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Guilty Pleasures

Summer Strange
Dusty Medical (2012)

Originally recorded at Ghetto Recorders in Detroit back in 2000, Summer Strange came to be under the pretense of simpler times. Although it’s taken 12 years to finally find a proper release and Guilty Pleasures is no longer alive and kicking, it’s an album that couldn’t have picked a better time to see the light of day as the dirty, … Read more

Spektr

Cypher
Agonia (2013)

The origin of black metal could easily be traced back to the early 80’s and the British band Venom. However, it was a decade later in Norway with bands like Mayhem and Darkthrone that the heavy metal subgenre truly began to take shape. The grim, lo-fi sound of early Darkthrone has undoubtedly influenced the French experimental duo, Spektr. Their third … Read more

Broadway Calls

Comfort/Distraction
No Sleep (2013)

Broadway Calls has been around the pop punk scene for quite a while, originally hailing from Rainier, Oregon and now based in L.A., they have been a fixture on the tour circuit since 2005 and when a band tours as hard and as frequently as these guys you can usually hear it in how well they play together and this … Read more

The Flower Kings

Banks Of Eden
Inside Out (2012)

The Flower Kings is one of those bands that's been floating around my periphery for a very long time without ever coming into clear focus; there always seem to be bigger name bands in their way that draw my attention. But as soon as I was handed a copy of their 2012 album Banks of Eden, it became clear to … Read more

The Shame

The World Is Ours
Profane Existence (2013)

Profane Existence kicks off their Limited Edition Single Series—a subscription service that delivers a new 7” each month—with The World Is Ours, a brand new EP by the The Shame. Considering The Shame are an Oi! band, it seems like an odd selection for a label that deals primarily in anarchist-fueled crust punk and metal. However, it’s not completely outside … Read more

Self Evident

We Built A Fortress on Short Notice
doubleplusgood (2012)

Self Evident have been a band for over 15 years, but unfortunately, I’ve been in the dark until I heard their most recent endeavor, We Built a Fortress on Short Notice. This would be my introduction to Self Evident and truth be told, it led me to their back catalog of 5 previous full lengths and some EPs. They construct … Read more

Snailking

Samsara
Consouling Sounds (2012)

If you're going to name your band after a record by one of your genres chosen greats, then you better have the musical balls to back it up. And damn, do Snailking back it up. Taking their name from Ufomammut's second album, Snailking tread in their path whilst building their own identity as a massive and heavy prospect in the … Read more

Defeated Sanity

Passages Into Deformity
Willowtip (2013)

I feel the need to preface this review by declaring that I am a fan of death metal. I like the idea of any music that challenges the average listener and in the early 90’s, death metal bands were doing just that. Bands like Cannibal Corpse, Death, and Obituary were leading the charge to push heavy metal to its most … Read more

Various Artists

ROBOCOP / DETROIT - Dead Language, Foreign Bodies Split LP
Give Praise (2012)

sharing similarities that reside more than just their names Robocop and Detroit both play blinding fast powerviolence indebted grind. While neither band have anything besides a name in relation to Michigan they share a relationship with Grindcore Karaoke which may give somewhat of a clue as to what the listener could be in for. Maine's Robocop take up the first … Read more

Tegan and Sara

Heartthrob
Warner Bros. (2013)

Canadian sisterly duo Tegan and Sara Quin seem to think they’re fools in relationships. Just look at some of their song titles—“Fool to Cry,” “I Was A Fool,” etc. Something they’re not fools about? Making synth pop perfection on their latest full-length album, Heartthrob, their first since 2009’s Sainthood which was a huge commercial success for them. After an album … Read more

Affector

Harmagedon
Inside Out (2012)

The multinational progressive metal act Affector certainly made a startling entrance to the prog metal scene last year. Their debut, Harmagedon, told the story of the literal Biblical apocalypse, and several prolific musicians lent their talent to the release to muster up some interest. It made quite a splash--but the substance didn't quite live up to the promise, sadly.Affector want … Read more

My Bloody Valentine

m b v
Independent (2013)

In what might be one of the longest case of collective breath holding since a band’s last previous album, My Bloody Valentine finally release the follow up to their landmark 1991 album, Loveless; and the single biggest question on many people’s minds has to be whether or not m b v is as good as the astoundingly enduring and growing … Read more

Convul

سأكون رؤيتكم (I'll Be Seeing You)
Glory Kid (2012)

The band formerly known as Convulsions decided to set their sights pretty high apparently before writing their most recent record. Beyond shortening their name and deciding to use Arabic for their album title They may have looked towards their own outer limits. The band seemed to resind their previous influences and gestures for a more thought out but certainly different … Read more

Δ (ALT-J)

An Awesome Wave
Canvasback (2012)

Calling your band a shape is probably a bad career move. It’s corny, at the very least, which is part of the reason I didn’t pick up ?’s album sooner. It turns out you pronounce the delta symbol like “Alt-J” in the instance of this up-and-coming British indie rock group. Their debut, An Awesome Wave, is a special breed of … Read more

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