Drop the Fear Self-Titled Drop the Fear The comparisons to the Cocteau Twins are going to be rampant even though they aren’t exactly accurate. Neither the guitars nor the vocals are anywhere as layered or complex, but still there is something there that does recall the cascades and swirling tide that defined 4AD in the
Typically, if you were a fan of early fundamentalist punk bands (e.g. The Ramones, The Stooges) then at one time or another you would’ve at least heard of Drivin’ N Cryin’ as a relative recommendation. … read more
Eddie Spaghetti evidently has just too much rock n’ roll in his soul. … read more
The album is called Paul Walker, and there are songs named “Deconstructing Snapcase” and “Reading Youtube Comments.” … read more
Experimental electronic music seems to be kind of the trend lately among newer artists, but that doesn’t always mean it’s the best music. Dosh deliver an album that, while it has a good quality of sound backing it, is not something I could see becoming big. … read more
I wasn’t exactly excited to listen to this album, mostly due to an underwhelming description on the press release, the presence of several new LPs on the “to listen” shelf—and a Breaking Bad episode on the DVR—but I’m glad that I did. … read more
Fresh out of Boarding School, Odd Future wonder child Earl Sweatshirt drops Doris on a firm and steady step out the front door with an array of guest appearances from Tyler, the Creator to RZA. … read more
If any genre should be bulletproof to experimentation and expansion, it’s grindcore, but in 2013, strong releases by Call of the Void and Beaten to Death have challenged this notion, and Drugs of Faith are right alongside them. … read more
This album is one big derivative showcase: I hear a shit-ton of Opeth, Tommy Giles, Mastodon and The Ocean among others, so there’s an element of comfortable familiarity when I listen, but that familiarity is at the expense of any originality the band might be capable of. … read more
Without this kind of stuff by the original outsider band, you wonder if someone like Daniel Johnston would’ve been possible, and it’s fitting that this is on the label of Jello Biafra, who discovered Wesley Willis. … read more
Namely, the best track on the album, “Pure Gold in the ’70s,” rips at the seams midway and bursts open with a J Mascis guitar solo, and from there, the track is a pure slacker anthem, a salute to the children of the ’70s. Pony also has more than enough warmth and attitude to get me through winter. … read more
This is “Free Bird” entered through the outro. Imagine—a dozen layers deep in stoner blues—forgetting there was ever a verse or chorus, or ever any vocals at all, even air to breathe. Imagine tossing the whole structural fuckload and just soloing in brazen différance. To consider this is to glimpse the errance of From The Ages. … read more
