Mar 162022
 

 

We have two premieres at our site today. The first of them was a new song by the legendary Wisconsin death metal band Viogression. The contrast between that one and the one we’re presenting now could hardly be more stark. I suspect that will be pleasing to the band who’s the focus of this premiere, because their mission is… to flummox… to flummox conventions and expectations.

It’s been a while since we checked in with this Nashville band, and so it may be worth repeating something I wrote long ago:

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary tells us that no one is completely sure where the word flummox comes from, though its first known use was in Charles Dickens’ debut novel, The Pickwick Papers, published in 1837. It means “to confuse”, and among its synonyms are “baffle”, “perplex”, “bewilder”, “bemuse”, and “mystify”. And when you understand all that, it’s not confusing at all why this band chose Flummox as their name — because (as forecast above) flummoxing listeners seems to be their primary mission. Continue reading »

Aug 292017
 

 

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary tells us that no one is completely sure where the word flummox comes from, though its first known use was in Charles Dickens’ debut novel, The Pickwick Papers, published in 1837. It means “to confuse”, and among its synonyms are “baffle”, “perplex”, “bewilder”, “bemuse”, and “mystify”. And when you understand all that, it’s not confusing at all why this Tennessee band chose Flummox as their name — because flummoxing listeners seems to be their primary mission.

We’ve devoted attention to Flummox in past years, with Austin Weber calling their debut album Phlummoxygen “a modern classic” and then premiering a song from their second album Selcouth.

The band’s most recent release is a four-song demo that emerged in June under the name Garage Prog, and the second song on that demo, “Tom Walker Blues“, has become the basis for the band’s first music video (directed by Matt Rose), which we are about to present for the first time to a completely unprepared public audience. Continue reading »

Dec 162015
 

Flummox-Pan's Daughter

 

(Austin Weber brings us the premiere of a new song from the band Flummox.)

While 2015 is drawing to a close as we speak, the world of music never really sleeps. Every year I’m already working on reviewing releases for the next year before the current one is over. So before the year ends let’s sneak in another new song with fresh music for your ears.

I first covered Tennessee-based progressive sludge/doom/whatever band Flummox here earlier in the year and wrote about their first record, Phlummoxygen. Somehow these crazy genre-bending weirdos are already close to releasing album number two, Selcouth, on February 12, 2016, through Tridroid Records. So if you want an early Christmas treat, we’ve got “Pan’s Daughter” to show you and get you hyped on Selcouth. Continue reading »

Jul 202015
 

ni art

 

(In this multi-part post that began last week, Austin Weber brings us his recommendations for some of the best albums released during the first half of the year. Part 1 is at this location and Part 2 is here.)

ni

Ni are a French mathcore band whose madness you have to hear to understand, though to try to explain, they give off a demented Mr. Bungle vibe that’s paired with a hefty jazz influence and more mind-bending polyrhythms than you can possibly keep track of. Their new record, Les insurgés de Romilly, has been blowing my mind for the last week with its funky, headbang-inducing grooves and quirky, disorienting nature.

This record is an interesting exercise in combining highly technical, groove-oriented math-metal with prog and experimental inclinations. If death metal and other subgenres try to batter you with speed, then what ni do would be more akin to giving listeners a hit of acid and putting them in a vast, surreal labyrinth. Continue reading »