Issues: Issue 293 - May 2013
Review: Senses Fail – Renacer
Opening with the heaviest song in their career, notably without a single scrap of clean singing, Renacer is the album I’ve secretly been waiting for since the first time I heard Buddy Nielsen scream at the end of “One Eight Seven.” … read more
Review: Pyrithion – The Burden of Sorrow
Apparently, Tim Lambesis doesn’t have enough hobbies between As I Lay Dying, Austrian Death Machine, his charity work, and all his iron-pumping; now he’s joined up with ex-The Famine guitarist Andy Godwin and Ryan Glisan of Allegaeon to create this surprisingly ferocious modern death metal EP under the name Pyrithion. … read more
Review: Sadgiqacea – False Prism
The sludgy sounds of False Prism conjure up images of grimy industrial waste, smog, litter and the general oily feeling of some of the industrialized cities on the East Coast. With that in mind, it makes this slugdefest from Philly duo Sadgiqacea all that much more sludged-up. … read more
Review: Panikk – Unbearable Conditions
Aping a classic Yankee sound with precision, finesse and a smattering of rough-hewn technicality, Slovenian (!) rippers Panikk pay bleary-eyed tribute to the golden age of Reagan-era noggin shakers, ante-upping “party thrash” contemporaries with fretboard frenetics. … read more
Review: Neon Indian – ERRATA ANNEX EP
The first three tracks on ERRATA ANNEX are very dancy and clubbish-sounding. They all have the same idea, with similar tempos and distorted clips of Neon Indian over heavily remixed original instrumentals. If you aren’t paying attention during these first three, you won’t even notice a transition; they all sort of blend together into one long 15-minute mash-up. … read more
Review: Night Club – Night Club EP
As soon as I listened to Night Club’s debut, I immediately decided it sounded almost identical to that Flight of the Conchords’ song “Fashion is Danger.” So in other words, I’m comparing it to a comedy group. … read more
Review: Moira Scar – Scarred For Life
Moira Scar is an Oakland, Cal., trio fond of wordplay—”De/Monster/A-Tiff” is the title of the opening track on Scarred for Life. That first track is a good guide for the direction the album will be taking. It starts ugly, and stays that way. … read more
Review: Lower Plenty – Hard Rubbish
The Aussie quartet Lower Plenty seem to muster up some characteristically American blues tones in Hard Rubbish. Recorded solely on eight-track reel-to-reel tape, the album has a very raw but warming feel, despite its overwhelming melancholia. … read more
Review: Legs – Pass the Ringo
Pass the Ringo sounds like vintage British Invasion rock put through a broken tape deck in a car with all the speakers blown. Using lo-fi techniques can add grunge and soul elements to an album, but Legs create a fuzzy washout of their music, making any distinct instruments difficult to pick out. … read more
Review: Junip – Junip
Behind the ghostly voice of Jose Gonzales lie the subtle psychedelics that define Junip’s new album. Gonzales’ voice never soars, but is more of a “killing them softly” approach, with light reverb. … read more