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The Big Takeover Issue #95

Ryan Gabos

Ryan Gabos first cut his teeth as a music critic in 2011 with 402 Productions, for which he soon rose to the position of Editor through 2013. Since then, he has written for Good, Bad, Ugly Music Reviews, Next2Shine, and GrooveVolt. He also stays musically active, fronting the band Sotto Voce and representing one half of the punk group Hot to Trot.

Tsunami - Loud Is As (Numero Group)

8 November 2024

This five LP box set is an imperative restoration and chronicle of Tsunami’s effusive, brightly burning legacy.

Monty Munro (Preoccupations)

19 January 2023

In September of 2022, Preoccupations’ Monty Munro spoke with me over Zoom, where we dove deep into the mania behind their latest recording process, the bad luck streak of their 2018 tour, and most importantly: tons and tons of gear.

Sam Prekop & John McEntire - Sons Of

Sam Prekop and John McEntire - Sons Of (Thrill Jockey)

22 July 2022

Sons Of features four lengthy modular synthesizer compositions from Sam Prekop and John McEntire, first forged across the duo’s improvised 2019 European tour.

Superchunk - Wild Loneliness

Superchunk - Wild Loneliness (Merge Records)

2 March 2022

Superchunk’s latest licks sociopolitical wounds while revisiting a more tunefully ambitious era of the band.

Love of Everything - Echo Frenz

Love of Everything - Echo Frenz (Joyful Noise Recordings)

7 March 2021

Bobby Burg’s first Love of Everything release in a decade offers aural hugs in a year where any kind of embrace is desperately needed.

Everyone’s Quiet When the Record Ends: An Oral Retrospective of Joan of Arc

7 December 2020

Tim Kinsella, Melina Ausikaitis, Theo Katsaounis, and Bobby Burg tell the tale of bringing Joan of Arc to an end in this oral retrospective.

Joan of Arc - Tim Melina Theo Bobby (Joyful Noise Recordings)

3 December 2020

Joan of Arc may have reached a career end, but they continue to be unstoppable.

cindygod - EP2

cindygod - EP2 (Fire Talk Records)

13 August 2020

EP2, further realizes cindygod’s potential for icky goth pop, confidently delighting in the dark hallways they began exploring with last year’s demos.

Sam Prekop - Comma

Sam Prekop - Comma (Thrill Jockey)

10 July 2020

Sam Prekop the jazz rock frontman and Sam Prekop the modular synth artist are two very different people and Comma is the freshest, most spirited work either has shared in years.

Nana Grizol - South Somewhere Else

Nana Grizol - South Somewhere Else (Arrowhawk/Don Giovanni Records)

26 June 2020

While Nana Grizol’s latest is rife with sociopolitical columnist wit, Theo Hilton still weaves in plenty of the personal beauty he’s spent a few albums proving matters so much.

Owen - The Avalanche

Owen - The Avalanche (Polyvinyl Records)

19 June 2020

The Avalanche explores the doubt one can harbor as a father and husband set to a pure and endlessly beauteous void.

The World Palestine - Birds of the Deep

The World Palestine - Birds of the Deep (Self-Released)

5 May 2020

Les Easterby’s latest writings from a once-shut-out heart are perfect sympathies for the physically shut-in masses.

OOIOO - nijimusi

OOIOO - nijimusi (Thrill Jockey)

20 January 2020

The group’s first collection of new material after a six-year hiatus is a feeling or wavelength pronounceable and describable on the user’s own elated terms, much like OOIOO’s namesake.

Charles Rumback & Ryley Walker - Little Common Twist

Charles Rumback & Ryley Walker - Little Common Twist (Thrill Jockey)

12 November 2019

Whereas most collaborative efforts result in uninhibited vibe sessions, Little Common Twist offers informal exploration with intent.

Lightning Bolt - Sonic Citadel

Lightning Bolt - Sonic Citadel (Thrill Jockey)

11 October 2019

Lightning Bolt’s seventh full-length is a mammoth epic that leaves in its wake the pulsating of ear drums and tremoring of pupils.

Versus - Ex Voto

Versus - Ex Voto (Ernest Jenning Record Co.)

19 August 2019

After nine years of radio silence, Versus have proven still very much electrified and full of life.

