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Mountain Man

Grief
Think Fast! (2011)

Mountain Man’s debut full-length, Grief, is a concept album about the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance. While certainly not the most original or ambitious concept for an album, Mountain Man (hailing from Worcester, MA) give us 17 tracks of dark, blistering hardcore. Musically and lyrically, this album channels all five stages of grief. But … Read more

Rust Belt Lights

These Are the Good Old Days
Paper + Plastick (2011)

There is a ridiculous amount of variation in pop punk as of late. There was one band back in the early days that crossed between pop punk and hardcore in the late 90's. That band was Saves The Day. With their first two full lengths they made a habit of including two step parts sing alongs and breakdowns into their … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Various Artists

Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely State)/Into it. Over it. – Split
Count Your Lucky Stars (2011)

There has been resurgence within the indie-emo genre lately, and these advocates of punctuation are taking cues from American Football and Sunny Day Real Estate.The A-side features Empire! Empire!’s, “If We Had Found You Any Later, You Would Have Drowned!” This murky track opens with a beautiful and bleak intro. A little over a quarter of the way into the … Read more

Various Artists

Planning For Burial / Lonesummer- Split
Music Ruins Lives (2011)

Could there possibly be any more strange a pairing than the two artists that participate in this split release? Sure, there might be; but you would be hard pressed to find such a diametrically opposed sounding pairing than this split. Where they like a similarity in sound, Lonesummer and Planning For Burial display an intriguing level of mindset synergy not … Read more

Buffalo Moon

Black Magic/Low Tide Moon
Moon Glyph (2011)

At their heart, Buffalo Moon plays whimsical indie pop with a playfulness that is grounded by moments of straight-faced seriousness. Of course, “whimsical indie pop” is among the vaguest descriptions I could give. Delving deeper, the band blends a number of styles, drawing primarily from previous generations. The most notable elements come from the 1960s: bossa nova, samba, a touch … Read more

Dave Hause

Resolutions
Paper + Plastick (2011)

Dave Hause is no secret to anyone that listens to punk rock. He is known for being one of the better storytellers in modern punk. After years in a variety of near classic punk bands Dave has decided to step into the folk singer realm. This certainly is less a copycat scenario as something he has been working on for … Read more

Devil's Brigade

Self Titled
Hellcat (2010)

Back in 2002 a song appeared on a Give ‘em the Boot comp. from a band named Devil’s Brigade. The band was a psychobilly project led by Rancid’s bassist Matt Freeman. The liner notes promised an upcoming record. Here we are in 2010 and, out of nowhere, the project has finally surfaced. While marketed as Freeman’s project, akin to the … Read more

Joyce Manor

Self Titled
6131 (2011)

Who ever said louder isn’t better? Joyce Manor have been breaking down the walls of every town they play up and down the west coast with their rowdy live performances for awhile now. Their self-titled debut album will have you hopping and singing at the top of your lungs with their boisterous pop-punk anthems in your own home.Joyce Manor jump … Read more

Angel Eyes

Midwestern
Mylene Sheath (2010)

Having more than a passing appreciation for spaghetti western films, particularly the Man With No Name trilogy A Fistful Of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, and the truly epic The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly), I am compelled to check out any band or group that carries any of that iconography or is themed similarly, if only to … Read more

Liam Singer

Dislocatia
Hidden Shoal (2010)

Liam Singer plays the role of musical journeyman having been back and forth across the states playing with a multitude of different bands of many different types. He has a strong background in piano, theremin, and harpsichord among other instruments. These instruments let Singer provide a colorful and full backdrop for his calm story songs. After a few solo albums … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Sticks N Stones

Is It You?
Trouble In Mind (2010)

Trouble in Mind is getting to the point with their cover art. The point is: let the music stand for itself. Or maybe it’s just a copout since they think everybody will download it instead. Anyway, with their fifteenth release, the label sticks to their favored style: Midwestern pop-flavored garage. Sticks N Stones may stick rather firmly to genre conventions, … Read more

At Our Heels

Misanthropy & Godlessness
Creator-Destructor (2010)

At Our Heels is a young band coming out with a strong EP last year but never getting as much recognition as that EP probably deserved. They are certainly not a hype band or even getting any real talk outside of a few vague mentions. Strangely, this does more good than bad for them. What has resulted in this case … Read more

Hotels

Where Hearts Go Broke
Hidden Shoal (2009)

Seattle has always been a city with a vibrant and active music scene and it appears they survived the grunge attack of the 90’s and are beginning to really deliver some great new bands not stuck in the genre. Hotels is just one of those bands with a new wave inspired sound that brings me back to the days of … Read more

Cave In

Anomalies Vol. 1
Hydra Head (2010)

The only phrase that could describe my emotion right now is absolutely gushing, because “Inflatable Dream” is finally playing on my record player after years of obscurity as the “lost” Cave In song that blows away many other Cave In songs, and dear lord does its blasting goodness just make my 1999 barely twenty year old self scream like a … Read more

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