Unsigned and Unholy: Cities of the Plain, Electric Hawk, Sykopath Condor
Receiving a listen solicitation from an artist themselves is one thing — and the story of small-town Iowa high school English teacher Samuel Blum, aka one-man band Cities of the Plain, definitely piqued my interest, as did his music on first listen — but it really says something when other readers corroborate with recommendations of their own, especially from as far away as the Czech Republic. I’m not really sure how to describe Cities of the Plain’s music, except that it’s vaguely death metal-based, progressive, slightly doomy and instrumental… so check out Blum’s latest album Salt below via Bandcamp and see what you think:
Another outlet’s review that Electric Hawk posted on their Bandcamp page reads “Think Clutch, Don Caballero, earlier Mastodon, etc.” and that’s fair. One might also simply say “Early Intronaut, minus the vocals,” and leave it at that. The reality of Electric Hawk’s sound is way more nuanced and unique, of course, but touchstone bands help us form a frame of reference and, hopefully, inspire fans of those bands to listen. So, take a gander at the band’s latest album Electric Hawk II via Bandcamp or below:
Are you a fan of boogie-based, desert/stoner metal ala Red Fang and Clutch? Well then get on board with Sykopath Condor! The British group released new album Cell 36 in May and it’s got everything you’re looking for out of this kind of music, from driving, pulsating highs to trippy, psychedelic lows. Here’s Cell 36 via Bandcamp:
