Alright, it’s the weekend. Get blown away by music YET AGAIN.

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What do we have this week, Doug? A bunch of reasons why you should subscribe to Heathen D. Five, in fact. Read up/down/

NULL MUTANTS Syncing Feel CS (Torn Light)

Farewell release for the in-house label of Chicago-via-Cincinnati record mecca Torn Light, a shop I’d recommend to anyone, a shop which is actively curating new and old releases based on taste and reach and outside of distributor offerings or market demand. One thing I appreciate about record retail in this town is the ability to get a different experience wherever I choose to go that day, and how I can tailor that experience based on what kinds of surprises I want. If I wanted a no-surprise, ADA/Redeye pilled shop approved by whatever low wattage sites or publicity rackets are pushing that week, I have options (and one of them has pretty incredible under-bin markdown deals left from over-ordering, good news for me, while another one has on occasion solid wall record choices and an amusing selection of VHS tapes and DVDs). If I wanted to specialize by genre or the levers which control everyday listening utility, I got that too, and if I want to go strictly used I have a fairly good idea where the heat’s on against the various cold-water flats out there.

Speaking of water, Torn Light – like an outsized number of record retailers in town – was the victim of a ceiling deluge some time ago which nearly took them out, and so I wholeheartedly recommend supporting their business. It makes sense that setbacks such as these have them consolidating their efforts, so goodbye label, etc., but it also kinda stings, as these folks are built to do more. It’s especially rough because this Null Mutants tape hits a note of accessibility I did not anticipate, to where I’d like a lot more from them and from the heads that thought to bring it to us. We’ll take it as it comes!

Null Mutants is a quasi-digital dub loop guru duo from here in town, and it’s remarkable to note that their take on the form doesn’t immediately jump into the bombast, instead easing into the form on “Peace Ditty,” titrating in the skank via a gentle, quasi-ambient flow that gradually blossoms into filter antics that slowly build out the percussives to a foundation that props up the rest of the EP. Tracks like “Defender” eventually hit a level of toughness/alienation akin to the rusting hulks laid down by Keith LeBlanc way back when, but keep to a cleaner simplicity that allows the pressure to build and dissipate more effectively. Improved workflows notwithstanding, it’ll be great to see where this group winds up on the next one; Chicago is no stranger to dub, but from the electronic roots present here it may have a new outlet for a contender.

BILL ORCUTT Music in Continuous Motion LP (Pailalia)

Freeing compositions of iron-toned brevity from the Twister-fingered seer himself. Orcutt’s guitar maintains its edge but in service of active, bright melodic structures, maybe as a means to slot in/around longer pieces for when the four-guitar quartet hits the road, but that’s probably a disservice to some of his most accessible and soaring works to date. The hacksaw-tipped shards you might know him for are held back until about halfway through this one, and doled out sparingly in favor of modestly-structured reveries, chiming and deep in a way known to guys like Lee Ranaldo or Glenn Branca, but with an equal debt paid to American rock/blues forms as to a postpunk break with bleak realities. One could assume that staying in continuous motion means you aren’t given to deal with the world in the same way, as some level of attention needs to be paid in how to navigate through it. That seems to be a positive, correct assumption, as Bill ably slashes his Gordian knots of technique in this round to concentrate on notes and their formations. Here’s 12 songs about the sunshine, dedicated to the sunshine. Sometimes we forget that it’s there. Maybe it’s back to basics for all of us, identities stashed away so that we can appreciate what’s left together. Maybe not! But these works feel like a path forward in a time when so much is in reverse.