<p><span><span><span>- Steve Smyth has returned with a seemingly ambitious project, a four EP collection titled: <em>Blood</em><em><strong>, </strong></em><em>Matches, Fractures and Celebration.</em> It's a collection of works inspired from within the humanity of consonance. The first part of this series is <em>Blood</em>, a generous and even tempered prelude.</span></span></span></p>

<p><span><span>- If you were to put together <strong>Dylan </strong>and <strong>The Boss</strong> in a songwriting, performance partnership, that’d be a heartland rock appreciater’s holy grail, right? Be careful, you might get what you wish for and your mileage may vary. Brisbane band Cedarsmoke have continued their prolific run of EP releases and on their latest, <em>Everything Is The Worst</em>, although I would never quite have described them that way before, it’s pretty easy to right now.

<p><span><span>- In the past several years, trap rapper Lil Uzi Vert<strong> </strong>has exploded onto the scene with popular projects such as <em>Luv is Rage </em>and its sequel, as well as <em>Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World</em>. However, since 2017, Uzi has remained mostly quiet, only dropping several non-album singles while hyping his next project <em>Eternal Atake</em>. After much speculation, the album dropped early March with the promise of a deluxe edition the week after.

- I really don't mean the following as an insult, but it’s difficult to imagine The Letter String Quartet without a collaborator. Their angular and skeletal creations demand someone to come along and lay something soothing over the raw, bare bones. The thoughtful and often playfully eerie presence of Marita Dyson is a balm here, on this dusty, historical song cycle that is also their debut album.

<p><span><span>- <strong>Lewis Day</strong>, aka Tornado Wallace, has just released an EP / mini-album titled <em>Midnight Mania</em> on Optimo Music. His first release for the label, the Berlin-based, Melbourne producer / DJ came into my awareness with the excellent <em>Lonely Planet</em> album. In addition he’s put out numerous 12”s on the likes of <strong>Beats In Space</strong>, <strong>Second Ciecle</strong>, <strong>ESP Institute</strong> and <strong>Animals Dancing</strong>.

- I remember, from when I was much younger and rather poorly informed, listening to a Chelsea Wolfe record from the height of her neofolk period and thinking “where’s the metal?” Danish artist Amalie Bruun, the woman behind the Myrkur moniker, has evoked that question throughout her entire career, though she has much less reason to than Wolfe. Her blending of folk -a folk so trad you can’t really call it neofolk- with black metal, is very individual and uncompromisingly disparate. 

<p>- The impact of a serious injury can have a profound influence on musicians. For many independent artists, injuries have led to preemptive career endings. In the case of Vancouver based post-punk musician Bryce Cloghesy however, a life-threatening tear of his brachial nerve led to a process of deep self-reflection and the eventual creation of his solo avant-garde project, Military Genius. Now Military Genius has unveiled a debut record Deep Web, out now via Unheard of Hope.</p>

<p><span><span>- It’s difficult to pin down the balance between the slow, loping hip hop beats and more free-wheeling jazz elements of Melbourne producer’s On-Ly’s work. Otherwise known as <strong>Joshua Smeltink</strong>, one thing is certain about him here: space has invaded on his latest LP, <em>Broth</em>, the first for up-and-coming jazzy beats powerhouse <strong>La Sape</strong>.