Good afternoon, y’all. Is it just me, or do you also find that Monday morning return to work tends to be brutal and exhausting no matter how much time off you’ve had or how relaxed you might have been in the interim?

I had a three-day weekend since my company took Friday off thanks to the Zombie Jesus holiday; had a fairly nice time visiting with family part of the weekend, and lounging out in nature the rest of the time. So I should be feeling refreshed and ready to go, but that never seems to be the case.

Anyway, we can all feel hashtag-blessed with some hypnotically chill music to help us survive another tedious day of drudgery: a split record Ripple Music just released on that holiday Friday, as well as a solo album from a few years back by one of the members who was involved in both projects on that split.

 

Pia Isa – Distorted Chants (Argonauta Records, 25 March 2022)

 

Ten East / SoftSun – Turned to Stone: Chapter 10 (Ripple Music, 03 April 2026)

 

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As you’ll surely recall, just a few weeks ago we talked about a pair of recent releases by Norwegian-Californian ensemble SoftSun. That group features vocalist/bassist Pia Isaksen (also of Superlynx) and guitarist Gary Arce (also of Yawning Man), plus a drummer. The drummer for their 2024 release was Dan Joeright; while this particular trio was recording their debut album for Ripple Music, they found themselves with a few leftover tracks. Those three tracks became the basis of the tenth volume of Ripple‘s Turned to Stone series, a split album that hit store shelves a mere three days ago.

Needing a second group whose tracks would be partnered with SoftSun to complete the split lineup, Arce turned to yet another of his side-projects: Ten East. Over the years this has consisted of the guitarist with an assortment of other collaborators. For the pair of songs they contributed to Turned to Stone, those fellow members were Yawning Man drummer Bill Stinson, and none other than Pia Isaksen once again handling bass duties. The cherry on top here was the addition of extra guitar work by Isaiah Mitchell from Earthless.

As we look over that recently released split, I’m reminded that buried in my neverending “to do list” pile of past albums was the first-ever solo record from Pia Isa, which as you may have guessed from the slightly abbreviated name, is the side-project of bassist and vocalist Isaksen. Naturally when rounding out the arrangement here, she called up Superlynx bandmate Ole Teigen to play the drums, and Mr. Arce — with whom she wouldn’t be forming SoftSun for another year yet — made a guest appearance contributing guitar to some of the songs.

 

First, the Pia Isa record. These ten tracks stretched over thirty-some minutes were released under the title Distorted Chants, and this is absolutely a case where the listener can safely expect precisely what’s printed on the tin, so to speak. Pia‘s ethereal vocals, familiar to listeners of either SoftSun or Superlynx, are on full display here, semi-hidden though they may be behind heavily distorted, slow drone-doom chords. I understand that it may sound like a criticism when I say that the album is fairly flat from beginning to end, in terms of dynamics and tempo, but I found the repetitive droney nature of these tracks easy to get lost in, like in a comforting, soothing way.

 

 
The two songs on side A of the new split album, “First Light” and “Slow Motion War,” are credited as Ten East featuring Isaiah Mitchell. These tracks — both instrumentals — total roughly eighteen minutes of running time, and each one is filled with layers of densely reverbed and chorused guitar parts; revolving melodies and counter melodies that gently swirl around and around each other. Near the end of the former, things get so intricately interwoven that the drums start sounding like a backwards recording. The latter track features a similar vibe, but with some psychedelic lead guitars soaring intermittently amidst it all.

Side B features “Nowhere Else,” “Open Shelter,” and “Emotional Overdrive” by SoftSun, each a little over seven minutes long. A bit more bass-heavy than the preceding Ten East material, it’s plain to see which of these projects includes the bassist as co-founder versus contributing member. These three tracks give off atmospheric doom vibes, while (just like their other albums we discussed not so long ago) slotting right in that narrow divide between shoegaze and dreampop. Incorporated throughout are Isaksen‘s angelic vocals, frequently multi-tracked and creating gorgeous harmonies with herself, just as happened from time to time in her solo record.

 

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Find the Pia Isa album here (digital/CD/vinyl, US) or here (digital/CD [vinyl sold out], NO).
 
The Turned to Stone split release can be found here (digital/vinyl, US) or here (digital/vinyl, US; vinyl test presses).
 

 

Pia Isa: Bandcamp
Argonauta Records: website | Bandcamp
 
SoftSun: Bandcamp
Ten East: Bandcamp
Ripple Music: website | Bandcamp