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Night Birds

The Other Side Of Darkness
Grave Mistake (2011)

The hype had been building for Night Birds’ debut. They’ve released three 7”s and the band, feature ex-members of The Ergs!, Hunchback, and Psyched to Die, and put on a great show at Fest 9 in Gainesville. When that much hype builds, often it comes tumbling back to earth when the actual product is released. Not so for The Other … Read more

Red Hot Chili Peppers

I'm With You
Warner Bros. (2011)

After a quiet five years of whispers, rumors, questions, confirming of rumors and, at last, the revealing of exactly what the fuck The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been up to, they finally release an album. Featuring a new guitarist. And a fly mounting a pill capsule as cover art. Let there be no doubt; the four chili peppers have … Read more

Crone

Endless Night
Translation Loss (2011)

I lost part of my virginity to Jeff Caxide.No, not that virginity. Go get a dictionary, you sleaze. I meant that listening to Oceanic for the first time took just a bit of my naïve concepts of musical perception away. Though I had been a fan of metal albums long before then, that was the first I wanted to describe … Read more

Livimorket & Sequences

Voidness
Sunyata (2011)

Do you know why I find collaborative efforts so appealing in musical and other such sonic arenas (besides that they signal more work by artists that I follow / collect / obsess over)? There is an element of wonder and anticipation surrounding what exactly the final work will sound like once either collaborators or sets of collaborators work their respective … 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

The Cars

Move Like This
Hear Music (2011)

I'd like to take a moment to quote Ric Ocasek, circa 1997, on the subject of The Cars reuniting at some point in the future:"I'm saying never, and you can count on that."I guess that makes him the Brett Favre of rock music, because one spinoff project and 23 years after their breakup, here I sit, holding a copy of … Read more

Winterus

In Carbon Mysticism
Lifeforce (2011)

The band Winterus formerly known as The Ancient are a Michigan band that seems to be wishing it was from the coldest regions of Norway. That is to say they traffic in a cleaned up version of what tends to be called blackened death metal. The band does not rely on keyboards to make their songs interesting which is a … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Voytek

Self Titled
Big Action (2011)

Voytek are a Minneapolis punk band currently taking things to the next level. Whether that level is up or down is in the eye of the beholder, but it will start with reviewing this 2 song 7”—or should I say: this 6 song digital EP? With the bonus material outweighing the physical form, it’s tough to gauge just what type … Read more

Battles

Gloss Drop
Warp (2011)

Okay, I'm going to be honest about my credentials here. For as long as Battles have been on my radar, and despite the amount of praise I have heard thrown at them, I still have not listened to Mirrored. It surprises me even today that I haven't gotten around to listening to an album nearly everyone (yes, even Pitchfork) describes … Read more

William Elliott Whitmore

Field Songs
Anti (2011)

William Elliott Whitmore’s Anti debut, Animals in the Dark, was something of an outlier in his discography—the bigger label release introduced more instrumentation and a more global lyrical scope than much of his earlier work. While an excellent album, it isn’t fully indicative of Whitmore’s strengths, and with Field Songs, he returns to his son of the soil theme, built … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Lavinia

There Is Light Between Us
The Mylene Sheath (2011)

Lavinia are a post rock super group of sorts. being comprised of members of more than a couple Mylene Sheath bands including Caspian and Eksi Ekso. So there are certain expectations most listeners will be placing on this release. The band doesn't stray too far from the post rock foundation built with their full time bands. Guitars shimmer and build … Read more

Buck Gooter

Devil Worship
Flannel Gurl (2011)

When I think of Devil worship I think of all the scary stuff from my youth. I think of serial killer known as "The Night Stalker", Richard Ramirez. Perhaps the most famous Devil worshiper of the era, he had a propensity for heavy metal—flashing the horns while in handcuffs—a pentagram tattooed on his palm—and quotes like, “I love to kill … Read more

Locrian & Horseback

New Dominions Split
Utech (2011)

This collaboration between Horseback and Locrian was a hotly anticipated one in several musical circles (particular if you were a fan of either outfit prior to hearing of this release), and the prospects of what these two projects might create together induced some mind blowing (think the head explosion scene in Scanners) possibilities in the heads of those of us … Read more

Multiple Authors

Junior Battles

Idle Ages
Paper + Plastick (2011)

After a few years of EPs and splits, Canada’s Junior Battles finally released their debut full length this Summer on Paper + Plastick. With speedy riffs, dual, and gang vocals, they attempt to share a similar vein with acts such as Set Your Goals, The Wonder Years, or Man Overboard. However, they’re taking the poppier road with cleaner guitars and … Read more

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