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)

Joy Division

Juvenes
Hachette Publishing (2021)

Chances are that if you dig underground music, you will harbour an appreciation for Joy Division and New Order. If you close your eyes and envision Ian Curtis and co in their heyday, chances are what will appear is a depiction that has been channelled through the lens of Kevin Cummins, a photographer that like no other depicted the band against the backdrop of their grimy home turf, i.e. industrial Manchester of the Thatcher-era. Cummins’ photos of Joy Division have been seared into the collective mind of popular culture. Juvenes was originally published in 2007 and has long been sought after, so it was high time for it to see an enhanced re-release director’s cut treatment, which is enriched with previously unseen contact sheets, embedded in essays and interviews along with additional details and previously unseen additions from Joy Division’s vault. Needless to say, the photographs are almost exclusively in black and white and while this monochrome approach could end up being a monotonous affair, the way Cummins captures not only the DNA of Joy Division but especially the composition and attention to detail paired with the fact that he was allowed into the inner sanctum of the band’s life, … Read more

The Muslims

Fuck These Fucking Fascists
Epitaph (2021)

Fuck These Fucking Fascists is the fourth full-length by the Muslims, and their first on Epitaph. As the name suggests, … Read more

Pop Icons

Prelude
Independent (2020)

The slack jawed audio sample that begins this EP sets a tone like many other humorous pop punk groups, a … Read more

Send More Paramedics

The Final Feast
Independent (2021)

When Send More Paramedics announced a brief reformation to play a handful of shows celebrating 20 years of reanimation no … Read more

Vacation

Existential Risks & Rewards
Salinas Records (2021)

I’ve been fighting the urge to just quote John Hoffman from when I interviewed another one of his bands, The … Read more

Book Review

Robby Krieger

Set the Night on Fire: Lying, Dying and Playing Guitar with The Doors
Hachette Publishing (2021)

Within the canon of American countercultural rock bands of the 1960s, there is hardly one that stands out more than … Read more

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One from the archives

Jukebox the Ghost

Let Live and Let Ghosts
The Rebel Group (2008)

Sometimes I think I take music too personally. I find myself judging others all too quickly when I hear their music tastes; it can make or break my impression of them. I'll give people a little bit of slack if their choices aren't really my thing, but other times the groups they list are so god-awful that I'm actually offended that they enjoy it. It's mostly the pointless derivative bands clogging up any already-too-full sub-genre that upset me, merely with the fact that they're allowed to play at all. But so goes my overly critical mindset. Anyway, Jukebox the Ghost was set up to fall not far from this stereotype. This young trio hails from Washington, DC, playing poppy and simple indie rock with heavy piano use. Seems like an … Read more

More album reviews

Znous

Znousland 3 EP
Independent (2021)

It took Znous exactly one year to release a new EP. You will not hear me complaining about this. Avid readers of this site will remember I was very fond of Znousland 2, which I discovered half a year after its release. I described the sound of this Tunisian band as a mix of modern metal bands (Sepultura and Ministry … Read more

Book Review

Oasis

Supersonic: The Complete, Authorised & Unabridged Interviews
Hachette Publishing (2021)

Despite having parted way more than twelve years ago, Oasis and the way they have diligently and borderline religiously channelled their Beatles worship continues to be one of the most influential British bands of all time. No matter if you were into what was labelled “Cool Britannia” in the 1990s or do not dig them, chances are that you do … Read more

Light Field Reverie

Another World
Avantgarde Music (2020)

I’m always on the prowl for dreamy music, especially metal. It’s harder to find things that fit that descriptor in the metal area too. After discovering sometime three or so years ago ISON, I somehow didn’t run into Light Field Reverie until earlier this year. My surprise arises from the fact that former ISON vocalist, Heike Langhans performs vocals on … Read more

Slow Crush

Hush
Church Road Records, Quiet Panic Records (2021)

Dennis: When browsing through new releases in my overflowing inbox I decided to go for Slow Crush. It is released on Church Road Records, a sympathetic new label and mentioned shoegaze, dream pop and indie rock. I may not have the deepest of knowledge on this genre, but enough to give you an honest opinion. To my surprise I was … Read more

