Issues: Issue 303 - March 2014
Review: Damien Jurado – Brothers and Sisters of Eternal Son
Haunting melodies fill Seattleman Damien Jurado’s newest indie rock album, Brothers and Sisters of Eternal Son, in nearly every track. Jurado crafted a musical atmosphere that feels dream-like and almost eerie. … read more
Review: Creative Adult – Psychic Mess
Creative Adult Psychic Mess Run For Cover Street: 02.25 Creative Adult = Mayyors + Gray Matter + The Vibrating Antennas Imagine the sound of an ’80s goth-influenced group that you can’t place between punk and new wave. Now, if you can imagine dropping the needle on their LP, coated with a fine layer of mud,
Review: Crucifixion Machine – ON3
His creativity combines darkwave, synthpop and electro-industrial. He uses vocal samples instead of singing, which is one of my favorite styles of music. I feel it allows your mind to wander where it needs to go without imposing a lyrical meaning to the songs. … read more
Review: Chris Gatsby – Middleground: Morals & Money
“Hip-hop barely breathing, I’m that fresh breath,” raps Chris Gatsby in a song aptly called “Reckless.” Both sentiments are bullshit. It may not be 1993 anymore, but there’s a lot to like about hip-hop these days. Additionally, Gatsby’s resistance to change is a big part of what robs this album of relevance. … read more
Review: Cities Aviv – Come To Life
I don’t know if Gavin Mays, the man behind Cities Aviv, is trying to rap. All I know is it’s pretty fucking clear that he can’t. He produces really cool beats, though, and that makes up for a lot. Come To Life is by no means bad. It is, nevertheless, deeply indebted to Death Grips. … read more
Review: Chapel – Satan’s Rock ‘N’ Roll
Production-wise, Satan’s Rock ‘N’ Roll excels with hellish bass tones and an insistent drum punch, and no one’s denying the implicit draw of a title track that pledges allegiance to the Horned One via rock n’ roll. However, the litany of clichés and “been dones” comprising the unmemorable riffs and stylistic rehashing is hard to shake. … read more
Review: Cannabis Corpse/ Ghoul – Splatterhash Split
Yeah, they’ve got that whole “weed pun” thing cornered, splicing kief-crusted metaphors into trad-death metal fare, but slagging them as a cloying stoner parody is a serious oversight to their technical greatness. … read more
Review: Bleeding Rainbow – Interrupt
If only I had a chance to listen to this album my sophomore year of high school. Pop punk mashes surprisingly well with a soaring, ’90s infusion of grunge. … read more
Review: Bombay Bicycle Club – So Long, See You Tomorrow
The first half of the album is a lot of fun for the polite English quartet, and “Home By Now” is the album’s standout track. “Overdone” is a strong opening to the album, but “Luna” is ambient indie pop trash, and you can blame the success of Passion Pit and MGMT for its endorsement. … read more
Review: Black Knights – Medieval Chamber
Prepare for sounds of electronica with unrelated samples and effects, which are backed with an orchestra and an occasional chorus. Rugged Monk and Crisis spit harmoniously with the beats, hitting you with those West Coast, hard-hitting flows. … read more