The Great Game is like taking a flight to every continent and realizing there are very little fundamental differences after all.
Grass, Branch & Bone is an album that is light enough to take in and dark enough to stay with you.
Imagine if you will, The Violent Femmes are a bar band in the Delta…
Building on the success of their debut, Town and Country (Eggsong, 2012), Norfolk, UK’s The Vagaband return with their emotionally charged sophomore effort.
Postcards From Berlin sounds like someone plucked all of the *Martin Gore*-sung ballads from Depeche Mode’s discography and compiled them into one collection.
The trailblazing music cited throughout his notable discography has contributed much to neo-traditionalist Americana history and his newest album Wood, Wire & Words, continues that.
What happens when you put a Dylan Thomas reference, English angst, and a star-making vocal performance in a blender? That’s impossible. Those things aren’t material.
“Scott Miller was like the Mitch Easter of the West Coast, sharing Mitch’s songwriting and guitar playing prowess. They were a match made in indie music heaven.”
Exploration seems to be the theme throughout Tangeir Sessions, going to show that even the most transient musical forms can become infinite in capable hands.
After a slew of privately circulated EPs and full-lengths, songwriter Sahm Zalta, aka Nola Gras, delivers his debut public release, a powerful, dreamy, introspective work of art.
Hexadic finds Ben Chasney allowing himself room to freely express the boundaries of Six Organs of Admittance.
Switzerland 1974 is thrilling from start to finish. For those into fusion, prog, krautrock and/or face melting of the jazz variety, this is the release of the year!
With Smoke Paint, Daniel Markham and Tony Ferraro indulge in their more experimental leanings and turn in some pleasing songs in the process.
Seasonal Hire starts and finishes seemingly in continuum, as if it had been always there and always will be.
Crossroads is not only a welcomed addition to the collection of anyone who digs on 70’s singer songwriter fare but also for those looking to dip their toes into the more curious world of private press and loner folk musics
Scandavia’s Artur U & the New City Limits certainly manage to carve out a sound rarely approached as found on their debut album. The band is like a post punk vision of proto punk, as if Iggy Pop were to front an act like Wire.
Experimental London-based singer, Portia Winters, offers a compelling debut that shows just how far pop music can go.
Ape Men combine the repetitive synthpop of Neue Deutsche Welle artists like Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft with the sleazy guitars of Songs of Faith and Devotion era Depeche Mode.
Returning for their second full-length, filthy Brooklyn punk rockers, Nuclear Santa Claust, prove that the old hardcore sound can still be infectiously exciting in this jaded day and age.
Fair Youth is a perfect example of how imaginative, tasteful, and affective instrumental music can be. There isn’t a single moment on here that isn’t remarkable and inspiring, demonstrating the limitless possibilities of what dedicated, talented, and farsighted musicians can do when they work toward a single vision.
Brooklyn-via-Detroit singer-songwriter, Chris Moore – perhaps better known as Negative Approach drummer, Opie Moore – continues his penchant for dark, edgy Americana with a strong full-length collection of songs.
The Madrean is an enthralling, stunning work of art that never manages to shake your captivation, leaving you with a sense of awe.
Moodswings is a massive step up for the band and an amazingly well rounded collection. It carries with it a cohesive, solidified identity, finally allowing the band to stand out on their own
“This album is a sonic feast for shoegaze fans, and an excellent start to what promises to be another great year for this revitalized genre.”
What Keeps Me Going is an unassuming collection of songs, so while the merit may not be screaming out loud at you, the charm and fun of the album only grow increasingly with repeated listens.
Gritty Los Angeles power trio, Wake Up Lucid, offer their fourth release in six years, showcasing a maturity as songwriters.
Hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden, Animal Daydream debut with four songs nodding to the mellow sounds of ’70s soft rock.
Flagstaff, AZ’s Wall-Eyed deliver an ambitious full-length that shows the group’s songwriting growing in leaps and bounds.
Mysterious Simi Valley, CA-based improvisational industrialists, The Croatoan, return with their fourth release on the Love Earth Music imprint.
Similar to a group like Television, Winchester Revival take droning melodies and guitar proficiency and apply it to a punk or post-punk frame.
Thirty-five years after their last studio album, 1980’s For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder? (Y/Rough Trade), Bristol’s The Pop Group return with a new album that is as challenging as their most revered work.
London/Bristol-based fuzz-pop quartet, The Fireworks, finally release their explosive debut full-length, proving the anticipation was well worth it.
While cleaners worked over several months, harpist Áine O’Dwyer was granted access to the pipe organ in St Mark’s Church, Islington .
Ambitious Denton, TX indie rockers, Fishboy, return with yet another narrative concept album.
Their hard rock signature remains, but interestingly enough they have started to sound like a tougher, meaner version of No Doubt.
St. Petersburg, Russia-based shoegazers, Pinkshinyultrablast, explode with a debut that is anything but derivative.
Back with their first full-length of new compositions since 2010’s New Slaves (The Social Registry), Brooklyn, New York’s Zs, currently a trio consisting of saxophonist Sam Hillmer (Diamond Terrifier), guitarist Patrick Higgins and drummer Greg Fox (Guardian Alien, Liturgy), continue pushing the avant-garde well beyond its fluid boundaries.
Portland, OR’s P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. finally return with a blazing two song slab of vinyl that shows them growing as songwriters without slowing down.
Comprised of former and current members of The New Sound of Numbers, Of Montreal, Dark Meat and Olivia Tremor Control, Athens, GA’s Mind Brains tap into an extra-terrestrial future with their brain-warping debut.
Beijing, China’s Noise Arcade returns with another fascinating play on electronic music.
Thirty-year veteran of the Italian underground music scene, Francesco Paolo Paladino (A.T.R.O.X., The Doubling Riders, Nosesoul, Alio Die), offers his latest multimedia solo extravaganza to an unsuspecting public.
The overall sound of the album is remarkable for the work of one individual; it’s scope alone could be chalked up to entire studio of session musicians. Involuntary Memories is certainly one memorizing and engaging listen from a voice deserving to be heard.
Back with a jaw-dropping sophomore full-length, Northern England’s Hookworms set the controls for the heart of the black hole and frolic in the confusion.
New Mexico-raised, L.A.-based Boyce’s ambitious, cinematic second LP further builds on the promise of her 2010 self-titled debut album and 2013 Tough Love EP, and establishes her as one of the most gratifying, gifted, and genuine songwriters going.
Red Lion, PA’s premiere anarcho-black doom folk noise duo return with a vengeance on their sophomore effort.
Back with their third full-length in almost a decade, NJ’s Stuyvesant continue their crusade of infectiously catchy rock’n‘roll.
Where most hardcore bands go soft shortly after their debut, ten years of rage have only made Blackout Shoppers meaner and better on their long overdue sophomore full-length.
After the departure of six-year guitarist/vocalist, Steven Schayer (The Chills), The Black Watch’s mainstay, John Andrew Fredrick went into a studio with drummer Luke Adams to make an album almost entirely by himself.
Having existed for twenty-two years with numerous CDs, cassettes and downloads to their name, Instagon return with what is very likely their very first vinyl release.
Music like this sounds like it easily could have been born out of the Laurel Canyon in the late 60’s/early 70’s. Ghosts of The Grateful Dead, Gram Parsons, and early Neil Young haunt these songs, and the band was smart to listen to them.
