November 2013
Review: Seams – Quarters
Quarters utilizes crisp, unadorned beats that snap and pop in crystal-clear hi fidelity. These simple chord progressions and beats are then added on layer by layer with buzzing synths and serrated arpeggios until the sum eventually outweighs its parts, but not without leaving a golden thread back to the beginning. … read more
Review: Seeker – Unloved
Knee-jerk reaction would lump these guys in with the somehow-still-prevalent deathcore genre, but Unloved lacks the breakdowns and the tech-noodling. What they do play is ferocious, syncopated rhythms where guitars serve as another percussive instrument, punctuated by slow interludes of open strumming. … read more
Review: Quasi – Mole City
Rock n’ roll is about excess, not precision or scholastic adherence to tradition or, RockGods forbid, discipline. It does take some kind of discipline, or something, to make music with an ex-spouse, as do Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss of Quasi. … read more
Review: Richard X. Heyman – X
Every track has the same folky, calming tone, with Heyman’s bastardized mix of Bob Dylan’s and Paul Wellar’s melodic vocals. One exception, “Compass,” is made up of heavier guitar riffs, and Heyman provides harsher vocals that make for harder pop rock n’ roll. … read more
Review: RJD2 – More Is Than Isn’t
As far as funky, jazz-influenced electronic hip hop (I get that’s a lot to ponder, but hear me out) goes, RJD2 delivers an album nothing short of amazing with More Is Than Isn’t. … read more
Review: Russian Circles – Memorial
When did Russian Circles transition from a second-tier post-rock band to a peerless post-everything behemoth of hair-trigger precision and cathartic terror-beauty? Russian Circles have been playing lately like the mid-’00s post-rock boom never happened. … read more
Review: Pink Frost – Sundowning
Most often compared to 90s-era Smashing Pumpkins, except without Billy Corgan’s godawful nasally whine, Pink Frost are thick and noisy and energetic and also noisy. … read more
Review: Piñata Protest – El Valiente
Opening with a 45-second intro declaring Piñata Protest “los mas chingones de la musica norteña punk,” El Valiente certainly delivers on that description. … read more
Review: Plankton Wat – Drifter’s Temple
If an all-instrumental band uses the adjective legendary in cahoots with its description shortly before touting Grateful Dead as an influence, it’s almost guaranteed to sandbag any actual listening experience. Fortunately, Plankton Wat wined and dined my initial shallowness away before the third track. … read more
Review: Polvo – Siveria
Polvo was math-y before there was math rock, but the angular equations of their guitar riffs and drum rhythms seemed like some secret calculus, more subtle and organic then their successors. … read more
Review: Poor Lily – Vuxola
Musicianship this tight is rarely used to make street punk music, but alas, here we are. Poor Lily aren’t exactly a street punk band, but the general snottiness of the record certainly follows that lead, and mixes this vibe with equal doses of ’80s hardcore and ’90s post-rock. … read more
Review: Possession – His Best Deceit
Leave it to Iron Bonehead productions to put the K in kvlt giving these black thrashers from Austria a wider release on what formally is a “demo tape.” That’s all in the eyes of the beholder in regards to the actual status of a release. … read more
