Children of the Bomb is a bona fide electronic classic composed with integrity and produced without pretension.
After a decade of silence,the once highly prolific Jim Rao breaks his silence with a dozen—yes, a dozen—new albums released over the past few weeks; this one is merely a microcosm for the Orange Cake Mix scene, and a great introduction to a long-thought-lost artist.
J. Tillmann leaves Fleet Foxes and his solo sound behind, in favor of a rollicking, straightforward style that is, simply, a delight for the listener.
The story behind Dopesmoker, the final LP in the life of pioneering stoner sludge trio Sleep, is one of perseverance not usually associated with such dedicated grass aficionados.
The recollection she continues to whistle up is primarily of herself, which is not to call her selfish or uninspired, but to say that the voice remains, ageless and immune to authority.
A lot of energy come out of the duo on the fourth entry in their 7” series.
James Jackson Toth reissues last year’s surprising Southern Rock genre jump, with a second disc that contains the album in demo form. Surprisingly, these rough takes only make the case of this album’s strengths.
Preteen Zenith is the new project from The Polyphonic Spree’s mastermind Tim DeLaughter; the resulting record is a prog-pop delight and his heaviest, most psychedelic record to date.
As I think most fans of Dinosaur Jr would, I went into my first listen with great trepidation.
In a genre as rife with clichés as stoner/doom metal, it’s nice to hear a band who actually get it.
A recently unearthed live performance by string mastermind Sandy Bull highlights the late composers’ skill, as well as his humorous side.
There’s no mistaking the debt Ringo Deathstarr owes to My Bloody Valentine.
It may come a shock to those that cower in the corner when the New York trio roars by that Wreck is damn near accessible.
This feels like a natural progression from Castle Talk and is the band’s best album to date.
Sub Pop has issued a bold, compelling experimental hip-hop album that is as unique as anything you’ll hear this year.
Moot Point perfectly encapsulates the experience of LA life for the outsiders who don’t buy into the fairy tale.
East Coast indiepop orchestra Cuddle Magic’s third album is their most nuanced and colorful.
Ambient drone with more in common with post-rock. Records like this, when done well (as this certainly was), become kind of a Choose Your Own Adventure.
One of the beautiful things about rock music is that there’s no need to reinvent the wheel every time – simply understanding a style and doing it well is enough.
Astral Gunk are four Sackville-based musical miscreants blazing out of New Brunswick and just being totally fresher than anyone.
This is absolutely one of the best metal releases I’ve ever heard, and one that deserves to be heard by anybody who appreciates metal in any way.
Mellow Bravo never met a strain of guitar rock it didn’t like.
Since the death of Elliott Smith, there is been a gaping hole in my musical heart for a singer/songwriter of gorgeous emo rock. Here, Rocky Votolato submits his application.
Jawdropping new cassette-only release from all around badass Nashville label Jeffery Drag. Ghost Dance, from small town Missouri are captured here spitting blood and starting fires in the infamous confines of underground Nashy venue, Mt Swag.
A brief cross-section of material from Austin’s answer to Jay Reatard.
This album is loose enough to feel human, yet tight enough to please the IDM nerds, bangers and post rockers alike.
The music on Terrorstorm is perhaps best summed up by the album’s third track, “Black Thrash Assault,” where grooving thrash metal riffage converges with grim black metal vocals and tight blast beats.
One of the odder phenomena in the underground rock scene in the past decade has been the rise of Southern rock bands that aren’t from the South.
Ottawa has a surprising amount of great bands, and has contributed mightily to the collective Canadian tinnitus in it’s generous offering of seriously heavy bands. One band I’ve been enjoying for a few years, Biipiigwan, have perfected the sludgy viking side of things but injected with a very uniquely Canuck vibe, speaking to the hugeness of vast empty space, the inherent doom-feel of the frozen expanse of our ravaged, snow-covered wasteland.
Stylistically, “Please Be My Third Eye” is a bit of a red herring as it’s much more up tempo than most of the material here.
This will be one of my favorite albums of 2012 and heralds the emergence of a brilliant talent in her own right,
There are no Bushes to be burned but still Relapse excels when making a point and drills it into the listener’s head and the loudest voice gets heard.
It’s been five years since Love is Dead, the last record by Michael Rank‘s long-running rock & roll band Snatches of Pink. A lot can happen in five years, and apparently one of those things was the dissolution of Rank’s marriage. The result is Rank pouring out his pain, confusion and, ultimately, acceptance on Kin, the first record by his new outfit Stag.
While it would be disingenuous to say Bowery Beasts combine all the sounds of the Strip on their EP Heavy You, there’s definitely a hybrid mentality at work here.
Death metal isn’t exactly the type of music I seek out but, for the most part, when it’s handed to me for review, I give it a fair listen and usually really enjoy what I hear, as on this filthy slab of vomit.
Led by guitarist Joey Toscano, the trio lays down thick, viscous grooves that keep one foot planted in good, green earth and another on Planet X.
Artwork and a sound not entirely un-reminiscent of a Tim Burton film
Having talent and creativity to spare, this new album shows a new level reached, a plateau where Crunk Witch have reached a commanding zenith of the electronic rock drawing in everything around it like a giant, rock and roll tornado.
Immolith may not be pushing boundaries with their Scandinavian-style black metal but, with solid songs and a genuine affection for the genre, they make a worthy adversary to the masses.
Traditional pop song structures filtered through the artistic mind of Ranaldo make for great results.
Bird delivers an album that invites you in and embraces you in a completely unawkward manner.
Long-running Michigan ambient duo Windy and Carl’s latest album, We Will Always Be, is an absolutely unsurprising album of unhurried, unfettered beauty.
Somewhere in Chicago, an angry man is venting his frustrations into a Zoom hand recorder.
On the title track, he avoids articulating the syllable-final r’s and leaves the ess a hissing pivot between e’s, so the word “hairdresser” ends up almost all vowel. Appropriately so: Despite the scratchy, hard stop rock ‘n’ roll world he inhabits, Hunx has always lived in his vowels.
It was with a sense of great revelation and mystery that I unpacked this simple, spartan new CD from iconoclastic Cleveland songwriting legend Bill Fox .
Big, boisterous hardcore sound collides into pop sensibility and explodes to form The Men’s brilliant third album.
This record beats you like a blunt instrument and finishes you off.
Dustin Wong’s latest album isn’t so much a collection of sixteen songs as much as it is an intricate, delicate sixty-minute musical experience.
