Articles
The Fun Years
Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia
James Blackshaw
Lullatone

Albums
@c
Antenne
Antripodean Collective
Rudi Arapahoe
Black Gold 360
Brael / Tokyo Bloodworm
Richard Chartier
Jack Dangers
Rae Davis
Depth Affect
Taylor Deupree
Engine7
Emanuele Errante
Force of Nature
Gel-Sol
Glissando
Hardfloor
He Can Jog
Hulk
Adam Hurst
Kenny Larkin
Loco Dice
Mad EP
Maju
Marc + Hillage
Izumi Misawa
Nico Muhly
Toshimaru Nakamura
Organum
Maja S.K. Ratkje
Nicola Ratti
Recue
Renfro
Sawako
Seawalker
Raoul Sinier
Spyweirdos et al.
Svartbag
Tape
John Tejada
Tietchens + Chartier
Transitional

Compilations / Mixes
Ai022LP
Buzzin' Fly 5 Golden Years
Cielo-Cinco
Deconstructive Music
Om: Miami 2008
Sounds of Om Vol. 6
Traum 100
Underscan Now

EPs
Claro Intelecto
Funckarma
Tanaka Hideyuki
Jona
Alton Miller
Move D
saidsound
Sebastian San
Scott vs. Vaz
Philip Sherburne
Vakula

Transitional: Nothing Real Nothing Absent
Conspiracy

A new project by guitarist, vocalist, and programmer Kevin Laska (Novatron) and bassist Dave Cochrane (Jesu, Grey Machine), Transitional specializes in densely layered skull-crushers, six examples of which comprise its debut release Nothing Real Nothing Absent. Just when you think “Nowhere Shining” might introduce the album with six minutes of orchestral sweep, drums and raw guitar slabs roar in at the two-minute mark to take the roof off. The group's sound grows ever more gargantuan in the moments that follow until it reaches an annihilating pitch during the closing minute. In the bleak soundscape that follows (“Fractured”), we hear the steely churn of factory machines still operating following the apocalypse. The distorted shudder of helicopter blades also seems to be present and guitars writhe in agony amidst scattered blasts and charred metal. Vocals bring some semblance of normalcy to the raging storm of guitars and deathly drum plod in “This Paradise Part 1” In “Lustless,” a deep voice croaks “Your body / Your heart / Your eyes / Your broken mind”—not quite your typical romantic serenade—after which a fireball of guitar fuzz drops like a guillotine blade. The relatively meditative closer “Abandonment” conjures images of the stillness and quiet that would pervade that smoldering landscape following the meltdown—a welcome moment of peace given the relentless pummel of the album's other material. At thirty-three minutes, Nothing Real Nothing Absent is short by CD standards yet it feels like a complete statement, especially when the material is so decimating.

July 2008