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The Black Keys

El Camino
Nonesuch (2011)

By now, the Black Keys have released enough material to seemingly exist since the early nineties. This is not the case, however, only having released their gritty debut, The Big Come Up, in May 2002. Since then, amidst a steady growth in production efforts and more polished recordings, The Black Keys manage to stay true to their simplistic form.Where the … Read more

Life In The Dark

Hushed Bloom
Sunyata\Music Ruins Lives (2011)

I need to stop listening to this, but, wait, no, I really do because it is getting rather ridiculous repeatedly listening to the same piece of music over again and that is exactly what is going on with Hushed Bloom and my headphones; these tones reverberate inside my head as the warm tones caress my tired brow in an utterly … Read more

Voice Of Ruin

Self Titled
Heimathome (2011)

Believe me, I love oldschool thrash metal as much as the next person--give me early Metallica or Death any day of the week and I will gladly headbang hard enough to lacerate passers by with my hair. And that's all Voice of Ruin seem interested in on their self-titled release: pure, unadulterated thrash metal with death metal highlights. I commend … Read more

Cara Neir

Stagnant Perceptions
Independent (2011)

Extracting the finer points of black metal, hardcore and mad experimental sounds is hardly the newest trick in the book, but melding them together and producing an exciting and cohesive record such as Stagnant Perceptions is no mean feat. Hailing from Texas, Cara Neir destroy everything in their path. This, only their second full length, is such a fully rounded … Read more

Future Virgins

Western Problems
StarCleaner\Plan-it-X South (2011)

2011 saw me getting deeper into garage bands. What better way to close out my year than with Future Virgins, who blend garage brevity and song structures with pop punk melodies. The Chattanooga, TN band mixes up a garage influence without feeling nearly as formulaic, due in large part to the punk that oozes over the surface. Sure, the songs … Read more

Aelter

Dusk-Dawn/Follow You Beloved
Crucial Blast (2011)

Aelter, like most bands, have a backstory. Unlike most they can be explained through their other projects without fully describing what they are about. The band acts as an offshoot of the doom band WolvSerpent (formerly known as Pussygutt). Wolvserpent deal in massive undulating walls of sludge with use of uncommon (for their style) instruments, namely violin. This tends to … Read more

Dead to Me

Moscow Penny Ante
Fat Wreck Chords (2011)

After listening to Dead To Me’s latest release Moscow Penny Ante it made me think about something bassist/vocalist Chicken said the last time I interviewed him. I asked him if he agreed that the band’s sound had seemed to change from the release of their first LP Cuban Ballerina. “I do agree with that and I’m proud of it. I … Read more

Subscribe

Bookmarks
EMI (2011)

Despite having the most un-Googleable artist/album name combination in existence, the Hungarian band Subscribe have beautifully combined influences of hardcore, heavy metal, progressive rock and what-else-have-you in their latest release, Bookmarks.Oh, sure, it starts out innocently enough with the orchestral track "Griping Portentous", featuring the most nightmarish combination of brass and sound effects possible. Of course, that's still pretty standard … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Actors & Actresses

We Love Our Enemy EP
The Mylene Sheath (2011)

Reissues tend to be a funny thing. Sometimes they are done in good taste. To help fans get a hold of an album that went out of print or give them a chance to hear the progression that the band went through. This reissue is done simply for an early EP by this band giving us a look at the … 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

Kerretta

Saansilo
Golden Antenna (2011)

Though the artist/album title combination features enough frustratingly doubled letters to require this review to be rewritten no less than five times, New Zealand instrumental three-piece Kerretta's newest album Saansilo is such an impressive release that I really didn't mind.Kerretta's sound seems caught somewhere between Isis and Tool, and I mean that as a compliment. The songs have this drone-like … Read more

Pink Floyd

The Dark Side Of The Moon (Experience Edition)
Capitol (2011)

'Oh great,' you're probably thinking, 'another critic on the Internet with her head up her own ass talking about this fucking Pink Floyd album again. How droll.' Let me assuage your concerns: I'm not here to review or otherwise convince you either way on The Dark Side of the Moon itself. You've already heard it by now, and you're already … Read more

We're Doomed

Like A Machine
Independent (2011)

Despite what they may want you to think, We're Doomed don't sound like the end of the world. They sound more like Muse took some Adderall and borrowed whatever illegal-drug-based songwriting method I highly suspect that Battles uses. If their debut EP Like a Machine is the apocalypse, it's certainly the most enjoyable one since we on Earth failed to … Read more

We're Doomed

Like A Machine
Independent (2011)

Despite what they may want you to think, We're Doomed don't sound like the end of the world. They sound more like Muse took some Adderall and borrowed whatever illegal-drug-based songwriting method I highly suspect that Battles uses. If their debut EP Like a Machine is the apocalypse, it's certainly the most enjoyable one since we on Earth failed to … Read more

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