Issues: Issue 197 - May 2005
Review: VNV Nation – Matter+Form
VNV Nation Matter+Form Metropolis Street: 04.12 VNV Nation fans have waited two years for Matter + Form and will delight in the latest efforts of Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson. Eleven tracks of Epic songs that are part of the future-pop founder’s repertoire reinvent the genre that blurs gothic, industrial and techno sounds. “Intro”
Review: Thee Heavenly Music Association – Shaping the Invisible
Thee Heavenly Music Association Shaping the Invisible Rehash Records Caught somewhere between Curve and Garbage (yes I know that’s a slim alley) with an over-apparent love for My Bloody Valentine, the combination of Helen Storer and Dave Hillis produce a nice wall of distorted pop that is good enough to make up for the
Review: The Perishers – Let There Be Morning
The Perishers Let There Be Morning Nettwerk The Perishers come sauntering in with a long list of hopefuls who would, if given the chance, knock that bloody crown off of Coldplay’s collective head. They’re stretching out for Radiohead’s The Bends but grasping something with a bit more sugar, not nearly the substance or the
Review: The Upwelling – Self-Titled
The Upwelling Self-Titled TheUpwelling The Upwelling are the first unsigned band to get Virgin Megatore’s “Virgin Recommends” sticker stuck to their CD, and while it isn’t hard to see why Virgin would endorse them with a sound that lands right between Jimmy Eat World and next week’s British soft-pop contender I don’t know that I
Review: S. Sturgis – In a Haze
S. Sturgis In a Haze Positron Records Street: Out Now The artist’s name alone tells you this album is excellent. In eight years, Scott Sturgis has already shown that he can do gritty industrial with Pain Station, pounding rhythm noise with Converter and experimental ambiance with Notime. After 13 releases of his other projects,
Review: Random Hymns EP – GSL
Random Hymns EP GSL This one might scramble your brains a bit in the traditional Gold Standard way. Punk in attitude, freeform in structure, drenched in organs thrust along by the occasional drum bit stolen from The Cure’s Pornography. Random Hymns drops you down the rabbit hole and dares you to climb out. It
Review: Phazm – Hate at First Seed
Phazm Hate at First Seed Osmose Productions Phazm are a French band that sound more like Amebix than any of their death metal contemporaries. This came across during the first listen as kind of plain, as there weren’t any other elements added to their brand of brutal metal, but there is enough going on
Review: Origin – Echoes of Decimation
Origin Echoes of Decimation Relapse Records Clocking in with nine tracks (no intros!) in just under half an hour, you might suspect that Origin’s newest release in well over five years is fast. Oh, yes—it’s fast, alright. With members in the past having ties to Nile, Hate Eternal and other bands, you know what
Review: Misery – Production Thru Destruction
Misery Production Thru Destruction Cah Records Punks are always so much better than metalheads at playing metal. They know when not to play a useless solo, when not to play five minutes of blastbeats, and when not to use eight million riffs in one song. Misery know how to pour on the gloom and
Review: Mad E.P. – Eating Movies
Mad E.P. Eating Movies Ad Noiseam Street: Out Now When I am 6 was the first work of art by Matthew Peters of Mad E.P. and now he gives us the follow-up full-length, Eating Movies. Mad E.P. is completely uninhibited to experiment with hip-hop, piano keys, answering machine messages, flutes, cellos, street sounds, fist