A true joy of working at a music plant is having a top-down view of what’s going on in underground music all across the world. Everyday I give myself a moment to grab a random cassette or CD and check out what’s on it, learn a bit about the band, maybe get a sense of what the punk scene is like in Winnipeg or club culture in Minneapolis. Here are a few choice albums I had the pleasure of being introduced to this past month!
Reaper’s Gong – “Blood Rot” c8
For an EP on the shorter side, Blood Rot moves slowly. Riffs hit heavy and hard, but the impact lingers like a bruised arm. Brainbombs guitar with Ukiah Drag monotone vocals, an absolute must for the noise rock fist-pumpers. The compact but hefty “rave case” packaging is a good metaphor for how much destruction you’ll get from a small package.
Listen or purchase on Bandcamp
Local Housing Crisis – “L.H.C.” c18
An electronic EP that hides all the beats and rhythms, burying the sound under dense atmosphere in the same vein as Gas. Muted piano melodies seem to land as if by chance, fingers hitting keys with nonchalance but instinctively creating haunting melodies.
Listen and purchase on Bandcamp
Maria Chavez & Sandy Ewen – “All the Duos”
One for the true avant-gardists, those who think that Keiji Haino may be a little too middle-of-the-road for their tastes. A double-disc set with over 90 minutes of sound art compositions, All the Duos is a heavily textured battle between collaborators. The two aren’t performing with each other as much as they are against one another, with every scratch of a string met with a hand smacking the body of a guitar.
Listen and purchase on Bandcamp
SpaceGhostPurrp – “NASA the Mixtape” c28
Hard to believe it’s been over a decade since this mixtape appeared seemingly out of nowhere. SpaceGhostPurrp and the Raider Klan breathed new life into underground hip hop— trillwave production, oddball reference points, lo-fi aesthetics and the blogosphere distribution were completely game-changing, but the music hasn’t aged a day. Still odd, still dope.
Listen and purchase on Bandcamp
Castlesiege – “The Council of the Trees” c42
An instrumental story of a healer and his fox companion as they travel through mystical terrains, meeting unique and perhaps untrustworthy characters along the way. An album immersed in the atmospheric essence of point-and-click Sierra adventures, unfolding a narrative where the deeper you venture into the woods, the more ominous the shadows within the forest grow.
Listen and purchase on Bandcamp
We turn the spotlight on underground music releases manufactured at Duplication.ca several times a week over on our social media channels, including TikTok and now Bluesky. Give us a follow using the links below, and if you have an album that you ordered through us that you’d like to bring to our attention, just send us a DM!
