Recent reviews

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)

The National Rifle

Wage Life
Independent (2008)

What if Elvis Costello was still churning out upbeat, poppy numbers like his early work? What if you took away some of the crackle and rough edges, and replaced them with pristine production and a lot of "whoa-oh-oh's"? What if, to spice things up, you threw in a dash of socialist rhetoric, a pinch of hand-held percussion, and a sprinkle of saxophone? Wage Life is The National Rifle's second self-release, their first being a 2006 self-titled EP. Wage Life carries a blatant theme of modern hard times with a call to action that we must re-examine the "work mythology." This is paired up with a catchy indie pop that shows a variety of influences, the most obvious being Elvis Costello, Ted Leo, and Joe Jackson. The National Rifle is an interesting mix of styles, as their brand of indie pop is incredibly radio friendly, with easily defined choruses and memorable hooks that could easily be used in commercials - in fact, I can almost swear that I've heard "Gaggers" in one - but the lyrical tone of the revolutionary will keep the band off the airwaves. If you secretly enjoy British pop but wish you could see performances in more … Read more

Until the End

From the Beginning...Until the End
Eulogy (2008)

Whenever I think of Until the End, I think of the time I crammed five finals into a twenty-four-hour period … Read more

Boxcar Satan & Ghostwriter

Hobo Nouveau
East of the West/Dogfingers (2008)

I'll admit - I have a bit of a problem with modern blues. For me, blues, real blues ended in … Read more

The Offspring

Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
Columbia (2008)

With an album title that sounds like the most recent Foo Fighters record, a song called "Fix You" (I thought … Read more

Amebix

No Sanctuary: The Spiderleg Recordings
Alternative Tentacles (2008)

So the early Amebix releases are finally becoming more widely available (even though they have been on the bootleg circuit … Read more

The Hold Steady

Stay Positive
Vagrant (2008)

Stay Positive, the fourth album finds the Brooklyn by way of Minneapolis The Hold Steady trying to further their scope … Read more

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One from the archives

Death Before Dishonor

Count Me In
Bridge Nine (2007)

Boston-based and Boston-proud, Death Before Dishonor has been churning out bruising hardcore since they first hit the scene with True Till Death. Their debut EP hit with very much the same style of breakdown heavy metallic hardcore that they drew their namesake from. Five years later, the band continues to deliver the hits with Count Me In, their debut full-length. Count Me In kicks off with a short intro before moving on to the title-track. "Count Me In" continues the band's formula from previous releases by mixing Hatebreed's ferocity with Madball's groove. "Nowhere to Turn" and "Break Through it All" follow in similar fashion with the guitar duo of Ben Kelly and Dave Cappello laying some slick riffs and killer breakdowns. Vocally, Bryan Harris makes use a forceful yells, not … Read more

More album reviews

Secret Chiefs 3

Xaphan: Book of Angels Vol. 9
Tzadik (2008)

John Zorn is well on the way to becoming the most prolific artist in music history. Through recordings from Painkiller, Naked City, Masada, and untold other projects, the man is associated either through composing music for or performing on an average of over ten albums per year. For those unfamiliar, his Masada project was arguably his most well known and … Read more

Fuck Buttons

Street Horrrsing
ATP (2008)

When I was eleven my mother asked me if the family should remodel our basement, converting it into a living room and bedrooms for both my sister and me. Heading into middle school, a time when children begin to blossom socially, I thought this was a great idea. The freedoms were readily apparent. I began taking interest in the local … Read more

Atavist

II: Ruined
Profound Lore (2008)

Minimalistic drone/doom is a hit-or-miss kind of genre. When you are relying on only one or two riffs to carry an entire song, the results can be either bone-chilling or yawn-inducing. With their second full-length, Atavist, hailing from Manchester, England, has once again proven it can achieve the former. Atavist's brand of tortured, bowel-loosening doom is not for the faint … Read more

Coalesce

0:12.2 Revolution in Just Listening (Reissue)
Relapse (2008)

