Authors: Ryan Michael Painter
Review: Terrorfakt – Cold Steel World
TERRORFAKT COLD STEEL WORLD Metropolis 4/5 If you’re not familiar with them already, then now is a good time to discover the caustic rhythms and dance-club war-zone created by Terrorfakt. With only the second release, Cold Steel World, they have raised the bar for acts to follow. Simple yet powerful rhythms compose each of the
Review: Sugur Rós – Von
SIGUR RÓS VON One Little Indian There’s this band from Iceland. No, not the Sugarcubes. The other band, Sigur Rós—perhaps you’ve heard of them? Well, this is their first album that up until this point hasn’t been officially available in America. It sounds like a nightmare, a rolling psychotic grind into the sparseness of darkness
Review: The Angels of Light – Other People
The Angels of Light Other People Young God Michael Gira (Swans) returns with an album that is familiar while remaining a departure from what you might expect: Other People. Gone are the grandiose epics and hypnotic peaks replaced by a starkness that finally allows a glimpse of the brilliance without the antics getting in the
Review: Strange Boutique – The Collection 1988-1994
STRANGE BOUTIQUE THE COLLECTION 1988-1994 Metropolis Faith and the Muse is certainly a fine band with their ethereal rock and theatricality, but I’ve always felt that Monica Richards’ best work was locked in a secret capsule called Strange Boutique. The sound isn’t all that far removed from Faith and the Muse; I always felt like
Review: Starflyer 59 – Talking Voice VS. Singing Voice
It’s epic in a small box theater, but not exactly made for big booming stadiums. … read more
Review: Singapore Sling – Life Is Killing My Rock’N’Roll
SINGAPORE SLING LIFE IS KILLING MY ROCK’N’ROLL Stinky Singapore Sling’s debut album, The Curse of Singapore Sling, was greeted by over-anxious critics who hailed this Icelandic import as the rising sun. I was numbered among those critics. This isn’t to say they weren’t worthy of a little attention. Their sonic wall of distorted haze was
Review: Silver Sunshine – Self-Titled
SILVER SUNSHINE SILVER SUNSHINE Empyrean Records Silver Sunshine are a delightful little group of San Diego musicians that are clearly in love with psychedelic pop. They’re quite talented, have some good hooks here and there and capture the sound that the Stone Roses used on their Second Coming release, but in this case, you can’t
Review: S – Puking & Crying
S PUKING & CRYING Suicide Squeeze S are the reversed reflection or negative print of Postal Service with the duo of Josh Wackerly and Jenn Ghetto steering the runaway rollercoaster of songs crafted with female vocals, guitar-driven structures and electronic touches with results that are both intimate and brooding, while only sacrificing the oversaturated pop
Review: Rachel Goswell – Waves are Universal
RACHEL GOSWELL WAVES ARE UNIVERSAL 4AD Rachel Goswell: You might not recognize the name, but I’d have a hard time believing that someone who has any interest in my column wouldn’t have heard her voice in either Slowdive or Mojave 3. Her solo debut is as stunning as Neil Halstead’s (also in both previously mentioned
Review: Rosetta Stone – Adrenaline Deluxe
Rosetta Stone Adrenaline Deluxe Cleopatra In the late 80s, goth had become a bombastic beast that for better or worse was bent on imploding. It had grown from the small seedy clubs of London into the ugly stepchild the UK press tried to edit out of the family photos. No surprise then, that by the
Review: Random Hymns EP – GSL
Random Hymns drops you down the rabbit hole and dares you to climb out. It isn’t pretty. It isn’t supposed to be. … read more
Review: Primal Scream – Chaosmosis
Primal Scream = New Order + Happy Mondays + Blur
… read more
