Issues: Issue 302 - February 2014
Review: Bones – Sons of Sleaze
Sons of Sleaze is an appropriate title for this romper stomper of a record. It’s funny how it sounds sloppy as hell but it all congeals into a mess of a crusty death metal record. Its speed is built up on punk and hardcore anthems of old but has the grit of an OSDM record. … read more
Review: Blank Realm – Grassed Inn
On one end, there is the dance of the psychedelic and electronica with a splash of synth that makes up most of the tracks like “Violet Delivery” and “Reach You on the Phone.” On the other end, there is the steady, catchy beat of “Falling Down the Stairs” that evokes a nostalgia for Echo and the Bunnymen. … read more
Review: Birds of Passage – This Kindly Slumber
On her latest album for Denovali, Merz steps in front of the microphone and behind the thousand blinking lights of pedals and sequencers to create an album full of elegiac drones and deconstructed neofolk tunes that form out of the ether like a heavy mist across a bog or clouds quietly forming on the horizon. … read more
Review: Big Sexy Noise – Collision Course & Trust the...
Ultra fuzzed-out guitars, combined with weird-ass background effects fill up most, if not all of the space behind the lyrics. Lydia Lunch, an impressive vocalist, usually sounds incredibly creepy and will probably haunt my dreams for the remainder of my life. … read more
Review: Be Like Max – Just Tryin’ To Fit In…...
For me, when I thought of reckless, social commentary ska-punk, bands like Less Than Jake and Reel Big Fish came to mind—now I can officially add Be Like Max to that list, though I had trouble getting into this album with its first two tracks. … read more
Review: Asheru – Sleepless in Soweto
Asheru delivers his vision of global African unity in Sleepless in Soweto, and if it weren’t for the blending of rapid-fire rhymes combined with elements of Afro-beat and American hip-hop, I would have been bored by the amount of R&B present in this album. … read more
Review: Antithought – Life’s Too Long
The simplistic, three-chord fist picking reflects the content of the lyrics. Fuckin’ faster than the S Line—I timed my showers with the album and probably saved quite a bit of water. Life’s Too Long is steeped in the D.C. street punk style with hairs of late ’90s punk and I look forward to their next release. … read more
Review: Alarms and Controls – Clovis Points
The vocals sound nerdy and a little more chatty than melodic in most places—it’s a little off-kilter, and pop hooks definitely aren’t their strong suits. That being said, they are great musicians—think of them as graduates from the “Omar Rodriguez-López School for Stoned Musicians.” … read more
Review: Alcest – Shelter
With drummer Winterhalter, Neige has left all ties to black metal behind with this release. From honey-laced harmonies on “Opale,” to meandering compositions on “Voix Sereines,” to the Halstead sung, Souvlaki-esque ballad “Away,” the album is filled with lush musical contemplations and triumphant melodies start-to-finish. … read more
Review: Against Me! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Though there are a few stinkers, Transgender Dysphoria Blues actually isn’t horrible. “Drinking With The Jocks” and “Osama Bin Laden As The Crucified Christ” kick ass like the Eternal Cowboy and Searching days, and “Two Coffins” is the most paralyzing song I have heard in a long time. … read more