Authors: Steve Richardson
Review: Ills – Hideout From The Feeders
This album mixes aspects I’m fond of—catchy progressions matched on bass and guitar that give the rhythm a thickness I could move to—with aspects I could leave behind, like vocals that sometimes sound a little too much like Isaac Brock, for example. … read more
Review: Holograms – Forever
Forever uses the upbeat power of nearly unbroken speed to avoid any clashes with boredom while finding identity through unique vocals. … read more
Review: Heaven’s Gate – Transmuting
I’ve felt starved for feminine vocalists in the upbeat lo-fi community up until Transmuting. Heaven’s Gate mix reverberated guitars and non-stop ride cymbal with a voice between the sustained notes of Best Coast and the tone of Siouxsie Sioux. … read more
Local Review: Pentagraham Crackers – Live! From the Palace of...
Pentagraham Crackers Live! From the Palace of Payne Chthonic Records Street: 05.31 Pentagraham Crackers = Dan Sartain + The Mr. T Experience The fluid tempo and mood in Live! From the Palace of Payne flow from upbeat in one track, to depressive and longing in another. The genre seems fluid, too, and pinning it down
Local Review: Nostalgia – Self-Titled
It’s not often that a baritone voice sticking to a few sustained notes hooks me. It’s more rare when the band comes from Utah County.
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Local Review: Mortigi Tempo – Bob Your Head Suzie
Bob Your Head Suzie begins heavy, with overdriven guitar bass and what sounds like pounded, low-end piano on a track called “Air Raid” that has vocals so buried it comes off as instrumental. … read more
Local Review: Mañanero – Self-Titled
I like lo-fi, but you might want to listen to this album on some high-quality speakers. In my car’s weak sound system, I was ready to give up on Mañanero, but at home, I had much less trouble making it through the album. … read more
Review: Fidlar – Self Titled
In the songs of Fidlar, with titles including “Cheap Beer” and “Wake Bake Skate,” and lyrics like, “I drink cheap beer so what fuck you,” the subject matter reminds me of a less trashy take on The Trashies. … read more
Review: Ex-Cult – Midnight Passenger
The moment the vocals come in on Midnight Passenger’s opening track, “Shattered Circle,” you might notice yourself thinking, “Hell yeah, young people with a new take on late seventies/early eighties L.A. punk.” … read more
Review: Destroy This Place – Destroy This Place
If Destroy this Place came out in the late ’90s or early ’00s, it would have been cozy snuggling up between Ozma and Green Day on my CD rack. Musically, not much sets this album apart from earlier power-pop, but vocally, a few tracks stand out. … read more
Review: Cy Dune
No Recognize jumps right into action with heavy but bright guitar (think King Tuff guitar tone) hitting rhythmic chords and hammer-ons that become the backbone of the opening track, “Where the Wild Things.” … read more
