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)

Various Artists

...And Out Come The Lawsuits
Lavasocks Records, Sell The Heart Records (2021)

Rancid’s 1990s catalog is a unique beast. It’s Clash-influenced street punk. On paper it sounds highly derivative, but its heart always shined through making it stand out in a hard to quantify way. Tim Armstrong’s songwriting is the foundation, but it’s his one-of-a-kind drawl paired with Lars Frederiksen’s vocal tradeoffs that makes it shine. It’s also why I was leery of a covers album of the 1995 …And Out Come The Wolves record. Can other bands replicate the original emotional depth or will it just sound like verse-chorus-verse going through the motions? To add to the challenge, there are 19 tracks here, which is a lot of different voices to pile into a single-concept compilation and have it feel cohesive. I’m very surprised to say this tribute works. The artist selection and curation, of course, plays a big role, but it’s also a testament to the original songwriting. For the most part, the bands add subtle twists to the originals without major reworks. There are a few genre changeups -- some work, some do not -- but most are fitting. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to say adding more ska to a Rancid song is a winning formula and, … Read more

Bulletproof

Dynamite
Ossuary Records (2021)

Bulletproof started out as a band in 2017, playing the underground bar scene in their native Argentina. After a while … Read more

Antinode

The Canary That Named The Stars
Independent (2021)

I’m always up and ready for some good prog, especially when we’re looking at a concept piece. I’m tempted to … Read more

//LESS

Useless EP
Independent (2022)

Returning readers might have noticed I like to be able to hear the bass guitar. It is an instrument that … Read more

Book Review

Jennifer Otter-Bickerdike

You Are Beautiful and You Are Alone
Allen & Unwin Publishing (2021)

1966 saw the first incarnation of Velvet Underground serenaded by the deep alto wails of Nico and resulting in more … Read more

Persefone

metanoia
Napalm (2022)

I remember discovering Persefone, and their, then, newest album, Spiritual Migration. It was an insanely hot summer day in the … Read more

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One from the archives

Deicide

The Stench of Redemption
Earache (2006)

My only beef is with God. I wake up every day, I curse Him every day, because there is only on person who's responsible for the life I fucking have and that's the bastard who created us. I fucking hate Him. - Glen Benton Oh Glen, you rapscallion, you. You're not fooling anyone with that inverted-cross branded on your forehead. We all know you don't mean it - that it's all a gimmick. Right? Not fucking likely. If there has been anyone in music that's more devoted to promoting his or her beliefs than Glen Benton, please step forward. Not so fast, King Diamond. Make-up washes off. Scars are forever. There have been many incarnations of Deicide over the years. Some of them good; some not so much. The Stench … Read more

More album reviews

Forever Unclean

Best
Hidden Home Records (2022)

It’s a tough to summarize Forever Unclean in a neat little genre-name. It’s punk rock, but with elements of ‘90s alt rock, screamo and more. It’s short and concise, energetic and uplifting, yet unpredictable and far more complex than your average 3-chord beentheredonethat. The music is driving but varied: guitar-driven with sing-shouted vocals and lots of surprising-but-not-jarring shifts along the … Read more

Burial

Antidawn EP
Hyperdub (2022)

There is no question that Burial is one of the pivotal artists of the current era. The electronic musician from London has taken on a transformative journey through the landscape of post-dance music. Techno beats, garage sensibilities, early dubstep notions and far out ambient leanings are melted together through a unique kaleidoscopic vision. It is an evolution that has occurred … Read more

Mace

Beef
Richter Scale (2021)

I doubted about reviewing this, but decided to do so anyway. I doubted about it as this is a re-release and I don’t want to make a habit out of reviewing those. This leads to an interesting time-line: this album is recorded in 2017, released on vinyl in 2019 and re-released on tape in 2021. And in 2022 I finally … Read more

Kataan

Self-Titled
Prosthetic (2021)

I only paid any attention to the news that there’s a new band called Kataan, coming with a self-titled debut EP only because of their connection to Astronoid. Kataan is a duo comprised of Brett Boland (Astronoid vocalist and rhythm guitarist) and Nicholas Thornbury (former vocalist and guitarist for Vattnet). Having a lot of love for Astronoid I decided to … Read more

Theo Young

Tales From The Inland Sea
Independent (2022)

I don’t get to say this every day, but one of my favorite indie artists dropped new material after basically seven years of radio silence. My entire body lit up with excitement when I saw in my inbox that Theo Young is releasing a new album. Shadowplay, his debut EP, was something I had on heavy rotation a few years … Read more

BÖRN

Drottningar Dauðans
Iron Lung (2022)

It seems like genre definitions change based on the era. I swear people were calling Sonic Youth post-punk for a while, but nowadays the tag seems to apply to a dystopian style with distant-emotionless vocals. Of course, genre is a tricky beast. It’s often useful for description and concept, but some artists fall into the trap a little too deep. … Read more

The Carvels NYC

In Real Life b/w Feelin’ Stabby
Independent (2021)

The Carvels NYC still exist! And from what I heard it is only thanks to perseverance from their side. Like so many others the band saw plans fall apart due to Covid. They gave that a positive twist with Live At The Cutting Room. Unfortunately more disappointments followed. I can only admire a band that isn’t willing to throw in … Read more

Book Review

Patrick Mackie

Mozart in Motion - His Work and His World in Pieces
Allen & Unwin (2021)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is widely portrayed as a self-contained musical genius, a prodigy that effortlessly managed to pump out an endless array of masterworks. What makes Patrick Mackie’s book on Mozart an intriguing piece of the literary canon of Mozart is that it offers insight on his worldly dealings, his writing process, the rehearsals, negotiations, travels, et cetera. Mozart in … Read more

Sonata Arctica

Acoustic Adventures: Volume One
Atomic Fire Records (2022)

Finnish melodic metal quintet Sonata Arctica started out in the mid 90s as hard rock band Tricky Beans releasing 3 demos under that guise before changing their name to Tricky Means a year later and going down a more power metal route than before taking influence from bands such as Stratovarius. Their first demo as Tricky Means, Full Moon, was … Read more

The Copyrights

Alone In A Dome
Fat Wreck Chords (2021)

It’s been so long since The Copyrights put out an album that I kind of forgot they’re still active: seven years, according to the press release. But they’ve had a lot going on in that time (haven’t we all), dealing with personal and family issues and such. They returned last year with a big new record though, titled Alone In … Read more

Soup

Visions
Crispin Glover Records, Glassville Music (2021)

My first contact with Soup was somewhere in late 2020 towards early 2021, so it hasn’t been long since I’ve been following the band. I was really taken with Remedies, falling in love with the epic post rock passages and the sweet and easy-going delivery of the rest of the elements. Not long ago we got a follow up to … Read more

The Carvels NYC

I Want You Around b/w My Little Troll
Independent (2021)

The Carvels NYC released a little single for the holiday season. I know that the season is already over, but this single still deserves to get a little attention from you. So pay attention! On the A-side of this single we find “I Want You Around”. The name might sound familiar. This is a cover of one of their influences: … Read more

Be’lakor

Coherence
Napalm (2021)

I’ve been trying for years to get into Be’lakor. A lot of friends and acquaintances liked to throw their name around as a solid recommendation for prog death. I just couldn’t buy into it for whatever reasons. I firmly believe that Coherence is the record which finally sold me on the band. Be’lakor amassed quite a following, with a steady … Read more

Naked Raygun

Over The Overlords
Wax Trax! Records (2021)

Rather than delve into the history books and deep cuts of Naked Raygun’s discography, I’m mostly going to focus on the present in this take on Over The Overlords, Naked Raygun’s latest -- and their first full-length since 1990 (their sixth overall). The heavily influential Chicago band was born in 1980, disbanded in 1991, and been in semi-active reunion mode … Read more

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