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RIYL; Mark Lanegan, Angelo Badalemnti, Bruce Springsteen, Tom WaitsComprised of 15 haunting tracks, the foundation that makes up Trespasses is the accumulation of nearly a decade of bedroom recordings by singer and multi-instrumentalist Nathaniel Shannon. Never intended for the public, the songs on Trespasses present an uninhibited glimpse into the murky corners of Shannon's life-long fascination with the macabre. Shannon describes the album as "a fantastical exploration into the mind of a person trying to hold his composure, and not let his inner demons loose. These songs are inspired by true situations I have read about, experienced, or created as an exercise in living out the life of characters who aren't real, but could be. This is the soundtrack for a horror film that doesn't exist."The perfect manifestation of Shannon's vision comes in the form of Trespasses' lead single and video "Debutantes." Based loosely on Japan's cannibal turned pop-culture figure Issei Sagawa, the song unfolds from his point of view - lust turning deadly not out of evil, but out of a blissful yearning to be one with his object of desire. The video's fitting nod to grind-house aesthetics (directed by Frank Huang) also flips the narrative's gender roles, placing a woman in the lead as a patient, methodical and blood-thirsty stalker. The rest of Trespasses continues the exploration of damaged relationships in varying forms - physical and emotional dependency, superficial connections, volatile love, masochism, loss, religion and even vampirism, all told through Shannon's vivid lyrical style and vocal delivery - an unreliable narrator just on the teetering edge of breakdown.

Cover designed by Braulio Amado PLUS a 100+ page printed graphic novel featuring the artwork of Joshua Ray Stephens.Somewhere between the astral plane and the sticky floors of a biker bar-that's the sonic zone inhabited by Kiss the Dirt. At once heavy and propulsive, blissed out and Southern fried, the highly anticipated sophomore release from Brooklyn's The Space Merchants sits in constant tension between grit and transcendence.Grammy-winning engineer James Brown (Foo Fighters, Spoon, Kings of Leon) produced and mixed the record, building on the promise of the band's acclaimed 2015 debut. That record's sunny psych vibes earned raves from the likes of Magnet and scored a KEXP song of the day.The Space Merchants, though, took their name from a '50s sci-fi novel. And on Kiss the Dirt they set their controls for the ends of infinity, with a thematic sweep that explores notions of mortality, rebirth and chaos. Brown's production adds muscle and finesse, recalling Black Mountain in joining Sabbath-weight power moves and T. Rexian swagger to the earthy groove of The Band and Bobbie Gentry's crossover twang. But it's Mike Guggino and Ani Monteleone's lazer-guided harmonies that, coupled with a layer of atmospheric psych/space tones, launch these ten songs into the cosmos.On the title track drummer Carter Logan (also one half of Jim Jarmusch's musical vehicle, Sqürl) and bassist Aileen Brophy lay down supple slabs of rhythm for Guggino's slithery riffs and Monteleone's organ pads. Guggino and Monteleone trade vocals, toggling between her pure-as-light clarity and his silky crooner's rock as they interrogate cosmic forces ("I named a lot of stars/but I never named the sun/so do you think it knows like I know?"). A Fleetwood Mac-worthy harmony, supported by Brophy on backing vocals, sets up an ascendant and (as usual) ripping Guggino solo.Another standout, "Not Tonight" punctuates its revved up last-dance-in-a-cosmic-honkytonk groove with explosive tremolo bursts that would make Jason Pierce proud. While "All the Love" struts in low and slow, slinking toward an epic jam that crescendos with crashing drums and taught, twined guitar lines before drifting back to Earth and summoning an even bigger wave of sound in the coda. A Stone Roses-style Brit pop jangler, side 2 opener "The Edge of the World" adds another, brighter hue to the aural palette.Kiss the Dirt features cover art by internationally renowned artist and designer Braulio Amado (who has worked on design projects for Beck). And it's accompanied by a 100-page psychedelic sci-fi graphic novel illustrated by Joshua Ray Stevens (creator of album art for Sub Pop's hip hop supergroup Shabazz Palaces). Inspired in part by a Donovan interview, the novel explores notions of mortality, entropy, chaos and control. In it, the band transcends time and space to drink with Alexander the Great from his victory chalice only moments before his death and the collapse of his empire. "The songs on the record are all about being painfully aware of the limitations of mortality," Guggino says. "We are set adrift in a sea of chaos that is the universe, so the graphic novel envisions the opposite-a universe where we are in control, but only for a moment."Elsewhere Guggino's "limitations of mortality" manifest as world-weary laments ("I've done too much living for this world/I know that it hurts") and country-style narratives. "Not Tonight", for example, is a story of star-crossed dance floor romance while "City Lights" tells the tale of a sordid breakup ("Leave your coat on 'cause you ain't gonna come inside"). But on Kiss the Dirt, everything rooted in the ways of the world is just a means for transcending it. So it's no surprise when you hear the record's last lyric: "In that fire I'll be reborn/And I wanna help it burn".

