The appeal of Summer’s vocals lie not in power or over-doing it, but instead, restraint and inflection. Every word, every syllable is carefully considered, and the result is full of emotion.
On their debut full-length, this Austin, TX quintet bombards you with spacious, stratosphere-scraping keyboards and crescendoing cloudbursts of guitars.
When free jazz met the moshpit, Shining Wizard was born, it’s a powerful first offering by two musicians ascending to the peaks of their wizardly powers, perfectly in step.
“God’s Dream” would not be out of place on a Pale Saints album, but it stands on its own as a classic slab of ‘gaze.
Beach blends folk, alt-country, noise-rock, and post-punk in almost equal measure, never fully succumbing to one style.
In summary, I have a feeling I’ll be listening to this one year-round as this is not just a holiday novelty record.
This Chicago trio jettisons the harsh ‘n’ heavy rock/post-punk that dominated 2012’s Separation Anxiety, in favor of a more subdued approach.
Elliott’s been continually perfecting her craft since her 2007 debut, and it pays dividends on this sumptuous, beautifully produced five-songer.
This is no mere coffee table book. While there are plenty of pictures, there is also a good amount of substance with autobiographical info, recording details, and a complete gigography.
Known primarily as half of Dead Fader, Berlin via Brighton’s John Cohen strikes out on his own with his debut full-length, a haunting collection of dark sonic textures, sinister beats and rhythmic noises that is as soothing as it is disquieting.
Other than a general sense of fun that is communicated through the grooves, what also makes this such a great listen is Ali’s hook-filled songwriting.
Gypsy Pervert is an album beautifully laid-bare and rings of a purity almost unheard of today. Mannequin Pussy is the reason to be excited about music not only coming out of NYC, but anywhere.
Wyatt Parkins has a knack for finding artists whose music stretches across the sonic palette, and this is a compilation of many colors.
Glasgow’s ultra-prolific improvisational multi-instrumentalist, Richard Youngs, has collaborated with the likes of Jandek and Matthew Bower while making a name for himself as a solo artist.
For all the Castlevania fans, New York’s Ghost & Goblin deliver a debut that could have come from the mind of Simon Belmont himself.
The smoothly ominous bass lines will suck you straight in, as witnessed by the deceptively dreamy “Milk and Honey”.
Live sheds favorable light on an unfairly overlooked band, and makes its case as EK3’s ultimate document.
This unconventional, left-of-center Cleveland duo release an elaborate, freeform 22-minute single.
Soft makes the case for the theatrical/visual group’s music as equally compelling home listening, too.
Omnivore has been good to fans of 90s alternative pop princes Jellyfish. While last year’s Stack-a-Tracks explored the band’s instinct for lush and psychedelic pop arrangements, Radio Jellyfish presents the essence of the band.
For what is very likely their first non-European release, White Zoo brings us San Francisco’s Glitz, a group who sound like they walked right out of the pages of Please Kill Me.
This Tucson, AZ foursome serves up more raucous, ‘60s garage/psych/R&B-influenced rock, occasionally veering off into thrashy punk and festive country/roots-rock.
The three songs presented here would have been right at home as a Dangerhouse or What Records? 45 thirty-five years ago.
Not ones to shrink in the face of adversity, Brighton, UK experimental duo Noteherder & McCloud took a live recording accident and used it to their advantage.
Once again, Novi Split’s unembellished, frank songs make for a quietly affecting listen.
And now for something completely different…at least as far as Pairs are concerned.
Now six years into their career, IWTDI are making music commensurate with their immodest moniker.
Mascott’s soothing, alluring music is an ideal remedy for the encroaching winter doldrums.
Interestingly, it’s the female-fronted bands, Australia’s Stranglehold and especially Santa Cruz, CA’s Custom Fit that stand out the most.
This is truly modern music that acknowledges the past while striving for the future.
Hammock’s music draws out such powerful emotions that one can be blinded with joy even while tears blur your vision.
On its third LP, TV Ghost puts a Midwestern spin on British gothic postpunk.
There is a gorgeous hue to this album, a very conscious shading and nuance that draws equal inspiration from Rick White era Can-rock as it does the angelic harmonic layering of Harmonium.
Back during the Great Alt.country Scare of the 1990s, the Bottle Rockets were stars.
Spiritually, however, the band comes straight out of the psychedelic 60s, especially the British variety.
On their sophomore effort, the Bronx-based trio outdo themselves with a raging collection of songs that recall ’90s noise rock as much as SST hardcore.
The Polish quartet swells to the heavens, creating great waves of uplifting melody and letting them crash on a beach of bright, glistening texture.
Kelley Deal 6000 to Waxahatchee’s Breeders, but with a fairer chance of matching the popularity of the sister band.
Singer/songwriters are a penny a hundred these days, and it’s difficult to parse the marvelous from the mediocre. Donovan Woods is a good example of the former.
Featuring vocalist/keyboardist Cee-Q from Marquee VII and Pairs drummer Xiao Zhong on guitar, the duo delivers eight haunting tracks of dreamy sadness that’s as engaging as it is depressive.
This snappily dressed Ventura, CA foursome serves up another round of raucous, swampy country/blues-inspired rock.
Former Music Lover Matthew Edwards and his band the Unfortunates follow up their brilliant debut LP The Fates with this equally marvelous 45.
Some may call this ‘electrogaze’, but I call it a taste of dream pop heaven.
The Flowers put one foot in jangle and the other in jagged for a lesson in tuneful postpunk.
More proof that good old-fashioned guitar rock never goes out of style.
With his latest LP X, singer/songwriter/pop auteur Richard X. Heyman keeps doing what he’s always done: 60s-informed (but not obsessive), guitar-based pop music.
While these track are highly compositional and tightly controlled, they lose none of the organic elements that make music so immediately tangible and accessible.
From the “tribute band” obsessed enclave of Long Island, NY comes the unlikely spazz-rock Bangladeafy, a duo whose music twists in a tornado of various styles.
