By It’s our final Bandcamp Picks of 2025, featuring Syrosis’ madcap hip hop record #ASIAM and Steve Morse Band’s visceral instrumental prog-rocker TRIANGULATION!
SYROSIS – #ASIAM
GENRE: Experimental Hip Hop, Trapsoul
FAVORITE SONGS: “#FRESHOUTDABANK!,” “#BESTIN!,” “#AFRIKA!”
Syrosis’ #ASIAM is a high-risk, high-reward project that throws a knockout punch in New York City’s extremely competitive hip hop market. It infuses a broad range of influences from hip hop, R&B, and rap, most songs clocking in at under three minutes, shifting between tempos, trading quick-spit bars on tracks like “#NINETEEN94!” for sultry backing vocals on “#HOMECOURT!”
The lyrics tend to refrain from overly sophisticated messages, leaving complexities up to experimental production. #ASIAM’s heart beats to the pulse of trap music infected with the sway of 2000s R&B club hits, new life breathed in from unexpected touches, dialogue sampling what sounds like mallet percussion on “#Glitter + Coal!” A jazzy intro preludes the album, eventually cueing in urgent piano keys on “#FRESHOUTDABANK!” The pace alarms the listener, as if they’re about to have some Kendrick-grade wisdom dropped on their heads. Rather than a sudden explosion, the keys build and burst into a 17-song hip hop anthology that feels much longer than 29 minutes. “#BLOWINMYMIND!” could be seamlessly mixed into a club DJ set, sandwiched between T-Pain and Trey Songz. “#WAR!” launches into heavy bass that lurches between animated slot machine effects, igniting a rowdy energy more comparable to a Carti beat.
“#WHEREISTAY!” and “#BESTIN!” tackle sex and relationships from a rather blithe perspective, and “#ILOVEMYHATERS!” is as mischievously straightforward as its title suggests: “I love all my haters / Shoutout to the women scheming on me for the paper / I love y’all too.” Lighthearted lenses tastefully arrange personal and social commentaries, littered in the wit of “#AFRIKA!” or the striking inclusion of an audio clip from THE EDUCATION OF SONNY CARSON in “#Glitter + Coal!” “#AFRIKA!” is an #ASIAM standout given extra flair from another New York artist and self-described “sound maker,” DEY-G. On top of its infectiously catchy bounce, the lyrics of “#AFRIKA!” make up a playfully sarcastic bid with the subject to take pride in their identity.
It’s difficult to decipher Syrosis’ ability to code #ASIAM so that no element of sound or lyricism feels inconsistent with the greater project or pushed-in relevance, leaving it up to the listener to decide what resonates. It may just be that #ASIAM’s requisite dialogue samples are the key unifying factor. Some are maternal, some confrontational, but their pervasive inclusion makes the album more intimate, pivoting through songs in the manner of endless banter with a close friend. The final vocal integration of #ASIAM closes us out on a mic-drop: “If you didn’t watch the show, we hope you made love.” Check it out on Bandcamp. [Emma Ehrhard]
Steve Morse Band – TRIANGULATION
Genre: Instrumental Rock, Progressive Rock, Hard Rock
Favorite Tracks: “TexUS,” “March of the Nomads,” “Tumeni Partz”
Believe it or not, there was a time when instrumental rock music commercially thrived. The Edgar Winter group charted a No.1 hit with “Frankenstein” in 1973, Joe Satriani charted multiple gold albums, Stevie Ray Vaughan was a household name, and the Grammys had its own Best Rock Instrumental Performance Category. Then the ‘90s happened. Grunge came around and it was no longer cool to give a shit about pushing oneself towards technical mastery—or maybe it never was cool in the first place
So we come to Steve Morse, one of the forefathers of shred music, though someone who doesn’t quite receive the same type of recognition as his peers or acolytes despite his storied career (simply peruse his Wikipedia page). This is a titan revered by many in the know, yet, despite his legendary status in the music community, he’s just as human as his listeners. This is a man who has suffered loss in recent years: physically through the progression of arthritis, and emotionally with the passing of his wife in 2024. Combine these factors with an ever-shrinking fanbase, and most would likely crumble under the weight of mortality, but Morse is a man who lives and breathes music. For him, it may well be the final outlet left. Which brings us to his first “solo” project in over 15 years.
To call TRIANGULATION a departure would be misleading. Morse’s technique and playing style have changed some given his physical limitations, but his writing is as eclectic as ever. Opener “Break Through” is nothing if not a resounding mission statement for what the Steve Morse Band are cooking. In essence, this is the sound of a man coming out of his shell, finding the joy in music as evidenced by the track’s signature strut as well as the subtle variations the trio wrings out of the groove. By contrast, “Off the Cuff” is a much more cerebral and eclectic piece which reminds us that Morse can still set his instrument ablaze, while “TexUS,” a duet with Eric Johnson, is more akin to the melodicism Morse has brought to bands such as Kansas and Flying Colors.
If the opening trio serves as a distillation of Morse’s three basic modes of writing and performing, then the following six tracks are variations on the theme, a demonstration of how he mixes the most basic elements together to create unique concoctions. “The Unexpected” is a very mood-based piece of baroque jazz fusion that feels ripped straight from 1978’s WHAT IF. “March of the Nomads” is another playful exploration of the Celtic themes that have cropped up across Morse’s Discography. “Tumeni Partz” serves as a companion piece to Morse’s shred-tastic “Tumeni Notes,” serving as a tour de force for his technique and phrasing across its nearly 11-minute runtime. As cheeky as the title is, the piece holds together surprisingly well, thanks in large part to the unsung heroes that fill out the trio, bassist Dave LaRue and drummer Van Romaine. The latter is absolutely rocksteady across every song, while the former is arguably the MVP of the record, letting his punchy precision and elastic style take center stage across multiple tracks. Morse might be the central figure behind this unit, but there’s a reason it’s called the Steve Morse Band.
Just as the first three tracks are key to understanding Morse’s philosophy of writing and what this album represents, the final two pieces solidify the collaborative nature of the record. The title track can be read as a passing of the torch (just ignore that John Petrucci is pushing 60), an indication Morse’s influence will continue long after he puts down the six-string: Others will let their imaginations run wild in the music they create. More than any other song on the record, this is Morse at his most passionate. And then there’s “Taken by an Angel,” a semi-acoustic duet with Kevin Morse (no relation) which reads as a bittersweet ode to Steve Morse’s former wife. If the previous 45 minutes feel like a time capsule of a previous era, then these final moments of the album are a reminder that life is fleeting, that whatever time we are allotted, it ought to be used to make some sort of mark on the world. For Morse, that mark is his music and the joy it can bring to others. To hear a titan at work, Listen to TRINAGULATION here! [Connor Shelton]
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