Recent reviews

Our latest album reviews, featuring the records we've most enjoyed (or not) over the past few weeks.

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

Paul Morley

From Manchester with Love: The Life and Opinions of Tony Wilson
Allen & Unwin Publishing (2021)

Tony Wilson was known for many things, e.g. being TV presenter, enfant terrible, entrepreneur, founder of the immensely successful Factory Records label and essentially an inspiring cultural catalyst and trailblazer at the centre of a myriad of creative networks, without whom genre-coining bands like Joy Division, Happy Mondays and New Order would have not had a veritable launchpad. Needless to say, having Paul Morley, a respected veteran music writer and contemporary of Wilson, at the helm of putting the story together, paired with the fact that he meticulously researched the subject for over a decade, results in a comprehensive coverage of Wilson’s life and how it was influenced by the emergence of punk, which subsequently fundamentally changed the course of his career and outlook on life. With a knack for capturing the spirit of live gigs as well as the grimy context of late 1970s Manchester along with its tangible effects on the protagonists, Morley paints a picture that is bound to resonate with both aficionados and the yet to be inducted. With its close to six hundred pages, From Manchester With Love is a genre-defying engaging, detailed, deliberately digressive and immersive tour de force that feels like a hybrid … Read more

Orville Peck

Bronco
Columbia (2022)

After 3 years, fringy-faced Country mystery-man, Orville Peck, is roaring back into the scene with his sophomore album, Bronco. In … Read more

Unsanitary Napkin

All Billionaires Are Bastards
AlwaysNeverFun, Limbless, Slimebag (2022)

My favorite Dutch swear words are “natte krant” (wet newspaper), “zak hooi” (bag of hay) while “pannekoek” (pancake) gets an … Read more

Cremation Lily

Dreams Drenched In Static
Flenser (2022)

It has been quite a journey for Zen Zsigo and Cremation Lily, a path defined by constant flux. It was … Read more

Beex

The Early Years: 1979-1982
Beach Impediment (2021)

The beak is a feature predominantly found in birds but not limited to. A beak could also be located on … Read more

Annie Jump Cannon

Flourishing Apart
No Sleep (2022)

Every 15-20 years there’s a revival. This time it’s emo and Annie Jump Cannon may be a modern 2022 band, … Read more

Browse our review archives

Review categories

200 Words Or Less

755 reviews

Book Review

43 reviews

Classic Album

25 reviews

Multiple Authors

300 reviews

Review

5052 reviews

Video/DVD Review

19 reviews

One from the archives

Era Bleak

Era Bleak
Dirt Cult (2020)

It’s really tough for me to review this full-length. Why? Because I loved the band’s demo tape and it’s really hard to separate the two releases. The self-titled official debut here has several of the same songs and, probably due to familiarity, they jump out as favorites from the get-go.But I’ll do what I can to go all tabula rasa on it.Era Bleak play…bleak punk. It’s anxious, frantic, and lost. It’s equal parts beaten down and resilient. It plays on an anxious state of mind while doubling as a fierce call to action. The lead video perfectly captures the tone: think ‘80s Cold War atmosphere plus ‘00s consumerism plus the orange menace. If that combination makes you feel claustrophobic, this may be a record for you. It pulls obvious influence … Read more

More album reviews

Signals Midwest

Dent
Lauren Records (2022)

Signals Midwest play punk with a lot of words. Words arranged in actual sentences, telling stories instead of using the lyrics for purely rhythmic and singalong purposes. Dent is their fifth album, and it’s the first I’ve personally reviewed even though I’ve followed the band from afar over the years. The lyrics are personal, but consistently positive in tone, which … Read more

GGGOLDDD

This Shame Should Not Be Mine
Artoffact (2022)

GGGOLDDD (formerly known as Gold) have always resisted fitting into a single mold. While their vision has hovered around an alternative and indie rock foundation, they have freely explored adjacent spaces. Electronic components were introduced, metallic elements have been applied and a punk-ish fervor would now and then rear its head. And this has resulted in some excellent works with … Read more

Jalang

Santau
Heavy Machinery Records, Ruin Nation Records (2021)

2020 saw the release of Pontianak, the debut album of Lài. One year later (this review is very late, don’t worry, I am fully aware it’s two years later already) Santau, the debut album by Jalang is released. But is it a debut album if Lài simply changed its name to Jalang? Considering it is the first album under this … Read more

