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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)

Every Time I Die

Hot Damn!
Ferret (2003)

Every Time I Die has always been one of those bands that I thought were absolutely wretched. Surprise, nothing has changed. Songs like "I Been Gone A Long Time", feature some of the most terrible singing I have ever heard. With it's hardcore meets rock and roll feel that feels like Scissorfight at times, only twelve times worse. His vocals go from straight up screaming into some really bad nu-metal crooning, especially apparent in the line "If I could only make it make you want to want me." The fact that for the breakdown of this song they actually have the audacity to use a cowbell sickens me. The song actually fades out and doesn't have a definitive ending, which feels way too odd for the third song of this ten track cd. Although I can't stand 90% of this record, I actually didn't mind one track. "In the Event That Everything Should Go Terribly Wrong" is an instrumental track that wasn't all that bad. You don't have to deal with any terrible attempts at melodic singing or bad screaming. There is some "singing" going on that more or less doesn't sound like words and just is used as in … Read more

Every Time I Die

Hot Damn!
Ferret (2003)

It's a rare thing when the title of a band's record suits that record perfectly, but Every Time I Die … Read more

Stylex

False Start
Action Driver (2003)

Electroclash seems to be a genre that died as soon as it was conceived, but that doesn't mean that all … Read more

Stylex

False Start
Action Driver (2003)

One of Toledo, OH's most exciting young bands, Stylex, has graced us with a new EP by the name of … Read more

The Sawtooth Grin

Cuddlemonster
Dead By 1918 (2004)

Imagine being woken up to find yourself being eaten by hundreds of rats and a few flesh eating bacteria. At … Read more

The Sawtooth Grin

Cuddlemonster
Dead By 1918 (2004)

The only thing that kept repeating in my head the entire time I listened to this record was "Wow, the … Read more

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One from the archives

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 of singer Mark E. Smith in 2017, it was about time for an ode to the legacy of a this idiosyncratic band and its impact at large, which Excavate! does justice to not merely by biographically chronicling The Fall’s history, but approaching the subject matter from a myriad of angles with essays from seemingly unrelated fields, which all contribute to a whole that is much more than the mere sum … Read more

More album reviews

The Sawtooth Grin

Cuddlemonster
Dead By 1918 (2004)

The Sawtooth Grin are quite the listen. From the first track, you are thrown into a whirlwind of grind, fronted with a singer that has, quite possibly, the most annoying scream in the world. That scream though is like that one guy you meet and you really don't like him at first. Then you go out one night, he gives … Read more

Brandtson

Death and Taxes
Deep Elm (2003)

Brandtson has always been a guilty pleasure type band. I have the Letterbox and Dial In Sounds CDs and listen to them from time to time. When I got the promo for this ep, I checked it out almost immediately. This cd was like a videogame that is alright but has so much shit to unlock it just gets tedious. … Read more

Brandtson

Death and Taxes
Deep Elm (2003)

Part of me says it's not Brandtson's fault. They formed way back in 1996, and as such, are quite possibly the last of these so-called "emo" bands left that hasn't broken up, gotten picked up by a major, or enjoyed some moderate degree of success. But part of me says fault or not, there's no excuse for a record being … Read more

Inventing Edward

We've Met An Impasse (By Midnight We'll Be Naked)
Substandard (2003)

This CD was suggested to me by staff member Robby. I put off listening to it for a day. Really bad decision. Featuring a handful of members from Under A Dying Sun, this is not the type of band you would expect. Atmospheric, almost haunting guitars, female vocals, spoken word, this CD has it all. The first spoken word track, … Read more

Inventing Edward

We've Met An Impasse (By Midnight We'll Be Naked)
Substandard (2003)

Prior to listening to this album, having seen Inventing Edward twice, I thought I had a pretty decent idea what the band was going for: minimalist soundscapes, brooding vocals and a fine balance between loud and soft. Inventing Edward presents these elements on We've Met an Impasse (by Midnight We'll be Naked), however the delivery lacks the rawness and excitement … Read more

Hot Cross

Cryonics
Level Plane (2003)

A new record from Hot Cross. I was so giddy to get my hands on this promo. Unfortunately, the giddyness wore off while listening to it. There are some good tracks on this record but their new approach to melodic singing killed this record. "Pretty Picture of a Broken Face" is, without a doubt, the worst song ever recorded by … Read more

Hot Cross

Cryonics
Level Plane (2003)

"It's the band that has the singer from Saetia in it", was the first thing I heard about Hot Cross. Later I also heard it contains ex-members of Neil Perry and Joshua Fit For Battle, but being a huge fan of Saetia I immediately was forced to check this new all star screamo band. The first thing I noticed was … Read more

Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Master and Everyone
Drag City (2003)

I am not one who can sit down and listen to a record that is just acoustic guitar and vocals. Call me shallow but, playing in Symphony Orchestras and the such has made me a sucker for instrumentation. The closest I come to such minimalistic music is Songs: Ohia's Didn't It Rain and some of the older Against Me! stuff. … Read more

Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Master and Everyone
Drag City (2003)

Four years ago to the present, record players everywhere have played the last note of "Raining in Darling," the final song on Will Oldham's Bonnie "Prince" Billy record, I See a Darkness. As his record burped and scratched to its end, newly-anointed or long-time fans of Will Oldham have eagerly awaited his return which would once again, hopefully, take us … Read more

Cave In

Antenna
RCA (2003)

Yes folks, this band is the same Cave In that released Beyond Hypothermia and played metal. Yes avid readers, this is the same Cave In that played space rock and released Jupiter. But the music that graces this compact disc isn't metal or space rock, but instead radio friendly rock music with nebula inspired riffage. At this rate Cave In … Read more

Cave In

Antenna
RCA (2003)

This is one of the many albums of 2003 that I love but am also dissapointed with. Cave In have managed to write numerous catchy, commercial rock songs without deviating from their style too much. I'm not saying 'catchy/commercial' with a negative connotation, this is a good album. However, I can't move past Jupiter. That album was brilliant, and they … Read more

Cave In

Antenna
RCA (2003)

If you have not heard Cave In yet, you are obviously living under a rock. That or you are just really stupid. Starting out playing "metal-core" in '95 or so, they have had one of the most obvious sound changes a band could ever have. It started with Creative Eclipses EP back in '99. It continued on and evolved with … Read more

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists

Hearts of Oak
Lookout! (2003)

I can always tell how much I will spin an album following its first listen. That feeling I had after listening to Hearts of Oak was immeasurable. "The Ballad of the Sin-Eaters" is a song that will instantly make you shake your ass and shout the words even though you don't know them yet because you're listening to it the … Read more

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists

Hearts of Oak
Lookout! (2003)

Wanna have fun? Wanna dance? Want a record that can be, not only enjoyable to listen to, but the perfect record that can still be fun, even when you aren't paying much attention to it? Well this record is it. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists have followed up their 2001 full length, Tyranny of Distance with Hearts of Oak, a … 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)