Silence is Deafening

Artificial intelligence is intimidating, nobody plays instruments anymore, and no one can create an art project bringing together different creative languages. Fortunately, this month there were some alternative responses to these trends: Over a thousand artists took a stand against the British government’s planned changes to copyright law, Panda Bear is back (he sure knows how to play instruments), and Sonic Boom teamed up with Sinner DC on an immersive project that blends music with visual arts. So, maybe all is not lost. Here, then, is what happened in the world of music this month.

New Album

Panda Bear — Sinister Grift

Excessive sampling (even Doechii fell into the trap again with the re-issue of Anxiety sampling Somebody That I Used to Know), over-the-top tech (AI issues – we’ll get to that later), and nostalgic pastiche (Simon Reynolds’ Retromania never really died) define today’s music scene, often disappointingly. But Panda Bear (always dabbling in all three) flips the script with something rare these days: real instruments. Noah Lennox has been leaning into a classic sound for a while, with the last two Animal Collective albums and Reset with Sonic Boom. But Sinister Grift strips it back to its essence. Recorded in his Lisbon studio with Joshua Dibb, it’s his most accessible, pop-leaning record yet. 

The album blends ‘60s psychedelia, ‘70s power pop, reggae, country, and garage pop. Lennox describes it as going “from light to dark. It’s definitely a contrast”. And you can hear it. It kicks off with Praise, a power pop track à la Badfinger, before shifting into one of the album’s highlights: ‘Anywhere But Here’, a gorgeous 6/8 ballad with a spoken word interlude in Portuguese by his daughter Nadja – pure Brian Wilson energy. Darkness creeps in towards the end with ‘Left in the Cold’ and ‘Elegy for Noah Lou’ (Black Sabbath Solitude vibes, as Pucci noted). Then comes the grand finale: ‘Defense’, with Cindy Lee’s searing guitar – a raw, ‘60s garage pop anthem that leaves no room for anything else. 

It might be early, but Sinister Grift is already among 2025’s standout albums.

Listen via Bandcamp

Soundtrack – First Time on Vinyl

Yo La Tengo – Old Joy (OST)

Old Joy (2006) is the second feature film by Kelly Reichardt, a key voice in American indie cinema. As the title suggests, it’s a quiet gem – minimalist and subtly immersive – framed as a road movie following the reunion of two old friends, played by Daniel London and Will Oldham, better known as musician Bonnie “Prince” Billy and the ever-evolving band Palace.

For the soundtrack, Reichardt turned to one of the defining bands of ’90s and 2000s alternative rock: Yo La Tengo. Their instrumental, bluesy score – created in collaboration with guitarist Smokey Hormel – captures the film’s introspective tone, blending country and folk-inflected guitar work with ambient textures and a warm, understated Americana feel.

Recorded in a single afternoon, the score originally appeared on the band’s 2008 compilation They Shoot, We Score. Now, it gets its first-ever vinyl release via Mississippi Records – a half-hour of effortlessly rich, atmospheric sound across five tracks (plus an alternate version of ‘Leaving Home’, the main theme). A perfect excuse to revisit Old Joy, still one of Reichardt’s best-kept secrets.

Listen/Buy via Bandcamp.

Compilation 

VV. AA. – Is This What We Want?

Silence is sometimes used to make noise. On February 25, over 1,000 musicians released Is This What We Want?, a protest album against the changes the British government is pushing for in copyright law. The proposed law is going to make it much easier for artificial intelligence companies to use copyright-protected work without permission, as a celebrity backlash builds against the proposals. Big names like Jamiroquai, Kate Bush, Damon Albarn, Annie Lennox, and 12 tracks of pure silence – which are actually recordings of studios and empty performance spaces (making it even more alienating) – were produced by Beni Giles for Virgin Music Group. Each of the album’s 12 songs, in the order they’re presented, is titled with a single word. Read one after the other, they spell out the artists’ clear denunciation of a future threatened by new technologies: The/British/Government/Must/Not/Legalise/Music/Theft/To/Benefit/AI/Companies. 

As you can read on the website, “All profits from the album are being donated to the charity Help Musicians”.

Listen/Read via Is This What We Want?

