EXCLUSIVE STREAM: Chalk Portraits – “Memory III”


When we last brought you news of Chalk Portraits, the ambient music instrumental project from New Jersey musician Greg Kennelty, we shared the full EP stream of his debut, No Visibility. Now returning with a new release, Memory, we hear the sound evolving in a more cinematic style. Listen to “Memory III” now!

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EXCLUSIVE EP STREAM: Chalk Portraits – “No Visibility” Full EP Stream


Ghost Cult is proud to present the full EP stream of No Visibility, from Chalk Portraits, an ambient music instrumental project from New Jersey musician Greg Kennelty. Reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails Ghosts albums, Wendy Carlos, synth-laden spacey Pink Floyd, and the solo work of Mike Armine (Rosetta), Chalk Portraits mines a musical inner space for the listener to contemplate. Alternately boxing you into an uncomfortable space, but also possessing moments of chilled-out resolve, in just four short tracks, No Visibility takes you on an epic mini-emotional journey. The EP can be purchased at Bandcamp and streamed on all DSPs today. Stream the EP now at Ghost Cult. Continue reading


K-X-P – IV


Ambient music is tricky. Get it right and you can create some of the most mind-blowing, expansive, forward-thinking art imaginable. Get it wrong and you’re left looking like a pretentious mess. It’s very difficult to ride the line of pretension and come out on the right side when making anything that forsakes a conventional song structure, but by album six, you’d think K-X-P would be pretty adept, right?Continue reading


Svarta Stugan- Islands/Öar


When we think of island land masses, amongst many things, there are a couple of notable thoughts and ideals which spring to mind. First is the idea of separation and seclusion, with the idea of remote, undiscovered or unknown locales, untouched by outsiders. Second is the diversity and uniqueness that they provide from both one another and from other land masses; different climates, cultures, unique creatures and flora.Continue reading


Jarboe – Cut Of The Warrior


Jarboe, or Jarboe La Salle Devereaux as she is known to her accountant, is also the other founding member of the legendary Swans. So, no pressure there, then. She’s also shockingly busy, with a looooong discography, and a new ambient/experimental rock album, Cut Of The Warrior (Translation Loss Records) out this month. But is it her swan song, or will it break this reviewer’s arm?Continue reading


Jo Quail – Exsolve


One of the strange facts about Metal is how limited the formula can be, at times. The guitar, drums, bass and warbler model stands firm for a surprising range of genres, from Black Metal to Death, to Thrash, to the NWOBHM… So, give cellist Jo Quail a round of applause for trying something new with her new album, Exsolve (self-released).Continue reading


Infera Bruo – Cerement


Black metal with a clean, crisp production and actual melody isn’t going to work for everyone. To some, it’s just not “cult” enough if it doesn’t sound like it was recorded at the bottom of a well, but Infera Bruo are three records into their career now and they’re still able to sound vibrant and full of ethereal evil. The emphasis, as ever with Infera Bruo, is on the balance of dark ambience with hints of malice scattered throughout. However, while Cerement (Prosthetic) is more to-the-point than previous releases, it lacks the memorable flair of both of its predecessors.Continue reading


Insect Ark – Marrow Hymns


The thing that everyone always forgets about “Post-Rock” is that it was never intended to be a defined style of music. Essentially journalistic shorthand for “I don’t really know what this is, but they use guitars”, it was a useful semi-label for the otherwise unlabelable until someone decided that it was a genre defined by stroke-inducing levels of boredom and its use in a review became the Touch Of Death for all right-thinking people. Continue reading


Cryo Chamber: Miles To Midnight & Ur Djupan Da


It’s starting to feel like I’m repeating myself here, but “Cinematic Dark Ambient” specialists Cryo Chamber remain one of the most consistently engaging and accomplished in any genre, and one of their more interesting qualities is their themed collaborations between artists. For a Metal label these would likely be little more than indulgent acts of vanity, but Cryo Chamber’s collaborations are always among the most distinctive and evocative of their releases, the artists combining their disparate approaches to create a shared atmosphere, often based around a narrative or themed.Continue reading


Cognitive Dissonance – Revolting Roundup #1


In the first of an irregular feature for people with irregular music tastes, Ghost Cult plunges into the chaotic cyclone of abstract, dissonant and frankly horrible sub-underground Metal, Noise and Ambient.Continue reading