Seven Layer Bar
Indie Rock, Death Metal, Deep House, Minimalism, Power Pop, Alternative Rock and much more!
Hello y’all!
I’m still here, doing my capsule reviews as often as I am able to. I still haven’t gotten back into the swing of the new music release days for 2026, but a couple new records have definitely caught my ear already.
A fair warning, the past couple weeks I’ve been in full-on death metal deep dive mode, so we’ve got a bevvy of aggressive stuff in here but (as always!) I’ve tried to pepper it throughout so there’s something for all y’all regardless of your tastes. Let me know what you think!
Emoji legend:
⛏️ denotes picks of the week, my favs.
🌱 seedling denotes albums like a lot and expect could grow on me over the year.
✨ albums I would recommend to fans of the genre (i.e. it might not convert new listeners, but you should check it out.)
✂ denotes favourite tracks from a given record.
As always, feel free to reach out over on BlueSky or join the Rosy Overdrive Discord server where I can be found now and again.
You can also find me in the corners of Rate Your Music scrounging for obscure emo, hardcore, indie rock and pop punk.
Don’t forget: if you’re reading this in your email it will be cut off.
Read on the web for the full list of reviews!
Erik Hall - Solo Three (2026)
Genres: Minimalism, Process Music
By virtue of this being Erik Hall's take on four different pieces of American minimalism, this feels maybe a little less profound than Canto Ostinato did, but it's still gorgeous and feels like it is actively clearing out my brain and getting me to breathe again.
Their approach remains the same - recording every layer themselves in reaction to the previously recorded ones - and they are pairing a shorter piece with a longer one on each side. I think "A Folk Study" into "Music for a Large Ensemble" are the most impactful as a pair, but I might also think that because they were the two tracks released in advance so I've had some time with them. They're also maybe the more 'active' pair. "The Temple of Venus Pt. 1" and "Strumming Music" are also great, the latter of which is very hypnotic and goes some beautiful places.
Tombseeker - Tombseeker (2026)
Genres: Death Metal
This has the chainsaw HM2 death metal sound going on, paired up with the cranked snare sound from hardcore. Honestly, first impressions got a hell yeah from me. This feels like somewhere in the venn diagram overlap between death metal and hardcore, but it doesn't seem to be doing it in the way I've understood "deathcore" to be? Press kit name checks Bolt Thrower, Entombed and Suffocation so maybe I'm off in how much hardcore there is in here? Can definitely hear Bolt Thrower in the tank-heavy riffcraft though. This might suffer if you are looking for originality, but I was pretty taken by this on a real gut-level way. Fun "punch through a brick wall" kind of record.
Since this dropped on the 16th, I’ve listened to it probably 8 or 9 times and I just keep loving it. Enormous and wildly addictive.
Two Thumbs Down - Keena (2026)
Genres: Indie Rock, Emo
Much shorter and concise than End All Be All, which saw the band doing everything from random ska upstrokes to horn-adorned indie rock alongside scrappy punk and more.
This one draws a bit more in the lines, featuring mostly melodic indie rock/emo of varying strains. The opening song builds upon Weezer-esque blown-out, churning guitar melodies, and "Get Bent" has that kind of emo-grunge thing going on. They jump to adjacent genres with a jangly acoustic number, but nothing so out-there that it isn't somewhat expected.
I think the shorter EP-length running time here helps and hinders things a little bit. It helps that this is over before you know it and might leave you wanting more, but it also makes this feel a little lightweight—almost like it's a stop-gap collection of tunes between meatier releases. But regardless, I liked the songs here so I can't complain too much.
That Dog. - Totally Crushed Out! (1995)
Genres: Power Pop, Slacker Rock, Alternative Rock, Noise Pop, Post-Grunge
This is one of those albums that unlocked a band for me. I always knew the band from seeing the “Old Timer” video here and there but never really looked into them beyond that. When I first heard this LP in my 20s, it was a real hidden gem type discovery. Then I heard how they went from the scrappy soft-loud indie rock to the enormous sound of Retreat From the Sun and it really cemented them as a great band in my mind.
Listening today, I can say this album has some pacing issues - it's top-heavy with songs like “Ms. Wrong” and “He's Kissing Christian” and then the second half slows things down with a few softer songs in a row and the immediacy is lacking a little bit. But aside from that wrinkle, it's got most of what I look for in an album: noisy indie pop, great harmonies, something to set them apart (the wonderful addition of violin / cello) and a sprinkling of big hooks.
Drawn and Quartered - Extermination Revelry (2003)
Genres: Death Metal
My experience so far with Drawn and Quartered has been a little varied, from loving Hail Infernal Darkness to merely enjoying The One Who Lurks and Lord of Two Horns. I was wondering if maybe they were a one-album band for me, or if there was some kind of magic to their earlier/mid-career work that spoke to me.
