Music I Liked – Saor, Suldusk, Sarparast, Misery Index, Ragnhild, JS Ondara

Saor

I discovered Saor via the Synn Report on No Clean Singing. But with the cover art on Forgotten Paths and a bandcamp bio that says “Metal from Scotland inspired by heritage, nature and traditional poetry,” it didn’t take the level of detail in a Synn Report to know I was going to like this.

Suldusk

A one-woman black metal act from Australia. I want to be her friend. Do I want to listen to her music? “One-woman black metal act” instantly brings to mind comparisons to the one-woman Danish project Myrkur (which I like very much). Other than the descriptor, Lunar Falls also shares some tags like atmospheric and dark folk. But to me it doesn’t really sound the same at all. Suldusk is brighter, less heavy in the guitar and feels more of post-rock than classical extraction. If Myrkur comes from dark caves inhabited by horrors, Suldusk hangs in isolation from a precipice over icy wasteland.

Sarparast

The bandcamp tag “communist” doesn’t do much for me – I think the empirical evidence should have obliterated any appeal that philosophy may have. But Sarparast‘s description hooked me: “Biomedical scientists from NYC with optimism for a better world. Anti-Capitalist. Anti-Fascist. Anti-Racist. Pro-Woman.” From their band photo, I can see that the membership is diverse. These are people I’d like to be friends with. And listen to their music? The Red Council is pretty good on that front, too.

Misery Index

The band doesn’t start with “S” but I did finally listen to them after reading another post by Andy Synn on No Clean Singing where I learned they are using their platform to speak for the silenced. Misery Index sounds like people I’d like to meet. I think it’s weird how much of heavy metal is obsessed with horror films, when there is so much darkness in real life that needs addressed. I love it when a band marries the gruesome sounds I love with an adult awareness of the world. And in the case of Rituals of Power, by gruesome sounds I mean needle-sharp hooks and a squirming bucket of earworms.

Ragnhild

Ragnhild, as you might expect, is Viking metal. But you might be surprised that this Viking metal is from India. I love Vikings and I love India. And I love the reversal of cultural influence. Usually Europeans borrow concepts and sounds from “exotic” cultures. But I had a Japanese friend in college who studied flamenco, and I have a Muslim friend who talks about her childhood habit of browsing Betty Crocker cookbooks and imagining what all those strange foods would taste like. The world is most interesting when we mix things up. Case in point: Tavern Tales.

JS Ondara

Here is another case of an interesting artist who has adopted an exotic tradition. JS Ondara is from Kenya, but he moved to the U.S. to become a folk singer. Tales of America proves you don’t have to be born here to be an American folk hero.