New Music Friday!

I'm 6 new releases in to this New Music Friday, and, so far, this is the best album I've checked out. Glutton For Punishment is the debut LP from Jojo Orme, aka  Heartworms. I've been anticipating this debut release since I stumbled across an article from The Quietus back in October of last year, which was an interview of Heartworms (an artist I was unfamiliar with). What we have on this debut is a 37-minute exploration of emotion through 9 raw, danceable, dark, and absolutely catchy tracks. Specifically, we have doses of gothic rock/pop, alternative dance, synthpop, and darkwave mixed with Orme's billowy, mystic, sometimes cryptic, but ever-so-beautiful vocals.
1000009181.jpgAnd coalescing all of this is producer Dan Carey (known for producing for others like Black Midi, Squid, Fontaines D.C., and Wet Girl, just to name a few). From the incredibly catchy line "I don't wish murder cause I got no right" from 'Extraordinary Wings', to the pulsating pace of 'Warplane', and from the absolute danceability from 'Just To Ask A Dance', to the near perfection that is penultimate track 'Smugglers Adventure' (I can't help but hear the similarities to Agalloch's 'The Hawthorn Passage' here), every track on this album is great. Don't miss this debut!



 
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Tin whistles, low whistles, and uilleann pipes - would you ever guess these instruments would be the standouts on a metal album? Also violins, violas, and cellos? Not your typical metal album, eh?! Well, Saor is not your typical metal artist, so it makes sense. At  Saor's heart and inception, it was (and still is) a one-man project - a one Andy Marshall. And Andy's vision has always been that of honoring and showcasing his Scottish heritage through his music. And he's done so through  Saor since 2013 (when I was lucky enough to have discovered the band, and am still thankful to be following now 12 years later). And now in 2025 we have the 6th Saor LP, Amidst The Ruins. And this new album is nothing short of a Caledonian atmospheic folk & black metal masterpiece. All of  Saor's previous five releases have been excellent, and this is the best album since 2016's  Guardians. Amidst The Ruins may be the best  Saor album so far, period.



I was on one of my daily walks when I was giving my first listen to Amidst The Ruins, and my normal walk takes me through open fields and down a hollow of trees. And there was a cold breeze and light snowfall. With this album playing amidst this perfect winter setting, I had an experience. You know, one of those rare experiences every music lover lives for? One that, say, 10 years down the road you'll experience a similar setting or one of your senses will be similarly stimulated, and it will immediately and vividly take you back to those moments when you had that intial listen and those feelings.. yeah, I had one of those transcending experiences with Amidst The Ruins. This is when you know you've found something special.
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On this album's 5-track, 59-minute runtime, Marshall employs several guest recording musicians to properly take listeners on journeys through the past and present histories and beauties of highland Scotland. In addition to the instruments mentioned above, Marshall has guest musicians for some of the guitar and percussion work, as well as for the backing vocals. Vocally, the album offers a healthy mix of clean and harsh vocals from Marshall, and stunning clean female vocals throughout from a few guest female vocalists. Penultimate track (and shortest track at 8:19) 'The Sylvan Embrace' is such a fucking beautiful piece of music. For those not into the heavier side of music or the harsher vocals, you have to at least give this track a go. It's a 10/10 track and my favorite track of the year so far. Get lost in it. Obviously it's still very early in the year, but Amidst The Ruins is one of my frontrunners right now for AOTY for 2025, and it's in the running for metal album of the year alongside Void Of Hope's release from last week. The excellent releases in 2025 just keep dropping 🤘
 
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musicjunkiegreg said:
Tin whistles, low whistles, and uilleann pipes - would you ever guess these instruments would be the standouts on a metal album? Also violins, violas, and cellos? Not your typical metal album, eh?! Well, Saor is not your typical metal artist, so it makes sense. At  Saor's heart and inception, it was (and still is) a one-man project - a one Andy Marshall. And Andy's vision has always been that of honoring and showcasing his Scottish heritage through his music. And he's done so through  Saor since 2013 (when I was lucky enough to have discovered the band, and am still thankful to be following now 12 years later). And now in 2025 we have the 5th Saor LP, Amidst The Ruins. And this new album is nothing short of a Caledonian atmospheic folk & black metal masterpiece. All of  Saor's previous four releases have been excellent, and this is the best album since 2016's  Guardians. Amidst The Ruins may be the best  Saor album so far, period.



I was on one of my daily walks when I was giving my first listen to Amidst The Ruins, and my normal walk takes me through open fields and down a hollow of trees. And there was a cold breeze and light snowfall. With this album playing amidst this perfect winter setting, I had an experience. You know, one of those rare experiences every music lover lives for? One that, say, 10 years down the road you'll experience a similar setting or one of your senses will be similarly stimulated, and it will immediately and vividly take you back to those moments when you had that intial listen and those feelings.. yeah, I had one of those transcending experiences with Amidst The Ruins. This is when you know you've found something special.
View attachment 226375

On this album's 5-track, 59-minute runtime, Marshall employs several guest recording musicians to properly take listeners on journeys through the past and present histories and beauties of highland Scotland. In addition to the native instruments mentioned above, Marshall has guest musicians for some of the guitar and percussion work, as well as for the backing vocals. Vocally, the album offers a healthy mix of clean and harsh vocals from Marshall, and stunning clean female vocals throughout from a few guest female vocalists. Penultimate track (and shortest track at 8:19) 'The Sylvan Embrace' is such a fucking beautiful piece of music. For those not into the heavier side of music or the harsher vocals, you have to at least give this track a go. It's a 10/10 track and my favorite track of the year so far. Get lost in it. Obviously it's still very early in the year, but Amidst The Ruins is one of my frontrunners right now for AOTY for 2025, and it's in the running for metal album of the year alongside Void Of Hope's release from last week. The excellent releases in 2025 just keep dropping 🤘
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I'm excited to get to this one!

(Had it slated for my drive to pick up my eldest yesterday, but his mom wound up bringing him to me instead)
 
nolalady said:
New Oklou!!!
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I've listened just twice, but oh my I adore it so. Her space of sound is so singular, but I can get an idea where she captures parts of her sound signature. It's like a ethereal cyberpunk dream that taps into the gen-z underground; there are features from underscores and Bladee, after all. This will be going into my rotation for the coming months for certain 🔥

The artwork is giving Serial Experiments Lain and I love it so much for that alone; perfect runtime just like an episode from a 90s anime 🤗🥰
 
musicjunkiegreg said:
Tin whistles, low whistles, and uilleann pipes - would you ever guess these instruments would be the standouts on a metal album? Also violins, violas, and cellos? Not your typical metal album, eh?! Well, Saor is not your typical metal artist, so it makes sense. At  Saor's heart and inception, it was (and still is) a one-man project - a one Andy Marshall. And Andy's vision has always been that of honoring and showcasing his Scottish heritage through his music. And he's done so through  Saor since 2013 (when I was lucky enough to have discovered the band, and am still thankful to be following now 12 years later). And now in 2025 we have the 6th Saor LP, Amidst The Ruins. And this new album is nothing short of a Caledonian atmospheic folk & black metal masterpiece. All of  Saor's previous five releases have been excellent, and this is the best album since 2016's  Guardians. Amidst The Ruins may be the best  Saor album so far, period.



I was on one of my daily walks when I was giving my first listen to Amidst The Ruins, and my normal walk takes me through open fields and down a hollow of trees. And there was a cold breeze and light snowfall. With this album playing amidst this perfect winter setting, I had an experience. You know, one of those rare experiences every music lover lives for? One that, say, 10 years down the road you'll experience a similar setting or one of your senses will be similarly stimulated, and it will immediately and vividly take you back to those moments when you had that intial listen and those feelings.. yeah, I had one of those transcending experiences with Amidst The Ruins. This is when you know you've found something special.
View attachment 226375

On this album's 5-track, 59-minute runtime, Marshall employs several guest recording musicians to properly take listeners on journeys through the past and present histories and beauties of highland Scotland. In addition to the instruments mentioned above, Marshall has guest musicians for some of the guitar and percussion work, as well as for the backing vocals. Vocally, the album offers a healthy mix of clean and harsh vocals from Marshall, and stunning clean female vocals throughout from a few guest female vocalists. Penultimate track (and shortest track at 8:19) 'The Sylvan Embrace' is such a fucking beautiful piece of music. For those not into the heavier side of music or the harsher vocals, you have to at least give this track a go. It's a 10/10 track and my favorite track of the year so far. Get lost in it. Obviously it's still very early in the year, but Amidst The Ruins is one of my frontrunners right now for AOTY for 2025, and it's in the running for metal album of the year alongside Void Of Hope's release from last week. The excellent releases in 2025 just keep dropping 🤘
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This is very good.
 
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