Tag: 2026

TRACK | King-Mob – Pendulum Days

5/5 golden merles

In an era defined by death, disease, and (gestures broadly), commiseration is the best thing a person can do. King-Mob’s “Pendulum Days” is a track of lush alt/noise rock that describes unease and routine over degraded percussive fractals, subsections merging and collapsing in precise heaps. The mastery it offers is that of ordered disorientation. And the feeling of its familiarity is an uneasy but nonetheless welcome revelation.

The complexity and calculated elaborations of the instrumental play are worthy of admiration. The soundscape is finely tuned in a delicate cacophony. All that careful attention paid to the sampling is successfully populating the undergirding of the song’s structure and acts to center some direct and cunning hooks, complementing and following the form.

The richness of the reversed cymbals and reverberated swells produces a nice, dense soil from which the lead guitar and vocal may flourish. The direction and warp of those segments both mimicking and reifying that titular swing forward, then later agreeably inverted by the tether.

If I am discerning it properly, my favorite line operates also as a top-tier toast for the times we labor under: “to gods who never listen.”

Most listeners will likely relate to the narrative of a life defined by what would have formerly passed for recurrent aberration and colonized exclusively by apparitions. In the end, the gears shift to what appears an escape or transition, symbolically lurching off perhaps out of the rut, away from those who would have you passive, idle, and obedient, and reminding that there is only justice in this world if we make it. The new Arabesque EP can be found on the bandcamp.

By way of exploring similar themes of ensnare/emancipation, maybe you can check out Mathieu Labaye’s “Orgesticulanismus.”

TRACK | Genuine Leather – gunshy

5/5 golden merles

Genuine Leather’s “gunshy” is indie pop-rock with much cunning sample and synth. Melodically imbued with a kind of immaculate fervor, it’s emotional appeal is embedded in a hook so honed it might effectively puncture through time like a wormhole. If it lands for you, it will loop.

The simple bass synths ostinato and its gentle variations are accented with the occasional stagger and instrumental emphasis, everything complimenting expertly with concerted purpose. Whatever engenders that sense of falling or flight, its momentum is almost pure. And the engineering of it is a refreshing, relatively lo-fi marvel.

It is rare to keep this sort of sense of joy and purpose in the first place, much less as a work transitions from demo into finished article. Although the chorus indulges (rightfully) at length, the bridge eventually offers some passage of relent, before again briefly rebounding back into the welcome refrain.

It’s a fine entry into the pantheon of gently petrified and bedraggled indie earworms. It’s probably for fans of other hooks with immense grueling persistence and the calculated crimson phases of Jack Stauber’s “Dead Weight,” Son of Salami’s “Baby Mayo,” Video Age’s “Throwing Knives,” or Sheer Mag’s “Expect the Bayonet.”

The track is $1.50 on the bandcamp. Or maybe just throw it on a soundtrack so the man can eat? Short-wise look to Sophie Koko Gate’s “Half Wet.”

TRACK | Sundozer – Liquid Heaven

5/5 golden merles

Sundozer’s “Liquid Heaven” is synthwave/indie pop with great melodic confidence. That assurance has allowed a healthy, natural growth from the seed of its organic hook to advance, concertedly connecting the form. An adequate amount of tactically accumulated grime grants that fleshing out to a believable degree, one necessary to viably exist in the world.

The two singing synths harmonize throughout, interlocking, while field elements provide a patina of gritted texture without smothering the core, vouching for and reifying the verisimilitude of the direct narration. And truly the strength of the melody and tone lends credence to that emotional appeal. The texture is both chipped at and composed of the saw and square synths, sticky tactile in the molten merger. It’s a neat balance to strike; solid pop and a joyful entity, bounding about with distinction and poise.

It takes a lot of empathy to summon such a feeling, reverse engineering its origins. Ultimately, it is good and careful work; diligently delineating elements in a hazy warmth that still maintains some good purchase on the hooks and harmonious integrity.

There’s tendrils tying it to M83, MGMT, and Of Montreal. Possibly fans of the elaborated charm of Goon, the intricate play of Melaina Kol, or Noah Renaissance‘s lovely “Beauty Sleep” will find a lot to admire in the piece. Available for$1 on their bandcamp.

For some film accompaniment maybe see Tobias Rud’s excellent short “The Tobos”.