Skryptor - a new NYC trio featuring members of craw, Dazzling Killmen, and STATS - announces its debut album and book of 13 short stories, Luminous Volumes. Luminous Volumes' companion book fits into Aqualamb's ongoing series - the Brooklyn label has made its name by publishing a meticulously designed, softbound book as the official physical format for each of its musical releases. An illustrated collection of short stories, penned by McClelland and other authors, Luminous Volumes comprises surreal and supernatural tales of bloodthirsty mermaids, deceptive twins, trench warfare, and more. And features Writers: Sean Madigan Hoen, David McClelland, Tom Newton, William A. Turley, Maria Gabriele Baker, Chaunceton Bird, Jeremy Johnston, Ian Caskey, Sarah Blank, Benjamin Smart with Illustrators: Mark Shippy, Fritz Welch, Sarah Austensen Wilson, Guno Park, Jimi Sakai, Paul Nitsche, Rich Hall, Roberto Gomez, Stephany Sovitch, Jenna Cha, The Hopeless Artist, Nate Hillyer and Millie Benson.A joint venture between renowned labels Skin Graft, Sleeping Giant Glossolalia, and Aqualamb, Luminous Volumes will be released March 29th in vinyl, CD, and digital formats, along with a deluxe, illustrated, 250+ page book featuring original horror stories curated by Skryptor bassist David McClelland.Meditative one moment and furious the next, Luminous Volumes is the work of learned veterans with a holistic command of loud-rock techniques. Black Sabbath's hazy stomp; the ecstatic modal improvisation of Mahavishnu Orchestra; the leering bass lurch that haunts the Touch & Go Records catalog; the cerebral bite of New York City's contemporary metal underground: Skryptor jigsaws all these and more into wordless songs that feel both familiar and strange at once, as though remembered from a dream.Skryptor's roots stretch back to the early '90s post-hardcore underground. Cleveland's craw and St. Louis' Dazzling Killmen, two of the more advanced and unusual bands of the era, struck up a friendship and occasionally shared the stage. Of craw, a Pitchfork review states: "Post-hardcore, technical metal, math rock, and experimental noise all flow together under a hazy smog of something that resembles jazz." A Dangerous Minds article describes Dazzling Killmen with these words: "Cathartic and discordant guitar stabs, a jaw-dropping rhythm section, arrangements of baroque complexity, and a harrowing, overbearing, inescapable sense of pure dread."David McClelland and Tim Garrigan - guitarists in craw and the Killmen, respectively - reconnected when both found themselves living in New York in the early 2000s. In Skryptor, they join up with one of their biggest admirers and strongest supporters, Hank Shteamer - drummer for bands such as STATS and Aa, senior editor at Rolling Stone, and an avid fan of McClelland's and Garrigan's since his teenage years in St. Louis. A 2015 craw box set, spearheaded by Shteamer and co-released by Aqualamb, led to two reunion gigs, which in turn became the direct impetus for Skryptor: ?When craw powered up again, I realized I had come to some sort of peace with the idea of making music as an endless process, and began stockpiling musical ideas. That led in a pretty natural way to Skryptor, ? says McClelland.Debut album Luminous Volumes was recorded and mixed by Colin Marston (Dysrhythmia, Kelly Moran) and mastered by Carl Saff (KEN mode, Young Widows). The results range from the muscular, kinetic prog-punk of "Red Mountain" and the wild synchronized shredding of "Raga" to the gentle atmospherics of epic album closer "Summer Blossoms." Fans of the members' prior bands will recognize a similar brand of gritty intensity and brainy intricacy in Skryptor, coupled with a new focus on concision, power and improvisational depth.

Brookyln's The Space Merchants haunting, twanging songsfeature perfect male and female harmonies over tunes thatequally evoke lonely country roads & interstellar overdrive.The band has spoken about their own work as a balance of"Johnny Cash and astrophysics." Drummer Carter Loganalso plays in filmmaker Jim Jarmusch's band, SQÜRL.Aqualamb Records is the Brooklyn label fast becomingknown for releasing albums in the form of meticulouslydesigned, 100-page, softbound books."While traipsing through the same atmospheric layers as thehorde of shoegazers out there. Mainly it's singer- guitaristMichael Guggino's touch of gravel and the la-la-ladies doingharmonies who don't go the easy angelic route. If neo-PaisleyUnderground is useable, let's."-CMJ"A unique brand of lo-fi psych rock... their huge-yet-minimalsound, mixing psych with blues and country-style riffs to makesomething great."-Magnet