I know, I owe you. Between vacation, new year, the first birthday of my child and our AOTY stuff, The Noise Of kinda fell through the cracks. That’s normal, and after years of running the feature, I’m used to it. Naturally, December isn’t that packed with a lot of releases, but there is still enough cool stuff to share it with you!
Massa Nera – Derramar | Querer | Borrar
December 2 // Zegema Beach Records
It wasn’t the most impressive year for skramz, but New Jersey-based quartet Massa Nera gave us a late-year highlight. This album, obviously released through the legendary Zegema Beach Records, delivers on all channels – it’s rough, energetic, emotional, and fantastically paced.
Despite Exile – Wound
December 2 // Kontrolla Music Group
You won’t see me praising deathcore very often, but the big exception of the rule are Despite Exile. The Italian outfit continuously released amazing records, and their newest effort Wound is no exception. If you listen to only one deathcore outfit for the rest of your life, make it Despite Exile.
Ryoji Ikeda – ultratronics
December 2 // NOTON
Not much sense to try to put words on this. It’s wild and meditative, so listen to the shit out of this beauty.
Leland Whitty – Anyhow
December 9 // Innovative Leisure
Leland Whitty is primarily known for his work with jazz fusion outfit BadBadNotGood – but his solo work is equally impressive. With Anyhow, Whitty proved that in jaw-dropping way. I can confidently say that this is one of the coolest jazz records of 2022, and for those who missed it based on the release date, take your time and visit this!
404 Guild – False Dawn
December 9 // Dirty Hit
I was about to say ‘fuck it’ for this episode, but the main reason I run it anyways was False Dawn. 404 Guild created a fascinating piece of art, a one of a kind soundscape, intriguing and rich, with the right amount of British grittiness. Excellent – a shame that didn’t end up on our AOTY list in the end.
Wang Wen 惘闻 – Painful Clown & Ninja Tiger
December 9 // Pelagic Records
Chinese post rock outfit Wang Wen has been pounding out records for years now, but to be fair, only a few were more than decent. That definitely changed with their newest, Painful Clown & Ninja Tiger – a record which could easily classified as the best record of their career. Adding some jazz elements to their sound was a much needed breath of fresh air, and basically catnip for yours truly.
Little Simz – NO THANK YOU
December 12 // Forever Living Originals/AWAL
Lake Cisco – Bricks
December 16 // Independent
Again, a release which suffered a lot from its release date. Bricks is nothing short of the coolest prog of the year, and barely anyone noticed it. Lake Cisco celebrated a glorious comeback artistically, and I hope that people will catch up with this awesome band.
Misþyrming – Með hamri
December 16 // NoEvDia
For a brief period in music history, Misþyrming were the cvltest shit in black metal. The outfit was on the forefront of the myriad of high-quality black metal projects coming out of Iceland – and then, they somehow dropped the ball a bit. With their new album Með hamri, we see a return to form, and I’m all in for that.
Tomoyoshi Date – 438Hz As It Is, As You Are [あるがまま、あなたのままに]
December 19 // laaps
