April 2014
Review: Perfect Pussy – Say Yes To Love
Say the name five times fast, snicker, then fuck off: Perfect Pussy is out to eviscerate your woeful self-critique with heart, humor and critical punk-rrrriot. … read more
Review: Phantogram – Voices
Voices is one of those strange albums that tricks listeners into thinking it’s nothing special at first glance. Obviously, that wasn’t the intention the New York duo had in mind for their sophomore album, but the fact is you have to give this one a chance beyond the first pass. … read more
Review: Neneh Cherry – Blank Project
You might be surprised to know that Neneh Cherry’s 1988 record, Raw Like Sushi, is bad as fuck. Still, I’m not losing my cool over the prospect of a new record by her. … read more
Review: New Bums – Voices in a Rented Room
Alt-folk artists typically depend on limited methods of composition when fleshing out their songs. Some focus on telling emblematic stories to carry their creative substance (until another artist tells the same story better) and others fall on the crutch of political critiques (which will immediately filter out non-fans). … read more
Review: Metatag – Transmission
Metatag’s tape cover bears a strong resemblance to Joy Division’s classic, Unknown Pleasures, if it were isolated and magnified a couple hundred times. … read more
Review: Mirah – Changing Light
I am beyond thrilled that this release came my way, seeing as I haven’t really stopped listening to Mirah since C’mon Miracle was released a decade ago. … read more
Review: Modern Rivals – Cemetery Dares
Cemetery Dares is the first album from the Brooklyn quintet Modern Rivals. The 10-track release was recorded over 12 days in a freezing recording studio (complete with bed bugs) and—despite those conditions—this is one of the happiest things I’ve ever heard. … read more
Review: Lydia Loveless – Somewhere Else
I first pegged Lydia Loveless as some sort of simple female equivalent to Hank 3, but as I listened further, I realized she is much more than that. … read more
Review: Marshall Holland – And The Etceteras
One-man band Holland (this Bay–Area based maestro writes, produces, plays and sings everything himself) returns with a catchy, frequently funny and even poignant new record. … read more
Review: Lacuna Coil – Broken Crown Halo
The road to rock stardom seemed to be all but paved for Lacuna Coil after their third album Comalies’ success was seeming to come at the band from every angle. … read more
Review: Leyland Kirby – Breaks My Heart Each Time
James Leyland Kirby’s kaleidoscopic soundscape shines brilliantly in his newest four-part EP. Breaks My Heart Each Time employs style mashed with some epic crescendos. … read more
Review: Lost Society – Terror Hungry
From judging a book by it’s cover, I expected Terror Hungry to be one of those lame, party-thrash, throwback-to-the-’80s rip-off bands. Well, I got something completely surprising. … read more