Month: June 2013
Review: Rise Against – RPM10
Rise Against is a staple of modern punk rock, and it’s unlikely that anybody has survived this long without hearing them mentioned somewhere. … read more
Review: Polly Scattergood – Arrows
What a refreshing and novel concept for an album in 2013: songs of heart break and loneliness without any cloying traces of hip-hop or rapping on them. The very talented Scattergood bares her heart completely for her sophomore album and that young, … read more
Review: Poeina Suddarth – Happy Whore
Poeina Suddarth’s vocal range is insane. Her sharp-yet-sweet voice travels everywhere from upbeat skit-skat jazz on “Natural Disaster,” all the way to relaxed grass-plains country sounds on “Gasoline” and “White Mr. Beauty.” … read more
Review: Pure X – Crawling Up The Stairs
Where Crawling up the Stairs doesn’t confront immediately with a sense of deep self-loathing, it seethes. Pure X is disarming in the way Nate Grace and Jesse Jenkin’s songs belie their distressed core by being quite pretty and non-confrontational. … read more
Review: Pharmakon – Abandon
The sound and mood on Abandon aren’t unsettling in the manner that being forced into an uncomfortable conversation can be. … read more
Review: Paper Dragons – Die To Please
Some of the more snotty sounding vocals in the modern punk scene, Paper Dragons’ Die To Please is a fast and unforgiving album. While sticking close to punk cannon, this album (originally released in 2007) kicks out some aggressive jams—you can almost hear the sweat dripping through your headphones. … read more
Review: Of Feather And Bone – False Healer
There is heavy music, and then there’s heavy music that makes you want to put your fist through a wall. Of Feather and Bone’s False Healer is one of them. … read more
Review: Neon Indian – Errata Anex EP
The first three tracks on ERRATA ANEX are clubbish-sounding. They all have the same idea, with similar tempos and distorted clips of Neon Indian over heavily remixed original instrumentals. … read more
Review: Nikki Hill – Here’s Nikki Hill
Nikki and Matt Hill are proof positive that when two talented people marry and come together creatively good things are going to happen. Nikki has all the swagger of ‘50s and ‘60s R&B soul artists, and every bit of the power and punch of the male blues shouters of the same era. … read more
Review: Nude Pop – Splintered Selves EP
After listening to this album a few times, I was reminded of bands like The Killers. With its slower pacing and alternative edge, this band produces a smooth EP that accurately represents the sound of the Pacific Northwest by using classic rock instruments to create a laid-back and relaxing sound. … read more
Review: MS MR – Secondhand Rapture
It is something of a small miracle that the New York based duo of Lizzy Plapinger (she being the ‘ms’) and Max Hershenow (and he the ‘mr’) have made a rarity in today’s music world— a consistently solid debut record. … read more
Review: Night Birds – Maimed For The Masses
These New Jersey punks nailed the snotty sound of early ‘80s hardcore punk. … read more