American Football - LP3

American Football - LP3 (Polyvinyl Records)

29 March 2019

LP3 excitedly shatters the notion of expectation in American Football, blurring their legacy into a foreign concept.

Warm Drag

Paul Quattrone (Warm Drag, Oh Sees, !!!)

25 March 2019

Paul Quattrone discusses his love for The Bomb Squad, how it feels to step out of the drum throne in his new project Warm Drag, and why dabbling in odd time signatures can very quickly ruin an artist’s ability to be taken seriously.

Matmos - Plastic Anniversary

Matmos - Plastic Anniversary (Thrill Jockey)

15 March 2019

Matmos’s newest effort broadens their toolkit considerably, featuring all things plastic from silicone gel breast implants to PVC pipes.

Ava Luna

Julian Fader (Ava Luna)

26 February 2019

Julian Fader talks Ava Luna’s latest record, the near-discontinuation of their tenure prior to its release, and bandmates’ influences ranging from Enya to Cornelius.

Toro Y Moi - Outer Peace

Toro Y Moi - Outer Peace (Carpark Records)

28 January 2019

Two years after Boo Boo, Chaz has channeled that chill opera’s focus on jadedness and turned it outward into riposte.

cindygod - demos EP

cindygod - demos (Self-Released)

2 January 2019

Gauntlet Hair has been reborn as cindygod. The change in name and lineup also comes with a revamped industrial and at times chilling demeanor.

Tangerine - White Dove

Tangerine - White Dove (AWAL)

19 October 2018

Tangerine’s new EP suggests a brighter aptitude for instrumentation and arrangement than their synth pop predecessors.

Warm Drag - S/T

Warm Drag - S/T (In the Red)

18 September 2018

Warm Drag is the authenticity yielded by a natural continuation of Paul Quattrone and Vashti Windish’s collaborative DJ sets, and the theme of this night is acid western.

Glenn Jones - The Giant Who Ate Himself...

Glenn Jones - The Giant Who Ate Himself and Other New Works for 6 & 12 String Guitar (Thrill Jockey)

4 September 2018

Jones’s latest full-length indebts itself to his bygone friend and mentor John Fahey in a personalized sonic essay on his early teachings.

Oh Sees - Smote Reverser

Oh Sees - Smote Reverser (Castle Face Records)

27 August 2018

On their twenty-first record, Oh Sees remain confounding in their pace and dependability.

Phantastic Ferniture - S/T

Phantastic Ferniture - S/T (Polyvinyl Records)

20 August 2018

Aside from one breezy single, this perfunctory debut is about as catch-all as a ClipArt search result for ‘indie band.’

Ty Segall & White Fence - Joy

Ty Segall & White Fence - Joy (Drag City)

17 August 2018

Joy resembles not the electric freak jam of its former, adopting instead a case of perpetual nervousness and a short fuse. Segall and Presley have bottled the essence of Dr. Jekyll transforming into Mr. Hyde.

Pram - Across the Meridian

Pram - Across the Meridian (Domino)

7 August 2018

Pram’s first release in a decade is often the score to the rumpus of ghosts in the attic after their being unleashed from a dusty music box ballerina’s stimulus.

Body/Head - The Switch

Body/Head - The Switch (Matador Records)

17 July 2018

The Switch does away with the sterility of Body/Head’s debut and seeks to better represent the group’s live sound.

Joan of Arc - 1984

Joan of Arc - 1984 (Joyful Noise Recordings)

4 June 2018

Joan of Arc’s latest is a patchwork of retrospective blips that fade in and out at an almost subliminal rate, not looking to drag new meaning out of the past but rather to ensure that nothing was overlooked.

The Sea and Cake - Any Day

The Sea and Cake - Any Day (Thrill Jockey)

11 May 2018

Any Day is a bold expression derived from stress and change crafted from the masters in rare form, typical form, and most importantly, new form.

Jaala - Joonya Spirit

Jaala - Joonya Spirit (Bedroom Suck Records)

9 May 2018

Almost two years after they teased its title track, Jaala’s sophomore LP Joonya Spirit is well worth the wait.

Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog

Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog (Saddle Creek)

30 April 2018

Bewilderment over Hop Along’s latest cannot be indebted to any defined science—they just know how to wow by the cleverest and most economic means.

