To stand out as a two-piece you have to be creative. You are starting off at a disadvantage, and even if you are damn-decent, at best you will be getting compliments laced with qualifiers … read more
Review: Autopsy – The Headless Ritual
Did you think San Francisco death metal crew Autopsy’s comeback album, Macabre Eternal, was hot tits? Well, this new festering, putrid bag of pus-ridden tunes makes Macabre Eternal seem lackluster … read more
Review: Authority Zero – Tipping Point
Does it count as having a favorite song if “favorite” describes half the songs on an album? … read more
Review: AUN – Alpha/Heaven
There are depths in Alpha/Heaven that go beyond your garden-variety ambient drone record. … read more
Review: Audacity – Butter Knife
Audacity, like any great garage rock outfit, shouldn’t be listened to in headphones. This shit is always best when blasted through a shitty PA in an under-ventilated asbestos ridden basement. … read more
Review: Bad Religion – Christmas Songs
Although I can’t say exactly what I was expecting from this record, I have to say, other than its oddball appeal, the jovial seasonal tunes didn’t really scratch the itch I got when I first heard about this project. … read more
Review: Bakers Dozen/Kombatants – European Invasion
Here are two European punk bands, firmly rooted in the Oi! traditions of writing solid (if not a teensy bit derivative) songs about braces, boots, beers, birds and (foot)ball. … read more
Review: Axxa/Abraxas – Self-Titled
Ben Asbury is the man behind Axxa/Abraxas and the newest addition to the Captured Tracks roster. Producer Jarvis Taveniere, of Brooklyn psych band Woods, lends his skills but unintentionally casts his shadow over the album. … read more
Review: Bailterspace – Trinine
Let’s get easy comparisons out of the way—Bailterspace are often compared to certain American alternative bands from the angry alt ’80s and it’s not difficult to hear why on Trinine—Alister Parker’s monotonous singing and vicious guitar playing sounds so close to both Thurston Moore and J. Mascis. … read more
Review: Asheru – Sleepless in Soweto
Asheru delivers his vision of global African unity in Sleepless in Soweto, and if it weren’t for the blending of rapid-fire rhymes combined with elements of Afro-beat and American hip-hop, I would have been bored by the amount of R&B present in this album. … read more
Review: Ass to Mouth – Degenerate
Ass to Mouth take the groove-oriented grind approach, which is nice to have some tight riffs that remain in memory. “Sentenced to Grind” and “Drunk & Stoned” give the goods by way of meat-falling-off-the-bone riffs.
… read more
Review: Arum Rae – Warranted Queen EP
Somewhere between deadmau5 bass drops, the high-timbred soul of Donna Summer and the ragged guitar riffs of The Kills, you might find Arum Rae (formerly White Dress). … read more
