I don’t like posthumous releases, mostly because they tend to break my heart. … read more
Review: Spectrals – Sob Story
The sophomore album from U.K. band Spectrals is a step up from their 2011 debut record, Bad Penny, as their sound seems more confident and polished. … read more
Review: Sleeping With Sirens – Feel
It’s funny, I never thought about Sleeping With Sirens being an overly poppy band, but after listening to Feel, it’s pretty hard to ignore. … read more
Review: Star & Dagger – Tomorrowland Blues
Three extremely talented and seasoned musicians came together to create this excellent, bluesy stoner rock album. … read more
Review: Sleepmakeswaves – …and so we destroyed everything
Sydney Australia’s Sleepmakeswaves have the ability to move from the sublime to sublimely heavy in a half-breath’s time. … read more
Review: SISU – Blood Tears
Blood Tears is bristling with synths and heavy bass riffs, and in between, Vu’s voice creates melodramatic tension. Most of the tracks recall the current ’80s pop revival, but there’s something refreshing about the sleeker production here, especially on the awesome single “Harpoons.” … read more
Review: Skeletonwitch – Serpents Unleashed
Honestly, I wasn’t a huge fan of Forever Abomination, but in my eyes, the band has transcended their sound on this record—the technically modest solo of “Beneath Dead Leaves,” for example, demonstrates Skeletonwitch’s penchant for song construction rather than stereotypical, dick-swingin’ metal guitar solos. … read more
Review: Spindrift – Ghost of the West
The wide-open spaces of places like Joshua Tree, animal corpses rotting under the blazing sun and the myth of the desert have marked all of their records, but for Ghost of the West, Kirpatrick Thomas wanted something different. He wanted to make an album that didn’t emulate the myth of the West, but embodied the West—what it actually was. … read more
Review: Soviet Soviet – Fate
When Fate begins, the full richness of the music, along with the double-time dance beat, doesn’t prepare me for the voice of Alessandro Costantini. It’s not that his voice doesn’t mesh well with the overall sound—it does. It’s perfect for the crunchy bass that sits on the forefront of the album’s mixes, allowing the guitars to create texture or melodic leads reminiscent of Holograms’ synth work. … read more
Review: SQÜRL – EP #2
Coming off a brilliant collaboration with lute revivalist Josef van Wissem, this largely instrumental, sprawling compilation of psychedelic guitar explorations of dissonance and repetition is as good as any Jarmusch film: disconnected, adjacent to popular culture and unmistakably idiosyncratic. … read more
Review: Storm of Light – Nations to Flames
This album takes a completely different direction with its post-metal influences than I was expecting. Instead of the gentle surges and mellow refrains, Nations to Flames takes you by the collar and shakes you again and again with its unrelenting chaos. … read more
Review: Strike to Survive – Yesterday’s News
Drums and guitar high in the mix with jagged vocals buried a little beneath makes for a compelling listen, sort of similar to Drive Like Jehu or maybe even the first Bronx album (check the Refused-via-Stooges riffing on the title track). … read more
