A stunning debut, The Last Remaining Payphone in L.A. has all of the possibilities within it to make Logan Metz one of America’s next great troubadours.
In July 1971, Italy’s premiere singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti delivered an unprecedented concept album that would ultimately be the turning point in his career.
From Poor Moon in 2011 to Haw in 2013 to Lateness of Dancers in 2014, HGM has done nothing but become more clear eyed and full hearted. The proof is in Heart Like A Levee.
Berlin, Germany-based synth punk weirdos Puff deliver a strong debut full-length in both English and German that will make you dance while scratching your head.
London’s The Survival Code straddle the fine, and some would say, oft indistinguishable line between alt rock and punk, much in line with some of their influences like Deftones and Queens of the Stone Age.
Thugs They Look Like Angels is due out October 16th, and is an album that is as comfortably footed in the recent past as it is the present, thriving in both equally.
“The sound here is crystalline, airy, and expansive, seeming to spread over a long distance as it weaves its musical web around you.”
It’s the kind of record that quietly sneaks in your life and softly demands to be played every day…
In the midst of This Heat’s dissolution, drummer/vocalist Charles Hayward went into the group’s Cold Storage Studio to record some songs with sound engineer Stephen Rickard and bassist Trefor Goronwy, who had filled in on This Heat’s final tour.
Liam McKahey and Davey Ray Moor of reformed CousteauX spotlight their darkest, starkest cinematic track yet.
“It’s a summery affair, full of hazy, gentle vocals and endlessly pleasant melodies. It’s like the band has mainlined the entire Yo La Tengo catalog and maybe tossed in late period Feelies.”
“A cool melange of psych, garage rock, and punk.”
The album is obviously influenced by shoegaze acts like Low and Sonic Youth, but there’s also a more melancholic gothic element that imbues songs with a Joy Division dirge-like quality.
“This is a duo on the verge of many great things if they continue creating music at this level. Gorgeous and essential for those who enjoy British folk music.”
“Game Theory’s bandleader was a multitalented force of nature with his quirky, excellent songs, and I am delighted at the series of reissues Omnivore has been putting out.”
“She will remind you briefly of female dominated bands with lots of reverb, but her music skews closer to dream pop.”
Legendary Bronx rapper Kool Keith (Ultramagnetic MCs, Dr. Octagon) returns with this finest album since 2006’s Nogatco Rd. (Insomniac) with a little help from his friends.
Thirteen-piece musical collective The Urban Renewal Project teams up with hip-hop duo Camp Lo for a laid-back, but swingin’ single.
This self-released, four-song 2015 EP, now over a year old, is simply stunning.
Although it can be seen as a soundtrack to Chameleon Technology’s live show, Blank Canvas proves to be just as worthy to listeners for its own merits alone.
Mutemath dives into the electronic pool on the smoothly cool and refreshingly luminescent future bass tune “Changes.”
“It’s the sound of a band in transition and one with a lot of creative energy. Highly recommended for fans of all things shoegaze, dream pop, and psychedelic tinged pop.”
“One listen to barnburners like “Wavygravy” or the fantastic “Running Late” will hook you for life; both songs are ripe with hooks, heavenly harmonies, and over the top feedback and swirling effects.”
Alt-rock/power pop act Paper Pilots flies high with the release of a video for its sweeping single “The Weather.”
Long-running electronic act Symbion Project delivers new album and captivating lead single featuring guest vocalist Jenni Potts.
The democracy and runtime of this album needn’t necessarily have been set to 11, but Music for Mobile Electric Guitars is nevertheless high on concept, ideas, and, overall, execution.
“A wonderful treat for all existing TFC fans and for anyone who enjoys beautiful melodies and harmonies played by masters of the genre.”
Salt Lake City’s The Departure have attempted a daring feat—bridging the gap between pop punk and prog rock—on their new fittingly-titled EP, Gateways.
The Firehouse 12’s pin-drop, church-quiet ambience and an attentive, breath-holding audience allows Sheveloff’s twinkling, deep-toned piano trilling and romantic, robust voice to register more prominently than on his previous platters.
Calling It’s Hard a covers album is a feint, even if it harkens back to the Bad Plus’ landmark early recordings and bracing interpretations of material by artists as disparate as Abba, Rodgers & Hart, and Nirvana. These songs find the band in full creative and cerebral flight.
During WSB100, a month-long celebration of William S. Burroughs’ 100th birth in April 2014, actor/director Steve Buscemi teamed up with experimental composer and longtime collaborator Elliott Sharp for an entertaining, yet mesmerizing reading of the late author’s writings.
The LA-based indie rock duo The Second Howl releases a highly energized and catchy pop-rock single.
I Never Arrived is a misleading title, because if anything it finds Chandler truly coming into his own on what is undoubtedly his finest and most mature work yet.
Given that this sophomore LP from this Houston foursome deviates in so many directions from their 2014 “Some Change” two-song 7” single, it’s not a stretch to surmise the band’s status as hard-to-pin-down chameleons.
It’s obviously an extremely heartfelt roller coaster ride and the honesty communicated make FACES one of the year’s more compelling records.
Although it’s a tad more commercial than its predecessors, Primitive Smile is really no less enthralling, vibrant, or imaginative.
More apt as background music in a Wes Anderson movie than an album, Look Park‘s Aeroplane never completely gets off the ground.
Every song on Minneapolis singer/guitarist Israel’s 13th LP Dan delves into the details leading up to or resulting from his divorce, while generally touching on the trivial but telling warning signs that can sour romances.
“This is a great collection of lovely and catchy psych pop, lyrics akin to the Village Green style of writing that Ray Davies laid down decades before. It also reminds me of vintage Who and XTC’s Skylarking-Mummer period. You may also be reminded of the work that the excellent Pugwash has laid down. These are all touchstones, obviously, because the eccentric Martin Newell’s work is charming, brilliant, and stands on its own merits.’
He Is Me collaborators Steve Moore and Casey Braunger drop a hypnotizing ambient-industrial track.
Renowned veteran musician Jim Peterik releases a timely and relevant single that takes a stand against intolerance, hatred, and violence.
On her sixth solo album, Thalia Zedek compiles the past into the present for her strongest recording to date.
Like the sprouting tree on its cover, Live and Let Go is the product of a musician growing and inviting an audience to join him along the way, making for at once both a captivating and openly honest work of art.
Alternative artist Katie Burden casts a captivating spell with her shape-shifting vocals and tunes on debut album Strange Moon.
After a slew of releases on various labels, Los Angeles, CA’s Cosmonauts return with a fourth full-length that proves to be their strongest to date.
Charlie Nieland of dream-pop band Her Vanished Grace warms the senses with new single from his Ice Age EP.
As the unexpected collaboration between political journalist-turned-musician Anika (BEAK>, Michael Rother, Jandek) and her backing band – Martin Thulin (Crocodiles), Hugo Quezada (Robota) and Hector Melgarejo (Jessy Bulbo, Nos Llamamos) – while on tour in Mexico, Exploded View fully live up to their name with an absolutely stellar debut full-length.
Over the course of twenty songs, Pretty Sweet Stuff offers a glimpse at the sizable and impressive body of work from a musician whose heart is worn on his sleeve at all times.
