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Spanish Love Songs

Brave Faces Everyone
Pure Noise (2020)

I’ve known of Spanish Love Songs for a few years and I’ve liked what I heard in passing without diving in. When I saw them at Fest 18 last year and saw the crowd response, it confirmed it was time to pay closer attention. The band is familiar in style, something like The Gaslight Anthem or The Menzingers, with touches … Read more

Casual Burn

Mean Thing
HANDSTAND RECORDS (2019)

Imagine that your favorite modern hardcore band hopped into Doc Brown’s DeLorean and ended up in 1982. Upon arriving, they decided to start over and carry their same ferocious messages with the spirit of New Wave music percolating the airwaves at the time. Does that sound appealing? Then you’ll love Casual Burn’s most recent release, Mean Thing.The band has a … Read more

Wreath

Wreath EP
New Grenada (2020)

One era that continues to be emulated is the ambiguous brand of post-hardcore often dubbed Revolution Summer. Wreath burst onto the scene last year out of the hotbed of whiskey-soaked punk music that is central Florida, the latest to give their own interpretation of the style. Their newly released debut self-titled EP quickly shows off its colors as rooted in … Read more

Multiple Authors

Paradise Lost

Obsidian
Nuclear Blast (2020)

I don't think I'm the first metal critic to acknowledge that they haven't been keeping up with Paradise Lost as well as they should have over the years. I feel like this is a product of both my own evolution of interests, and frankly, Paradise Lost's overwhelming success over the years. They're hard to escape within metal certain circles, and … Read more

Multiple Authors

Paradise Lost

Obsidian
Nuclear Blast (2020)

The darkest colours of our world are reflected in the glistening surface of Paradise Lost’s music; the shining pain of loss, the radiant horror of a God who has abandoned us or the bitter twist of hopelessness, Paradise Lost know our fears and they shine a light on who we are and what our deepest secrets reveal about us. Obsidian … Read more

Barren Womb

Lizard Lounge
Loyal Blood Records (2020)

Barren Womb can hardly be accused of stagnation. Lizard Lounge, the fourth album by this hard working two-man band is again an interesting step further down the road. The band once started with a heavy Refused influenced framework on which they added whatever came to mind. The albums that followed showed slightly more focus, but Barren Womb kept writing songs … Read more

Spells

Stimulants & Sedatives
Snappy Little Numbers Quality Audio Recordings/Rad Girlfriend Records (2020)

Spells are party punk, pure and simple. And I’m not talking songs about beer and friendship, a la early Pkew Pkew Pkew or Andrew WK. Spells are the life of the party, not just songs about what goes down when the lights dim low.Stimulants & Sedatives is sort of a concept record – it has two sides on the vinyl … Read more

Wake

Devouring Ruin
Translation Loss (2020)

Wake started out as a grindcore act with a lot of Nasum influences. Nasum being one of my favorite grind bands that was never a big issue for me. It did not take very long to find a voice of their own though. The band added more and more sludge influences on each release. An odd combination, but it worked … Read more

Worriers

You or Someone You Know
6131 (2020)

If it weren’t for playing in a certain scene, Worriers would likely be branded as a pop band instead of punk. The band is DIY all the way, with a growing discography, plus a back catalogue of previous bands dating into the early 2000s. As the project has grown since debut Cruel Optimist, it’s shifted more and more pop in … Read more

Drakulas

Terminal Amusements
Dine Alone (2020)

Pre-album press releases for the latest Drakulas album pushed the “art-punk” label. Based on Drakulas’ earlier work, I got it – but I also thought it was a little bit off. They’ve always had elements of some deeper conceptual stuff going on, but it always felt too straight-forward and rollicking to me. Right or wrong, I associate art-punk as being … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Saint Vitus

Saint Vitus
Season of Mist (2019)

On paper, it’s really a miracle Saint Vitus was able to last as long as they did. The forefathers of what became “doom” started out in Los Angeles just a couple of years before the sunset strip exploded in a hail of spandex and aquanet. Surviving numerous lineup changes, this self titled opus features original vocalist Scott Reagers, who has … Read more

Ulcerate

Stare Into Death and Be Still
Debemur Morti Productions (2020)

Writing this review has been a long time in the making. Usually, sitting down and pressing play is enough to get some words flowing, however, Ulcerate are a unique experience and apparently so is the process of trying to explain why Stare Into Death and Be Still is so, so good. Much time has been spent on consuming the New … Read more

Mark Lanegan

Straight Songs Of Sorrow
Heavenly Recordings (2020)

Mark Lanegan didn’t set out to write a new album, but after finishing writing his memoir, Sing Backwards and Weep (Out now from Hatchette Books), the waves of catharsis were so strong, he returned to the studio to create what’s possibly his finest work to date.To call Sing Backwards... a cautionary tale would be meiotic to an almost laughable degree. … Read more

Hoi-Poi Farplane Wind

Sain’t Adorable
Nasty Cut Records (2020)

Hoi-Poi Farplane Wind hails from Thessaloníki, Greece, and apparently splits their time between there and Copenhagen, which is an arrangement that sounds like a travel blogger’s wet dream. They play an evolving brand of post-hardcore that often has a Hot Water Music influence standing front and center. Their early sound is fuzzier, harsher, an offhand shot at their own interpretation … Read more

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