I always have high aspirations, but I sometimes lack the long-term follow-through. Being a [relatively new] dad is also nearly all-consuming.

When I restarted this blog back at the end of 2021, I had a whole list of records I wanted to write about, with every intention of completing that list, along with restoring as much of the site’s archives as I could. What caught me off guard was how many submissions I would start to receive almost immediately, and how good most of them would be. Back in the blog’s good old days, I got bucketfuls of submissions every day, and I think I was among the few bloggers at the time who actually focused a lot of my efforts on digging through those submissions. I guess that inclination is still with me; it’s just fun to find diamonds in the rough, and I enjoy the opportunity to give hungry new artists a modest platform, at the very least to encourage them to keep doing what they’re doing. But I also spend plenty of time digging for music myself, and I’ve neglected to post about as much of that initial list (and what’s been added to it in the years since), in favor of focusing more on the stuff in my inbox. I’m going to make an effort to post a little less from the mailbox going forward and a little more from my own bag ‘o tricks. (Not to mention, I’ve also fallen off on the work restoring the site’s old content, but I promise that’s still on my radar for anyone out there waiting for something ancient to reappear.)

To this general end, despite having it on my list since the day I restarted the blog, I’m just now getting around to posting Stone Diviner, an exquisite record from 2021 by Ike (Zwanikken), an artist based in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. I don’t know much of his backstory, but he hasn’t released very much under this name. Nonetheless, his sound feels totally evolved and demonstrates all the hallmarks of a fully developed artist. He’s got a newer record out as well, but that’ll have to be added to the to-do list in place of this one, which is basically a perfect record, and which I’ve rinsed to oblivion.

I posted the video for one song from this last year, but there’s no use trying to pick a favorite. The two shared below are as good as any on the record, but definitely do yourself a favor and get the whole thing on bandcamp now.

Ike – “Petale” (bc)

Ike – “Stone Diviner” (bc)