Want to go to a Renaissance fest, but there’s not one happening in your town, or it just isn’t happening soon enough? Here’s a solution: play this album, dress up in your royal gear, and stuff turkey legs down your throat like a knight. … read more
Review: Take Offense – United States of Mind
When Take Offense first started making waves beyond their native Chula Vista, the predominant buzz surrounding the band was a seamless integration of heavy metallic hardcore with a funky Venice thrash kick. On their second full-length, they continue in the same vein with some more of the metallic embellishments that have kept them a head above many of their contemporaries. … read more
Review: Succubus – Descend Unto Gehenna
Succubus take the chaotic approach of their slashing over grooves fixing on great—for a lack of a better term—“old school” qualities of the death metal and thrash genres, but do it without sounding like a hack or re-hash artists. … read more
Review: Sumie – Self-Titled
Blending European and Japanese imagery, Sumie invokes complex lyrical ideas, creating an interesting juxtaposition between the simple and the intricate, which ends up working beautifully. Instrumentally, at its most complicated, it uses only background vocals and a piano while Sumie’s voice spins gracefully around, intricately weaving each piece together into the stunning closer that is “Sailor Friends.” … read more
Review: Sunwolf – Angel Eyes
The lyrics are cheesy, and the instrumentals would be really well received at a high school house show. There is a lot of simple, cheesy lo-fi out there that is really good, but this album lacks the charm required to turn those weaknesses into strengths. … read more
Review: Synkro – Lost Here EP
This EP reflects the softer, more experimental side of dubstep that got its start in the UK. Dreamy vocalist Robert Manos graces half of the EP and makes the album easy to listen to. … read more
Review: Take Berlin – Lionize EP
Nothing induces a hypnotic state of relaxation like pulses of the gentle, vibrato Wurlitzer notes that fill Lionize. In fact, the dreamlike Wurlitzer, along with a clean acoustic guitar, make up the majority of the album’s instrumentation. … read more
Review: Teengirl Fantasy – Nun EP
This duo, comprised of Logan Takahashi and Nicholas Weiss, make quite a cohesive pair. “Eric” stands out to me as the strongest track on this EP, launching into a heavy drum and bass breakdown. Nun EP is fairly mellow and more downbeat, which ends up working as either a perfect warm-up or cool-down to an evening. … read more
Review: Talvihorros – Eaten Alive
This album is full of pretty and cute melodies made weird by distortions and reverbs. Almost every single track consisted of me saying, “Oh, hey this is nice” to “Oh wait, weird as fuck” within a five-second time frame. It’s especially prominent in the track “Four Walls,” with consistent clockwork ticking in the background with threatening melodies slowly fading in. … read more
Review: Suffering in Solitude – A Place Apart
Too much time is spent plucking out guitar overtones and delay-heavy arpeggios. These guys have a lot of room to grow, but if you like your metal tinged with shoegaze, you’ll probably enjoy A Place Apart nonetheless. … read more
Review: Sun Kil Moon – Benji
Mark Kozelek has made a record so confrontational and real, you have to admire it even when it’s a bit much. It’s about how the things that seem “uncool” in life are often what make it worthwhile—a bold, artistic vision that can be a real bummer, honestly. … read more
Review: Superchunk – I Hate Music
It’s a quarter-century since founding the band and starting the Merge Records label, and their rapid-fire pop-punk hasn’t slowed down on this release. The unlikely ode to the Jamaican musician, producer and member of The Skatalites who passed away in 1990 should have been the sing-along pop radio staple of the year. But then, this sound doesn’t have a year—it’s just timeless. … read more
