Release Radar: November 2022
At the end of each month, Afterglow presents a staff-picked list of new albums and singles that left a lasting impression on our ears.
Written by Afterglow Staffers
Here are our favorite albums and singles released during November 2022. For more reviews of recent releases, check out our album review page!
Photos courtesy of Bradley Golding, Eve Fowler, and Danny Nedelko
Shiny Singles We Loved This Month:
“Contingency Song” by Jane Remover
Electronic producer Jane Remover burns, bleeds, and begs for mercy on their latest single “Contingency Song,” a droning dissection of a toxic relationship. The slow-burning six-minute epic is a dark departure from Jane’s earlier digicore works, still its atmospheric nature demonstrates their range as a producer.
“Kiss Goodbye” by Darkbird
Singer-songwriters Kelly Barnes and Brian Cole of Darkbird bid farewell to past loves gone wrong in their new single “Kiss Goodbye.” The scathing four-minute ballad employs unique synths layered over ‘80s-inspired guitar riffs and heavy drum beats, leaving you to stomp and headbang your way through your heartbreak.
“Suddenly” by Office Culture
In the jazzy opener to “Big Time Things,” songwriter Winston Cook-Wilson lays his dreary voice over a collective of gorgeous horns and strings. The song twists and turns through cellos and synths, growing carefully from a string arrangement into a guitar solo. Office Culture could best perform this song in a speakeasy, with Cook-Wilson draped over a piano, and a drink in his hand, toasting to the track’s experimental power.
We’re Not Here to Be Loved by Fleshwater
Image courtesy of Closed Casket Activities
Although Fleshwater features members of punk quartet Vein.fm, its dazzling debut album We’re Not Here to Be Loved has more in common with Deftones or my bloody valentine than its instrumentalists’ other metallic projects. Hardcore influences shine through in the cascading riffs of “Linda Claire” and shouted vocals on “Closet,” but the album is equally heavy on distortion, feedback, and fuzzy production. Its warmth resides in a wall of sound built from grunge, shoegaze, and alternative metal influences. One of the most surprising and exciting demonstrations of this fusion is the album’s seventh track, an angsty cover of Björk’s 1995 song “Enjoy.” Both “Enjoy” and “Linda Claire” first appeared on the band’s 2020 demo prior to the recording of these refined final forms. Two years later, We’re Not Here to Be Loved follows through on Fleshwater’s ‘90s throwback elements while still throwing listeners for a loop with punk flair. — Audrey Vieira
Sweet Evil Sun by Candlemass
Image courtesy of Napalm Records
Making music since 1984, Swedish doom metalheads Candlemass return to the metal scene once again with their latest album, Sweet Evil Sun. Heavy riffs and the vampire-esque vocals of Mats Leven embed lyrical images of ghouls, ghosts, and goblins under the luminous sky. “Angel Battle” samples sounds of chirping crows, church bells, and thunderstorms to give the third track its macabre atmosphere. Slow and sludgy riffs open up the album’s last track, “A Cup of Coffin (Outro),” where smoky heavy riffs end the album’s musical trek through the gates of hell led by doom metal’s most renowned graveyard rockers. With this collection of tracks bringing loyal Candlemass fans to the forefront since their last full length album, 2019’s Door to Doom, the seasoned Swedish favorites added another incredible layer to their already famously praised discography. From Epicus Doomicus Metallicus to now, Candlemass continuously delivers with its unique sounds. — Mar Carmona
CLEARING by Hyd
Image courtesy of PC Music
Hayden Dunham, better known by their stage name Hyd, takes listeners on an experimental journey through love and loss with their debut album, CLEARING. With hyperpop influences and glitchy synth choruses, Hyd breathes life into a new, techy music era with their speak-song cantations and unconventional means of finding inspiration. With influences and collaborations from a spectrum of experimental pop icons including SOPHIE, A.G. Cook, and Caroline Polachek, the record points towards otherworldly futuristic instrumentals and a maximalist approach to production. The record is grounded in the idea that chaos is necessary for growth, which it expresses through lush lyrics. The project’s avant-garde atmosphere uses synthetic and artificial sounds to evoke visceral reactions from listeners while lyrically