Book Review

Tessa Norton & Bob Stanley

Excavate! The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall
Faber Publishing (2021)

When it comes to what is referred to as “post-punk” and repetitive-driven guitar sounds accompanied by tense, circular bass lines and grimy, otherworldly vocals with the an enigma of a frontman meandering through tropes of British magic realism that seemed to be fuelled in equal parts by uppers and downers, you cannot go past The Fall. After the untimely demise … Read more

Sincere Engineer

Bless My Psyche
Hopeless (2021)

Sincere Engineer, fronted by Deanna Belos, runs the emotional gamut with angry highs and desperate lows – often both within the same song. I kind of think of it as a female take on ‘90s emo: the songs are personal and introspective, searching for help through the downtimes. A difference being that most ‘90s emo was seeking validation while this … Read more

Barcelona Gipsy Balkan Orchestra

Nova Era
Satelite K Records (2020)

Nova Era is a sweet journey through the olden Balkan ethos that permeates this region, of which I also happen to be a part of. Of course, I have certain biases that will come to light through the course of this review, but do not let that discourage you from delving into these sounds in any way. Barcelona Gipsy Balkan … Read more

San Salvador

La Grande Folie
Music Development Company (2021)

There’s nothing like a good vocal driven ensemble am I right? Well, I don’t know about you but I find myself impressed to the highest degrees by such bands. It has to do at least partly with the steep mastery curve of the human voice as a musical instrument as well as its phenomenally unique tonal characteristics at an individual … Read more

Sofa

Source Crossfire
Constellation (2021)

The story of Sofa is interwoven with the rise of the Montreal experimental music scene. In the mid ‘90s Sofa made their first steps, staying within the underground and self-releasing a number of records. Their creative output found them moving all over the weird rock scene. From alternative and indie beginnings to post-hardcore and lo-fi implementations, Sofa has been cultivating … Read more

Partial Traces

Wild Surf/Quiet Blues
Salinas Records (2021)

Partial Traces play pop-inspired keyboard rock – but not at all the kind you imagine when you hear those words. In pop songs, the keyboard generally brings melodrama or atmosphere. In Partial Traces, those two ideas meet in the middle. It’s emotional and serious, but instead of dramatic, it’s tonal. It feels real and authentic, which largely comes from the … Read more

Bricheros

Live at Hensley
Snappy Little Numbers Quality Audio Recordings (2021)

I don’t know anything about Bricheros beyond what’s in the press sheet. Which has quite a bit of info, really, but in the spirit of due diligence, let’s just say I want a little more. The band plays Panic Button Records-style Ramones-core with a strong dose of Screeching Weasel. In fact, they cover both of those bands on side B. … Read more

Tomoko Omura

Branches Vol. 2
Outside In Music (2021)

Today we’re looking at one lovely record - it’s Branches Vol. 2 by Brooklyn based Japanese violinist and composer Tomoko Omura. Tomoko’s works span a fairly vast territory, encompassing areas from jazz, modal jazz, post-bop, Japanese folk, gypsy music, and fusion with varying musicians. Branches Vol. 2 is the physical and spiritual successor of Branches Vol. 1. I actually never … Read more

ONETWOTHREE

ONETWOTHREE
Kill Rock Stars (2021)

The hook on ONETWOTHREE is the band is comprised of three bassists. Which, actually, means there are a ton of hooks on this, their debut record. And now that I’ve hooked you with unnecessary wordplay, I’ll get on with things. But, really, it was the unique arrangement that first intrigued me. The lineup consists of Klaudia Schifferle (Kleenex/LiLiPuT), Madlaina Peer … Read more

Sweeth Teeth

Acid Rain EP
Lövely (2021)

If I tell you some band members from bands like Disfear, Dollhouse, Year Of The Goat, Tortyr and The Dontcares started a new band together, what kind of music would you expect to come out? Now, I don’t know every band from that list, but considering the bands I do know I would probably just frown a bit, because they … Read more

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