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.
Leeds, UK trio Cowtown evoke SST Records and ’90s Southern noise rock on their powerful fourth full-length.
After two failed albums, Los Angeles new wavers The Heaters felt disenfranchised by record labels, producers, studios and the industry in general.
Come to the Edge finds Tumbler more assured and confident than ever; it also happens to contain some of their best songs yet
Grand Rapids, MI trio Heaters return with an excellent second offering that perfectly blends Nuggets psych and raw Hawkwind spacerock with just a touch of surf for proper propulsion.
“Matt wrote and recorded the rough demos of over 50 songs and sent them home to friends to tell the story of what he was going through, who would then send back the songs with overdubs as a sign of support.”
“Fans of soft, gently wafting psych and Syd Barrett styled music will enjoy this trippy offering from this long running Finnish group.”
Renowned and imaginative performance artist/musician Rachel Mason releases a striking single, and video for, “Tigers in the Dark” off of upcoming album Das Ram.
On their third full-length, Long Island’s A New Bug expand their scuzzy, fuzzy psychedelic onslaught for their most diverse release to date.
The Magic is an album by a great American band that both embodies and defies everything that came before them.
