Radar Men From the Moon x Twin Sister - Mirrors for Discharge (2025)

Radar Men From the Moon have already around 10 releases, but none of them was very much to my taste. It's different with the live album and one can say it's VERY different as I rarely appreciate live albums at all. And this one, recording of their live set together with Twin Sister made in 2/3 of Dead Neanderthals, I find definitely appreciating worthy. 

The album was recorded during the gig at 2022's Roadburn Festival and, what's important here, the compositions had been all written for this specific set. Both formations are known for their heavy, psychedelic space rock and this is what dominates in the speakers when listening to the album. Heavy, psychedelic space rock squared. The slow, but poignant composition venture towards the noisy and sonically overwhelming realms thanks to a real army of guitars.

But the heaviness is not the only thing. Somewhere in the compositions, hidden between the mesmerizing repetitiveness and meaty riffs and desperate, touching vocals, I hear the dreamy escape offered to the audience. Perhaps it's the space element of their music that invites me so insistingly to the experience. Or maybe it's Twin Sister as it is only their second album ever (under this moniker of course) and they are 2/2 present on this blog.

Mirrors for Discharge costs 7 EUR.

Check: Drowning in Self-Image

Country: The Netherlands

Genre: heavy psychedelic rock

Label: God Unknown Records

Twin Sister - Twin Sister (2020)

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Watchcamp Best Singles of May-June'22 with atmos bloom, Midpoint Union, Onira, The Palace of Tears, Redloz

atmos bloom - daisy

The first single from the incoming album that will follow the band's 2020 debut EP; the Curtis Paterson and Tilda Gratton duo from Manchester present a super airy indie pop that is so very, very catchy. The song costs 1 USD.

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Midpoint Union - Beyond Days

Pedro R. is from Portugal and his music combines synth-based, lively and melodic backgrounds with vocals that in turn combine dream pop's subtle sound with post-punk's vibes all over them. Two songs stay in your head from the very first time you hear them. They cost whatever you want to pay.

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Onira - What's to Fear?

Carefree and tune-rich indie pop with a lo-fi-kind-of noise all over it - this is the Californian band who have recently released their debut single/short EP. Three brief songs cost whatever you want to pay.

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The Palace of Tears - Tears of the Moon v​.​2

The Erick r. Scheid and L.V. Darkling duo from New Orleans create a super interesting take on darkwave music: minimal and atmospheric backgrounds and vocals that range from suggestive whispers to opera-like beautiful singing. Two years after their debut, they are releasing a short but very meaningful EP. Two tracks cost whatever you want to pay.

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Redloz - Ungatz

The Dutch artist Bart de Groot, together with Jonny Parlett who provided vocals, created this airy and melodic piece of dream pop. Two versions of the song cost 2 EUR.

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O SAALA SAKRAAL - Heven (2021)

Three years after the album Etmaal, the Dutch collective O SAALA SAKRAAL is back with a much shorter release. The mysterious band creates a unique, innovative take on dark ambient/electronica and showed it on Heven, released by the great people of Cyclic Law label in July.

The album is meant to be an act of rebellion against religions as complex organizations of mind-altering ideology, a way of "cleansing and expulsion of the dogmatic metaphysical corruption that is dominated in today's mass religions". There's so much to the messages of each of the tracks and I'm not going to lie I understand all of this, you are welcome to read about those on the Bandcamp page provided. However, to achieve all that, the musicians serve a complicated and multi-layered mix of tribal-paced industrial electronica and dark ambient with a big chunk of sacral music (the project's name is not a mistake) within. The latter is achieved by including a four-piece choir that adds to the uniqueness of this project that consists of an ever-changing (sometimes this means "textural changes, sometimes organic and evolving, sometimes abrupt and overwhelming"), meaningful music.

Heven costs 6 EUR.

