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)

Ed Gein

Judas Goats and Dieseleaters
Black Market Activities (2005)

Dear Lord, this album is a mess. It is tough to get a handle on what is going on initially, partially because Ed Gein had been described to me in two ways: as a grindcore band, and a tech metal band. After hearing Judas Goats and Dieseleaters, I full on disagree with both descriptions. Ed Gein's sound contains elements of two defunct bands: Disembodied and the August Prophecy. The Disembodied elements are evident in the low end of the sound register that Ed Gein frequently exploits. The band gets its controlled chaos elements from the August Prophecy (a criminally unknown band from the early 00's. No matter where their influences come from, Ed Gein is a three-piece that really seems to push the collective abilities of the band and for that, they should be applauded. The fact that they take on a bit of a political bent with the subject matter of their lyrics is another big plus. A large amount of bands seem to be afraid of that today. Judas Goats and Diesel Eaters opens up in a rather crushing manner with "Robert Flaig." The album is all over the place and has a few damn good songs worth … Read more

Nizlopi

Half These Songs are About You
NOVA (2005)

There's only one place this review can start, and that's with the song "JCB". A delicate, soft pop song with … Read more

Fight Like Hell

Demo
Independent (2005)

Let me just give all of you a big fat heads up: Blood Money Records sold out of this demo, … Read more

The Suicide Machines

On the Eve of Destruction (1991-1995)
Noise Riot (2005)

The Suicide Machines have been a band for a long time now. Close to fifteen years, actually. In that time, … Read more

The Advantage

Elf Titled
5 Rue Christine (2006)

Unlike movies, video game sequels eclipse their predecessors. The graphics are better, the gameplay is tightened, and the quantity of … Read more

Mommy and Daddy

Duel at Dawn
Kanine (2005)

I probably should have known something was up when two thirds of the reviews I read of Mommy and Daddy's … Read more

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One from the archives

Indian Summer

Hidden Arithmetic (Reissue)
Future (2007)

It just does not come anywhere near as enigmatic as this. Indian Summer was a very short-lived band from the early to mid 1990's that made music in an era when "emo" was not a dirty word (it was simply derided by uppity hardcore kids). The songs were and still are sloppy, emotional, powerful, and unnamed (their fans later gave names to the songs). Finding out any other information about this band takes research. There is a small but rabid following that still venerates this outfit today. It is for those people and possibly new listeners that this release sees the light of day. Hidden Arithmetic is a collection of the live Blue Universe record and a couple of other live appearances and radio shows. It is a companion piece … Read more

More album reviews

New Electric

New Electric
The Perpetual Motion Machine (2005)

In 2005 we saw the amount of instrumental bands coming out rise significantly. Most of these bands either sounded too soft and sparkly (resembling Explosions in the Sky too much) or too over the top and heavy (sharing too much in common with the likes of Isis and Pelican). The Brooklyn quartet, New Electric has found a medium between the … Read more

Sufjan Stevens

Illinois
Asthmatic Kitty (2005)

What is the sign of a "great" record? What defines a classic? Is it a cult following? Musical virtuosity? Ambition and drive? Three chords and the truth? All these questions will be answered within this review. Maybe. If you're still unaware of the young and illustrious Sufjan Stevens, you're either a My Chemical Romance fan who's still not discovered "the … Read more

Multiple Authors

Girls Aloud

Chemistry
Polydor (2005)

Tits 'n' arse, right? Well, yeah, that's basically what it's all about. Skinny girls showing their skinny flesh to not-so-skinny girls and pubescent boys who are sitting at home, pretending to make out with the one girl that's unfortunate enough to appear on a poster with her mouth open. Tits 'n' arse, always a success. Who cares how it sounds? … Read more

Multiple Authors

Girls Aloud

Chemistry
Polydor (2005)

"Girls, all I really want is girls / And in the morning it's girls / Cause in the evening it's girls. I like the way that they walk / And it's chill to hear them talk / And I can always make them smile / From White Castle to the Nile" I think The Beastie Boys sum it up quite … Read more

Pageninetynine

Document #8 (Reissue)
Robotic Empire (2005)

"Punk Rock should mean freedom, liking and accepting everything that you like, playing whatever you want, as sloppy as you want as long as it's good and has passion." Leave it to a band that exuded and wore passion on its sleeves to open their album with a sampled quote of Kurt Cobain to emphasize this facet of their collective … Read more

Dead Hearts

No Love, No Hope
Reflections (2005)

"Buffalo is the second largest city in New York State but it's dying slowly, it's a cold gray place: rusting where the Niagara River meets Lake Erie. I've seen a lot of people watch their dreams get crushed by this city. It seems like Buffalo just gets into your blood and poisons it with cynicism and bitterness. We have a … Read more

Crimes of Passion

Demo
Independent (2005)

If you made a list of all the bands currently playing the style of music labeled as metalcore, you could fill up 30 or 40 pages in Microsoft Word. There are that many of them. Luckily, for every five bands ripping off At the Gates and Hatebreed simultaneously, there's a band doing metalcore right. Luckily for us, Crimes of Passion … Read more

Graf Orlock / Greyskull

Split
Dood (2005)

Unless you're backless, you have a backpack. What do you have in your backpack? I'd imagine there's a collection of paper, pens, and hidden condoms. Then again, maybe you have one of those packs equipped for bicycle riding. Oh, watch out for that bump! Just kidding. You're in the comfort of a house on a computer on a chair. Under … Read more

Lords

Swords
Jade Tree (2005)

Don't blink, or it will all be over before you even realize what hit you. Swords is what a hit and run car wreck feels and sounds like. The group Lords has been a roadwarrioring (yes, I made this word up and I am trademarking it) group of semi-Hessian sound miscreants for quite some time. After two equally disturbing EP's … Read more

Renee Heartfelt

Death of the Ghost
Textbook Music (2005)

I often wonder how musicians reach the point in their lives where they want to make a change in their musical endeavors. Perhaps they no longer find the frantic and chaotic world of hardcore/punk interesting. Maybe they have been screaming and breaking shit on stage for so long that they no longer know what they're angry about. For whatever reasons … Read more

Oxes

Oxes EP
Monitor (2005)

If it wasn't the fake split with Arab On Radar they pulled to boost CD sales that sold your heart, than it had to be the album artwork on the Oxxxes LP that caused an uproar of controversy. The protest in Baltimore was later turned into the album cover of the CD version, with my favorite being the guy holding … Read more

Multiple Authors

Madonna

Confessions on a Dance Floor
Maverick (2005)

Do you remember when Madonna used to be the only female pop star that could sell millions with every album? When she was always ahead of the chasing pack by being the first major pop star to take the latest underground fade and turn it into the new cool? Do you remember when she looked hot and flaunted her sexuality … Read more

Depeche Mode

Playing the Angel
Reprise (2005)

I broke a fingernail tearing the shrink wrap off Playing the Angel - that's how excited I was to get into it. After the confusion caused by Exciter, and the months of consolation I indulged in with the two Singles collections, I was desperate for Martin Gore, Dave Gahan and that other guy who's name I had to look up … Read more

Bunyan, Vashti

Lookaftering
Fat Cat (2005)

If you go to the Guinness World Records Website and type in, "Longest time between albums", you get a message that says, "Can't find what you're looking for? This site features only a selection of the 40,000 records in the Guinness World Records database." In other words, they are saying that if one desires to know the official record for … Read more

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