Rather Ripped showcases a slight stylistic shift for Sonic Youth. Their trademarked noisy dirge rock has been subdued a bit to allow a bit of melody to accentuate the more subtle nature of their music. Quite possibly, this may be the most accessible the band has been since Goo and Dirty, which is not a bad thing. At more than 25 years and kicking, Sonic Youth has more than proved that the unit will do as it damn well pleases. Upon popping on Rather Ripped, it is a pleasant surprise to hear "Reena" with Kim Gordon's uncharacteristic vocal rendition. The song actually displays a relaxed tuneful maturity that Sonic Youth rarely visits. It's almost bubbly sounding but in a depressing way, if that makes any sense at all. I dig the song very much. The dueling guitars have an almost clean, crisp sound that carry a counter melody of sorts to the vocals. "Incinerate" has a great guitar melody. Again, the guitars sound almost clean and very crisp. Thurston Moore lends his vocals to this track. There are moments in the song where the band teases you with potential spots for a fuzzed out guitar freak-out but are left with … Read more
Melodic hardcore seems to be falling back into favor these days, which is a good thing in my opinion. And … Read more
Hang Your Cross is déjá vu; my ears relay the message to my head, "We've heard this before... we think." … Read more
Okay, okay, yes The Hope Conspiracy is back and Hang Your Cross is the clarion call for their abrasive take … Read more
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Armor for Sleep is a band that for me failed to live up to the potential they were capable of on their debut album, Dreams to Make Believe. They had recorded a great demo, but when the record came out those re-recorded songs were the only shining moments. A few years have passed and now we have a new album to take in. First and foremost, this album is a definite step up for them as songwriters, and as storytellers. What To Do When You Are Dead is a concept album that follows an individual from the moment of death to heaven and through the daily events of a ghost. It's a really unique concept, and they pieced it together quite well. As for the songs contained within, well they … Read more
Unless you haven't heard Envy before, which would be a tragic mistake, then you already know how incredible this Japan-based melodic hardcore band is. This band truly is the instrumental representation of angst and sincerity that is a rare find in the crowded pool of crappy hardcore bands today. That being said, their new album, Insomniac Doze is sure to … Read more
I came to Insomniac Doze with no prior knowledge of Envy, but with a strong interest in Japanese culture. As a country, Japan isn't exactly renowned for its success in the international music scene. Its successful exports tend to be few and far between, offering only a brief glimpse into what is in fact perhaps one of the most diverse … Read more
When searching Daryl Palumbo's name on Wikipedia - a great tool to prolong pointless Internet usage - an interesting passage appears under the trivia headline: "Palumbo is an avid fan of 80's British band Squeeze and the Godzilla universe. He is considered an anglophile." After reading this last line it seems the direction Head Automatica took with Popaganda makes perfect … Read more
Metallic hardcore is easily my favorite genre of not only hardcore, but of all musical genres. My fondness of this genre is a direct result of it being the first type of music I truly immersed myself in. Bands like Integrity, Strife, One King Down, Snapcase, and Indecision among others regularly dominated my Walkman. You know, those things like an … Read more
Putting their best foot forward from the off, Soul She Said's debut record opens with what is easily its strongest track, "Sunken City." Strongly influenced by My Bloody Valentine, early Primal Scream and probably a whole host of hallucinogens, it's the prefect balance to the Icarus Line's dark back alley, class A take on The Stooges. Soul She Said is … Read more
Chicago's Yakuza, despite two previous albums and a deal with Century Media, have not received much attention for their brand of chaotic metal. Bearing likeness to bands such as Naked City and Kylesa (a very strange combination indeed), Yakuza's third full-length Samsara has and will continue to garner well-deserved attention of metal fans looking for variety. Samsara begins with "Cancer … Read more
Any band that has a song called "Gets **** Started" and has not one or two, but three pictures of their guitar player doing posi-jumps you just know I'm going to automatically fall in love with even before I listen to the CD. Luckily I didn't go and make myself look like an ass by gushing over Attitude before I … Read more
All the musically discontent who seek great screamo bands and other various awesome musical projects, surrender your soul to the beacon of light that is Level Plane Records. After four years of being a die hard fan of this label, it has introduced me to such awesome bands such as Hot Cross, Envy, A Day In Black and White, Coliseum, … Read more
I'm from Arizona and I can attest that our local music scene sucks. There are occasionally a few decent bands but they never go anywhere. The exception to this would be Suicide Nation releasing 2 LPs and a split with Yaphet Kotto (who now play in the slaytanic Saviours). Unruh comes ahead with 2 LPs and a few more splits. … Read more
A raconteur is defined as "one who tells stories and anecdotes with skill." A skillful storyteller draws in his audience with an introduction that makes them want more. "Steady, as She Goes," the first single from The Raconteurs debut album Broken Boy Soldiers, is this introduction. At first listen to "Steady, as She Goes," you may think, "Oh, it's The … Read more
Released by two stellar labels, Perpetual Motion Machine and Electric Human Project, Two Thousand and Six Six Six is a split between two up and coming Virginian bands, Northern Virginia's Mass Movement of the Moth and Richmond's The Catalyst. Two Thousand and Six Six Six is a very collective effort, with the bands switching from song to song instead of … Read more
I don't know when it happened, although I think it might have been around the time the movie Friday Night Lights came out and word got out that Explosions in the Sky was doing the soundtrack. That may have been the point but I'm not really sure. Anyways, at one time or another post-rock got popular. Now, after kids everywhere … Read more
The connection between abrasive, warp speed music and film samples isn't new - for a whole wave of turn of the century hardcore bands, the familiar samples punctuating minute long tantrums were usually the most memorable part of the entire enterprise. But Graf Orlock takes this connection to an entirely new level. Named after the vampiric villain in Nosferatu, Graf … Read more
You, faithful SPB readers as I, listen and tend to prefer music that can best be described as "heavy". This is quite possibly the music you exclusively listen to. Perhaps you put on The Locust and Gorgoroth when you want to get pumped and juiced and rocked and whatever proactive analogy you can think of and then, when you're done, … Read more
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