Month: June 2014
Review: Moon Zero – Tombs / Loss
Like an unsettling dream, this pair of albums produces associations and feelings that displace and frighten the listener. Tim Garratt plays with the possibilities of maximalist ambience, pitting a full range of reverberating overtones against each other to create overpowering aural experiences. … read more
Review: Lydia Lunch & Cypress Grove – A Fistful of...
Like a mysterious mirage amid sand dunes, “Sandpit” begins the album with Spanish-influenced blues and existential wonderings. In her classic style, Lunch moans like a witch with a voice made out of sex. … read more
Review: Mark Barrot – Sketches From An Island
If you follow the surfing community, even casually, then you might know the name Ozzie Wright and his colorful piece of art, “Anti Bad Vibe Shield.” Mark Barrot’s new album could be the soundtrack for that piece of art. … read more
Review: La Sera – Hour of the Dawn
Katy Goodman’s (Vivian Girls) third solo album under the name La Sera is uplifting and poppy, combined with a definitive Smiths-ian piece of brilliance. Warning: This album produces a strangely addictive sound that keeps one hooked from beginning to end. … read more
Review: Kepler – Attic Salt 12”
It sounds like every mellow-rock and indie band in the last 25 years congealed into one unimaginative band. Maybe part of it was because I had to fuck around with a record player for 30 minutes to be able to play it. … read more
Review: King Dude – Fear
TJ Cowgill, aka King Dude, caught my attention with 2011’s Love, a spacious pagan folk record examining themes of death, nature and Lucifer’s light. Now, joined by drummer Joey D’Auria and session musicians, Cowgill supplements Americana and Brit-folk explorations of existential fear and imminent demise with a completely unexpected musical mode—punk rock n’ roll. … read more
Review: King Dude & Chelsea Wolfe – Sing More Songs Together…
What can I tell you about this two-track collaboration that you aren’t already certain of? TJ Cowgill sounds like Michael Gira; Chelsea Wolfe is un-fuck-with-able, and the combo is, for a second time now, nothing short of incredible. … read more
Review: Kite Party – Come On Wondering
Kite Party are one of the few recent emo post-hardcore bands to surface from the underground shortly after the genre’s demise. Even though the divide between lovers and loathers of the music probably died with its popularity in the mid 2000s, Come On Wandering has enough stylistic integrity to make music snobs start bickering over Sunny Day Real Estate again. … read more
Review: Howls – Howls
If I close my eyes as I listen to this album, I’m walking through an inky venue with strobing lights, and shadowy glitter is falling in slow motion from the ceiling. … read more
Review: Horse Thief – Fear In Bliss
Horse Thief are psychedelic rockers originally from Texas, but found their calling in Oklahoma City, embracing change. They abandoned their safety zone in the Midwest and headed to Los Angeles to record their newest album, Fear in Bliss. … read more
Review: Haunted Hearts – Initiation
Haunted Hearts consists of Brandon Welchez from the noise-pop band Crocodiles, and his wife Dee Dee, front woman of the Dum Dum Girls. A valid, but basic description of HH comes from the mouth of Brandon in an interview via Coup De Main, “It sounds like a 50/50 split between our bands to be honest.” … read more
Local Review: Westward the Tide – Sorry Soul
If you feel like you’re being seriously deprived of some folk/alt-country, this is your band. Jackson Larsen’s deep singing pairs well with Kaitie Forbes, bringing a refreshing dynamic to the songs that a solo singer couldn’t quite achieve, which is welcomed by me. … read more
