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)

Pelican

City of Echoes
Hydra Head (2007)

Yeah, the guys in Pelican are busy dudes. City of Echoes is the band's third full-length and seventh record released since 2001. I admire their work ethic. For those of the initiated, Pelican is an instrumental outfit that tends to get lumped into the "Post"¦" categories (see post-metal, post-rock) along with bands like Isis and their ilk. To be honest, City of Echoes is a pivotal album for the band in my eyes. Their first album, Australasia is a great record. The next EP, March into the Sea is awesome. Their last album The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw is good but a bit of a disappointment for me. So, with this lain out on the table, I approach City of Echoes with a jumble of emotions: excitement, wariness, anxiety, etc. City of Echoes begins in a rather unassuming manner. "Bliss in Concrete" has some movements that lean heavily on pop sensibilities, a new development for Pelican. The pieces of the song that do not have these elements seem much heavier, when in reality, they are vintage Pelican. "City of Echoes" sounds like a pop or "indie" rock song without vocals when it first begins. When the … Read more

Coconut Records

Nighttiming
Young Baby (2007)

Jason Schwartzman was first known for being the drummer of the alternative rock band Phantom Planet. But Schwartzman left the … Read more

Porcupine Tree

Fear of a Blank Planet
Atlantic (2007)

I've been hoodwinked. Hornswaggled, if you will. Lied to for years. About what, you ask? Well, I'll tell you, you … Read more

The Copyrights

Make Sound
Red Scare (2007)

Like the Bible's steadfast conviction in the second coming of Christ, I knew this day would someday come. And goddamnit, … Read more

Full Contact / Heartbreak Kid

GNP Split Series Vol. 1
GNP (2006)

Split CDs are never a good idea because you usually don't have any clue what's going on, especially when you … Read more

Killswitch Engage

As Daylight Dies
Roadrunner (2006)

Complain all you want about the state of modern music. Yes, we have to deal with fake soul like Maroon … Read more

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One from the archives

Joan Of Arc

Joan Of Arc, Dick Cheney, Mark Twain
Polyvinyl (2004)

It's strange to think that Tim Kinsella has been at it for about decade now, using his inexplicable charms and off-key personality with groups like Cap'n Jazz, Make Believe, Owls, Friend/Enemy, and his long-standing Joan Of Arc project to create an impressive and utterly distinctive catalog. The man's certainly prolific, releasing at least one new addition to an extensive body of work each year. Admittedly, many of Kinsella's projects are hit-or-miss affairs, but I think that that adds to the excitement of the ordeal- the fact that Kinsella is resolutely unafraid to take risks, try new things, fall flat on his face (see: 'The Gap'), or succeed admirably (keep reading) makes it seem like he's pursuing some massive, extraordinary goal and we're all along for the ride. With a title … Read more

More album reviews

Sonic Youth

Daydream Nation (Reissue)
Geffen (2007)

When I first heard Sonic Youth, I didn't know about their formidable New York hipster cachet: Glenn Branca confederates, initially hated by Village Voice snob Bob Christgau, ex-No New York alumni (at least before Steve Shelley got behind the skins), etc. I had no idea that this was the band that bridged hardcore and the downtown gallery scene - how … Read more

Andrew Bird

Armchair Apocrypha
Fat Possum (2007)

With the over saturation of the industry, technology making the ability to record a feasible option for anyone who has ever picked up an instrument, and the Internet spreading music like the plague, what's often lost is authenticity. Currently, there are waves upon waves of like sounding bands making it easy to get flustered and discouraged in a search for … Read more

Six Parts Seven

Casually Smashed to Pieces
Suicide Squeeze (2007)

I'm having real trouble introducing this band. How could I set up a band that's been covered by Isaac Brock and is still humbly putting out albums like they want to? I kind of feel weak for trying. In an almost too basic description, Six Parts Seven are an epically beautiful down-tempo instrumental group. I know you're thinking, "Another instrumental … Read more

Marduk

Rom 5:12
Blooddawn Productions (2007)

Black metal and obscene, blasphemous imagery are like peanut butter and jelly"¦they were essentially made to go together. Of course in a sea of peanut butter as huge as the black metal scene is, it's usually hard for one band to spread on enough jelly to really stand out amongst the crowd. In 1991 Sweden's Marduk took this into account … Read more

Napalm Death

Scum (Reissue)
Earache (2007)

Surely by now, almost everyone within the underground music community has heard of Napalm Death. If you have not yet (what rock have you been living under?), check out Albert Mudrian's Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore for a bit of a history lesson. This book gives an excellent synopsis of the early history of Napalm … Read more

Tokyo Police Club

Smith
Paperbag (2007)

Back in 2006, a small post-punk quartet from Newmarket, Ontario hit the club scene and blew people away with their brilliant live shows. They then released their first album to critical acclaim and became a major Internet buzz band. Tokyo Police Club has returned in 2007 with a short but sweet three song EP that is the follow up to … Read more

Tiger Army

Music from Regions Beyond
Hellcat (2007)

First things first, where the bloody hell is the Roman numeral? This is Tiger Army IV: Music from Regions Beyond, not just Music from Regions Beyond. I feel a little lost and confused with a Tiger Army album title like this. And only eleven tracks? Who is in charge here? I demand they get back in the studio and give … Read more

Jesse Malin

Glitter in the Gutter
Adeline (2007)

It has been a long time since I've heard a pretty singer-songwriter record reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison's less folk-based records. Behind these legends there lies a giant gap of singer-songwriters varying from reasonably known to cult artists. Jesse Malin's third solo record, Glitter in the Gutter, is a good record for all who like this kind of … Read more

Gallows

Orchestra of Wolves
In at the Deep End (2006)

For the most part, the state of music - underground or major label - is stale and nothing more than a regurgitation of what has been previously done. But there are those rare gems, those bands that do something that is just a little bit different, that exist and make you excited about music. It's been quite a while since … Read more

Dead Hearts

Bitter Verses
Ferret (2006)

Sometimes a record comes along that just floors me and it's hard to find words to put to paper. I've had a couple of records do this to me lately and Dead Hearts most recent effort, Bitter Verses, is one of them. If I had to choose three words, and three words only, to describe this release, they would be … Read more

The Ergs!

Upstairs/Downstairs
Dirtnap (2007)

The Ergs are self-proclaimed dorks. The great thing is that they are dorks that can write some great hooks. Upstairs/Downstairs is simply The Ergs latest example to demonstrate their ability to write infectious songs about girls and other pop-punk staple subjects. Upstairs/Downstairs delivers where their debut full length, dorkrockcockrod, set the stage for and where last year's EP, Jersey's Best … Read more

Hot Rod Circuit

The Underground is a Dying Breed
Immortal (2007)

The Underground is a Dying Breed is a surprising comeback for Hot Rod Circuit. It appeared that even diehard fans were left disappointed with 2004's Reality's Coming Through. The album's blandness was an especially hard blow considering that their 2002 Vagrant Records debut, Sorry About Tomorrow, was on par with their much-loved Triple Crown Records material. Hot Rod Circuit had … Read more

Achilles

Hospice
Hex (2007)

People around here at Scene Point Blank like to joke and rib me about being the token melodic hardcore guy. It's all in jest and like with most stabs of humor they never stray to far away from the truth. However, there is a dark secret I would like share with everyone. Towards the end of the 90's and into … Read more

Altered Beast

Demo
Independent (2007)

About two months ago, I had the pleasure of seeing Altered Beast play a quick, understated, but totally badass set in my friend Paul's basement. Being the swamped college kid that I am, I am just now able to sit down and write a few words about the demo they passed out to everyone in attendance. If I hadn't been … 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)