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

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

Salvation

Uncorrectable
Independent (2022)

Do you folks watch the show Queer Eye? Last season had an episode with a school. The kids that were graduating got to bury a time capsule. I have no clue when that capsule is supposed to be dug up. Listening to Salvations debut album Uncorrectable made me think of this episode a lot. The main reason being that Uncorrectable does sound a bit like an album that was buried some 15 to 20 years ago and has recently been unearthed. Salvation is a French punk band made up by a couple of seasoned players. They self-recorded this album over time. So this is an album where a couple of recording sessions are put together. I was a bit surprised to read this in their promo, as I hear a very consistently produced album. That production is worth mentioning, it is very crisp and clear. Listen to the intro and the first song of Uncorrectable and you can easily guess which bands inspired Salvation. If that position wasn’t already taken by other bands Salvation would be the band you would see if you would look up the definition of pop-punk in the dictionary. These other bands being the likes of … Read more

Human Issue

Faceless. Nameless
Rad Girlfriend Records (2022)

Hunter Martinez is a scene vet, playing drums and/or guitar with Decent Criminal, Dwarves, and Slaughterboys, among others. In Human … Read more

Mire

A New Found Rain
Independent (2021)

The first time I ran into Mire was about two years ago. I was looking for stuff that was at … Read more

Death Has Spoken

Call Of The Abyss
Ossuary Records (2021)

This is the second album from Polish death/doom metallers Death Has Spoken who formed in 2017. Taking inspiration musically from … Read more

Sweat

Gotta Give It Up
Pirates Press (2022)

I’ve had a range of thoughts about this record as I’ve played it on repeat in recent weeks. At first … Read more

Alluvial

Sarcoma
Nuclear Blast (2021)

Last year was definitely a great year for metal. Probably the best year for metal in the past like ten … Read more

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One from the archives

Carly Cosgrove

The Cleanest Of Houses Are Empty
Wax Bodega (2024)

You should never judge a band by their name alone, but it’s impossible to ignore it too. Carly Cosgrove is an emo-style band that chose a band name that sounds like a person’s name -- it seems to be a long-running tradition in the genre. I point that out because Carly Cosgrove the band has a lot of traditional elements, and I say that in a positive way. I don’t think it’s a secret that emo is an easy genre to bag on but there are also great bands to come from the scene. I don’t care much for the turn of the century platinum-selling bands that wore that label but I dig the early Dischord scene and have respect for the Midwestern take that came in-between. But this is … Read more

More album reviews

Various Artists

...And Out Come The Lawsuits
Lavasocks Records, Sell The Heart Records (2021)

Rancid’s 1990s catalog is a unique beast. It’s Clash-influenced street punk. On paper it sounds highly derivative, but its heart always shined through making it stand out in a hard to quantify way. Tim Armstrong’s songwriting is the foundation, but it’s his one-of-a-kind drawl paired with Lars Frederiksen’s vocal tradeoffs that makes it shine. It’s also why I was leery … Read more

Bulletproof

Dynamite
Ossuary Records (2021)

Bulletproof started out as a band in 2017, playing the underground bar scene in their native Argentina. After a while of playing bar shows Bulletproof started playing with a youth organisation called Speed Metal Army who organise metal shows for the masses over a whole range of metal styles across the country. Polish based Ossuary Records picked up the band … Read more

Antinode

The Canary That Named The Stars
Independent (2021)

I’m always up and ready for some good prog, especially when we’re looking at a concept piece. I’m tempted to say something along the lines of ‘they don’t make’em like they used to’, but we’re talking about music, not audiophile grade consumer electronics so that doesn’t ring true. It’s just that these days you have to dig further and deeper … Read more

//LESS

Useless EP
Independent (2022)

Returning readers might have noticed I like to be able to hear the bass guitar. It is an instrument that is too often a victim of a less than stellar production. French band //LESS are here to my aid. Their trick is simple and effective: instead of the more regular trio of drums, bass and guitar they opt to leave … Read more

