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Tombs

Winter Hours
Relapse (2009)

Following their promising self-titled debut and their split with the European band Planks, Tombs drops Winter Hours (their debut for new label Relapse Records) onto an increasingly anticipatory public. Mike Hill (guitarist and vocalist) assembles a new lineup for this album, possibly out of necessity due to attrition or maybe just to possibly add different sounds to the band's palette. … Read more

Cursive

Mama, I'm Swollen
Saddle Creek (2009)

I first got the chance to interview Tim Kasher directly after the release of Cursive's Happy Hollow. A friend and I drove two and a half hours to Buffalo, NY and caught up with the band in the lobby of a Best Western Express not far from the venue. Their tour manager told us that they needed to soundcheck soon, … Read more

Try Me Bicycle

Voicings
Independent (2008)

Try Me Bicycle's Voicings is a dreamy and delicate offering, even when it tends towards the brooding and melancholy. Such a balance is difficult to strike - in less capable hands, the elements can threaten to weigh themselves down - but the Phoenix-based quartet unquestionably achieves it. Andrew Naylor (vocals/guitar) Jay Novak (bass), Jacob Koller (piano) and Laraine Kaizer (violin) … Read more

The Appleseed Cast

Sagarmatha
Vagrant (2009)

It's been almost three years since we were last graced with an album from The Appleseed Cast, 2006's much more straightforward Peregrine. This is the second album lacking original drummer Josh Baruth, being replaced by former The Casket Lottery member Nate Richardson. Anyone who had the privilege of seeing The Appleseed Cast live with Baruth on percussion understands the raw … Read more

Ophiolatry

Transmutation
Forces of Satan/Regain (2008)

Ophiolatry is another band that, like their labelmates Black Flame, is a true force in the black arts to be reckoned with. Ophiolatry (the worship of serpents) has more of a grind aspect to their sound than their respected brethren. Relentless blastbeats and truly brutal guitar work that have the ability to pummel the listener into a fine powder. The … Read more

Thursday

Common Existence
Epitaph (2009)

I always love it when bands make each album different from the last one. Which is why I love Thursday, each of their albums have been something different and something great. With that being said, their latest album, Common Existence is heavily influenced by their hardcore roots combined with the lighter approach of A City by the Light Divided. However, … Read more

Caithlin de Marrais

My Magic City
End Up (2008)

I will never forget the first time that I heard Caithlin de Marrais' voice; the opening lines of "Rise" off of Rainer Maria's Look Now Look Again reach out from speakers with a naked vulnerability that imbues each word with its own spark and each line with a lifetime of experience. Caithlin's mostly disembodied (save for the times I have … Read more

Fiancé

Please, Ambitious, Please
Independent (2008)

Denver-based quartet Fiancé has put forth a pretty catchy follow-up to 2007's, The Girl From the Ivory Coast. With 2008's Please, Ambitious, Please, Patrick Maguire (vocals, piano), Michael James (guitar), Tyler Reschke (bass) and Chris Sturniolo (drums) have produced a compelling little offering. The instrumentation is beautiful and quirky, and ultimately provides a satisfying listen. At times the lyrics are … Read more

Japanther

Tut Tut Now Shake Ya Butt
Menlo Park (2008)

In the city of Brooklyn, New York's hippest borough, the pretensions of musicians trying to create songs that are both avant garde and widely accessible (a clear paradox) makes for a stifling scene. Lofts and warehouse spaces across the neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Bushwick are filling with passive young professionals being bludgeoned with art. While every incarnation of noise, folk, … Read more

Black Flame

Imperivm
Forces of Satan/Regain (2008)

Black Flame is an Italian black metal trio that holds the distinction of being one of the first bands signed to Forces of Satan Records, a label created by Gorgoroth founder and guitarist Infernus. Now, the future of Gorgoroth may be uncertain, at least until there's a ruling on who owns the rights to the name, but the future and … Read more

The Dalloways

Dirty Money and Filthy Love
Bird in a Box (2008)

Sold; I'll take two, please. From start to finish, this five-track EP from California's The Dalloways is a gem. Dirty Money and Filthy Love, with its dry easy wit and lush pop sensibilities, is delightful in all the right ways. From the outset, it's instantly reminiscent of Belle and Sebastian, and vocalist/lyricist Gerhard Enns delivers breathy pop vocals that seem … Read more

The Pink Spiders

Sweat it Out
Mean Buzz (2008)

This might be the first band I've reviewed that I've also loaded gear for. I worked a show a couple years back when The Pink Spiders were opening for Kill Hannah, and helped load their stuff in. So I have a strange complex with them. It's like I'm their servant, their underling. And I don't like it. What I have … Read more

Killing Kings

...The One You Feed the Most
Independent (2008)

Killing Kings 2007 release Delusions of Grandeur was an under appreciated gem of 90's inspired hardcore. It was equally as destructive as it was thought provoking. The album was a combination of bruising metallic hardcore and searing metal that often had me dreaming of dance-floor incited frenzy sing-alongs. The album's social and political lyrical themes only added further fuel to … Read more

Crystal Antlers

Crystal Antlers
Touch & Go (2008)

1. This is soundtrack music. I couldn't hear it at all until I took a drive through the hills, windows down at night, blaring this EP to stay awake until I got home. I put it on because all I could hear in it was THE KIND OF SHIT TO WHICH YOU CANNOT FALL SLEEP. Which I more or less … Read more

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