Not all of Stereogum’s favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This installment’s virtual milk crate contains Pumice, Nurse With Wound, DJ Scotch Egg, more from Hayvanlar Alemi, and something from Ulver

Pumice is New Zealander Stefan Neville. His new album QUO is my favorite of his dozens of releases, which go back to 1994 — he’s added a heavier rock ‘n’ roll kick to the usual melancholic folk and off-kilter noisy pop. It feels like he’s really leaning into it this time, allowing punk and hardcore shambles to abut the blues, loner psychedelia, and lo-fi hiss. He definitely went noisier with 2007′s Pebbles, but this is a darker racket. At this point, Neville has me thinking of my favorite NZ bands from the height of Xpressway and Flying Nun — Terminals, Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos, the Jefferies brothers, Dead C, etc. Pumice is a one-man band, so the sound’s insular, though not claustrophobic. This is what he sounds like some of the time.

[Photo by Blink]

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