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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)

James Kennedy

Noise Damage: My Life as a Rock'n'Roll Underdog
Eye Books (2020)

Noise Damage is the personal account of James Kennedy on his trials and tribulations navigating his evolution and experiences with the music industry, which saw him rise, become revered and headhunted before the phonographic industry ultimately crashed and imploded.Familiarity with James Kennedy, his oeuvre or his band Kyshera is not a pre-requisite for being instantaneously drawn into the maelstrom that is Kennedy’s gripping story.There is no doubt that anyone remotely into making music would be able to relate to Kennedy hustling his way to critical acclaim, which is paved with grim incidents, back stabbings, exposure to shady characters and a life without any resemblance of stability.The fact that Kennedy finds a way to portray the ups and downs of his travails in an authentic manner without having to rely on gimmicky name dropping or outlandish hyperboles, adds depth and personality to his writings.Peppered with tongue-in-cheek witticisms, valuable lessons are being delivered without running danger of sounding self-righteous or holier-than-thou.An enjoyable, funny, emotional and painfully honest book that will appeal to both music enthusiasts as well as the uninitiated as it is an ode to magic of music and the way one’s life is enriched by it. Read more

Stiff Richards

State Of Mind
Drunken Sailor (2021)

I’m doing my damnedest not to judge this book by its cover, because Stiff Richards is far and away the … Read more

Good Friend

The Erin Rose EP
Red Scare Industries (2020)

And the prize for hardest to search for online bandname goes to Good Friend from Belfast. Nah, just kidding, I … Read more

Alex Ross

Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music
Harper Collins (2020)

Richard Wagner and his oeuvre cast a big shadow in every sense of the word.In a time and age where … Read more

Naedr

Past Is Prologue
Zegema Beach Records (2020)

Sometimes I just can’t remember how something got my attention in the first place. One such example is longboarding. I … Read more

Daydream

Mystic Operative
Dirt Cult (2020)

It’s refreshing when a band is hard to describe. As a review writer it’s certainly a challenge but sometimes it … Read more

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One from the archives

Blsphm

Horrors Of Heaven
Dead Accents (2012)

Dark and foreboding pieces of sound are more and more intriguing to me with their tense atmospheres, and blsphm took that same sound aspect and added a physical element in the form of an anti cassette (now, I know that this is not the first anti cassette, but seeing the anti cassette made me really think about and draw me into the idea of the project); after missing out on the Yama (the aforementioned Anti- cassette), I gobbled up Horrors Of Heaven and proceeded to wait with baited breath to have my soul demolished by something that I imagined would be bleak and devastating. Horrors Of Heaven is nothing like I imagined but everything that I hoped for from blsphm when its existence first registered with me, but rather the … Read more

More album reviews

Mark Mordue

Boy on Fire - The Young Nick Cave
Harper Collins (2020)

One cannot exactly claim that Nick Cave’s life and his oeuvre at large are being disregarded – au contraire, the interpretations and coverage of his emissions of the man, the myth, the legend is manifold. All the more interesting it is when a book emerges that tackles the life of Nick Cave through the deliberate effort of grinding a new … Read more

The Body

I’ve Seen All I Need To See
Thrill Jockey (2021)

Where to start with The Body? The duo has been creating harsh, noise-filled music for well over two decades and have a release schedule that is, frankly, terrifying to look at. The sheer number of albums, splits, EPs and stand-alone collaborations that The Body has produced is insane and the quality has remained consistently high considering. Chip King and Lee … Read more

Lucero

When You Found Me
Liberty & Lament (2021)

Lucero describe their music as “rock and soul,” which has evolved from countrified punk to horn-driven rock to balladry and a whole lot more. It’s a fitting and evolving term. Through it all one thing always shines through, which is the personal and heartfelt emotion that defines their songwriting. When You Found Me is predominantly a blend of guitar and … Read more

Orphanage Named Earth

Benefit for Sibir EP (feat. Gosia)
Sanctus Propaganda (2020)

