I’m tired. It’s been too long of a year. I’m glad it’s fall, my favorite season, but time’s moving too fast.
Eric Copeland – Trogg Modal Vol. 1 (Bandcamp)
A playground of sound with fun beats and a sunny disposition.
Psychic Temple & Cherry Glazerr – Houses of the Holy Vol. 1 (Bandcamp)
An astonishingly perfect collection of songs covered in 70s cowboy glitz and very 2018 world-weariness.
Pastel Ghost – Ethereality (Bandcamp)
Chill interstellar synthpop sent to wrap you up and hold you close.
Maribou State – Kingdoms in Colour (Bandcamp)
Hypnotic but with a down-to-earth, handmade feel. This is chock full of low-key jams perfect to make your afternoon better.
Jookabox – Dead Zone Boys (Spotify)
An unhinged rap-rock opera about zombies, from the perspective of the zombies. Not for kids. “You Cried Me” is insane and fantastic.
Dead Man’s Bones – Dead Man’s Bones (Bandcamp)
Take puppy-eyed actor Ryan Gosling, a children’s choir from the hippest neighborhood in LA, 50’s crooner songwriting, and a “we’re not goth, just spooky nerds” vibe and you get one of the best Halloween albums ever.
The Blasting Company – Over The Garden Wall (soundtrack) (Bandcamp)
The perfectly haunting soundtrack of the undersung autumn animated miniseries Over the Garden Wall. A delightful combination of late 19th and early 20th century sounds to charm you.
Mesarthim – The Density Parameter (Bandcamp)
Metal as black as the inky darkness of space, but wrapped in gentle ambient electronics, like a tiny metal satellite.
Geotic – Traversa (Bandcamp)
Sun-dappled, cozy pop that brings the same warmth and joy as a sleepy pet or a weekend road trip.
Brandon Coleman – Resistance (Bandcamp)
In a world that can seem endlessly dark and hopeless, pushing for positivity is important work. Let this endlessly funky album be an embrace of happiness and robot singing to lift your heart.
Ennio Morricone – Crime and Dissonance (Bandcamp)
A psychedelic compilation of some of the legendary film composer’s lesser known and weirder work. Prepare for free jazz, unexpected moans, and trippy grooves.
The Marshmellow Ghosts – The Marshmellow Ghosts (Bandcamp)
The Casket Girls team up with label owner and sometime Black Moth Super Rainbow member Ryan Graveface for an album of buzzy, spooky tunes. A Halloween soundtrack for the ages.
The Daysleepers – Creation (Bandcamp)
Cavernous throwback shoegaze perfect for dark moods and dark nights.
The Chiller 5: Call of the Chiller (Bandcamp)
A home-grown mixtape of spooky insta-classics that will make you want to look up these bands you don’t know.
🎃👻☠️🕸️
If you missed it, my ambient dread Halloween playlist is here: