Month: May 2013
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: Phosphorescent
Phosphorescent’s latest album, Muchacho, is laden with lazy, whining steel guitar, strolling piano, trumpet pieces, string sets and lyrics about the trials and tribulations of love. The instrumental work on this album is where Matthew Houck really flexes his songwriter muscle. … read more
Review: Popstrangers
The flavors of Antipodes range from the dark ambiance of Sonic Youth to more recent, surf-influenced indie music like Wavves. The album features prominent bass that constantly moves with the melody while the fuzzy guitars stray, returning to the melody as they please. … 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: Ohvaur
Opening with one of the chunkiest bass lines in recent memory, A Memories Chase is an album as musically powerful as the story that led up to it. … read more
Review: Old Man Markley
OMM play fast-paced bluegrass that they approach like people living in the present day. I guess that makes them the new punks on the scene, but I just hear well-crafted, original music that happens to have bluegrass elements. … read more
Review: Old Wounds
There is a certain, special je ne sais quoi about the sound that Jersey-based Old Wounds deliver. It’s not new or groundbreaking, nor is it a completely tried-and-true homage to some old hardcore sound. Devastatingly simple, it is heavy music stripped to its rotted bones and delivered without pretense or gimmick. … read more
Review: Ólöf Arnalds
Ólöf Arnalds comes from the land of ice and Sigur Rós, and although this is her third album, Sudden Elevation is the first to be sung entirely in English. The album was written mostly during a two-week stint in the fall in a seaside cabin, which gives it a cohesive feeling from start to finish. … 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: Mwahaha
Mwahaha’s self-titled debut is a full-on electro-psych, pretentious jam session that left me feeling adrift and unsatisfied. … read more