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)

Camp Trash

The Long Way, The Slow Way
Count Your Lucky Stars (2022)

Camp Trash is a band that impressed me from the first second I heard them on their first single ”Weird Carolina” before the Downtime EP was out. I can't deny that I got to discover the band through Keegan, the guitarist. (Keegan used to write on many Asian bands for Get Alternative and that includes my band, Ache, getting coverage on the webzine and I think that's being one of the reasons why I looked up his band, Camp Trash.) It's a bit shady if you look from a narrow perspective BUT believe me The Long Way, The Slow Way is a nice stuff you should listen to. Camp Trash is a band that is always mentioned as everyone talks about the 5th wave emo and I think that's undeniable. While so many 5th wave emo bands emphasize how good they are in killing the twinkle guitar riffs with the virtuoso type of drumming, some bands like Camp Trash or Worst Ever Party take a different approach on music writing. Camp Trash is a band that is known for putting out real fine, melodious songs instead of being twinkle as fukk. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an anti-twinkle kind … Read more

Grumpster

Fever Dream
Pure Noise (2022)

Grumpster are a relatively young band from Oakland. They released a debut on Asian Man and jumped to Pure Noise … Read more

Video/DVD Review

Iván Castell

The Rise Of The Synths
9AM Media Lab, Castell & Moreno Films (2022)

The Rise Of The Synths is not an album but it has everything to do with music... synthwave to be … Read more

Football, Etc.

Vision
Independent (2022)

I never thought that I would review a Houston-based band. It seems Football, Etc is my first. The band just … Read more

Psycroptic

Divine Council
EVP Recordings (2022)

We expect only greatness from the best of bands, right? My expectations were high for the new Psycroptic album as … Read more

Forests

Get In Losers, We're Going To Eternal Damnation
Dog Knights Productions (2022)

Singaporean trio twinkle band, Forests, just put out their 3rd full- length entitled Get In Losers, We're Going To Eternal … Read more

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One from the archives

Iron Chic

The Constant One
Bridge Nine (2013)

If ever a band was created for an epic singalong, it was Iron Chic. There’s that big feeling at the core of their soaring melodies as they build and rage, starting with a verse from Jason Lubrano and building to a gang singalong at the chorus in nearly every song. They’re songs that transcend the performers, taking on the personality and voice of an entire room.The Constant One is just their second full-length after 2010’s Not Like This and a few 7”s. In that time the band has grown, become a bigger draw at Fest each year, and signed with Bridge Nine. All of that means that expectations are high for The Constant One and Iron Chic deliver as expected. The new record doesn’t show much variation from their earlier … Read more

More album reviews

Hurry Up

Dismal Nitch
Comedy Minus One (2022)

“American Weirdos” sets the tone quickly on Dismal Nitch, the second album from Hurry Up, with a refrain of “American weirdos/ Don’t need no more heroes.” A three-piece from Portland, OR, the lineup features Kathy Foster (Thermals), Westin Glass (Thermals), and Maggie Vail (Bangs), each sharing songwriting duties and vocals. Recorded shortly before the pandemic hit, this record does sometimes … Read more

Florida Men

Florida Men
Morning Wood Records (2022)

Oh Florida Man, you strange and magnificent creature of legends. Or at least it seems to be something unreal, reading what he did. Who comes up with stuff like that? And now three of these Florida Men united in one band. Nothing good can come from that! Perhaps you can’t help yourself and you read some of the crazy things … Read more

Bent Knee

Frosting
Take This To Heart Records (2021)

I rarely sit this long on records before reviewing them but this one was kind of a rare exception. It’s been some good months since Frosting was released. The reason I did this was my love for Bent Knee’s music. My first contact with the Frosting, on the day of its release, was like going to a Michelin star restaurant, … Read more

No Pressure

No Pressure LP
Ice Grill$, Triple B (2022)

Well to be honest I'm not a Story So Far fan and would not add their albums into a “Favorites” playlist, but I can tell you that No Pressure is Parker's new music project and it just put out a banger tune this year. As has previously been told, No Pressure is a new musical project led by several members … Read more

Night Court

Nervous Birds! Too
Debt Offensive, Snappy Little Numbers Quality Audio Recordings (2022)

Night Court may have a silly name, but the band feels sincere and (mostly) serious. Rooted in garage-punk, the sounds are familiar in form but each track on this 12-song record gives a different energy. Generally speaking, it’s melodic and positive punk with a lo-fi DIY vibe. There are elements of the old Plan-It-X sound but with a little more … Read more

SepticFlesh

Modern Primitive
Nuclear Blast (2022)

I have been listening to and following SepticFlesh for over a decade now. It only made sense that a new album from them on the horizon got me excited. I honestly didn’t know what exactly to expect given that Titan and Codex Omega didn’t do much to expand further in any direction than the mapped realm by Communion and The … Read more

Tipper

Insolito
Tippermusic Records (2021)

One of the pioneering acts in the glitch/IDM area of music, Tipper, hit us up with yet another record. Right off the bat, I can’t vouch that it has the same kind of punch as say Jettison Mind Hatch or Forward Escape. Although, I think it’s a little unfair to compare it to said records, as Insolito is just an … Read more

ExxoStack

Terramygdala
Independent (2022)

Instrumental progressive metal pretty much died out in the late 2010s, right? Wrong! While it can feel like that at times, there are still plenty of bands out there toying with the legacy of the genre in interesting ways. One of them is ExxoStack, on which I’ll be focusing today, particularly the latest record, Terramygdala. ExxoStack took off as the … Read more

Ditches

Drunk Dial #9
Drunk Dial Records (2022)

The Drunk Dial series is a 7” concept where the label hooks up with a band, gets them inebriated, and records. Side A is an original, Side B is a cover. I guess the point is a spontaneous, live feel with a glimpse into influences. This time around we get Ditches, a power-pop/garage trio with a great catalog thus far. … Read more

Saor

Origins
Season of Mist (2022)

Saor is back and this brings me a lot of joy. I only started digging into the band at the recommendation of a friend for folk infused metal sometime late in 2020. The first thing I started listening to was Forgotten Paths and it really managed to lure me in with “Monadh”. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the general emphasis … Read more

Various Artists

Talk Show Host/Cluttered - Enemy Us
Independent (2022)

First off, I’m not going to bother comparing this EP of Enemy You covers to the originals. Why? Because that’s not the point. A covers record that’s only about the originals is a novelty record that you play for a lark. I’m interested in records that hold up on their own merit. Lucky for us, Cluttered and Talk Show Host … Read more

Mustasuo

Hiljaisuus
Label Off Records (2022)

My introduction to crust was the album Vengeance by Tragedy. I was blown away by it. I have heard a lot of crust since that day. And while I keep looking for that wow-factor that album has for me I (of course) encounter an album that has that only once in a while. Does Mustasuos blackened crust have that same … Read more

Joyride!

Miracle Question
Salinas Records (2022)

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Well, a little birdy put this record on my radar in late 2021 and I enjoyed it, but kind of set it aside until its proper release. I liked it on first listen but, today, it just hits harder and deeper. Maybe it’s the right place and time as I manage stress … Read more

Belushi Speed Ball

What, Us Worry?
SonaBLAST! Records (2022)

"All the burgers, all the fries, Daniels got tater tots for his eyes!" - Belushi Speed Ball Formed in 2013 in Louisville, Kentucky Belushi Speed Ball unashamedly crashed the thrash metal crossover band wagon with their take on speed induced party metal. To date What, Us Worry? is their second full length album. Prepare For Trouble was their first coming … 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)