Now Playing #2 – September 2026
I didn't really know how often I wanted to write about the music I'm currently listening to – given that it's been around 6 months between the first #NowPlaying blog post and this one, I guess it's about twice a year.
That said, I didn't feel like there was so many excellent albums on my plate at once until very recently. Something hit me near the end of August I've been really enjoying what I've been hearing in recent months.
There's a bit of hard rock in here, a bit of dancy goodness, and a video game soundtrack. Enjoy!
A Long Time Coming: Junius – Sotera
Junius, the prog metal duo from Boston, have been an incomparable band for me for about 15 years now. 'Reports from the Threshold of Death' blew me away at a time in my life when I was starting to dive a bit deeper into metal sub-genres, and the combination of crushing guitars, booming vocals and the odd time signature change was enough for me.
Fans have had to wait almost an entire decade to hear a new album, and fortunately it retains the classic Junius sound while also feeling fresh and not borrowing too heavily from old ideas. The vocals feel a bit more subdued (natural for a band who's matured over twenty years of releasing music) and sit back in the mix nicely, but the songwriting is sharp and should keep your attention is distorted guitars are your thing.
The 'A' side of the album is the clear winner to me – the band selected 'The Oracle' and 'Iniatrix' to choose as their promotional singles (at least as far as making music videos for them), but 'Disciple' and 'Summon Her' are the standout tracks I keep coming back to.
Great to see that these guys aren't slowing down or going away any time soon.
Fun Space Rock: Modula Nation – The Rift
At times it's funky, at times it's straight up radio-friendly rock, sometimes it gets really proggy, the band plays wearing space suits (sometimes), and if you want to hear commentary on what they don't like about our modern world, there's plenty of catchy lyrics to obsess over.
Modula Nation sit somewhere between funk rock, prog rock and psychedelia – but are happy to flow between genres instead of trying to constantly blend them together. Leaning into one style over another shows off their solid musical chops; they clearly don't want to be typecast.
Go watch the music video for 'Silicon Carne' – the tongue-in-cheek AI-generated content flows nicely with the general theme of the album, but they're also happy to show off that they're an entertaining, hard-working band at the same time – costumes be damned.
The closing track 'Soul Fever' is easily the most powerful track on the album – clocking in at just over 10 minutes it's a wild journey from their funkiest to their most progressive songwriting, without letting your mind drift off. When the album finishes up, you'll wonder where the time went.
'Wake Up, Time to Get Out of Hypersleep': Paul Zimmerman – Space Haven Soundtrack
Here are some chill vibes to listen to while your space colony goes about their day on your personally-designed spaceship, constantly trying not to die from a hull breach from a meteoroid or lack of oxygen. Zimmerman's synthy melodies coupled with a touch of ambience and space-y atmosphere helped set the mood for the indie survival game; you can tell the tracks really leaned into a feeling of minimalism to reflect the empty vastness of space.
While playing the game, it took me several days of playing to realise that I was frustrated by the lack of music, as it only played occasionally. Fortunately that can be changed in the settings, and I immediately fixed it to 'Constant'.
Zimmerman has proven his ability to nail the feeling of the different activities performed on a spaceship, whether it's spending a boring workday growing food crops as a botanist, or the tense & deadly nature of being sent out to derelict ships battling robots & aliens.
Credit should also go to Scalefin who adds vocals to the prologue and the credits track 'To the Moon', which add an ethereal & personal element to the soundtrack.
Tracks 'Infinity' and 'Are We Lost' are my picks of the bunch.
Fun Boppy Times: DJ Seinfeld – If This Is It
I've got a few friends going to Meredith later this year, and in their valiant attempts to get me interested to tag along, I thought I'd check out the headliners and see if it was my jam. DJ Seinfeld scratched an easy-going dancy itch that I haven't felt in a long time.
This album oozes 'fun summer afternoons by the beach' from start to finish – expect dreamy melodies, soft and easy-going vocal hooks, and uncomplicated beats with a few subtle layers underneath. However, I wouldn't think this record is out of place at 2AM as the party vibe starts to wind down.
I don't think I'd ever be a massive fan of DJ Seinfeld, but I wouldn't be surprised if I spin this regularly throughout the upcoming Australian summer to set a fun mood. My favourite tracks on this one are 'Turning the Page' and 'Our Mother's Walk'.
Weird entry: Scare In A Box – Creeperobics
I stumbled across this by accident while searching for some new music to explore out (Band.codes and GetMusic.fm are the main sites where artists release their music for free to download) and the description and artwork immediately hooked me in.
Creepy aerobics. That's the gimmick. It sounds exactly like you think it does.