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)

Portico Quartet

Monument
Gondwana Records (2021)

For whatever the reasons at play, the UK has a bristling jazz scene that’s rife with all sorts of amazing bands. The nu-jazz corner seems to be specifically prolific and forward thinking, embracing the limitless medium of electronic sounds. Portico Quartet are no strangers to experimentation, basically looking in a new direction over the course of each album. I had basically only praise to sing to their 2019 release, Memory Streams. It was a spectacularly smooth and free flowing collection of sounds which I catch myself revisiting fairly often. Having been a fan of the band for several years now, of course that I was very much looking forward to the band’s next record. I wasn’t particularly drawn in any way to the EPs we saw in the interim, Terrain and We Welcome Tomorrow. It just didn’t seem like things were going anywhere. It became obvious upon first contact with Monument that they sort of act like a bridge between Memory Streams and Monument. Monument, for all intents and purposes, picks up from where Memory Streams left, although leaning further and deeper into more atmospheric areas. Where the backbone of the tunes felt like it was firmly grounded in hypnotic … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Kanye West

Donda
Def Jam (2021)

In June 2020, Kanye began dropping breadcrumbs to hype an upcoming full-length. First, a single with Travis Scott accompanied a … Read more

Lars Frederiksen

To Victory
Pirates Press (2021)

When the pandemic first struck and musicians were stuck in their homes, this is exactly the kind of record I … Read more

Book Review

Warren Ellis

Nina Simone’s Gum
Allen & Unwin (2021)

Chewing gum is not the most distinguished habit to have, which is probably why I loved doing it in the … Read more

Nala Sinephro

Space 1.8
Warp (2021)

I’m a real sucker for any records that are themed somewhere in the vicinity of space/cosmos area of things. So, … Read more

Demonztrator

Sinister Forces Of Hatred
Ossuary Records (2021)

Sinister Forces Of Hatred is the second album from Helsinki-based thrash metal ensemble Demonztrator. Formed in 2016 as a covers … Read more

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One from the archives

Spires

Spires
Independent (2007)

200 Words Or Less

Spires hail from Oakland, CA and deliver a punishing blend of hardcore, metal, and grindcore, not unlike like The Number 12 Looks Like You and Pig Destroyer. But unlike most bands of this spectrum of music, Spires infuse their chaos with moments of melody, including post-rock inspired moments. The first track, "Burnt Offerings of a Poor Idea" is a perfect example of this. Over the remaining three tracks Spires continues to meld an interesting mixture of volatile grind/metal and more subdued rock moments. Spires are definitely an underdog band and in due time (with a proper full-length release and substantial touring) they have the necessary tools to achieve the success of their peers. Read more

More album reviews

Frontierer

Oxidized
Independent (2021)

So, here’s the new Frontierer. I’ll cut it as is right out of the gate – it’s a disappointment. I’ve seen the backlash at people criticizing the record, but they’re few in between and most seem to praise it to high heaven, which…is honestly mystifying to me – but – to each his own. I’ll level with all of you, … Read more

Sungazer

Perihelion
676832 Records DK2 (2021)

There aren’t a lot of modern bands that genuinely feel like they’re pushing music forward. One such example comes in the form of Sungazer. Sungazer is the brainchild of Adam Neely and Shawn Crowder. Some of you may know both of them from their respective YouTube channels, but for those of you that don’t, I highly recommend checking them out. … Read more

Pat Metheny

Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)
BMG (2021)

I’m inclined to believe that anyone even just vaguely familiar with the fusion area of jazz has heard of Pat Metheny. Practically one of the legends of the genre, there’s nothing I could really say here to aptly summarize Metheny’s nearly five-decade career, nor add. It’s pretty obvious that in such cases there’s no critique to pass, or rather, no … Read more

Postage

LP1
Dirt Cult (2021)

Most of the time when a review says something sounds familiar it’s meant as an insult. Well, Postage is a new band but it sounds familiar…in all the right ways. It strikes those comfortable, familiar tones of singalong punk. It’s influenced by the classics. And while it has these elements we know and love, it’s also just fresh enough that … Read more

Book Review

Paul Brannigan

Eruption: The Eddie Van Halen Story
Faber Publishing (2021)

I for one have always found it puzzling how anyone into rock music could not harbour at least a weak spot of appreciation for the charm of the unicum that was Van Halen as from late seventies until the mid-80ies they almost single-handedly restored hard rock to where it belonged, courtesy of David Lee Roth’s charisma and the virtuosic talent … Read more

Turnstile

Glow On
Roadrunner (2021)

It has only been a couple of months since I use a music app (other than Bandcamp). At first I was mad with it, as it was suggesting music I should like which was either total crap or so much unlike my taste that I thought someone else might be using my account. Anyway, one day this app suggested I … Read more

LLNN

Unmaker
PELAGIC RECORDS (2021)

How I missed this is beyond me. I am a fan of The Psyke Project and I knew that LLNN was formed by a few guys from The Psyke Project. I can not explain how Unmaker is the first LLNN album I heard. Not only is it LLNN’s third album, also it has been out for the world to hear … Read more

Neon Christ

1984
Southern Lord (2021)

Power Power of Power of Neon Power of Christ Power of Neon Christ Compels You! I cast you out! Your mother darns socks in Hell! Your mother is here. Would you like to leave a message? I’ll see that she gets it! I adorn my Crucifix on my horsehair and lath wall and point the saviors head north but inevitably … Read more

Benthos

II
Eclipse Records (2021)

I was absolutely stricken a couple months ago when I discovered Benthos. I can and also can’t understand how I managed to miss out on this band and how basically no one is talking about them. One of my best friends showed them to me and I knew I just had to listen to II until I’d grow to hate … Read more

Lyra Pramuk

Delta
Bedroom Community Records (2021)

It’s not often I run into a musical project like Lyra Pramuk’s. She is the kind of artist that did away with most of what conventions are, at least when it comes down to styles and labels. It is obvious that she has no regard for cookie-cutter/run of the mill/dime a dozen kinds of approaches to music. With an incredibly … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Hawk

Tolerance’s Paradox
Independent (2020)

Remember early/mid 00s metalcore? It was a great time for the genre. Among the plethora of bands that made some of their best stuff back then, we’ve got This or The Apocalypse, although arguably they stretched towards the end of the decade. So, what does that have to do with HAWK? Well, it’s one and the same band, basically. After … Read more

Heart & Lung

Twistin' The Knife Away
Red Scare Industries (2021)

Heart & Lung released their debut in 2017, then Red Scare reissued it last year, putting it on my radar. The band is from Cleveland, OH, playing melodic pop-punk with gruff moments. While the debut was fairly call-and-response in song structure, Twistin’ The Knife Away mixes up the songwriting quite a bit throughout its 11 songs. And, as that title … Read more

Sodom

M-16 (20th anniversary edition)
BMG (2021)

German thrash metal giants Sodom have released a 20th anniversary remastered edition of their tenth studio album M-16 (2001), unleashed in three formats: a glossy CD mediabook, 2 LP 180gm orange vinyl and a deluxe boxset. The CD and LP releases contain two previously unreleased live tracks "Remember The Fallen" and "Blasphemer" from Wacken 2001 as well as some exclusive … Read more

The Right Here

Northern Town
Rum Bar Records (2021)

Northern Town is a fitting title for this album. It feels like winter: cold, lonely, and daunting. It’s the third record from The Right Here, based in Minneapolis, MN, one of the northernmost cities in the continental US. The band play alt-country with punk undertones. The songs are a little more expansive than your standard punk thang, with more lament, … Read more

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