Well, it's looking a little like the latter because this fucking kicks ass. This is everything I want from a death metal album served up to me on a silver platter. Enormous riffs, lots of diversity sprinkled between the enormously heavy and the frenetically blasty. A couple thrashy solos for good measure, maybe a light dusting of doom once in a while. Clarity to the production, but not in a way that sacrifices their filthy gnarliness. Thank you, can I have some more?
Maybe familiarity will help me unlock their career trajectory since nothing I've heard from the band has been bad, but for now I'm truly in love with this period and am beyond stoked to hear how Return of the Black Death sits between the two surrounding albums.
That Dog. - Retreat From the Sun (1997)
Genres: Power Pop, Alternative Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Post-Grunge
Probably more consistent an album than Totally Crushed Out!, with highs that reach a similar watermark ("Never Say Never", "Minneapolis") but there's a "major label" feel to the enormous guitars and relative slickness compared to the previous album. It's a bit more power-pop focused with alt-rock and post-grunge style, although still built upon their foundation of hooky, noisy indie rock/pop with violin. If it makes any sense, this is the comfort album I'd probably reach for more often, but Totally Crushed Out! is the one I appreciate more in my brain?
Drawn and Quartered - Return of the Black Death (2004)
Genres: Death Metal
I listened to Extermination Revelry and said "Can I have some more?" and then Drawn and Quartered said "Yes, yes you can." Potentially suffers slightly due to how much I liked Extermination Revelry, but this also shreds.
The Muffs - Blonder and Blonder (1995)
Genres: Power Pop, Pop Punk, Punk Rock
Absolutely enormous one-two-three-four punch on Side A from "Agony" through "Sad Tomorrow". I don't think The Muffs have ever really been an albums band for me, despite them having crafted some of my all-time favourite songs (probably more than I could count on my fingers, to be honest) across their discography. From the beginning with The Muffs they were the kind of band that would top-load their best songs and often their albums would then dive head-first into all kinds of deeper cuts and lesser songs. But they always would have songs like "I Need A Face" or "Funny Face" (not all of them are face related I swear) sitting somewhere on Side B to keep you engaged. So, like many albums from The Muffs, this is relatively uneven but the highs really kick ass.
✂ Agony, Oh Nina, On and On, Sad Tomorrow, I Need a Face, Funny Face
Décryptal - Simulacre (2025)
Genres: Death Metal
Death metal out of Quebec and released in conjunction with the Me Saco un Ojo Records label, which gave us that Degraved album I loved so much? You know I'm stoked to hit play on this one.
And immediately, this has both the ingredients and the measurements down. Songs have elements of cavernous death with a sprinkling of doom-y atmosphere, but also jump around between fast and slowly crushing passages.
This all feels really well tuned to give you a bunch of the stuff you want, without it being overly "technical" death metal. Just because they aren't sitting too still for any length of time doesn't mean they're flexing their mathematical brains or whatever, you know? Just a good mix of classic chunky death metal with a few blistering solos here and there, plus some slight groove to their riffing tossed in for good measure.
Have seen this compared to Phrenelith in some reviews, but that most recent Phrenelith record didn't do much for me and this feels a lot more varied. Maybe the worst thing happening here is the band have their bag of tricks, and they wield them a little predictably. But when those tricks are the kind I like to see? I'm not complaining all that much.
Susumu Yokota - Baroque (2004)
Genres: Deep House, Breakbeat, Ambient House, Trip Hop, Illbient, Japanese Folk Music
Bounced around Susumu Yokota's discography this morning looking for a way in, since their releases vary from legitimately ambient/collage type stuff all the way through to deep house and IDM. Generally, my tastes probably sit somewhere leaning towards the former, though I do enjoy some ambient music from time to time.
Upon first glance, this felt organic and textural in a way that grabbed me so I dove in here. "Deformed Pearl" was immediately the kind of thing I go for. Repetitive and cyclical but with nice melodies and some good turns. A lot of this is very kaleidoscopic, but it only dips into overly "playful" in theme on something like "Royal Flush" which was a little over that line for me personally. There's some tasteful "illbient" elements as well on songs like "Spinner." "Nacre" is a pretty gorgeous closer though and left me impressed.
Nearly 60 minutes of this might be a bit much for my patience, but this feels relatively undervalued considering it has less than 220 ratings.
