In The Headphones: Enneads, Ora Cogan, clocolan
Enneads
s/t
Birdwatcher
Released: 8/28/26
Enneads is a dark improv trio composed of members bassist Zach Layton, drummer Hamir Atwal, and pianist Phyllis Chen, the group’s self-titled album a deep listen (headphones strongly recommended) that links ambient tonality to mild improvised chaos, occupying space between the noir-evocative iciness of Bohren & der Club of Gore, the sun-drenched traveler’s pace of Earth’s The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull, and the instinctual connection of the players that drive the improvised excursions of The Necks.
Named for the writings of the philosopher Plotinus, and apparently based on a harmonic connection to Pythagorean numerics, Enneads builds around Chen’s distorted stabs of trebly piano and the multitude of sounds Layton conjures via his 17-string bass, Atwal’s bristled snare and cymbal taps resonant against these often discordant backdrops. The trio manage to codify their elements into distinct sonic markers, which they bend and shift into a propulsive and unsettling dreamscape (“Ananke”), an expansive parade of shadows on march (“Eidos”), and disordered revelry (“Kairos”). And though quiet next to the more amplified versions of their doom-worshipping kin, the harmonic-led jazz fusion of “Logos” and near-metallic drone of “Apeiron”would qualify as perfect selections for a sludge metal mixtape, a mire for jazz lovers to appreciate as comedown installments breaking up an otherwise decibel-laden journey.
Ora Cogan
Hard Hearted Woman
Sacred Bones
Released: 3/13/26
Captivating and somehow timeless, I’ve revisited singer/songwriter Ora Cogan’s Hard Hearted Woman many times since its March release, though I feel like I’ve been listening to it for years. For as evocative as Cogan’s voice and melodic touches can seem, a sound that belongs as much to 70s folk pop and 90s art rock as to current time and place, the reference points are so well incorporated into this work that comparisons are simply pointless.
With its title taken from its opening track “Honey,” Hard Hearted Woman is an impressively cohesive amalgamation of rock sub-genres, calling out the often propulsive anchor of post-punk (“Bury Me,” “Division”), folk acoustics (“The Smoke”), shoegaze-evocative reverb (“Believe in the Devil”), and mild country-laced embellishments (“Love You Better”). Cogan’s eclecticism and knack for arrangement extend folk music’s reach, the manner of conveyance airy and poetic, while the mode of delivery can at times indicate solitude or settle into a gentle sway.
Fans of Mint Field, Blonde Redhead, and PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake will especially enjoy this.
clocolan
When the Emptying Sun Filled the Sky
(self-released)
Released: 3/26/26
When the Emptying Sun Filled the Sky is the latest album from clocolan, the project I.D. for composer/producer Emlyn Ellis Addison. Described by the artist as “a soundtrack to solitude,” Addison’s textural narratives, which are often based around recorded segments of dialogue, are built for immersion, exhibiting a core vastness and floating quality that’s consistently emotive and also tranquil at times.
With rarely a beat to be heard, (the album’s trip-hop leaning title track an exception), When the Emptying Sun Filled the Sky is a contemplative work and relays well the ephemeral qualities of observation and interaction, morsels of time, energy, and exchange fleeting as seconds tick by, tonal requiems to passing time. Whether intentional or not, the clinical dialogue in the album’s opening track, “Do You Feel Different Now,” through its echoey audio treatment (“Do you feel different now?” “Yes.” “Less anxious?” “Much less.”) communicates distance and, thusly, timelessness, a repeated melodic theme hanging in the air while reverberating laughter sporadically surfaces. A story around that conversation begins to shape, the sort of imaginary world-building a state of solitude would often facilitate.
There are many moments like these, at times prosaic (“Then The Morning Comes”) or pointed (“We Haven’t Much Time”), that prompt internalized storyboards as Addison’s electro-environs slowly mutate or ascend, the climbing loops of “Wake Toward Me” or Bernard Herrmann-similar intensity of “Not Long Now” incorporating additional tones and textures (Kraftwerk’ish for “Not Long Now”) as these tracks progress. “A Sun Dim At Noon” has a spirit to it that sounds both triumphant and solemn, an overarching glory that cools as its stretches. “Sweetheart,” a track with vocals credited to Mayenne Addison, is composed from swelling walls of ethereal sound with subtle oscillations. “I’m Sorry For All The Things I’ll Never Give You” is a tad more freeform, strands of ebbing dissonance that slowly combine into light shrieks that carry the album to its close, a quiet finale to an album I recommend you listen to with your eyes closed.
Links:
clocolan — Bandcamp
Sincerely,
Letters From A Tapehead
