February 2014
Review: Snowbird – moon
Snowbird = Seabear + Daughter … read more
Review: Snacs – Swim Tape
Snac’s Swim Tape received heaps of praise in 2013 for sending a chilled-out, sample-based beat pastiche of chillwave-meets-nu soul-meets-droning ragas, deep underwater. Josh Abramovici intends you to listen in one 30-minute sitting, a transporting move through stream-of-conscious beat-making. … read more
Review: Skinny Puppy – The Greater Wrong Of The Right...
These dominant industrial figures have always prided themselves on not being “sellouts”—I assure this great achievement was something they thoroughly despised. As with much of their work, the spine is a political point of view, yet there is a profound shift in their creativity and musical expression. … read more
Review: Sherman Baker – Self-Titled
Is it just me (it usually is), or are our soundwaves over-saturated with quiet, reflective singer songwriters, playing the kind of bland folk that attracts men who use mustache combs and apprentice beekeepers? Sherman Baker might quell this problem. … read more
Review: Selaxon Lutberg – Simboli Accidentali
Straight up, this album will be playing when your soul goes through purgatory and wanders wistfully from heaven to hell. Fully ambient music is not my cup of tea, but this is something I’d listen to if I wanted to have a drug-induced, life-changing experience. … read more
Review: Secret Boyfriend – This Is Always Where You’ve Lived
It’s a strange, varied affair, playing like a lost soundtrack to something doomed, yet beautiful. The music ranges from synth-based melody and filtered noise (“Summer Wheels/ Mysterious Fires”), to tape-hiss-laden acoustic ballads. … read more
Review: Scott H. Biram – Nothin’ But Blood
Songs like his cover of “Backdoor Man” will put you on your ass. Biram, to me, has become the Southern roots music modern Hemingway, expressing honestly the dark parts of this life like only he can. … read more
Review: Rawhide – Murder One
This is raucous death-flected RnR monster, which clutches at its NWOBHM and D-Beat influences with equal aplomb. The band’s a semi-mystery, with precious little information available online. … read more
Review: Quilt – Held in Splendor
Quilt is the epitome of psychedelic rock. Shane Butler, Anna Rochinski and Taylor McVay keep it simple with the basics: evocative vocals, drums and a variety of string instruments (acoustic and electric guitar and banjo). … read more
Review: Rabbits – SOS
Droney and distorted, the Portland trio RABBITS know how to hastily slap an album together. Live renditions, unreleased songs and other shit characterize the album. … read more
Review: Preston Lovinggood – Shadow Songs
Before my first listening of Shadow Songs, I was preparing myself to sit through another guy with a guitar singing cliché love songs. What I got instead was a pleasant surprise of dreamy pop melodies with morbid lyrics, creating happy little ears that felt alright about listening to cliché love songs. … read more
Review: Pillar Point – Self-Titled
Pillar Point is a new dance-pop project formed by Scott Reitherman of Secretly Canadian band Throw Me The Statue (indie-poppers keen to hand claps and toe taps; see “Lolita”). Though this debut album explores the glum themes of uncertainty and heartbreak, the songs are catchy and buzzing with danceable synth hooks and hummable pop structures. … read more