Drawn and Quartered - Merciless Hammer of Lucifer (2007)
Genres: Death Metal
For a band primarily known for their consistency across their 9 album discography, they do offer quite a bit of stylistic tweaks throughout their career. I'm certainly not a black metal expert, but some of this sounds a lot more in the realm of blackened death than the rest of the D&Q albums I've heard (i.e. "Funeral Pyres of Annihilation"). Not that they're changing genres or anything, but they're tossing in some riffs and melodic elements that really brought to mind that genre. The production here is similarly tweaked, and sounds a little distant compared to some of the other D&Q albums which often have a crispness to them.
Don't let it seem like I'm down on the record though, I think this is a really interesting and cool corner of their discography and it's interesting to hear a band I felt like I had nailed down shaking that off a little bit. This has more of a gloomy, dank atmosphere in comparison, but some of their lead guitar work will pierce through in really intriguing ways ("Bloodbath of Renewal").
Of all their albums, this one feels the most like a sleeper to me and one that might take some repeat listens and familiarity to really unlock, but I also dug it quite a bit upon first spin.
Plague Bearer - Summoning Apocalyptic Devastation (2023)
Genres: Death Metal, Black Metal
Had to break off from the mainline Drawn and Quartered releases to check in on this one, thanks to a reminder from dewtaylo.
Ended up being a good idea after hearing some blackened influence on Merciless Hammer of Lucifer, because this continues that influence and takes it a pinch further. And it really works, not because they've pushed the black metal elements beyond that album, but because they've further folded it into their death metal brew in ways that feel like they're working with chocolate and peanut butter. This hauls, sounds totally evil, and will make you want to flatten a brick house or something. Don't have much insightful to say here other than hell fucking yeah.
Digginlilies - Popula (1999)
Genres: Indie Rock
Mid-tempo indie rock with emo-adjacent songwriting that churns and bubbles with guitar-forward energy and very plain-faced vocals. At times it reminds of slower The Get Up Kids tunes, though generally it has that kind of slacker indie talk-singing type vibe that might bring to mind simpler Pavement songs or maybe a sleepier Mock Orange. One song here is notable for being the only piece of music featured in a scene from The Blair Witch Project. Decent stuff, not too shabby at all, but not incredibly memorable either.
Immolation - Here in After (1996)
Genres: Death Metal, Technical Death Metal, Dissonant Death Metal
I think I am about to the point where I've listened to too much death metal in too short a time period and I'm starting to be unable to accurately express my thoughts about it. Despite this, I decided I needed to throw a “bolded” on RYM classic in to the mix and since everyone is always mentioning Immolation in relation to Drawn and Quartered (who's discography I have been binging) I might as well start here.
This is relatively crisp sounding for something with a dissonant death metal tag, but it splits the difference really deftly. It remains legible, while being dissonant and intense with a nice level of technicality. I tend to enjoy stuff that jumps around, tosses a variety of riff styles into the mix, but doesn't get too high-level egghead about the technical angle. This suits me really nicely in that regard because there's a lot of entertaining rhythmic back-and-forth going on here.
Interesting to see the comments box saying how difficult this is, because personally I find stuff that is nothing but walls of dissonance, blasts and tremolos a lot harder to parse than this type of death metal.
Xenomorph - Empyreal Regimes (1995)
Genres: Death Metal, Technical Death Metal
First instinct here is that this sounds grimy as hell, is quite ambitious, and can really haul at times. If you told me while I was listening to this that they were from Omaha I'd never believe you. There were moments I questioned if they were even singing in English, lol.
The drummer is really going for it here, which I appreciate, even if the comments box is right about the kicks being a little sloppy. Honestly, I'll take an organic, sounds like a human performed it style performance like this over insanely repetitive robotic performances you hear in death metal sometimes.
One big downside to this ultimately is that the band really likes to stretch out their legs and crank running times up to 8+ minutes. None of these songs dip below five minutes and they have a lot of asides and diversions, usually in the name of more riffs. These songs are long enough that I want to call them vaguely progressive, but in practice it's mostly a lot of riff repetition. Sometimes when they push that to the extreme, it gets boring.
They also do that thing where, in an attempt to sound as vile as possible, they seem to be practicing some real 90s edge lord tendencies, particularly on "Wehrmacht" which obviously is about N*zis. Based on their penchant for horror movie references (The Keep, Subspecies, The Exorcist etc.) and their lyrics not really revealing any actual point of view, this feels aligned with black metal in that "we want to sound as evil as possible" kind of way. Feels super gross, regardless, and made me like this a lot less as you might expect.
Maybe it’s ridiculous to expect death metal from the 90s to have a point of view instead of just having a song be on its face “just about something evil, mannn”, but these days I don’t really have the patience to overlook that kind of thing to be honest.
That’s it, that’s all. Be excellent to one other.
Your description of the Erik Hall record has me so eager to check it out! I love Branca and Reich and I’m curious to hear what his interpretations are like.