Recent reviews

Our latest album reviews, featuring the records we've most enjoyed (or not) over the past few weeks.

Reviews by score
Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)

Iggy & The Stooges

Raw Power (Re-Issue)
Sony (2010)

"Raw Power’s got a son named rock n’ roll" Leave it to Iggy Pop to both boast about this record and succinctly describe what an album’s impact would be on music. Seriously, look at the cover to the album, and I mean REALLY look at it; get it out of your collection and look at it, and if it is not in your collection, there is something seriously wrong with you. Now, realize that Raw Power originally was released in 1973 in the same year as Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy and Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon amongst a slew of other more commercially viable acts; think about those album covers while looking at Raw Power (do not play the album yet). Raw Power looks vicious and dangerous and unseemly next to those records, almost the kind of record that one’s parents would scream for kids to knock off the noise (or even threaten them with obscene punishments for playing such filth in their house); scary people should like this record (the kind that walk down the streets with switchblades in their pockets leering at passer’s by waiting to assault anyone that dared look at them). Raw … Read more

Killola

Let's Get Associated
Independent (2010)

Killola, a four-piece American So Cal alt-rock group, consists of Lisa Rieffel (lead vocals), Mike Ball, (guitar), Dan Grody (drums) … Read more

Young Livers

Of Misery & Toil
No Idea Records (2010)

With three years since their last full-length, Young Livers have returned in top form. Of Misery & Toil walks the … Read more

Tigers Jaw

Two Worlds
Run for Cover (2010)

Tigers Jaw are an indie rock band with heavy emo influences based out of Pennsylvania. Think early Weezer meets The … Read more

Killing the Dream

Lucky Me
Deathwish Inc. (2010)

Lucky Me is easily my most anticipated release of 2010. When I first started listening to hardcore, Killing The Dream … Read more

Rorcal

Heliogabalus
Cal Of Ror (2010)

Rorcal, from Switzerland, present Heliogabalus , a near-perfect doom/drone album. This record is so dark that the cover can’t even … Read more

Browse our review archives

Reviews by year

Choose a year to view reviews of albums released in that year.

Reviews by artist name

Choose a letter to view reviews ordered by that letter (band name first).

Review categories

200 Words Or Less

754 reviews

Book Review

42 reviews

Classic Album

25 reviews

Multiple Authors

300 reviews

Review

5011 reviews

Video/DVD Review

19 reviews

One from the archives

Cloudkicker

Hello
Independent (2013)

Ohio-based musician Ben Sharp (aka Cloudkicker) has made it clear time and time again that he has no intention on confining himself to something as pedestrian as genre labels. Though it's possible to identify trends (the progressive rock and post-anything labels seem to be fairly common for him), there's absolutely no way to tell where he's going next. That element of predictable unpredictability does little to soften the unexpected nature of his recent single and first release of 2013, Hello.I'll give away the punchline up front: "Hello" is Sharp's foray into ambient and drone rock. In some ways, this was something of an inevitable exploration for Sharp. To wit, his music has been pretty steadily drifting away from the mathematical slices of metal on The Discovery and Beacons towards the … Read more

More album reviews

The Sass Dragons

New Kids On The Bong
Johans Face (2010)

It would be hard to take the Sass Dragons seriously, were it not for the quality of their recorded material. On stage, the fuck-all Chicago band comes across as a snotty, obnoxious, and somewhat sloppy band with more than a hint of frontman posturing. Of course, when reviewing a record called New Kids on the Bong, maybe one shouldn’t be … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Less Than Jake

TV EP
Sleep It Off (2010)

In theory, Less Than Jake covering catchy theme songs and product jingles sounds like a good idea. It seemed to work in the past. However, Less Than Jake’s TV/EP will fall short of your expectations.It’s hard to be too critical of an EP that was meant to be a fun project. The problem is, this project doesn’t have much replay … Read more

Cipher

The Joyous Collapse
Uprising (2010)

Cipher is one of those bands that if you were to describe their unique sound to someone, they would undoubtedly be left scratching their heads and asking, “what is it that makes this band good again?” I always put up with quite an internal and external struggle when describing the band to people that have never heard them before. However, … Read more