Freak Heat Waves - Beyond XXXL

Freak Heat Waves - Beyond XXXL (Telephone Explosion)

25 April 2018

Beyond XXXL is made for those who love Iggy Pop’s The Idiot, but would specifically like a 45-minute reflection of “Nightclubbing.”

Sleepyhead - Future Exhibit Goes Here

Sleepyhead - Future Exhibit Goes Here (Drawing Room Records)

13 April 2018

Revisiting Sleepyhead’s tenure on Homestead Records is as much of a trip down memory lane as it is an acid test for just how widely the gumption was spread to the more unknown sects of alternative circles at the time.

Mouse on Mars - Dimensional People

Mouse on Mars - Dimensional People (Thrill Jockey)

11 April 2018

Featuring an array of guest musicians and a wide berth of ideas and styles, MoM’s latest plays out like a series of bite-sized In the Fishtank performances, each touting its own brand of curiosity.

Guided By Voices - Space Gun

Guided By Voices - Space Gun (Rockathon Records)

10 April 2018

GBV’s 25th album ensures that the frequency of their output isn’t due to phoning it in but rather the miracle of dedication.

Preoccupations - New Material

Preoccupations - New Material (Jagjaguwar)

9 April 2018

The complicated time signatures and Matt Flegel’s snarl are still intact on the band’s third LP, yet the lack of a centerpiece may leave fans unsated.

The Messthetics - S/T

The Messthetics - S/T (Dischord Records)

5 April 2018

This debut of a supergroup featuring members of Fugazi gets too caught up in the jamming aspect of band practice.

Mount Eerie - Now Only

Mount Eerie - Now Only (P.W. Elverum & Sun)

23 March 2018

Now Only is a more focused and musically satisfying second chapter in the ongoing chronicle of Geneviève’s postmortem.

Yo La Tengo - There's a Riot Going On

Yo La Tengo - There's a Riot Going On (Matador Records)

15 March 2018

It’s 2018 and there’s a riot going on. As much as they opined, “This is it for all we know,” on last record Fade, it’s still too early to punch in their cards.

Sleepyhead promo photo

Song Premiere: "Go West!" by Sleepyhead

12 March 2018

NYC indie rock veterans Sleepyhead debut a new single from the past, combining blistering drums with pleasantly fuzzed out guitars… and a slide whistle!

Screaming Females - All at Once

Screaming Females - All at Once (Don Giovanni Records)

4 March 2018

All at Once builds on the pop flirtations of their previous record while matching the length and bevy of ideas found on Ugly, marrying the two in a mettlesome, swaggering although humbled ultra-album.

Ought - Room Inside the World

Ought - Room Inside the World (Merge Records)

26 February 2018

On their third album in four years, Ought continue to be one of the most inventive bands of late, operating on the sheer ingenuity of its proprietors.

Superchunk - What a Time to Be Alive

Superchunk - What a Time to Be Alive (Merge Records)

21 February 2018

What a Time to Be Alive is a far more apt address than the one Donald Trump issued in January; it’s a State of the Union of the people, by the people, for the people.

Anna Burch - Quit the Curse

Anna Burch - Quit the Curse (Polyvinyl Records)

2 February 2018

Anna Burch’s solo debut proves that if you plug in a guitar and apply a noticeable amount of reverb somewhere within the process of recording, indie pop can indeed be quickly reduced to something anyone can do.

Half Japanese - Why Not?

Half Japanese - Why Not? (Fire Records)

28 January 2018

Jad Fair remains an overflowing fountain of wide-eyed, childlike poetry and his bandmates all craft the dependable art rock stylings that have become associated with the name over the years. “One word for it: Wow.”

Tune-Yards - I can feel you creep into my private life

Tune-Yards - I can feel you creep into my private life (4AD)

23 January 2018

Our aggressively dystopian present has collided with Tune-Yards, temporarily sapping them of their comedy. However, wit stays safely intact on their latest, and they’ve traded in their jesting aptitude for a beefed up dance engine, destined to get every last woke one of us on the floor.

Chad VanGaalen

Chad VanGaalen

10 January 2018

Chad VanGaalen chats about his new record, balancing the roles of father and bandleader, future artistic aspirations, and why one should never Tarboz themselves.