Carthiefschool

Kenjimiyazawa
Transduction Records (2021)

Japanese based Carthiefschool formed in high school in 2016 and over these last 6 years or so have thrived in the Sapporo city underground scene. The 3 piece comprised of Tomoya Murosaki (guitar/vocals), Genki Tsusaka (bass) and Yudai Takasago (drums) have wasted little time recording as hot on the heels of their self titled debut album Carthiefschool released in February … Read more

Ghost

Impera
Loma Vista Recordings (2022)

Swedish theatrical rock outfit Ghost unleashed their fifth studio album entitled Impera at the beginning of March this year and for a little while the rock/metal community was saturated with interviews from Tobias Forge not to mention everyone and their dog were posting reviews of this new album. Sorry to be the one that prolongs this but I'm here to … Read more

Mad Brother Ward

Ugly Life
Ruined Records (2022)

Snarling, savage, sneering rabid dog on a thick chain lunging towards your soft neck in the area of your throbbing jugular. Spittle flies from the mouth of Mad Brother Ward as he foams and drools his venomous proclamation of an Ugly Life/I Just Wanna Die. For fans of Antiseen (Mad Brother Ward is the current guitarist), Confederacy of Scum, and … Read more

Sundown

Keep Moving
Wise Blood Records (2022)

It’s interesting that Sundown calls this record Keep Moving because, in many ways, it feels stuck in 2005. It’s a mix of melodic and chugging hardcore, with dual vocalists and two very different styles to breathe some extra life into it the format. At its best, Keep Moving recalls Avail while, at its worst, I’m brought back to those screamo … Read more

Mickey Leigh’s Mutated Music

Variants of Vibe
Wicked Cool Records (2022)

Hey Mickey you're so fine, You’re so fine you blow my mind Hey Mickey, Hey Mickey. “Do You remember lying in bed/ With the covers pulled up over your head/Radio Playing so no one can see”-Ramones I do remember getting my first cheap transistor army green radio and picking up on a local AM station that played the oldies/ goldies. … Read more

Swami John Reis

Ride The Wild Night
Swami (2022)

Rock ‘n’ roll is full of clichés. It pretty much has been one about 50 years now. And the many projects of Swami John Reis revel in these roots. Whether we’re talking about Rocket From The Crypt or Hot Snakes or Night Marchers, Reis has an ear for the concepts that are core to the style. But he has a … Read more

Loop

Sonancy
Reactor (2022)

The legends of old return! Loop were one of the visionaries acts of the late ‘80s, alongside other paragons like My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3. Despite their short-lived existence, Loop managed to shake the post-punk and indie rock scenes. Taking on many elements from the new wave lineage, Loop were not content with confinements. Their tools in escaping these … Read more

Oasis

Knebworth – Two Nights That Will Live Forever
Cassell Publishing (2021)

Indulging in the seductive lies of nostalgia often means that rough edges are taken from the brittle pages of the good old days, especially when it comes to stories emanating from the realm of rock’n roll and the self-congratulatory celebrations of each generations’ hey-days. However, no matter if you hold Oasis in high esteem or not, it was quite something … Read more

La Armada

Anti-Colonial, Vol. 2
Mal De Ojo Records (2022)

I’ve been reading about the atrocities in Ukraine as I listen to Anti-Colonial, Vol. 2. Let’s just say that every act of imperialism is unique but combining listening to this record definitely highlights the brutal impact when a state tries to conquer a people. This record isn’t just political hardcore. It seethes with anger and inherited trauma. It’s a fucking … Read more

Sum of R

Lahbryce
Consouling Sounds (2022)

Reto Mäder has always moved into the occult and mysterious spaces with his project, Sum of R. Since their inception, Reto Mäder has not been content in settling on a particular sound or scene. Instead, Sum of R have been roaming freely on many different aspects of dark, experimental music. Their initial outings through Utech records displayed that much. Doom … Read more

Radiohead

Kid A Mnesia: A Book of Radiohead Artwork
Canongate Books (2021)

Kid A was Radiohead’s fourth studio album, following the wildly successful OK Computer full-length, the wake of which found Thom Yorke and gang in a state that led them down a path culminating in a willingness to diverge from traditional rock music – not only musically but also as far as packaging and artwork is concerned, the latter of which … Read more

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