Month: April 2014
Reviews: Tiny Boats – Broken Vessels
Tiny Boats have created a lovely debut. With a respectable 45 minutes of music, this easy-listen folk-rock album is a great glimpse into the sound and stylings of this new band. … read more
Reviews: The Trouble With Templeton
- Rookie
This group of Australians recently made a musical transition with this new album. They went from alternative folk on their first album, Bleeders, to an alternative rock band. … read more
Reviews: Turchi – Can’t Bury Your Past
The beauty of the blues is that it’s so simple and raw that it can convey anything from anybody. It’s not playing different chords—it’s that one can play the same chords that have been played forever, and still play them with one’s own pain with one’s own soul. Turchi play a gritty, textured style of the blues, which, at times, is pretty remarkable … … read more
Reviews: Vertical Scratchers – Daughter of Everything
Vertical Scratchers are a two-piece band made up of ex-Brainiac and Enon guitarist John Schmersal and former Triclops! drummer Christian Beaulieu. This is the debut album for the duo, and it stands as a testament to the heartwarming, poetic rock direction that Merge Records seems to be embracing with their new releases. … read more
Reviews: Wild Ones – Keep it Safe
This album is sure to be a great summertime hit. The first song, “Golden Twin,” is catchy, and they maintain that interest pretty solidly throughout. … read more
Reviews: Unicycle Loves You – The Dead Age
The Dead Age fills well-titled tracks (names like “Suicide Pizza,” “Face Tattoo” and “Endless Bummer”) with the retro fuzz sound that’s seized the garage scene. The track names alone would be enough to get me to listen at least once. … read more
Review: Wyrd Visions – Half-Eaten Guitar
Half-Eaten Guitar is mostly Colin Bergh with an acoustic guitar making folk music with a few interesting variations, like the whistling on “Bog Lord.” … read more
Review: Young Hare – Unbreak My Heart
A typewritten note on a torn sheet of paper was included with my copy of this CD, which said, “This really means a lot to me.” … read more
Review: Zone Tripper – Voyager
Zone Tripper’s new ep, Voyager took me back in time when the popularity of synth pop had just begun. Voyager is fun but beautiful—the almost arcade-like tracks had my mind wandering to the days when I filled the hours playing classics like Pac-Man and Tetris. … read more
Review: White Suns – Totem
White Suns encapsulate destruction par excellence with Totem. One may first recall works like Jane Doe with opening track “Priest in the Laboratory,” with its contra-time signatures and cacophonous electric-guitar malfunctioning and anti-chords—it’s sporadic, broken movement. … read more
Review: Withered Hand – New Gods
New Gods is the second release from the Edinburgh-based Withered Hand. Dan Willson brings his folk-rock ness to the table once again, and this time, it’s all about the love. … read more
Review: Tunde Olaniran – Yung Archetype
Yung Archetype, a five-track EP, is one of the most innovative pieces I’ve heard in a while. The electro-pop, street sound reminds me of the late ’80s/early ’90s hip-hop that was produced with drum machines. … read more
