Plague Rages, the newsletter of former Stereogum Black Market writer and Invisible Oranges editor Ian Chainey, has released a benefit compilation for Los Angeles wildfire relief titled A Brighter Light. The nine-track collection spans artists from across genres, with proceeds to be donated to two charities: the Wildfire Recovery Fund and the Pasadena Humane Society. The compilation, which features new music from AGENBITE MISERY, ADAPAR and SILENT SHEPHERD’S HORN, along with stunning art by Lev. fm, is now available via Ampwall.
In early January, wildfires burned through the greater Los Angeles area, killing at least 29 people, prompting mass evacuations, and causing unparalleled destruction. In particular, the Eaton fire, which destroyed more than 9,000 structures in Altadena, has resulted in damage to lower income families that will leave a mark for generations.
In the wake of the fires, Los Angeles residents have banded together, extending a hand to those in need. This charitable outreach has taken the shape of volunteering, donation drives, and benefit shows, among many other initiatives.
“I wanted to be a part of that unprecedented coming together that has made me proud to call Los Angeles my home away from home,” Chainey said. “If there’s one thing I’m good at, and let’s face it, there’s only one thing I’m good at, it’s recommending cool music to people.”
That desire to give back has given rise to A Brighter Light, a diverse assemblage of artists that run the experimental gamut, from post-hardcore to death metal to black metal to jazz and the outer reaches of the avant-garde.
“I was inspired by two things: First, Machine Music’s wide-ranging ‘Milim Kashot’ compilations that highlight so many unsigned and ultra-underground artists,” Chainey noted. “Second, I wanted my compilation to flow like you were exploring one of the old Aquarius Records email lists, like you’re discovering surprise after surprise and hearing stuff you couldn’t imagine even existed.”
Indeed, starting with the ridiculously catchy North Carolina post-hardcore trio Mindvac, with its knotty riffs and careening rhythms, A Brighter Light soon takes a hard left by spotlighting PLAIN CHEESE PIZZA, an RIO-minded prog troop that will put your brain in a twist. The compilation gets no less adventurous from there: WRACK’s bruisingly dubby death/doom, GENEVIEVE’s elegiacally harrowing avant-black metal, PAINTED THROAT’s deathly drone, and EHNAHRE in maximum experimental mode.
Of the new material, New Hampshire three-piece AGENBITE MISERY’s “Cascara Sagrada” has an omni approach to metal, pulling the threads of many genres into one terrifying and cacophonous whole. ADAPAR, the collaboration between jazz leading lights Álvaro Domene and Álvaro Pérez, submits “Jägala,” an unearthly amalgamation of timbres that alternately beguile and bewilder. And SILENT SHEPHERD’S HORN, a solo black metal project from Kansas City that came to the attention of the avant-garde scene after a well-regarded split with chamber grinders VMTHANAACHTH, rages on “Rushed on in Blindness of Destiny,” bringing A Brighter Light to an appropriately thrilling end.
And then there’s the art. Lev. fm, who has contributed artwork and design to a number of bands, has created another evocative album cover. The sun-suffused floral design matches the compilation title, A Brighter Light, which is itself a reference to a David Lynch quote about how light always seemed brighter in Los Angeles. “The flowers suggest rebirth and regrowth, like those species that take root after a fire, such as the fireweed or the fire poppy,” Chainey wrote about the cover art in the compilation’s liner notes. “Viewed in that light, the piece takes on a new power: that even in this time of upheaval, flowers will once again bloom under that bright Los Angeles sun.”
The beneficiaries of A Brighter Light‘s proceeds both perform essential work in Los Angeles. The Wildfire Recovery Fund was set up by the California Community Foundation, which helps fund a variety of LA County nonprofit organizations. The Pasadena Humane Society is doing important work on the frontline of veterinary care and reuniting pets with their families.
A Brighter Light is hosted on Ampwall, “a public benefit company created by lifelong DIY musicians,” per the site’s mission statement written by founder and Woe member Chris Grigg. Its goal is to “[build] a better platform for independent music,” restoring the dignity of musicians in a world that has minimized creatives. “There was only one choice to use a platform for this compilation,” Chainey said, “and that’s a site that lives by a DIY ethos.”
Ultimately, A Brighter Light is a wild ride, a compilation like few others in metal, that forgoes quantity for a highly curated listening experience. That’s no accident, as Chainey made clear. “It was important for me that you could throw the compilation onto a CD like the old days when you’d burn a mixtape for someone to show them who you really were.” In that sense, then, these nine artists and Lev. fm, who have donated their time and energy, are doing precisely that, showing the world who they truly are while helping Los Angeles.
Purchase HERE: https://ampwall.com/a/plagueragespod/album/a-brighter-light
Track Listing:
- Mindvac – Speak Friend
- Plain Cheese Pizza – Camels (can go a very long time without drinking any water)
- Wrack – Repulsive Gravity
- Genevieve – Ego part 2- Harrowing Halls of their Infernal Hubris
- Agenbite Misery – Cascara Sagrada
- Painted Throat – A Big Rain Pours Some Leaves Out Of The Trees
- Adapar – Jägala
- Ehnahre – Las Pinturas Negras
- Silent Shepherd’s Horn – Rushed On In Blindness Of Destiny