RELEASES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED: LPs & EPs September 2023

Following on from our list of the best singles from September, we now dive into some of the best LPs and EPs that dropped last month, including the likes Limbs making their spectacular return with Everything Under Heaven, Mad Honey dropping their dreamy shoegaze debut, and prog chaos from Pterodactyl King.

Limbs – Everything Under Heaven (Independent)

Not to be confused with the metalcore outfit, Philippines based Limbs made their surprise return with their new album, Everything Under Heaven. Blending calm moments of introspection with harsh screamo vocals and noodling guitars, it dances through genres and weaves a wholly fulfilling experience. All this culminates in a behemoth twelve-minute title track that tops off Limbs‘ best work to date.

Death Of Me – Hell’s where you make it, Love’s how you fake it (Independent)

With their debut record, UK-based alternative emo band Death Of Me come roaring out of the gates. Produced by Sam Bloors (Graphic Nature and Modern Error), the EP contains eight genre-blurring tracks of post-hardcore, alt rock, and ’80s synth rock. Touching on themes of love, loss, and the human-psyche, Death Of Me have dropped a gem of a record for those looking for some new emo bangers.

Godseyes – Progress // Regress (No Sleep Records)

Godseyes made a name for themselves on the US touring circuit, playing with bands such as Johnny Booth, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, and Currents. Years later, they’ve finally got their debut record out, and it was well worth the wait. Progress // Regress is thirty minutes of meticulously composed punk music with all-out production. “Two of Twelve” is a favourite with its upbeat verse riffs. They even slip some hometown ‘New York’ in with their saxophone interludes. This is certainly one for all self-respecting mathcore fans to check out.

I Feel Fine – Hiking Trails (Venn Records)

This little EP will be a bridge for I Feel Fine fans for the time being. Since their debut in 2021, the UK band emo/post rock band have racked up some impressive streaming numbers. The new song “Hiking Trails” is an immediate classic, beginning unplugged but cranking it for riffy satisfaction later on. The remaining songs are truly unplugged, a style that works wonders for I Feel Fine‘s gang vocals, becoming a soft campfire choir. Hiking Trails also dropped with an announcement of a new bassist, Chris Childs of H_NGM_N, All Better, and Sugar Free. We’re watching I Feel Fine for next year, whatever approach they take.

Torpor – Abscission (Human Worth)

It’s getting colder, so it’s absolutely post metal season. Torpor‘s third album released through Human Worth, joining a roster of frigidly heavy and ethically-conscious bands. When going heavy, the band rattles like a train riding on only one track, with crackling bass and slow, purposeful drums. There’s a lot of lighter, suspenseful moments too, and I love the unusual structures that emerge on their long tracks, which move like the winding epics of avant-metal greats Kayo Dot. Opener “Interior Gestures” is a particularly strong offering which threatens to explode as it fades out from destruction, ending instead with a solemn poem over hostile drones.

Mad Honey – Satellite Aphrodite (Sunday Drive)

Five-piece Mad Honey have been careful not to stuff their debut with overwhelming gaze-noise, landing on a dream pop sound that gives Tiff Sutcliffe‘s magnificent voice and lyricism the platform it deserves. Some tracks certainly rock hard: early track “Heavier Still” turns feedback into a classic alt rock song, and “Eileen” turns soft drone into soaring solos. But besides the drums, all the playing feels ultimately gentle, resulting in an experience that’s both “easy-listening” and engrossing. I particularly love “鎌倉市 (Kamakura)“, which acts as an interlude late into the album: two complimentary acoustic passages for gentle swaying.

The World at a Glance – The Longest Shadow Can Only Recede (Independent)

On the face of it, The World At A Glance could be perceived as having all the hallmarks of post-metal doom, yet those who dive into their world on The Longest Shadow Can Only Recede will find a layered experience of potency and craftsmanship. Brooding string-led moments are built into groove-laden crescendos commanded by the vocals of Scott Mclatchie. Hopefully The World at a Glance will now garner some deserved attention given the spectacle that is The Longest Shadow Can Only Recede,

Pterodactyl King – Pterodactyl King (Trae Titus)

Ten years removed from their catatonicyouths smash-hit “Bandz A Make Her Dance” cover, prog-metallers Pterodactyl King impress with a self-titled LP chock full of stank-facing riffs and soaring melodicism. A stream-crossing combination of progressive tendencies, chiefly landing somewhere between sounds of Periphery and Protest The Hero, the once-meme-outfit have proven themselves to be a valiant and impressive outlet of some of the most fun progressive metal I’ve heard this year. The band’s tongue-in-cheek nature of their earlier years still remains in full force, too, with lyrics such as “fuck them, we ball” (“Pathway To Peace”) alongside the entirety of “How Much Do You Fuck?”, which seeks to paint crass notional extremities of hustle culture and capitalism to provide a hilariously-phrased – yet surprisingly apt and well-executed – criticism of such notions.

VIBORA – Zaldi Beltza (Independent)

Hailing from the Basque Country, Vibora offer up some of the most interesting and underrated hardcore currently in the scene. Delivering intense and emotive vocals, with a range of influences that balance on screamo and ’00s metalcore, Zaldi Beltza is a striking listen that is difficult not to be drawn into. The ability to piece together a record of such vulnerability and emotiveness with exciting and entrancing instrumentals is commendable, and will hopefully propel Vibora to bigger things.