In early 2025, experimental trio Black Duck went on a tour of Spain with their Thrill Jockey labelmate, the Copenhagen-based singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Elena Setién. The two acts found common ground through improvisation, and developed a nightly habit of sitting in on each other’s sets. Once the tour wrapped, they decided to continue their collaboration in the studio and met up with Chicago engineer Nick Broste a few months later.
Although its three members — Douglas McCombs (Tortoise, Eleventh Dream Day), Bill MacKay (Ryley Walker, Nathan Bowles), and Charles Rumback (Colorist) — combine decades of experience within the Midwestern indie, jazz, and folk worlds, this joint effort with Setién is only their…
You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please Log In.
Cherry Red previously anthologized shoegaze and dream pop with the expansive multi-disc sets 
Most artists will say their music is shaped by their environment, but for London trio 
Two of Britain’s most exciting folk musicians, both of Hebridean heritage, are behind Donn/Dubh (Black/Brown), an album inspired by Saltair na Rann, a 10th-century Celtic collection of cantos in which sacred history is foretold, and winds are given colours. 
Japanese band 
Vini Reilly’s new album as 
Remastered at Abbey Road, 
SYML releases deluxe of live album 
Slow Magic is the second album by 
Przemysław Jankowiak, aka 2k88 (and fka 1988), is one of Poland’s most singular producers. Long associated with alternative rap and experimental electronics, he gained a cult following as a member of duo Syny and later lent his hand to some of the adventurous figures in the Polish mainstream. His music is, like his concerts, full of smoke: airy, cloudy, inscrutable, dreamy, and unreal.
The duo of multi-instrumentalists Courtney Carmichael and Nikki St. Pierre, 
Key to World Peace, the second album by Australian musician Sam Perry, aka 
Shadows opens with “The Lone West,” a short, desolate instrumental featuring a simple keyboard refrain with a flute-like quality and what may be an early ’70s drum machine. There’s a bit of Young Marble Giants in there. The Brian Eno of Another Green World, too. The Ghost Box label’s characteristic nebulousness is also apparent.