Check: Apokatastasis

Country: The Netherlands

Genre: sacral dark electronica

Label: Cyclic Law

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An Autumn for Crippled Children - As the Morning Dawns We Close Our Eyes (2021)

They did it again. The Dutch mysterious post-black metal An Autumn for Crippled Children released another great dose of gloomy anger in the form of heavy music. After last year's All Fell Silent, Everything Went Quiet they follow up with the same level of emotions on As the Morning Dawns We Close Our Eyes.

This is a rather short one. Only half an hour but if it's so packed with the post-metal blizzard, it doesn't matter how long it is. It opens very fast with very heavy metal-like guitars and extremely black vocals. And these vibes don't leave for the next 30 minutes. It still feels like post-metal though: the screaming vocals are withdrawn and layered under the guitar noise, there's firm atmosphere and post-rock-like structures too. But it's very, very energetic - to the point where you want to start screaming yourself. The artists know how to spread the emotions through sounds and they do that so well.

There's some additional flavours like slightly sacral themes in the album's best track Splendour Unnoticed or interesting piano intrusions in Last Night I Believe You, but in general it is all about the tidal wave of slightly more post kind of metal and I'm here for it.

As the Morning Dawns We Close Our Eyes costs 10 USD.

An Autumn for Crippled Children - All Fell Silent, Everything Went Quiet (2020) EN

An Autumn For Crippled Children - morfine EP (2017) EN

An Autumn For Crippled Children - Eternal (2016) EN

Check: Splendour Unnoticed

Country: The Netherlands

Genre: post-black metal

Label: Prosthetic Records

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Valotihkuu & Dynastor - Midnight Fairytales (2020)

This is a throwback to the end of the last year when DRONARIVM released this beautiful album that's the result of collaboration between the Russian artist Denis Davydov a.k.a. Valotihkuu and the Dutchman Maurits Nieuwenhuis, better known as Dynastor. Midnight Fairytales are exactly what the title suggests.

It is also a reference to Valotihkuu's previous album, Winter Lullabies. Still, it means that what we find on the album is both a bit dark and very much dreamy. The synthy textured backgrounds are so dense that they create a heavy layer upon which some beautiful sparks of keys and electronics thrive which is so beautifully done in Creature Comforts but also spilling forward to all of the tracks. This really feels like a fairy tale, the darkness of which is only comfortable and the message comforting. And, what's most important, the world of which is beautiful like the music here.

Also, the Bandcamp's description of the album really deserves a whole paragraph all for itself, it's such a perfect summary of what we hear: "Warm, flickering candle light illuminates grandfather's face as he opens the book. Outside insects lullaby the deep dark sky, reflected in the water, a slight rustling through the leaves. You wrap yourself in your bedsheets, waiting for grandfather to start reading, you are ready to go on a journey. He winds up the music box, looks at you with a warm smile and starts reading".

Midnight Fairytales costs 6 EUR.

Check: Creature Comforts

Country: Russia/The Netherlands

Genre: dreamy soundscape

Label: DRONARIVM

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meadowlake - Wait for Me (2020) EN

The Dutch meadowlake have a debut album from 2018 in their portfolio and now they added a new position there, a new release called Wait for Me. And this dreamy to the core dream pop is the best that could happen during so autumny a December like this now.

The album check every item on the best dream pop album checklist. First of all, the ethereal vocals on a similar level that those of RiLF or Hanging Valley so those that for me establish the uberairy vocals on the verge of whispering. Second thing, delicate melodies that melt in the airy atmosphere but before they do, make the listener swing a lot. Third, the artists don't shy away from using some louder, clearer guitars where it's needed. Up to the point where we can easily talk about dream rock here. But never mind the labels, medowlake makes such a dose of dream pop haze that yuo can hardly find anything like it.

Especially when the final notes of Under Your Spell sound, this dense atmosphere of a love ballad is something I haven't heard for a while.

Wait For Me costs 10 EUR.