Loads of venues are struggling to keep existing. Not being able to host shows is hurting them big time. A good thing bands like Orphanage Named Earth are stepping up for one such venue. Sibiř a cultural center in Brno, Czech Republic, which they know as they played there in 2018. Sibiř has hosted many DIY bands from all over … Read more

Fox Face

End Of Man
Dirtnap (2021)

It seems fitting that one of the first 2021 releases I’m reviewing is called End Of Man. A look at the news shows a world in crisis and, for deeper meaning, the common parlance is shifting away from gender specific language. So maybe Fox Face is saying men ruined the planet and we’re all gonna die. Maybe they are saying … Read more

Flea

Acid For The Children - The autobiography of Flea, the Red Hot Chili Peppers legend
Hachette Publishing (2019)

One would be hard pressed to find anyone remotely into alternative music that has not had an interlude with the ever-expanding oeuvre of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. With the band having had a turbulent history, each of the constituents contributed to what eventually became whole that is much bigger than its individual parts.One of the consistent motors and characters … Read more

The Kinks

Part 1. Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround (Deluxe 2CD)
BMG (2020)

Where do I being on reviewing a deluxe edition of a record that’s 50 years old? I’ll start by saying I’m never going to call a deluxe edition perfect -- because a lot of the records getting that treatment were damn near perfect to begin with. There’s definitely a place and audience for extra material; just note that it wasn’t … Read more

Kimono Drag Queens

Songs Of Worship
Copperfeast records (2020)

Look at that gorgeous and very colorful cover. Now tell me what type of music do you expect? This better be something psychedelic, right? I admit I picked this album for review based on the bandname (stuff like this makes me really curious) and the artwork.I expected something sunny and was not disappointed. This is the stuff that can be … Read more

Real Numbers

Brighter Then EP
Slumberland Records (2021)

Last year took a toll on many, many people. It was rough. It was angry. It was painful. And most art reflected that.Sometimes it’s necessary to take a deep breath, relax, and think about that feeling when the sun shines through the clouds. And that’s what Real Numbers sound like to me. The clean and pristine guitar tones really define … Read more

Debt Neglector

Bad Faith EP
Smartpunk Records (2020)

Debt Neglector put this new digital EP into the world in late 2020, in part to help raise funds for Fair Fight before the Georgia runoff elections. It has five songs, ending on an Elvis Costello cover.That intro is relevant because the songs on Bad Faith are highly political in nature, so it gives an added dimension. The EP also … Read more

Dikembe

Muck
Skeletal Lightning (2020)

Gainesville, FL’s Dikembe have been playing around the scene for quite a few years but I’ve never actually checked out their recorded material. I saw them back at Pre-Fest 6 and enjoyed it live but their brand of emo isn’t really my bag. It’s the kind of music that I find really impressive live but rarely moves me when listening … Read more

Too Many Voices

Catch Me if You Can
Division Street Records (2020)

A nice little seven song ep of mid-tempo and introspective punk rock for us dads in our late thirties. These guys seem to have been around for some time but are new acquintance for me. And a pleasant one too, when I want to listen to hardcore with some thought behind it but that isn’t full-blast in-your-face aggression.Don’t get me … Read more

The Lippies

Pop 'n' Lockdown EP
Red Scare Industries (2020)

I have to admit that I’ve heard a few songs by The Lippies in the past, but never sat down with their 2016 debut and absorbed it in any sense. This EP is kind of my introduction beyond a passing song here and there. And I enjoy it, though I doubt it’s the best first taste of the band given … Read more

Pitch & Bark

Two EPs: Nowhere Near Ohio & Father Hoxy
Bernlore Records (2020)

Elegant desert-shoe-gaze-rock from Santa Fe, New Mexico FFO Pigrow, Storming The Beaches With Logos In Hand and Father John Misty. The landscapes and artistry of Santa Fe, New Mexico comes through well on this older “post rock” cassette. The region’s Kokopelli imagery is a reminder to celebrate fertile land and the gift of life. Pitch & Bark seem to lock … Read more

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