Recent reviews

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

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

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 for quite a long while) which is excellent because some of the bootlegs of them are pretty nigh unlistenable, and considering that these releases are some of the best material that Amebix offers, finally seeing the light of day can only be a good thing for these recordings. No Sanctuary: The Spiderleg Recordings compiles the No Sanctuary 12" EP, the Winter 7", and the Who's The Enemy 7" all into one handy little package for the first time, well at least officially. And since the band has quite the history of being bootlegged and ripped off by people, this reissue is probably the best sounding versions of these that most people have ever heard (my first exposure to these recordings was admittedly from a horrible sounding bootleg tape which I bought and the band did not see any money from either). The metallic and hardcore punk style that Amebix displays on this release is crushing and perfectly fits the darkly poetic lyrics creating a unique sound that has surely been the root cause of their place in punk, hardcore, and … 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

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, … 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 … 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 … 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 … Read more

Browse our review archives

Review categories

200 Words Or Less

756 reviews

Book Review

45 reviews

Classic Album

25 reviews

Multiple Authors

300 reviews

Review

5081 reviews

Video/DVD Review

19 reviews

One from the archives

Gentlemen Rogues

Francy b/w I've Got A Match
Snappy Little Numbers (2022)

Apparently, Gentlemen Rogues don’t like stupid-looking hats. I am not sure what constitutes a stupid-looking hat, but I imagine a loud purple fedora adorned with a pink band around it and maybe a fake feather to compliment it. I have to point out that long-distance relationships rarely work when combined with international love connections. Didn’t you watch 90 Day Fiance!. This band with the contradictory name aligns perfectly with bands like The Figgs (does anyone remember them?). Perhaps a cover of “Favorite Shirt” is in order!? They seem to nestle into the powerpop side of The Descendents and I am pretty sure they all have Milo tattoos adorned on their body; if they don’t they should. Orienting themselves somewhere between Canada’s powerpop deities- Sloan and repetitive listens to Jawbreaker. The … Read more

More album reviews

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

Stove Bredsky

The Black Ribbon Award
Hydra Head (2008)

No, that is indeed the correct name for this latest album by one, Stephen Brodsky (Cave In, Pet Genius, Kid Kilowatt, Converge, etc). And while his sanity level might be questioned initially by the naming of the project his relationship to it is undeniable when compared to other material throughout his prolific career as a musician in bands and as … Read more

The Endless Blockade

Primitive
20 Buck Spin (2008)

I don't know how much of it has to do with the fluctuation of my own tastes, but I have found A LOT of really good power violence records this year - either ones that have come out recently or that I missed the boat on slightly. And at the top of that pile is The Endless Blockade. From Toronto, … Read more

Batoche

Terra Incognita
Independent (2007)

Batoche is a fast-paced, self-proclaimed DIY hardcore/metal band from Vancouver, Canada. They have released three records independently (and changed their name) all before releasing their most recent, Terra Incognita. They boast that "new elements of chaos, atmosphere, flow and power" are found in their music, which is accompanied by insightful lyrical thought. Terra Incognita, the Latin term for "unknown land," … Read more

Indian Summer

Science 1994 (Reissue)
Future (2008)

Following up the recent release of their live "discography", Hidden Arithmetic, Indian Summer is re-releasing their "studio" discography to make available just about everything that this outfit put to tape and thankfully so since their original versions can be known to fetch decent sums of money on the collector's market. This band is a much lauded and revered group by … Read more

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