December 2013
Review: Soviet Soviet – Fate
When Fate begins, the full richness of the music, along with the double-time dance beat, doesn’t prepare me for the voice of Alessandro Costantini. It’s not that his voice doesn’t mesh well with the overall sound—it does. It’s perfect for the crunchy bass that sits on the forefront of the album’s mixes, allowing the guitars to create texture or melodic leads reminiscent of Holograms’ synth work. … read more
Review: SQÜRL – EP #2
Coming off a brilliant collaboration with lute revivalist Josef van Wissem, this largely instrumental, sprawling compilation of psychedelic guitar explorations of dissonance and repetition is as good as any Jarmusch film: disconnected, adjacent to popular culture and unmistakably idiosyncratic. … read more
Review: Storm of Light – Nations to Flames
This album takes a completely different direction with its post-metal influences than I was expecting. Instead of the gentle surges and mellow refrains, Nations to Flames takes you by the collar and shakes you again and again with its unrelenting chaos. … read more
Review: Strike to Survive – Yesterday’s News
Drums and guitar high in the mix with jagged vocals buried a little beneath makes for a compelling listen, sort of similar to Drive Like Jehu or maybe even the first Bronx album (check the Refused-via-Stooges riffing on the title track). … read more
Review: Said The Whale – hawaiii
Hawaiii is an album that sounds exactly like what you’d expect radio-friendly indie rock to sound like. This means that it’s just as likely that a preteen girl will play their music as it is that your mom will. … read more
Review: Saxon – Unplugged and Strung Up
Over the course of a 36-year career, Saxon have proven themselves to be the undisputed masters of heavy metal songwriting. Unplugged and Strung Up is a cavalcade of re-recordings, orchestrations and acoustic takes on a selection of Saxon’s greatest material. … read more
Review: Schooner – Neighborhood Veins
Spooky country songs bleed into ’50s rockers and soulful harmonies accent slow ballads. Like I said before, this is what indie should be: With every chance they get Schooner exercise the freedom they’ve cultivated for themselves. … read more
Review: Robert Pollard – Blazing Gentlemen
Robert Pollard’s musical universe (and it is a universe—he’s written thousands of songs) often sounds like some alternate through-the-looking-glass world, resembling classic rock, with riffs and lyrical tropes that seem somehow familiar, but from some other far-off constellation. … read more
Review: Piano Interrupted – The Unified Field
The mix feels like a series of hymns performed in a discotheque, transforming a club-like atmosphere into an experience both spiritual and mind-expanding. … read more
Review: Poor Remy – Bitters
Folk transforms into alt-country at the end of “Cave Eyes,” concluding the album pleasantly. Try this one out for a hiking trip or a day in nature. … read more
Review: Psalm Zero – Force My Hand
It’s tough to rate the band on this debut single, because one of the two songs is a cover of Today Is The Day’s “Willpower,” which they transformed from its distorted, noise-metal roots into a gothic dirge with what the band calls “medieval vocal harmonies.” … read more
![Review: Poison Idea – Kings of Punk [Reissue]](/uploads/300/6800-poison%20idea-crop-396x288.jpg)
Review: Poison Idea – Kings of Punk [Reissue]
Southern Lord’s love affair with reissuing old PI records hasn’t let up, and (for once) this reviewer isn’t complaining. Few hardcore bands deserve more praise than Poison Idea, and these loving reissues are a testament to that. … read more
