Listening to Bloomfield Machine's new seventeen-track instrumental album, “Copium,” feels a bit like stepping into a terrarium during a quiet downpour. The title itself suggests a kind of modern, knowing self-delusion, the balm we apply just to get by. Yet, the music crafted by Huntington Beach’s Brian Kassan is far too sincere for pure cynicism. This isn’t the sound of giving up; it’s the...

When the Australian band Evol Walks stripped down this version of "Sleeping with a Ghost," they bravely went where no one had gone before. The ominous words and heavy music in the song are well known. The song's version from a year ago is interesting, and it gives us a sneak peek at the band's much-anticipated EP. Evol Walks is known for its raw energy and...