Book Review

Jennifer Otter-Bickerdike

You Are Beautiful and You Are Alone
Allen & Unwin Publishing (2021)

1966 saw the first incarnation of Velvet Underground serenaded by the deep alto wails of Nico and resulting in more of a performative shock value prank than a musical act. From the get go it was clear that what Nico brought to the table fundamentally altered the DNA of Velvet Underground and added an idiosyncratic melange of melancholy, gloomy glamour … Read more

Persefone

metanoia
Napalm (2022)

I remember discovering Persefone, and their, then, newest album, Spiritual Migration. It was an insanely hot summer day in the shitty college dorms I was staying in. I was digging for progressive metal around on Metal Archives and YouTube. Out of nowhere this video for Spiritual Migration pops in the recommendations. It all seemed alluring so I went for it. … Read more

Forever Unclean

Best
Hidden Home Records (2022)

It’s a tough to summarize Forever Unclean in a neat little genre-name. It’s punk rock, but with elements of ‘90s alt rock, screamo and more. It’s short and concise, energetic and uplifting, yet unpredictable and far more complex than your average 3-chord beentheredonethat. The music is driving but varied: guitar-driven with sing-shouted vocals and lots of surprising-but-not-jarring shifts along the … Read more

Burial

Antidawn EP
Hyperdub (2022)

There is no question that Burial is one of the pivotal artists of the current era. The electronic musician from London has taken on a transformative journey through the landscape of post-dance music. Techno beats, garage sensibilities, early dubstep notions and far out ambient leanings are melted together through a unique kaleidoscopic vision. It is an evolution that has occurred … Read more

Mace

Beef
Richter Scale (2021)

I doubted about reviewing this, but decided to do so anyway. I doubted about it as this is a re-release and I don’t want to make a habit out of reviewing those. This leads to an interesting time-line: this album is recorded in 2017, released on vinyl in 2019 and re-released on tape in 2021. And in 2022 I finally … Read more

Kataan

Self-Titled
Prosthetic (2021)

I only paid any attention to the news that there’s a new band called Kataan, coming with a self-titled debut EP only because of their connection to Astronoid. Kataan is a duo comprised of Brett Boland (Astronoid vocalist and rhythm guitarist) and Nicholas Thornbury (former vocalist and guitarist for Vattnet). Having a lot of love for Astronoid I decided to … Read more

Theo Young

Tales From The Inland Sea
Independent (2022)

I don’t get to say this every day, but one of my favorite indie artists dropped new material after basically seven years of radio silence. My entire body lit up with excitement when I saw in my inbox that Theo Young is releasing a new album. Shadowplay, his debut EP, was something I had on heavy rotation a few years … Read more

BÖRN

Drottningar Dauðans
Iron Lung (2022)

It seems like genre definitions change based on the era. I swear people were calling Sonic Youth post-punk for a while, but nowadays the tag seems to apply to a dystopian style with distant-emotionless vocals. Of course, genre is a tricky beast. It’s often useful for description and concept, but some artists fall into the trap a little too deep. … Read more

The Carvels NYC

In Real Life b/w Feelin’ Stabby
Independent (2021)

The Carvels NYC still exist! And from what I heard it is only thanks to perseverance from their side. Like so many others the band saw plans fall apart due to Covid. They gave that a positive twist with Live At The Cutting Room. Unfortunately more disappointments followed. I can only admire a band that isn’t willing to throw in … Read more

Book Review

Patrick Mackie

Mozart in Motion - His Work and His World in Pieces
Allen & Unwin (2021)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is widely portrayed as a self-contained musical genius, a prodigy that effortlessly managed to pump out an endless array of masterworks. What makes Patrick Mackie’s book on Mozart an intriguing piece of the literary canon of Mozart is that it offers insight on his worldly dealings, his writing process, the rehearsals, negotiations, travels, et cetera. Mozart in … Read more

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