Hakobune - Evergreen/Faraway (2017)

 

GENRE : Japan, ambient, experimental, noise, drone, ethereal

RECORD LABEL : self-released

Hakobune is the musical project of Takahiro Yorifuji from Hyogo, Japan. He making stunning guitar-based ambient music, and has an incredibly large discography. 'Evergreen/Faraway' is the only release of his that I've listened to so far, and it's a killer. Ideal ethereal ambient music for reading, studying, meditating, getting high or just thinking... 

Stream/Download here :

https://hakobune.bandcamp.com/album/evergreen-faraway-2

Gratitude - If Ever (Acoustic)

GENRE : emo, acoustic, post-hardcore, alternative rock, indie rock

RECORD LABEL : Atlantic Records

Like most people, I was first exposed to this song in the first episode of the Masters of Horror series (''Incident On and Off a Mountain Road'') and was gripped immediately. The beautiful hushed voice of Jonah Matranga floating over simple acoustic emo guitar chords while you're watching the car driving along a deserted moonlit road, before the horror begins...

Anyway, this is a gorgeous song. I wasn't too taken with this particular band (Gratitude) tbh, but this one song is beautiful.

Jonah Matranga was the frontman of the legendary post-hardcore band Far, who you should definitely listen to. Great band. Also check out his lo-fi singer/songwriter solo project OneLineDrawing.

Official website :

https://jonahmatranga.com/

Sarah La Puerta - Strange Paradise (2021)

 

GENRE : doom pop, freak folk, alternative, indie, dream pop, lo-fi, synthpop

RECORD LABEL : Perpetual Doom

The soundtrack to being alone and depressed on a tropical island. Everything is hot and sticky and miserable, and no one speaks the same language as you, and the food sucks...

'Strange Paradise' is the debut album of Austin songwriter/musician, Sarah La Puerta. It's dark and funny and weird and beautiful. Perpetual Doom is a great quirky record label that mostly specializes in limited vinyl/cassette releases of a raw lo-fi aesthetic. They have released many great albums of artists I've never heard of. This one ranks amongst their best.

Stream/Download album here:

https://perpetualdoom.bandcamp.com/album/strange-paradise

Official Website :

https://www.sarahlapuerta.com/