Other Times (1973) [Jazz-Rock]



Chuggachugga wooooosh. Everything Brian Auger touched in his heyday was pure Hammondy gold, and this smoothie is no exception.

Abstract Void - Back To Reality (2018) [Black Metal / Synthwave]



Tangerine Dream meets Dissection with a lil' aesthetic thrown in. I could see this on the 1983 soundtrack to Risky Business if Tom Cruise's character had been into Hellhammer or something. :love:

Clan Of Xymox - Cry In The Wind (1985) [Darkwave / Post-Punk]



I love the evocative, almost otherworldly styling of post-punk that Clan Of Xymox helped develop back in the day. You can hear their contemporaries like Cure and Joy Division, but the skittering electronic elements that show up now and then helped them chart their own course.

Zero 7 - Futures (2006) [Psych / Folk / Electronica]



A modern slice of poppy psych llumination. There's a touch of Santana, some early ELP and the stench of trip-hop. Underrated opening from an especially soulful album.