So the inevitable is occurring as Relapse is reissuing this behemoth of an album (although at right around thirty minutes that is a stretch to call it such by today's standards). Recently awarded a spot in the Decibel album hall of fame, 0:12.2: Revolution in Just Listening is a supremely curious album as it is a document of a band … Read more

Tokyo Police Club

Elephant Shell
Saddle Creek (2008)

Tokyo Police Club's A Lesson In Crime put the band in an awkward position. The seven-song EP gained a substantial amount of praise/coverage for it's less than twenty-minute run time, showing a glimpse of energetic indie pop somewhere between a dance party and a rock out that, despite it's length, made it one of the best releases of 2006. In … Read more

Weezer

Weezer (The Red Album)
Geffen (2008)

Oh, Weezer. Here we are, album six for the band who've spent an entire career trying to figure out who they are. Are they The Pixies-aping geek rockers with a penchant for nerdery and romance? Are they riff-wielding guitar heroes rocking ironic stadiums? Are they misunderstood indie icons? Are they, um, white-boy rap? The band's third self-titled album - referred … Read more

El Chupa Cobras

El Chupa Cobras
Acerbic Noise (2008)

El Chupa Cobras belong to the breed of bands that, aside from having amusing names also have extremely short attention spans and exponentially spastic approach to creating music. This kind of music is never easy to pull of on record. Live, the sheer energy of each member immersing him/herself in the music on stage could be enough to provide for … Read more

Verse

Aggression
Bridge Nine (2008)

I think I've read more hyped up reviews of Verse's third album Aggression than I've actually listened to it. I keep seeing a reoccurring trend in these reviews on how Verse is a breath of fresh air in a rather stagnant scene when it comes to popular hardcore bands. There seems to be an influx of hardcore that would rather … Read more

Hostage Calm

Lens
Redscroll (2008)

Connecticut hardcore, no matter how great it is, always seems to get overshadowed by the nearby bustling Massachusetts (particularly Boston) hardcore scene. In fact, oftentimes people just consider them to be one in the same. This is unfortunate because over the years the state of Connecticut has churned out a plethora of stellar bands: Hatebreed, Dead Wrong, Sum of All … Read more

The Reds

Fugitives from the Laughing House
Tarock (2008)

Fugitives from the Laughing House comes twenty years after The Reds released their first single. Despite such a history, the band is not a household name and, with Fugitives from the Laughing House being only the band's second full-length since 1984 (sixth total) it's not that they've been overly prolific. While I am unfamiliar with most of the band's releases, … Read more

The Night Marchers

Scene Report
Swami (2008)

So I finally get to see the new band that has been consistently pumping through my stereo, MP3 player, computer, and car since the songs first appeared online; and yes, this is a familiar sound coming from John Reis and his compatriots, but there is something undeniably in The Night Marchers' music which compels repetitive listening of their album, See … Read more

U.S. Christmas

Eat the Low Dogs
Neurot (2008)

Eat the Low Dogs is a beautifully dark and medicating record that fewer ears will hear than it deserves. It rocks, laments and hollers from the mountainous region of Marion, North Carolina with an enduring gloom that feels archaic and steadfast throughout. The old-timer influences are vast, but U.S. Christmas' old/new merged sound is unified and deliberate: Hawkwind, Neil Young … Read more

Daturah

Reverie
Graveface (2008)

Hailing from Germany, the "post-rock" sounding Daturah offer Reverie, as their first full-length (following a self-titled EP which they self-released in 2005 and Graveface released in 2006) since their inception in 2003. This album, at five tracks long still clocks in with just about an hour's worth of music. The band focus more heavily on the ambient aspects of their … Read more

Fallen from the Sky

Tonight We Radiate
Eulogy (2008)

Florida's Fallen from the Sky have been on the upward trend since releasing their debut EP, Tune Out the World, in 2005. They were runner-ups in MTV2's Dew Circuit Breakout and this, their debut full-length, was highly anticipated by many publications. In spite of all the praise the band has remained grounded and true to their roots. The band's debut … Read more

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