September 2025: Matt Recommends

What do we have for you this month, eh? Well, as usual, there's some psychrock to bliss out with. I've also brought something more powerful and something fuzzed out. Let's get into it.

Orions Belte - Pur Jus: I'm not too sure how I got turned on to this Norwegian psych trio. Some algorithm is likely. No matter. To parse their artist description, they're breezy, sometimes loud, and vibrant with groove. And that's why I like it! Feel-good tunage that puts your head in the clouds and makes the body sway. A song like "Milk Champagne" brings a vibe similar to Khruangbin. Never a bad thing. Orions Belte uses less vocals, though. That's cool with me, too.



Kungens Män - Resande i rockmusik: Slide to the east for this Swedish outfit. Similarly to Orions Belte, Resande i rockmusic is a blissed-out instrumental trip. Heavy on the repetition, sonically laced together in waves. There's a free-flowing groove that anchors the listener in a hypnotic sway. It's much warmer music than what's depicted on the album cover. And more psychedelic, of course. The four tracks average 11 minutes each. Just enough time to entrance you with varying intensities. Chill away the day.



Appalooza - The Emperor of Loss: Staying in Europe we have Appalooza from France. I love the cow skull imagery they carry across their artwork. Which is incredible. Between that and their sound you'd think they're from the American West. Sort of a desert feel. They do reference QOTSA in their bio. And Alice in Chains. Powerful desert rock with just a little melancholy and the muscle to overcome it. The highlight of the album for me would be "Tarantula". It's a complex track with with a killer fucking riff that they groove out on for a while at the end. It's a neck-snapper!



The Gray Goo - Cabin Fever Dreams: Now, Appalooza may look and sound like they're from Montana but The Gray Goo actually are. Cabin Fever Dreams takes the loose, groovy feel of psychrock (not too different than Orions Belte or Kungens Män) and infuses it with a sort of indie flair. Fans of King Gizzard and Thee Oh Sees know what I'm talking about. And more vocals. Perhaps some doom feel in there too. This album is a lot of fun. Lots of groove, fuzzy guitars, killer bass, cool riffs, atmosphere in spades without it feeling forced, just a natural thing. It feels good to the gray goo inside my skull and that's all that matters.



My September Playist is very all over the place. You've got the bands above but also bands like Biohazard. Enjoy and skip as you wish!

Nebular Nine: June 2023

Man alive! June featured some of my all time favourite bands. I've been listening to almost all these bands for years. I only discovered Crown Lands this year but I am falling in love with the Toronto prog rock duo. King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard have only been on my radar for a couple years but their output feels like a decade! Petrodragonic Apocalypse is their latest banger! 

Up top we have Black Rainbows, Royal Thunder, and QOTSA. Three kinds of rock, man. Black Rainbows are so fun. Mlny Parsonz is probably my favourite vocalist (and RT songs are excellent regardless). It did take me some time and dedication to warm up to the new Queens though. It's been like that for their last few albums. 

It didn't take as long for the new Dead Quiet. Some dang catchy tunes! Happy Canada Day!!

And with Bongzilla you know what you're getting and they never disappoint. Tolerance is never an issue! 

Clutch is my fave so....bonus tracks!!!

Last but not least, the live drums on the Fear Factory sound great! Remix/master is cool too.

And the rest of these. Will update later.