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M.I.A.

Arular
XL Recordings (2005)

Superfluous. If I could describe the music press' fawning over female Sri-Lankan/British emcee M.I.A. in a single word, that would be it. This excessive praise for a new artist is not unique to her, of course. In 2004, it was Franz Ferdinand. In 2003, it was the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. To be honest, M.I.A.'s Arular does not live up to … Read more

Enola Grey

Cabal
Feeling Faint (2005)

Beginning a band is no easy task, there are many pressures involved with the entire process. Those pressures intensify when you're coming from a previous band that was considered to be fairly popular; it's a double-edged sword. You're pretty much ensured free exposure and publicity based on the fact that the new project gets the "ex-members of..." tagline. But with … Read more

Big Business

Head for the Shallow
Hydra Head (2005)

In the late 80's and early 90's, Seattle was the place for any musician to be. A brief yet socially relevant counterculture was spawned, not too dissimilar to punk in the early 80's. The movement, being simply music or something more, had no name but was knighted "grunge" by the media. Much of the music was dirty, aggressive, brooding, and … Read more

Paint It Black

Paradise
Jade Tree (2005)

CVA was fucking perfect. Naysayers beware: I am willing to defend that position. A hardcore supergroup of sorts (combining members of The Curse, Kid Dynamite, Lifetime, and Good Riddance), Paint It Black released one of the best melodic hardcore albums I've ever heard. I'm a sucker for melody and I'm a sucker for speed. They combined them with such precision … Read more

Transistor Transistor

Erase All Names and Likeness
Level Plane (2005)

It's not very often these days one gets the opportunity to use the phrase "This brings the ROCK" without sounding like some kind of crotch grabbing throwback Darkness fan. If you miss (or totally missed out on) the days when Iggy Pop mocked Hells Angels while boasting about the size of his "Johnson," Dinosaur Jr. consuming more green than Cheech … Read more

Hank Jones

Saturdays of Thunder
Undecided (2005)

An album cover with a skull, blood streaks and three fingers makes the viewer think of death, violence, periods and the very impolite action of pointing. In the hardcore scene this is all very cliché, although the fingers are a territory not plundered yet. Instead of surprising the viewer, now the listener, Saturdays of Thunder is filled with very mundane … Read more

Daft Punk

Human After All
Virgin (2005)

Considering the phalanx of albums due for release, and with previous offering Discovery bringing all the musical vision and ingenuity of a series of polyphonic ring-tones, Human After All found itself rated rather low on my list of desires and expectations for the first half of 2005. Being honest, I expected absolutely nothing of real musical value from this album, … Read more

Fingers Cut, Megamachine

Fingers Cut, Megamachine
Thick (2005)

Osker was well known as being the most hated band on Epitaph in their brief stint as a band. Being roughly around the age of 18 when their final album, Idle Will Kill came out, they managed to release a pop-punk masterpiece having hardly entered adulthood. Now Devon Williams, lead singer/songwriter of Osker, is back in the spotlight some odd … Read more

Lucero / Loggia

Split 7
Soul is Cheap (2005)

This is the kind of split 7" I like to see. On one side you have Lucero, a Memphis band who have recently gained a lot of popularity. They have a style that is as equally influenced by Jawbreaker as it is by Waylon Jennings. They constantly are on tour, put out records on large indie labels, and have drawn … Read more

Ryan Adams

Cold Roses
Lost Highway (2005)

The name Ryan Adams has become synonymous with the word "prolific," but not so much with the words "genius" and "brilliant"- those are thrown around by hardcore fans and earnest publicists. After releasing five full-length albums in a span of four years, his debut, Heartbreaker, still undeniably remains his best record to date, but he is far from regressing to … Read more

Pride Kills

Deep in the Heart
Thorp (2005)

I was having a conversation the other day with a close friend. We were discussing music, as we normally do, and I started quoting some lyrical excepts from Deep in the Heart. He chuckled and told me that he thought it was kind funny that I listen to "all those tough guy bands," and yet I am such a nice … Read more

Team Sleep

Team Sleep
Maverick (2005)

When I was 15, I remember thinking Korn was the greatest band on the face of the earth. I was angry. I was rebellious. I felt alienated just like Jonathan Davis. But in all fairness, Limp Bizkit was a close second. And while bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit refused to change their nu-metal riffs, and their "Are you ready?" … Read more

Blue Monday

Rewritten
Bridge Nine (2005)

Let's face it, most hardcore bands don't have it in them to do a "full length" and if they do, it's usually a couple of really good songs with some filler to get it up to the half hour mark. Thankfully, Blue Monday do not fall into this category with their newly released Rewritten. The first thing fans of the … Read more

The Warriors

War is Hell
Eulogy (2004)

Three months back I attempted to review War is Hell, but something more pressing came up to displace the debut full-length from The Warriors from atop my review pile. On occasion after occasion, I passed over reviewing the album in favor of something else. Then, last week I took in a show that The Warriors happened to be playing and … Read more

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