Issues: Issue 303 - March 2014
Local Review: Black Cum – Black Cum Is the Best...
With an album title like Black Cum Is the Best Band On the Planet, it’s not surprising that Black Cum talks about Black Cum repeatedly on the song titles and the songs themselves. … read more
Review: Francis Harris – Minutes of Sleep
The presence of tape hiss, vocals, and organic instruments, juxtaposed with drum machine rhythms and synth chords, is very welcome. “Hems,” “Dangerdream” and the title track are my favorites, as they eschew the House rhythms found in the album’s middle and tend more toward atmosphere, which I’m in the mood for right now. … read more
Review: Flying Lotus – Ideas+drafts+loops
Ideas+drafts+loops has nods to Steven Ellison’s signature, off-beat styling, but is also full of experiments and collaborations that show how flexible Flying Lotus is as an artist. There is a lot going on with I+d+l, and with 24 tracks, it is a psychedelic delve into the mind of an electronically inspired madman … read more
Review: Gacha – When The Watchman Saw The Light
This six-part album is a compendium of percussion, gentle guitars and ethereal vocals provided by the lovely Natalie “TBA” Beridze. Gacha’s album seems, to me, like the Georgian’s take on the progression from light into darkness. … read more
Review: Gardens & Villa – Dunes
Much like their eponymous 2011 debut, the new Gardens & Villa album frequently combines lead singer and guitarist Chris Lynch’s flute playing with the synths of Adam Rasmussen that recalls the early-’80s styling of this amalgam, with mostly successful results. … read more
Review: Empty Flowers – The Air You Found
It is not often that I hear traditional rock mixed with ambient electronic themes and can say I enjoy it. Empty Flowers showed me that the two can be beautifully united into an ocean of imagery. … read more
Review: Epic Problem – Lines
Hailing from Derbyshire, England, this four-piece band (who take their name from a Minor Threat song) is one of the few worth listening to in modern street punk. I knew almost immediately I was going to like this album in the first 30 seconds of the opening track, “Lines.” … read more
Review: Dodsferd – The Parasitic Survival of the Human Race
Dodsferd remain one of the more intense bands in black metal by way of lyrical attacks—no thought is spared. Musically, Dodsferd have always been a noisy blunt force. Listening will incite hate in your heart. … read more
Review: Del Venicci – Haunted Hall
Del Venicci chose a theme—ghosts—and ran home with it. Looking beyond the (sometimes over-) saturated haunting sounds and ghostly wails throughout, the shoegazey love quartet have some pretty solid jams. … read more
Review: Damaged Bug – Hubba Bubba
How do you re-invent yourself as a musician when your psych-garage band has gained a cult following and released a prolific amount of material in a short amount of time? From sleepy analog tracks to the bouncy synth pop of “Eggs At Night,” Dwyer takes us on a trip that claims no allegiance to the past or present, but looks to the future. … read more