Check: Under Your Spell

Country: The Netherlands

Genre: ethereal dream rock

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Twin Sister - Twin Sister (2020) EN

A brand new trio made of the musicians from Dead Neanderthals, Sex Swing and Mugstar - Twin Sister, is a must-listen-to for any fan of stoner/post-metal. Their debut album simply called Twin Sister makes quite an impression.

On one hand it is dominated by, honestly, post-rock compositions, on the other - they are shaped in a doom-stoner way - with overwhelming guitars, slow pace making me think of ocean's tides and with some monotony. Twin Sister's tracks don't have to finish with enormous crescendos to crush the audience and show their might. Especially that the whole album is finished with its grand finale in Ashes that is exactly what the other ones but a level higher. It's loud it's resonant and it's keeping tension.

Twin Sister costs 7 EUR.

Check: Ashes

Country: The Netherlands

Genre: stoner post-rock
Label: God Unknown Records

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An Autumn for Crippled Children - All Fell Silent, Everything Went Quiet (2020) EN

What can I say, I really like the Dutch trio of mysterious, anonymous musicians (I hope I posted a picture with them, apparently sometimes they are being confused with... a Polish band Yliaster). So I couldn't miss the new album of An Autumn for Crippled Children, All Fell Silent, Everything Went Quiet  on my blog.

If someone reading the title fears that the band took a sharp turn and started playing something entirely different, can feel reassured as the album is not even a bit less poignant, crushing and loud than other ones. So we have the furious, extremely post-metal vocals that makes your throat hurt from only listening to it, that on the other hand is also a bit withdrawn to the backgrounds so the band's music can also safely be called blackgaze.

Meanwhile, the backgrounds are impressive with their flow, melodies and diversity more than with strictly metal noise. Everlasting is a great example here. On the other hand, there's no shortage of juicy guitars and tracks such as None More Pale are surely gonna address metal fans' taste. The best summary of the album is its finish in the aggressive ecstasy-filled Distance.

All Fell Silent, Everything Went Quiet costs 10 USD.

An Autumn For Crippled Children - morfine EP (2017) EN

Check: Distance

Country: The Netherlands

Genre: epic post-metal
Label: Prosthetic Records

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ME - KAVKAZIA (2017) EN

ME is a nickname of Minco Eggersman, multiinstumentalist from the Netherlands. With his music, he takes the audience for a trip to places they won't be able see otherwise, at least not in the same way. He creates albums and soundtracks, the newest album, as the title suggests, show the uncanny face of Caucasus Mountains.

The album begins with string compositions. But they are far from concert halls and sound more like street artists or a head of the family playing for his relatives. Modest and tear jerking. "Dance" adds guitar and dark vocal of one of the guest artists - and the list of guests here is really impressive.

But the almost-lively tracks like "Dance" are very rare. It's a kingdom of music created to contemplate. Just like it is with the jazzing and surprising with organ sounds "Holy Ground". Ain't easy but it's beautiful. Especially when you get to the looong climax in "Tbilisi Calls".

"KAVKAZIA" costs 10 EUR.

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An Autumn For Crippled Children - Eternal (2016) EN

Quite suddenly came autumn, and together with her (I know, autumn isn't a "she" but it is in Polish and it just fits so much) black nights and raging winds will come too. An Autumn For Crippled Children have autumn not only in their name. Also in the forlorn growl that is being heard from under the layer of shoegaze-metal guitars and keys. And, first of all, in the atmosphere that makes you feel that not everything is alright and as it is supposed to be.

Their picturesque name came from black metal band Ebony Lake's track "An Autumn to Cripple Children". They're around since 2008 but their discography is already very rich - 6 LP's and 3 EP's. Impressing. Nobody knows who they are, what their faces look like or the names sound like, which makes me only more certain that they are autumn demons and their albums are their grimoires. Even now, as summer hasn't completely surrended yet, try listening to AAFCC without shedding a tear for the dying world.

"Eternal" costs 6 EUR.

"This Small Spaced You Occupied Is So Empty Now"

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