The Dopamines

Expect The Worst
Paper + Plastick (2010)

The Dopamines first caught my attention when they released a 7” that pays homage to the Big Black Songs About Fucking cover. Sure, they sound nothing like the seminal Chicago band, but anyone who gives props to that record ends up on my radar in some form. Moving forward to 2010, the Cincinnati band has signed with Paper & Plastick … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Bring Out Your Dead

Just Stay Asleep...
Detonate (2010)

Bring Out Your Dead features members of Scraps and Heart Attacks for anyone else out there that gives a hoot. I liked Scraps and Heart Attacks so I was excited hear this EP. What we have here is a metal band that plays fast and has some nice melodic picking parts and some decent early 2000's type mosh to it. … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Ultima Victima

La Batalla Sera Enterna
Detonate (2010)

If there's nothing that I hate more is moshcore bands that feel it necessary for their mosh parts to have mosh parts over mosh parts. Ulitma Victima are from Mexico and sing (well bark) in Spanish. The last time I took a Spanish class was in the 10th grade so I have no clue what's going on here. I can … Read more

Have a Nice Life

Voids
Music Ruins Lives (2010)

Maybe, just maybe, the internet is the reason that some ideas or feats of intellectual wizardry become tangible objects. This could be due to some radical phenomenon, or it could even (gasp) be due to the quality of the work on display. This little theory works in several ways for the duo who are Have A Nice Life. And, if … Read more

Gholas

Загадка
Self Released (2010)

Post Metal is a pretty loaded genre tag. Most people (myself included) find it misleading. The idea relies on the idea that more effects on your guitars and a sense of dynamics and ambience equal being less than metal. Gholas are a band that seem to fit in this general idea of a genre. They play with a sense of … Read more

Trap Them

Filth Rations
Southern Lord (2010)

What a seriously excellent release, regardless of its aural brevity, from Trap Them (whom are quickly becoming a stalwart outfit in the independent punk / hardcore / metal genres). Relentless touring, passion, and good records will do that for bands sometimes. Particularly if they do so in same furious manner this band has. Filth Rations, though, is different from other … Read more

Terror

Keepers Of The Faith
Century Media (2010)

Some of my most unforgettable moments in hardcore involve Terror. I first saw them headline a show after I trudged through a harsh January blizzard, where a 20 minute drive turned into almost an hour-long commute thanks to Pittsburgh’s signature winter weather. They played direct support when I saw one of my favorite bands, Earth Crisis, for the first time. … Read more

Best Coast

Crazy For You
Mexican Summer (2010)

Right off the bat you can’t help but feel Best Coast’s full-length debut, Crazy for You, is going to be an album you listen to every summer to come. This indie-pop group has a sound that goes hand-in-hand with enjoying the sun while lying on the beach. However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. On the surface, Crazy For You … Read more

Caitlin Rose

Own Side Now
Theory 8 (2010)

Forget Taylor Swift and the rest of her incorrigible ilk, according to the recent accolades, the future of country music belongs in the hands of Caitlin Rose, a twenty-three year old Nashville native whose looks are only surpassed by her voice. Though this might seem like an outlandish statement, in the last year, in one EP and this, her debut … Read more

War From A Harlots Mouth

MMX
Lifeforce (2010)

War from a Harlots Mouth is definitely not new to the metal core or death core scene. They’ve been around a while, done tours, essentially put in their time. But, how has this experience shaped them when it comes to writing and recording? The blunt answer seems to be that it hasn’t in a big way.What we get is well-played … Read more

Trash Talk

Eyes And Nines
Trash Talk Collective (2010)

Over the five years of their existence, Trash Talk has been consistently evolving and changing with each release. With Eyes And Nines, their newest full-length, the band shows their top-notch progression once again.Produced by Joby Ford of The Bronx, Eyes And Nines pulls no punches as far as getting right to the grit of this record. “Vultures” starts out the … Read more

Reviews by score
Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)