Month: May 2013
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
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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
Review: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Push the Sky Away initially accompanied Nocturama on my list of Nick Cave disappointments. Upon repeated listening, it seems that much of my disappointment had to do with expectations for—or interest in—something different. Blame Grinderman. … read more
Review: No Turning Back No Regrets
No Turning Back is no one’s favorite band. Sure, they probably have fans since they’ve been around for 15 years, and have seven full-length releases under their belt, but nothing they’re playing on No Regrets touches on any of the keystones of a memorable hardcore album. … 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: Metal Mother
A project of Oakland native Taara Tati’s confident musicianship and dark-wave occultism, Metal Mother’s second album, Ionika, will surely make waves in that burgeoning ethereal-witchy-gothic-pop, post-Internet scene you either love or hate by now. … read more