Dean Blunt - BLACK METAL 2 (2021)

One of those releases/events that makes you feel like no other music exists for a hot minute, Dean Blunt returns with a second Black Metal album for Rough Trade, delving deeper into his entirely unfathomable yet completely approachable and direct take on visceral x melancholic folk-pop.

Aided on most of the songs here by (we think) Joanne Robertson - though at the time of writing there are no sales notes so we're not 100% - these songs once again connect to AR Kane’s distinct approach to the avant grade thru imperfection. In effect, it feels like Blunt manages to squeeze all the sterile sheen out of overly tasteful music, leaving a throbbing mass of flesh, blood vessels, nerve endings - exposed and beautiful. It’s what AR Kane called ‘Kaning’ (see Dhanveer Singh Brar’s excellent 'Beefy's Tune’ book for more on this) - and effectively provides a vital riposte to a world in which so much “art" is presented and consumed as a form of numbing.

Tracklist
1. VIGIL (02:30)
2. MUGU (01:39)
3. DASH SNOW (02:00)
4. SKETAMINE (02:32)
5. SEMTEX (01:27)
6. LA RAZA (01:44)
7. NIL BY MOUTH (02:40)
8. ZaZa (02:06)
9.Astro (02:07)
10. WOOSAH (03:02)
11. the rot (03:43)