DWNKILL are a band born of the monotony of the Covid pandemic which gave the band plenty of time to write, rehearse and perfect their sound. Hailing from Houston, Texas, DWNKILL are the brain child of identical twin brothers, Jesse (vocals) and Josh (drums) Rodriguez. Recruiting childhood friends Connor Clements (guitar) and Dylan McEwan (bass) their line up was complete and they soon made an impression on the local underground scene after only a few shows. Quickly teaming up with local indie label Street Noise Productions to work on their debut album. Time Will Tell was released in June 2023. Predominantly a heavy blend of a thumping, head banging back line, clever rhythmic riffage and angry vocals of a hardcore persuasion. I get quite a bit of a Refused influence here alongside some other alt metal esque styles. The vocals are the main hardcore focal point, however, lyrically I guess they are not quite as abstract but none the less effective. Going by an in depth song by song commentary that came from their label, they touch on a number of personal thoughts, feelings and views on a variety of subjects close to their hearts with gusto. Time Will Tell is seven tracks and … Read more
Since the 2010 release of her debut album, The Grime and The Glow, Chelsea Wolfe has steadily become one of the … Read more
You know how most records start out with an absolute banger? It sets a mood, for sure, but it often … Read more
Slumberland is one of those labels I note, but haven’t really dove into. The Umbrellas fit my expectations of the … Read more
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Sutekh Hexen, the name alone has an undeniable air of mystery and darkness that while you may not know exactly what they sound like at this minute but whatever that sound is, you feel in the darkest recesses of your subconscious something telling you to stay away from it; and that little voice in your head might be a smart little bugger because once you actually hear Sutekh Hexen, no matter how hard you try, that feeling of dread malice will never go away. Let’s take this one step further shall we; Ordo Adversarial (the first Sutekh Hexen material to hit wax, which is so far my favorite way to experience the band (not a surprise though coming from me as many of you already know) and the presentation of this … Read more
Rage meets dance-punk on Dublin four piece, SPRINTS’, first full length release. After a smattering of well received singles and a trail of blazing live performances, the group released their album following the success of their previous EP, A Modern Job. The Irish punk band’s star continues to rise in the good company of contemporaries Fontaines DC and Pillow Queens- Gilla Band’s Daniel Fox even produced … Read more
Canadian made horror/comedy Here For Blood sees Shawn Roberts (Resident Evil/Land Of The Dead/Diary Of The Dead) as Tom, a wrestler who helps his girlfriend Phoebe (Joelle Farrow) out by taking on her babysitting gig for a night whilst she studies for exams. What would appear to be a normal night of playing video games and eating pizza with Grace (Maya Misaljevic) … Read more
Confession time: I was going to burn this record to the ground. I wasn’t writing a review yet, just listening to the album, but I had some really not nice things to say. And then everything changed. Why? Well, I decided to see if my problems with the album could be solved by playing it from another source. I thought … Read more
Members of Come Closer have played in Dan Padilla, Pinback, Tiltwheel, and more. While that background is helpful for setting the tone, though, it’s not really essential. They are a new-ish group and We Died With Print is their second album. J. Wang is the ringleader of the band, which is rooted in DIY basement punk but expands their sound well beyond those three chords. … Read more
Paint It Black kind of burst back onto the scene the last two years. It had been 15 years since their last full-length, New Lexicon, and now we get Famine, which came out last fall. And “burst” was a word a chose purposely, because this record is fast and loud. Just as important, when it’s playing, you can’t ignore it. Paint It … Read more
The Manikins previous album, 2019s Bad Times, was my encounter with The Manikins. We started off a bit weird, as I read their name as The Mankinis for a while. I expect different music from a band with a name like that. I did like that album after I ditched my assumptions and stopped messing up the band name. It gave … Read more
The allure of ambient music and its applications in pop structures has always been an important topic for Niecy Blues. It has been a conjunction that the artist has been playing with on shorter releases, in both the 2020 EP CRY and the 2021 single Bones Become The Trees. But, it is with this full-length in Exit Simulation, that Blues can fully dive into … Read more
The talent and quality of Aisha Devi have been apparent since the release of her first EP, Aura For Everyone through her own Danse Noire imprint. As the years passed, Devi became more ambitious and started honing into the duality between ecstasy and mysticism. Her latter works, in 2018’s fantastic DNA Feelings yielded towards the atmospheric and ambient side, presenting a sublime journey through … Read more
Aesop Rock seems to be the rare artist who gets better with age. I enjoyed his early work with Blockhead, but it felt like things started to take off when he took over self-production, steadily growing and hitting what felt like peak when Spirit World Field Guide came out in 2020 (followed by Garbology in ’21). Luckily for all of us, he’s maintaining his trajectory … Read more
In December 2019, Benefits released their “Marlboro Hundreds” single. The UK act sourced all the fury and urgency of punk, wrapping it into a devastating noise facade and powerviolence demeanor. A prime example of weaponized music, and while through the years Benefits have morphed, their poignant messaging remains. Now, their debut record, Nails, sees them revisit some of their early single … Read more
Having listened to Goat’s first two records, 2013’s New Games and 2015’s Rhythm & Sound, I was firstly blown away by their minimalism, but mostly by their precision. Featuring primarily percussive elements, the act from Japan perform an etude on both technical aptitude but also creativity. I was even more impressed when I had the chance to see them perform live at 2018’s … Read more
While this is their second overall (if Bandcamp is up to date), The Rapture and Resurgens is my first time really sitting down with a Seagulls full-length. And my takeaways match with seeing them at FEST 21 recently. It’s heavy punk that’s big on singalongs, equally angry and melodic -- and usually both at the same time. I like the band’s high energy approach … Read more
Dedication to tradition is tricky business. On one hand, adhering to existing norms carries on the legacy. On the other end, can this result in something novel? Folk music is, by definition, rooted in tradition. And while many have pushed its boundaries, they are instead labeled as experimentalists or neofolk. From the early works of Comus to the feverish interpretations of Current 93, … Read more
Six songs a bit shy of 12 minutes, it’s the new split EP from Time X Heist and Without Love. They didn’t waste any time so why should we? Let’s get into it. Time X Heist, a straight edge band hailing from Colorado, take the first half of the album with an optimistic, but gritty, intensity. Opener ‘Keep On Fighting’ … Read more
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