Musk Ox are a chamber folk neo-classical trio formed by Nathanael Larochette, Raphael Weinroth-Browne and Evan Runge, who write haunting compositions for classical guitar, cello and violin. Instrumental but lyrical, sweet yet melancholy, the trio's use of classical acoustic instruments provides a connection to traditional music and yet the compositions feel modern and fresh, with influences felt from heavier styles of music. Inheritance is their latest release from July 2021 ( available here on bandcamp ) since releasing Woodfall in 2014, but the individual members are all prolific artists in their own right and in other group projects - suffice to say that there is a significant rabbit hole of related and fulfilling material to sink your teeth into from these artists. The trio have recently released a music video for the album closing track, Weightless ( link here ), shot in Ottawa's Arboretum near the Central Experimental Farm, a truly fitting setting for the expansive and
Pallbearer Industry, - consisting of Pat Farrell (Guitar, Vocals), Leigh Newton (Bass, Keys, Vocals), & Jeff Dowdall (Drums, Percussion, Synths) - a recent addition to the Ottawa Psych scene, state on their debut album Astral Pollution's Bandcamp page; “Astral Pollution is the direct result of isolation within the pandemic world. Transmissions sent from one studio to another giving way to instinctive musical mutations” . Quite to the point, Astral Pollution has an air of instinctive improvisation. The record is a 45 minute auditory collage of psychedelia, drone and grime; with each of the ten songs presenting distinctively different sonic scenes, bound together by a common flavor of dissonance. The album’s first and eponymous track; “ Astral Pollution ”, is a suitably jarring bookend to the collection. Most immediately, the band’s industrial influences bleed through the lonely synth drone which opens the song: a restless, distorted guitar begins to dance alongside it