Palehorse
Secrets Within Secrets
Martyr (2005)
You find yourself strapped on a horse, galloping through a rampaged America. You don't know the year; you don't what the fuck happened. Skyscrapers point at empty skies. Civilization has been looted beyond repair. The outlook is bleak at best. For the purposes of this music review, you somehow find an iPod in your back pocket loaded with Palehorse's Secrets … Read more
Palehorse
Soft As Butter, Hard As Ice
Eyes Of Sound (2011)
London's Palehorse, a band so loud that after seeing them live recently my ears would not stop ringing for approximately two days. Was it worth it ? Completely.Palehorse take all that they established on previous full length, Gee, Ain't That Swell released way back in 2003 and firmly thrust it into the present. A line up change here, an addition … Read more
Pallbearer
Forgotten Days
Nuclear Blast (2020)
Pallbearer’s evolution from their early days as a dark, funeral doom leaning band into a prog-embracing emotive force is well documented in their back catalogue and as Forgotten Days expands the horizons of their sound, Pallbearer open up their hearts for all the world to see. This record is vulnerable and honest in its humanity and much like their previous work where … Read more
Pallbearer
Foundations of Burden
Profound Lore (2014)
When Pallbearer released their debut album, Sorrow and Extinction, I was stunned. No matter how good their 2010 demo was, there was no way you could be prepared for an album of the caliber of Sorrow and Extinction. And of course the expectations for the sophomore album of the doom metal act are now much higher, but they are still … Read more
Pallbearer
Heartless
Profound Lore Records/Nuclear Blast Records (2017)
Pallbearer’s evolution over the last seven or so years has been one that seems natural and organic, with each record building on what came before and giving the Arkansas based band a step forward on the ladder towards greatness. Their demo of 2010 introduced a band indebted to doom greats Black Sabbath, but the inclusion of a cover of Billie … Read more
Pallbearer
Sorrow And Extinction
Profound Lore (2012)
Arkansas residents Pallbearer have been a band to watch out for ever since the release of a fantastic three track demo in 2010. Featuring two original compositions ("Devoid of Redemption" and "The Legend" having been re-recorded for this release) and a cover track, this demo served to have many take note of this doom-laden quartet and the hopes for a … Read more
Palms
Self Titled
Ipecac (2013)
Isis may have disbanded in 2010, but that's far from the last we've heard from its members. Though many of them have joined other bands, they have mostly stayed separate from one another, with no more than two ever appearing in the same place. But of course, that's what makes Palms so intriguing--featuring three fifths of Isis (Jeff Caxide, Aaron Harris, and Bryant Clifford Meyer), it's hard … Read more
Pan & Me
Ocean Noise
Denovali (2014)
Christopher Mevel, one of the founding members of the Dale Cooper Quartet & The Dictaphones, set up his solo project, Pan & Me, in order to step outside of the jazz based sound of the main band and to explore other sonic domains. Ambient music and drone are the key aspects of Pan & Me and their main focus of … Read more
Pan American
The Patience Fader
Kranky (2022)
Sonic maturity is not always reached by further augmenting one’s sound. It can also arrive when the artist understands what is important. What it is at the core of the project that makes it unique. Mark Nelson has taken such a journey with his project, Pan•American. In the early days, Pan•American relished the experimentalism of drone music, the ethereal quality … Read more
Panda Bear
Person Pitch
Paw Tracks (2007)
Better known as one-fourth of indie darlings Animal Collective, Noah Lennox under the name Panda Bear has recently released his third record upon the world, aptly titled Person Pitch. Gone are the mostly acoustic-based songs found on his last album, Young Prayer. Person Pitch has taken elements of Brian Wilson's years of experimenting in the field of pop to an … Read more
Panda Bear
Young Prayer
Paw Tracks (2004)
Though Young Prayer is intended to act as a eulogy for Animal Collective member Panda Bear's (a.k.a. Noah Lennox) recently deceased father, it feels more like a bittersweet celebration of his life than a sorrow-filled reflection. Drawing upon modern classical music (Track 3), tribal African chants (Track 5), traditional Jewish hymns (Track 9), as well as the stylistic imprint of … Read more
Panda Kid
I Saw My Soul Leaving
Lollipop Records / FDH Records / Already Dead Tapes (2015)
Gloriously unpolished and perhaps one of the outright loudest and gnarliest records I've heard all year, 2015's I Saw My Soul Leaving is a sort of greatest hits album released to commemorate the first US tour by Italian garage rocker Panda Kid (a.k.a. Alberto Manfrin). This album combines two new tracks with eight from the artist's back catalog in a … Read more
Pandemix
In Condemnation
Dirt Cult (2019)
Pandemix are new to me, and they’re difficult to sum up in just a few words. That’s a complement. It’s punk by genre, but a few subgenre adjectives aren’t going to capture the band. In Condemnation isn’t exactly complex (we’re talking punk rock here), but it’s diverse in subtle ways that keep the energy level high and fresh as it shreds through … Read more
Panic
Circles
Reflections (2006)
In hardcore's early '80s halcyon days, the EP became the coin of the realm: a handful of songs, often over before you had a chance to sit down. Many great bands never even recorded full-lengths - a phenomenon that's a lot less common today though by no means extinct. Maybe if Panic hadn't broken up in 2002, they would have … Read more
Panic
Strength in Solitude
Bridge Nine (2006)
At first listen, Panic seems like your stereotypical Bridge Nine band. In a way they are, and in a way they aren't. But I'll get to that in a second. Strength in Solitude is a comprehensive look at everything the band produced in its first two years as a band (2000-2002). This includes the out-of-print Dying For It EP (2001) … Read more
Panopticon
On The Subject Of Mortality
Flenser (2011)
Many people (I was going to say all but did not want to over generalize) seem to have certain touchstones with regards to certain styles of music, and in one short year, Panopticon has become one of those “bands” (in quotes because this is really a one man project) for me; …On The Subject Of Mortality… is the record that … Read more
Panopticon
Roads to the North
Bindrune Records (2014)
Panopticon has been around since 2007, releasing great albums, from their self-titled full-length to the 2012 Kentucky. And it was with Kentucky that the band really made many heads turn. Their folk infused black metal was a breath of fresh air for the scene, with A.Lunn making things more interesting, using unconventional tactics. The only worrying part of all this … Read more
Panopticon
Social Disservices
Flenser (2011)
Did you ever just get constantly impressed with the evolution that an artist or group of artists make through the progression of their work and craft? Panopticon certainly is making that type of impression on me at this particular juncture as the one man political black metal project drops one of the more politically acerbic records that I have heard … Read more