Single track / 7”

Lucrecia Dalt – cosa rara

Lucrecia Dalt’s new project, cosa rara, confirms the Colombian musician and performer as one of the most captivating voices in today’s avant-pop scene. This is her first release since ¡Ay! (2022), an album that showcased her unique sonic world and earned widespread acclaim. 

Released as a limited-edition 7” by Brooklyn label Rvng Intl., the original track unfolds as a two-part journey through intricate percussion, electronic textures and dreamlike atmospheres. At its core is a striking contrast between Dalt’s celestial, hypnotic voice and the deep, baritone presence of the elusive avant-garde singer David Sylvian – icon of the British New Wave scene since the ’70s as a solo artist and with his cult band Japan.

The release is further enriched by two alternative takes that reimagine the track in unique ways, featuring some of the most compelling names from Latin America’s alternative music circuit: Cellist and vocalist Mabe Fratti lends her signature soaring tones and layered strings to cosa rara (en la playa), while producer Matias Aguayo delivers a dub-infused, psychedelic reinterpretation that pulls the song into new mesmerizing territory.

Listen via Bancamp.

Project – Sound and Vision

Sonic Boom / Sinner DC – MAPS

Del rigor en la ciencia (On the exactitude of science) is a one-paragraph short story first published in 1946 in an Argentine literary magazine under the name B. Lynch Davies – a pseudonym concealing the legendary writing duo Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares. Framed as a fictional excerpt from a 17th-century text, it tells of an empire where cartography advanced to the point of creating a map at a 1:1 scale, perfectly matching the empire’s size.

This mind-bending concept serves as the foundation for MAPS, a multimedia project by Sonic Boom – the visionary founder of Spacemen 3 and, more recently, the creative force behind Reset with Panda Bear – alongside Swiss electronic duo Sinner DC.

MAPS blends music and visuals to craft an immersive experience, blurring the lines between art and reality. It invites the listener into a world where sound and vision merge into a surreal, futuristic landscape. The sonic atmospheres are designed as a guide for a virtual, interactive journey – somewhere between a video game and an out-of-body experience. By downloading the platform – developed by Dutch digital artist and programmer Space is Green, find it here – users can freely navigate expansive, psychedelic, and dreamlike spaces – the open world shaped by MAPS.

Listen/Buy via Bandcamp.

Remembering Roy Ayers & Bill Fay

Not all news is good news this month. Since our last edition, we’ve had to say goodbye to two extraordinary artists – both essential figures in our personal musical pantheon. Bill Fay passed away on 22 February at 81, and Roy Ayers followed on 4 March at 84. Though they came from different genres, their careers shared a common thread of innovation and influence.

Ayers, born in Los Angeles in 1940, started as a hard-bop session musician before redefining jazz-funk in the ’70s with his signature vibraphone. His legacy is woven through music history – from his collaboration with Fela Kuti to the Coffy soundtrack (a cornerstone film of the blaxploitation era) to Everybody Loves the Sunshine, his most beloved album with Ubiquity. His smooth instrumentals and irresistible grooves made his catalog pure gold, and through the ’90s and 2000s – also boosted by his contribution to Guru’s groundbreaking Jazzmatazz Vol. 1 – his tracks became essential sample material for hip-hop heavyweights like A Tribe Called Quest, Pharrell Williams, Tyler, the Creator and countless others.

Fay’s story, on the other hand, is one of quiet mystique. Born in London in 1943, he was a folk songwriter and pianist with a gift for crafting evocative, dreamlike atmospheres. In the ’70s, he released two albums on the legendary Deram Records, but mainstream success eluded him. Four decades later, a new generation of musicians, including Jim O’Rourke and Jeff Tweedy of Wilco – yes, the same duo we talked about last month – rediscovered his work, tracking him down and pulling him back into the light. This revival sparked a second artistic life: new albums, cult status and widespread recognition as a hidden legend.

Two artists worth (re)discovering – you won’t regret it.

Lorenzo Villa is a writer and editor based in Milan. He writes about lifestyle for Harper’s Bazaar Italia and collaborates with the literary magazine Galápagos.

Camillo Vegezzi is a writer and editor based in Milan.