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Gifts From Enola

From Fathoms
The Mylene Sheath (2009)

Post-rock has predictably reached its stage of full saturation, becoming the self-loathing cliché that wasn't hard to see coming. Bands are unfairly and mockingly compared to Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, and This Will Destroy You, whose stranglehold over the genre have made them a benchmark for those that follow suit and a constant reminder of the jadedness of the … Read more

Romance of Young Tigers

Marie
Magic Bullet (2008)

Marie is an EP-ish release - it is more than a half hour of music - from Romance of Young Tigers. The release is an impressive project with handmade packaging for every physical copy (out of 500) which are made from reclaimed CD covers and packages from other groups. Again, Romance of Young Tigers produce an evocative brand of instrumental … Read more

Gallows

Grey Britain
Warner Bros. (2009)

After landing a million-pound record deal with Warner Bros., a lot of the punks were expecting Gallows' follow-up to Orchestra of Wolves to go in a "poppier" direction so it would sell well. Guess what? They were wrong, very wrong. Gallows' latest offering, Grey Britain shows the band more hateful, aggressive, and powerful than ever. The benefit of a higher-budget … Read more

Thee Oh Sees

The Master's Bedroom is Worth Spending a Night In
Tomlab/Cast-Face (2008)

Stumbling upon this band after reading an intriguing interview (albeit several years after it was initially published), I popped The Master's Bedroom is Worth Spending a Night In from Thee Oh Sees in my stereo expecting some acoustic lo-fi recordings. Instead, what I heard was a hundred times better as the "Block of Ice" exuberantly bounced out of the stereo … Read more

Warbringer

Waking Into Nightmares
Century Media (2009)

A little over a year has passed since the release of Warbringer's debut album, War Without End, an album which was solid, but didn't really have any lasting value. Imagine opening a time capsule and finding an unreleased Sepultura album from 1987, that was basically what War Without End was. Not saying it's a bad thing, but I felt the … Read more

The Shaking Hands

The Shaking Hands
Kiss of Death (2009)

In my recent Kiss of Death reviews there's been a steady diet of pop-influenced beard punk. Expecting more of the same, Gainesville's The Shaking Hands threw me for a loop with their late '90s street punk anthems. The band would be at home on a Give 'em the Boot or Old Skars and Upstarts comp, with their tendencies toward tough … Read more

Romance of Young Tigers

I Have Supped Full on Horrors
Magic Bullet (2008)

Untold lies need to be averted by explaining that Romance of Young Tigers are an instrumental band that takes their art (and that is exactly what it is to them and their appreciators, art) dead seriously and with only the best intentions. Their album, I Have Supped Full on Horrors, contains enough composition to exemplify the cinematic soundtrack qualities of … Read more

The Spirit of 76

The Spirit of 76
Independent (2009)

There's probably nothing else that I hate worse that when bands I've never heard of because they happen to know the same people I do and they want me to review their latest release. For some reason they know I "work" for an online music site (which, by the way, they can never remember the name of) and it would … Read more

NOFX

Coaster
Fat Wreck Chords (2009)

Currently on album number twelve, NOFX have become content with a certain sound that seems to represent their careers. That, of course, would be straight-forward punk rock with political overtones as well as some humorous numbers. So, what's to expect from their new album, Coaster? More of the same? You'd be right in terms of sound, but with old Georgie … Read more

The Measure [SA]

Songs About People... and Fruit N' Shit
Don Giovanni (2008)

It's another vinyl-only release from The Measure [SA]. As a reviewer, I get an mp3 disc with a handwritten label instead of the art. I'll try not to hold that against them. "Drunk by Noon" does exactly what a first song should do: it promises high energy, offers a sample of the band's melodic and lyrical approach, and gets me … Read more

Capital

Blind Faith
Iron Pier/Just a Audial (2009)

Tommy Corrigan does no wrong. Silent Majority was an amazing and completely underrated band. Blood Red was an outstanding and original sounding group. And his most recent music endeavor Capital is all of those in one. Capital's sound is fresh and nostalgic at the same time. Blind Faith is a 7" of the songs from a once-planned split with Crime … Read more

The (Fallen) Black Deer

Requiem
Southern (2008)

This is seriously one of those releases that would normally fall completely into obscurity if not for a few people who champion such records. Please, if you will, allow me to be that person for this record. Southern Records has a running series - Latitudes - where it gives artists a very finite amount of studio time to record a … Read more

Isis

Wavering Radiant
Ipecac (2009)

More than ten years have passed since the first time that these eyes witnessed Isis and man does it ever make me feel old. That brash first performance to which I am referring (Paper Weight Fest in New Jersey) was an eye opening and ear deafening experience which literally changed my perceptions on music in one fell swoop. Fast forward … Read more

Make Do and Mend

Bodies of Water
Panic (2009)

I'm just going to be honest here and let you all in on a little secret of mine. The thing is there aren't really any bands that have come down the pike in the last five years that I have actually really liked. Oh sure, there's been a heap of albums that have graced my ears in the half decade … Read more

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