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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

Dinosaur Pile-up

Celebrity Mansions
Parlophone (2019)

Celebrity Mansions, the fourth album by the UK’s Dinosaur Pile-Up, has been like finding a needle in a haystack for me. I’m not good at looking for new music and I feel that it gets harder as I find more grey in my beard, especially finding music that is actually good and/or listenable. Maybe my standards are getting too high? … Read more

Euglossine

Psaronius
Orange Milk Records (2020)

Created using a combination of physical instruments and various synthesized elements, it wasn’t particularly surprising for me to learn that one of the major concepts behind Gainsville, Florida-based musician Euglossine’s Psaronius (a name which could refer to either a type of prehistoric tree fern or a kind of precious stone) was recreating familiar objects through the use sound. This album … Read more

Rotting Out

Ronin
Pure Noise (2020)

Back in March, I attended a stop on the American Nightmare "reunion" tour, celebrating twenty years since they self-booked their first show at a church in Maine. While I still remain loyal to my wheelhouse of early- to mid-2000s hardcore, I hadn’t been to a show in nearly a decade. What I found there was somewhat expected yet still disheartening … Read more

Ditches

Ditches
Drunken Sailor (2020)

Am I going to be able to review this record without comparing Ditches to Marked Men? Clearly not, but I made it 14 words. This debut album from Stockholm’s Ditches bears a lot of similarity to that band. Given how good that band was, I’m not sure that’s a knock against them. Besides the sonic similarities, the record was also … Read more

Talk Me Off

Cursed
Smartpunk Records (2020)

There’s a lot to like on Cursed, the debut full-length by Richmond, VA’s Talk Me Off. But as much as I enjoy the structures, the vocal tradeoff, and the political urgency, I just can’t get over the vocals on this record. They just feel flat and robotic at key moments, which is ironic for a band named Talk Me Off.This … Read more

Gaahl's Wyrd

GastiR - Ghosts Invited
Season of Mist (2019)

Kristian Eivind Espedal, otherwise knows as Ghaahl has been a polarizing fixture on the Norwegian Black Metal scene since the mid 90s, fronting bands such as Gorgoroth and God Seed. In the nine years fronting Gorgoroth, Gaahl helped to create some the most vicious and brutal darkness in the genre without ever really straying from the true Norwegian style.But Gaahl’s … Read more

Katatonia

City Burials
Peaceville (2020)

Katatonia are one of the most well loved and revered bands of today and while the wait for new music since The Fall of Hearts in 2016 has been a little longer than the usual cycle for the Swedish band – they announced a hiatus after this record was released - they have not been resting in that time, rather … Read more

Book Review

Mark Lanegan

Sing Backwards and Weep
hachette Book Group (2020)

“If I was honest, there was nothing but shame in the way I lived my life. I was nothing if not an abject failure, a fucking shitbag liar, a junkie loser if ever there was one”.Sing Backwards and Weep, the memoir of musician Mark Lanegan is a raw, honest portrayal of addiction with not a hint of poetry or hyperbole … Read more

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