The lineup is solid—when you pair the Nolte brothers with the powerhouse punk rhythm section of Karl Alvarez and Bill Stevenson, you end up with the sort of alchemy that is both pop-sensible and face-melting. Mike Nolte adds a garage-y organ to traditional pop punk hooks and layered backing vocals to give the songs a 1960s feel. … read more
Review: The Melvins – Tres Cabrones
The Melvins = Butthole Surfers + My War/In My Head–era Black Flag + Lysol-era Melvins … read more
Review: The Sounds – Weekend
The Sounds have released another album similar to their two most previous creations both in style and content. Indie folk influences with their typical electro-pop base won’t throw off or impress faithful fans. This album is about what you’d expect. … read more
Review: The Smoking Flowers – 2 Guns
IIt’s more interesting than the crop of artists on the pop country charts, but that isn’t saying much. For sheer listening—if you enjoy the storytelling lyricizing of the country genre—you could do far worse. … read more
Review: The Last Ten Seconds of Life – Invivo[Exvivo]
Looking at the cover is all you’ll need to decide whether you’re going to like these guys or not. You know what you’re getting into—throat-tearing screams, breakdowns and amateur lyrics. Taking cues, nods and riffs from the rest of their brethren, it’s not original, but it sounds great. … read more
Review: The Mast – Pleasure Island
For their debut album, this Brooklyn-based duo pleases the listener with a relaxing experimental electronic album that features beautifully harmonized female vocals paired with synthesized drumbeats, similar to the Garage Band style production favored by acts like Grimes. … read more
Review: The Pack A.D. – Do Not Engage
The follow-up to 2011’s Unpersons, Do Not Engage again finds The Pack deep inside the blues-rock universe with some sharp, tight guitar riffs and soulful, rough-spun vocals from Becky Black and driving rhythms from Maya Miller. … read more
Review: The Rebel Set – How To Make a Monster
The ultra-quick single-string picking that opens How To Make A Monster drowns in wet reverb the way The Ventures did it. … read more
Review: The Supersuckers – Get the Hell
They are bluesy enough to sound authentic when they put harmonica over the romper of a song “Fuck Up” and rootsy enough where you can hear the country and rockabilly influence in even their most hard-charging guitar licks. … read more
Review: The Slow Death – No Heaven
No Heaven is a combination of fast, loud and angry Oi! music, with whiskey-soaked vocals, layered with dark, depressing lyrics. So, like the number “I Need A Drink,” I need to get myself a pick-me-up after this one. … read more
Review: The Ska-Skank Redemption – Wicked Bees
Songs like “Hit ‘n’ Run” and “Age of Wine” resemble the traditional dance-like ska beat. “Minnesota” brings a lot more emphasis on the guitar, giving the song a more raw, punk rock edge to the EP—all while lead singer Dan Christianson upholds clean and emotional vocals similar to that of Billie Joe Armstrong. … read more
Review: The Lawrence Arms – Metropole
Keep in mind, diehards—it’s been eight long years since The Lawrence Arms released a full-length album. In that time, they were signed to Fat Wreck Chords and cultivated a sound similar to Dwarves. Now, through Epitaph, they have released an album that shows a more dynamic approach toward their music. … read more
