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)

Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers

Pretty Good For A Girl Band
Domestic La La (2022)

There is a tendency, I think, to label any loud band, any loud female band, as Riot Grrrl. Reducing a band to a genre they’re not and plugging your ears while they show you why they’re not that genre is damaging- both to the band in question and to the Riot Grrrl genre. That’s how you get New York Post articles about Olivia Rodrigo as the current face of Riot Grrrl. Spoiler alert- she’s not. Riot Grrrl was started as a movement, as a backlash, to the male dominated punk of the 90s (and 80s and 70s and so on). This label isn’t frivolous. It shouldn’t be tacked onto any female lead band you don’t have the time to examine in depth. I grind my teeth at night over this frequent misnomer so please know when I say this next sentence I mean it. Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers’ debut album, Pretty Good For A Girl Band, is a Riot Grrrl masterpiece. Teen Jesus consists of Anna Ryan (vocals, guitar), Scarlett McKahey (guitar, vocals), Jaida Stephenson (bass), and Neve van Boxsel (drums). The project started while the band was still in high school and still retains, a now polished … Read more

Joyce Manor

40 oz. to Fresno
Epitaph (2022)

Joyce Manor is one of those bands that I always follow, a band that shaped my tastes in my earlier … Read more

Chained Bliss

Chained Bliss
Drunken Sailor (2022)

There are certain guitar tones that recall another era, and Chained Bliss are rooted in one of them. When I … Read more

Xingfoo&Roy

Green Around The Gills
Independent (2022)

It's always nice to know one of your friends and favorite bands is doing good stuff and this example goes … Read more

The Chats

Get Fucked
Bargain Bin (2022)

So, then, is it sabotage? Or is it just punk? After 2017’s knockout hit single, “Smoko,” and a solid sophomore … Read more

10.000 Years

III (2022)
Interstellar Smoke Records (2022)

It ends here. Well, the trilogy telling the tale of spaceship “Albatross” ends here. Albatross is a spaceship that went … Read more

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One from the archives

Various Artists

Underground Hip Hop Essentials Vol. 1
Sassbologna (2006)

It hasn't been until recently, with my discovery of artists like Ghostface Killah, that I started listening to hip hop again. I was excited when I saw this release, and knew I wanted to venture into the world of hip-hop reviews. The Underground Hip Hop Essentials Vol. 1 comp features thirteen tracks from underground rappers from around the country and U.K. There is an indie feel to this compilation, which is a very fun style to a world of hip-hop where money and getting shot and dumb shit like that is the norm. There are instrumentals featuring original beats and hooks, but many of the songs are centered around rappers who are trying to master the English language by rhyming as constantly as possible (and occasionally) as intelligently as possible … Read more

More album reviews

Strategies

Strategies EP
Independent (2022)

At only four songs, Strategies’ debut EP is a quick play. The project is led by Paul Lask (The Ghost, Tight Phantomz), who created and sent demos to his longtime contemporaries, Brian Moss (The Ghost, Hanalei, Great Apes), and Neil Hennessy (The Lawrence Arms). The EP is wandering and explorative, building off the thoughtful post-hardcore influenced emo of the aforementioned … Read more

The Clever References

Hamish's House
Independent (2022)

Some say Australia is a very nice place to spend your life, saying it's the safest place on earth with its protective system for its citizens. I know it's kind of dumb for thinking that any band that is from a more "wealthy place", like Australia, will always have its own privilege to get known wider around the globe though … Read more

The Mountain Goats

Bleed Out
Merge (2022)

The Mountain Goats have made an action movie. Bleed Out is a concept album of sorts, made in a distinctly Mountain Goats way. Basically, ringleader John Darnielle wrote the record while watching movies: pausing and taking notes, so the lyrics aren’t just about familiar plotlines, but the full scope of cinematic storytelling. That info all comes in the press release, … Read more

Left Hand Black

Lower Than Satan
Sick Taste Records, Sunny Bastards (2022)

Left Hand Black formed in 2019 and took the horrorpunk scene by storm with their first release, the self titled Left Hand Black album during the dark days of March 2020. The Swedish four piece are made up of former members of metal band Lake Of Tears, punk rock band Overdrive Solution and horrorpunks The Dead Next Door so they … Read more

BlackDots

EP2
Motorcycle Potluck Records (2022)

BlackDots are back with EP2, released digitally and on a flexi 7”. The peppy, punky band from Denver are energetic but they aren’t your typical punk band, even if they do check a lot of the boxes. With dual vocals and melodic guitars, the general sound is somewhat quirky but upbeat and bouncy music. It’s emotional and cathartic but built … Read more

without

Be Corny
Raft Records (2022)

To me, the Japanese orgcore scene has always been an interesting thing when you're talking Asian scene and I see many great Japanese 90s-'00s melodic hardcore/orgcore bands as my early influences. What's been so good about the bands is that Japanese bands have always made accomplishment through their music or sound compositions despite the band itself having difficulties with the … Read more

Municipal Waste

Electrified Brain
Nuclear Blast (2022)

Professional party metal/thrash crossover ragers Municipal Waste are back with their seventh studio album and what a triumphant return it is too! Their last album Slime And Punishment released back in 2017 (which seems like a really long time ago) was fun but for some reason I was not that into it as I have been with their other stuff. … Read more

Crowning / Naedr

Rayau
Left Hand Label, Zegema Beach (2022)

If you are a frequent visitor of this site, perhaps you remember my glowing review of Naedrs debut album Past Is Prologue. That album made a huge impression on me and still gets heavy rotation. So you understand I was quite excited to see new material from this band. And it is a split release no less, so it presents … Read more

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 … 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 for its follow-up, Fever Dream. While 2019’s Underwhelmed caught attention, they’ve taken the leap on their second LP. The band play DIY punk with a wide range of melodic influences. It’s singalong punk, but the 10 songs on this record … Read more

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 exact. This documentary is directed by Iván Castell, a Spanish film maker with a passion for the genre. This film was funded by a crowd funder campaign in 2016, it took 2 years to complete hitting the film festivals on … 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 put out this new EP this year which is a surprise, as the band is focusing on Overo now (which includes 2/3 members of Football, Etc). The last thing the band put out was 2017's LP Corner, taking 5 years … 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 soon as they announced it — that much is certain. I think that it’d be hard not to, given their track record. The Australian phenomenon cornered a very nice piece of real estate in the metal territory, fusing thrash influenced … 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 Damnation. I guess the title itself explains what would lie in the theme of the lyrics. It Ssounds stupid but serious at the same time. The band still encapsulates what's good from 2010's emo scene, and some words to describe … Read more

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