July 2015
Review: Dog Party – Vol. 4
Dog Party Vol. 4 Asian Man Records Street: 06.16 Dog Party = The Muffs + Baby Shakes The beauty here is the power that Dog Party blasts out behind their poppy simplicity. I mean, what’s not to like in an album that is shrouded in the innocence of punchy, heavy guitar riffs and ’90s-influenced punk
Review: Doomsquad – Pageantry Suite
Doomsquad Pageantry Suite Bella Union Street: 05.25 Doomsquad = Odesza + AWOLNATION + Grizzly Bear What sounds like an updated and less campy version of The B-52s is a Toronto-based, all-sibling group that channels a #vibe à la Yoko Ono. The opening track on the five-song EP begins with a slow, ethereal synth sound before
Review: Cuushe – Night Lines EP
Cuushe Night Lines EP Cascine Street: 04.07 Cuushe = Supreme Cuts + Populous + oOOoOO Shaking off the murky, noisy and wandering tangles of earlier works and slipping into a suit of dark, rhythmic clarity, Kyoto-native Cuushe presents her four-track EP Night Lines. She keeps with her trippy, experimental foundations, but the addition of faster
Review: David Allred – Midstory
David Allred Midstory Oscarson Street: 04.20 David Allred = Peter Broderick + Nick Drake – Efterklang Barely into his twenties, California-born David Allred studied jazz early on, but then his states were expanded and, upon moving to Portland in 2013, his self-released recordings caught the ear of Peter Broderick of the darkwave folk group Efterklang. After
Review: Crocodiles – Boys
Crocodiles Boys Zoo Music Street: 05.12 Crocodiles = The Jesus and the Mary Chain + The Zombies The first track on this album, “Crybaby Demon,” got me excited enough to listen to this ditty. With simple lyrics aside, it’s a wonderful blend of fuzzy garage with the ambience of some solid psychedelic rock n’
Review: Ceremony – The L-Shaped Man
Ceremony The L-Shaped Man Matador Records Street: 05.19 Ceremony = The A Frames + Mode Moderne “Aw ma gawd, Ceremony is abandoning hardcore,” said every review I found when researching this album. Fuck the haters, this album is awesome. Is it Ceremony? Not really. It’s more akin to a goth-surf song than the powerviolence
Review: Bully – Feels Like
Bully Feels Like Columbia Street: 06.23 Bully = Japandroids + Best Coast + Yuck The first thing that came to my raised-on-Disney brain upon hearing Bully was that if Ashley Spinelli from Recess—9 and donning moto boots—started a band, it would sound like this. Overwhelming at first–maybe with the volume of rock-solid grindy guitar and
Review: Bosse-de-Nage – All Fours
Bosse-de-Nage All Fours Profound Lore Street: 04.14 Bosse-de-Nage = Deafheaven + Sannhet A common theme in early press for the new Bosse-de-Nage album is that their last release was a split 12” with fellow Bay Area black metal band Deafheaven, and not without reason. Deafheaven have significant crossover appeal and have brought black metal at
Review: Bell Witch – Four Phantoms
Bell Witch Four Phantoms Profound Lore Street: 04.28 Bell Witch = Usnea + Loss + Wolvserpent I guess it must be somewhat depressing in the northwestern parts of the USA, from Nor-Cal up through Washington. Maybe it’s just that lack of the ol’ sunshine. I remember listening to the debut from Seattle’s Bell Witch, and
Review: Barrence Whitfield & The Savages – Under The Savage...
Barrence Whitfield & The Savages Under The Savage Sky BloodShot Records Street: 08.21 Barrence Whitfield & The Savages = Wilson Pickett + Howlin’ Wolf + The Sonics After checking out Barrence Whitfield & The Savages’ last album, Dig Thy Savage Soul, I knew I was in for a treat when I saw Under The Savage
Review: Author & Punisher – Melk En Honing
Author & Punisher Melk En Honing Housecore Street: 06.30 Author & Punisher = Iszoloscope + Aphex Twin + Darko4 Tristan Shone has used his “Drone and Dub” machines to create a release full of harsh, droning metal and pounding rhythms. The ingenuity of these mechanical devices and how they play their sounds simply astonishes me.
Review: Ancient Ocean – Blood Moon
Ancient Ocean Blood Moon Beyond Beyond is Beyond Street: 06.30 Ancient Ocean = Sigur Rós + Deuter Ancient Ocean’s latest release is a meditative album that takes you on a journey through space and sound. It’s an impressive collection, to say the least. I loved listening to this album in the midst of a spring
