The poet Amir Sulaiman once said, “The Lord will come like a thief in the night,” but I can’t help but think the same could be said about time. It’s already been 20 years, and as much as I’ve championed Subtitle’s 2005 release Young Dangerous Heart (GSL), I don’t know if I’ve made a dent within my immediate circle. But the experimentalist Hip Hop of the album’s sound & textures has withstood the test of time, and giving the release a reboot on his own Get Crev Laboratories, and of course it was the right decision the 6’8” Giovanni Marks could ever make! There are songs that are timeless, like the urban Alias-produced “Gio-Graph-ick” and the apocalyptic OMiD-textured joint “Leave Home (and go far away).” There’s a wide array of innovation sprawling throughout the album, and Subtitle’s lyricism still smacks. While Marks handles much of the production, others have found their way within as well, like Thavius Beck, Life Rexall, Deeskee, and others. Of course I still have the original digipak that I have to dig out of the crates, but it’ll be worth it!  

Here’s something gooey and chewy in the form of the UK’s Powerplant. The band, led by Theo Zhykharyev, has released a handful of singles, albums, and EPs, but this week the band has shared its latest 7”, “Crashing Cars” / “Never Smile” (Arcane Dynamics) single. Going through “Crashing Cars,” the band utilizes its musical canvas efficiently, spreading wide sheens of synths across the ‘scape, punctuated with purposely tinny percussion. Guitars are splattered across it, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge Zhykharyev’s nasally vocal delivery. Sure, it may sound as if he sometimes sings directly out of his sinuses, but man, it works. His voice is made for this. The song may be slightly nostalgic in its synth/punk way, but the melodies reign fire-2025! It’s b-side, “Never Smile” takes a wonderous pop approach filled with synths but led by guitars and Zhrkharyev’s Danzig-like vocal delivery. The track’s rhythm bounces with an uplifting spirit and never let’s you down. These two songs are perfectly packed together alongside one another.

SEXTILE – YES, PLEASE.

There are several FAFO moments that we should always pay heed to, but there are some that don’t always seem to get the recognition they deserve. It’s those moments of pure, unadulterated abandon that offer the feeling of escape. And if you try to take that away, FAFO. That’s when the beat drops and you have no other recourse but to sway your head back and forth, lifting your body to adjust to the rhythm because, well, it’s going to get you.

I’m referring to Los Angeles’ Sextile and its recently released 4^th album, Yes, Please. (Sacred Bones).  The band is made up of both Melissa Scaduto and Brady Keehn, moving far beyond what some might think are their limitations. From the get-go, Sextiles presents itself as an amalgam of styles, all with similar roots but different from one another. You’ll hit the obligatory dancefloor spaces as the band attacks, but you’ll also feel the disjoint of early digital hardcore and electro-clash influences throughout its own IDM. The duo slowly warms us up to its sound through the “Intro,” which leads us into “Women Respond To Bass.” The buildup doesn’t take very long with as Scaduto offers “Women, we respond to bass” right before liftoff. The track’s rhythm is hypnotic as Scaduto and Keehn blend in other sample/keyboard sounds. Some might scoff and life noses because the music may not be composed with traditional instruments but damn it if it doesn’t get your body moving. That’s the point as the music rushes to your limbs and you find your arms akimbo and your legs shifting of their own accord. Both artists share vocal duties and compliments one another with the wobbling “Freak Eyes” over the weight of its melody as Keehn sings “I feel the pressure/ man the pressure I feel when we’re together /and when your body doesn’t feed you under pressure/ And when those stoned thought diseases got you pressed…” oh, oh oh! Are we dropping in or out of the matrix? The rhythm is consistent, throbbing, and uncontrollable. There’s no reeling it in, the damage is done, and we’re the better for it all.  

Sextile isn’t a creature of habit though, as it morphs from one thing to another. “Penny Rose” moves at a slower tempo as the bassline leads us through a glass menagerie of sound. Keehn’s soft-spoken delivery with his storytelling ability is on point and will make you want to know more about her fragile life. But the real change & challenge comes with “Kids” and it hits you where you’d least expect it to. It’s probably its bouncy nature, cheerful melody, and the atmospheric spring in Scaduto voice. It’s enchanting and fitting within the confines of the track’s poppy feel. The band may have a good time for the most part throughout the album, and sure, these songs are made for a madcap dancefloor, but Sextiles change the tone with “Resist.” The song takes a moment before allowing an empowered Scaduto to share her distaste for the oligarchy, removal of rights, and harrowing ways of government influence without needing to say it. This, over a digital hardcore-like pace, and it’s fitting. Fighting back is the only way!

There’s no leaning on a fence trying to decide whether Yes, Please. It should find itself in your daily rotation. Either you love them or you don’t, but what Sextiles has done here within the album with each song may shake the very ground you walk on. Eh, you may not like or enjoy the album, but that would just show that you have no real friends and your life is in shambles. In short, you’d be wrong. This is a masterpiece for 2025 and beyond.