remaining soft and intimate enough to make its songs feel personal. In “Chlorophyll,” Hyd’s rich vocals starkly contrast the song’s scratchy and ominous background noise to demonstrate the sense of uncertainty that follows the feeling of trying to rediscover your own identity after a breakup. The ballad reaffirms CLEARING’s overarching theme of rebuilding yourself after facing hardships with lyrics like, “Yeah I know that you're not the one to break me / You’re not the one to tame me, I know / I am the one to make me / I am the one to change me, I know / I am the one to save me. CLEARING as a whole is a journey through relationships and identity, with each emotion rich in texture and cohesive until the very end.” — Jencie Tomasek
Come Around by Carla dal Forno
Image courtesy of Kallista Records
Melbourne native and Kallista Records founder Carla dal Forno released her dreamy third studio album, Come Around. Following her 2019 album, Look Up Sharp, this record is an extended invitation from Forno asking her audience to accompany her along a neo-psychedelic adventure. Come Around comprises nine tracks, all of which contain a faint sense of tranquil longing for someone or something to cleanse her of loneliness. The album eases its audience into this journey with the melodramatic “Side by Side.” Incorporating a wistfully melodic vocal paired with a simplistic and static instrumental, the song’s contrasting elements portray a conflicting sense of impending physical vulnerability and an excited impatience whilst about to hook up with someone. In the album's title track, the singer mixes a seductive tempo with dream-like vocal tones to entrance both her partner and audience to “come around.” English artist Thomas Bush is featured in the lulling and aptly titled “Slumber,” where Forno wonders if she is wasting away in her partner's arms and Bush continually responds with ”slumber,” encouraging her to sleep away her worries. The song remarks how settling for the comfort of your partner can hold you back from experiencing your life. The Aussie singer’s haunting album encompasses the journey of love and loss: starting as a supposed fling, blossoming into a feeling of security, and finally ending when you know there is nothing left to support you in the relationship. — Sydney Meier
Times Have Changed by Derek Ted
Image courtesy of $RZ&$
Foreboding reflection breaks through the hazed journey that is Bay Area artist Derek Ted’s latest EP, Times Have Changed. At times desperate and detached, the smoked-out songwriter tackles the mind-boggling submergence of a psychoactive fill and delves from the intense acoustic picking of “A time when we could relax” on sunny third track “Stick and Poke” to the swirly anguish of mid-album ballads. Unafraid of acceptance, the indie folk guitarist finds peak vulnerability on standout gem “Someday Soon.” Marking the halfway point of the album, the track hones intimacy in a stripped-down, rainy performance that backs the delivery of the lines “Now my life’s a forest fire I can’t control / Stand back watch it go.” Widespread in his feeling, the raspy vocalist leaves the album on a sobering high with “SMB Wrong”, and encapsulates an entire stream of soft, rapid, and still thought in just over a half hour’s time. — Deborah Hill
Aberdeen is Dead by Aberdeen is Dead
Image courtesy of Skelte
Based in Dallas, independent alt-rock duo Aberdeen is Dead released a self-titled, third album that exhibits themes of a difficult breakup, angst, and burnout; all of which are unveiled through catchy guitar riffs, grounded basslines and lively drumming. “Child’s Play” is a grungy garage rock track with lyrics fit for a coming-of-age film: “Well one night / Before I went to sleep / I jumped in fright / I wasn’t me anymore / But inside I feel like I’m still that kid / Who’s scared inside.” The eccentric lyrics on closing track “Uppers Downers All Arounders” contrasts the acrimonious tone evident throughout the rest of the record and leaves listeners with a sense of nonsensical whimsy: “Drinking bleach on LSD / Eating water feeding seeds / Hear a scream it’s not from me / Holy hell my world ain’t free / Children dressing up in drag / Put the money in the bag.” Aberdeen is Dead demonstrates the thriving status of grunge/alt scene, showing how signature elements of the genre, like dispirited lyrics and a distorted guitar tone, have been remastered with a modern twist. — Catalina Perez
Support Aberdeen is Dead on Spotify and Soundcloud.