April 2014
Review: The Menzingers – Rented World
Well, The Menzingers have delivered another album that the disgruntled and eccentric youth can tap their feet and bob their heads to. … read more
Review: The She’s – Dreamers
Smack on some lip gloss, grab an ice cream cone and head down to the beach with Dreamers as your soundtrack. This three-piece gal band is perfect for summer tunes, with garage pop-punk melodies to get you bouncing as you skip around and smile about how great your life is. … read more
Review: The Shrine – Bless Off
I’ve kept The Shrine at arm’s length for some time, mostly because I get annoyed when 16-year-old nu-metallers-turned-skaters try to “educate” me on Sabbath (my first intro to this band), but also because I’m a huge, gutless jerk who doesn’t get into stuff unless he thinks HE discovered it first. … read more
Review: The Shackeltons – Records
Records resonates the same essence that Test Icicles did, only after the caffeine (or whatever stronger stimulant) had begun to wear off. … read more
Review: The Shilohs – Self-Titled
Vancouver’s The Shilohs position themselves adjacent to power pop trail-blazers Big Star and Badfinger, though their sound more closely resembles another band indebted to the Alex Chiltons of the world: Olivia Tremor Control. … read more
Review: The Grouch & Eligh – The Tortoise & The...
Hip-hop fans: Place this high on your listening priority. The Grouch & Eligh got their start the DIY way, and have been able to keep a steady fanbase without being attached to a label. … read more
Review: The Honey Trees – Bright Fire
The Honey Trees are more than musicians—they’re enchanters. Becky Flip, Jeremy Larson and Jacob Wick created an album that feels like it was produced in an enchanted forest, much like the one on the album’s cover. … read more
Review: Suzanne Vega – Tales From The Realm Of The Queen...
“Black is the truth/of my situation/and for those of my station/In life/all other colors lie,” Vega ominously sings on the thrillingly catchy “I Never Wear White,” one of many highs on this, her eighth studio album. … read more
Review: Sleepy Sun – Maui Tears
Maui Tears is the band’s finest work yet. It’s a perfection of everything good from Fever and Spine Hits. The record opens with “The Lane”—an angelic little ditty featuring guitars that soar through the clouds and rip through the ether in search of a realm of permanent shapes. … read more
Review: Southern Culture on the Skids – Dig This
For years, Southern Culture on the Skids have been one of those Americana bands that are such a well-built hotrod of a band that, when it comes to any of the genres that they tackle, they can naturally shift from country to surf to R&B and every bit sounds as authentic as it is original. … read more
Review: Spiritual Rez – Apocalypse Whenever
This fourth album, and first album not self-produced, is a huge step for this seven-piece Boston reggae/ska/progressive rock band. … read more
Review: Stefan Jaworzyn – Drained of Connotation
If you consider yourself a noise aficionado, then chances are that you know who Stefan Jaworzyn is. Being a once-prominent member in the ’80s UK experimental underground (with contributions in Ascension and Skullflower) before dropping off the grid, Drained of Connotation is Jaworzyn’s official proclamation of rising from his hiatus to resume his atonal passion. … read more
