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)

Teleplasmite

Frequency Is The New Ecstasy
House of Mythology (2017)

Another excellent release coming through the House of Mythology label, Teleplasmite is the brainchild of an unholy alliance between Mark O. Pillington, musician known from his work in Urthona and author publishing interesting countercultural and cryptic literature through Strange Attractor, and Michael J. York, expert in wind instruments and member/collaborator of the Guapo, Cyclobe, The Stargazer's Assistant and of course, the legendary Coil.The title of the record says it all: “frequency is the new ecstasy.” At the center of any sound lies a combination of frequencies, able to be decomposed into a number of singular sinewaves, providing the path to an ecstatic sensation through aural stimuli. This was a fact known by early minimalist experimenter and synthesis wizards, which ambient pioneers in the likes of Cluster, Tangerine Dream and Brian Eno, would later build their music around. For Teleplasmite, this is an escape to a meditative state, a way to examine reality as an illusion through experimental means, as the process by which the drones and mesmerizing percussion of the opening track craft a transcendental scenery.Trapped in this otherworldly sensation, the duo find themselves in a trajectory between the physical dimensions and their restriction, in “Gravity is the Enemy,” the … Read more

Frenzal Rhomb

Hi-Vis High-Tea
Fat Wreck Chords (2017)

It would be easy for the uninitiated to dismiss Frenzal Rhomb and throw them into the bucket of playful pop-punk … Read more

Dimmu Borgir

Forces of The Northern Night
Nuclear Blast (2017)

There’s no denying that Dimmu Borgir come from a solid black metal background but what these Norwegian’s have done in … Read more

Spelling Reform

No One’s Ever Changed
Black RD Records (2016)

This was a tough nut to crack. Wow! Why, you ask? Well, this is way out of my comfort zone. … Read more

Slowdive

Slowdive
Dead Oceans (2017)

Why do bands or musical partners decide to reconvene to see if the magic can still be conjured? There a … Read more

Great Cynics

Posi
Specialist Subject Records (2017)

Calling their fourth record Posi is an interesting statement about Great Cynic’s vibe across the 11-song, half-hour record. From lyrics … Read more

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One from the archives

Looking Up

Looking Up
Panic (2006)

Your mom probably told you one or two billion times in your life that you should never judge a book by its cover. She also might have told you that the first impression you make is a lasting one. Sometimes, even moms can be wrong. Take Lawndale, CA's Looking Up for example. If one came across this CD in the store and saw the black and white images of dead Civil War soldiers on a barren field, one might think that Looking Up is either a grindcore or screamo - the old screamo not the MTV variety screamo - band. It's the type of layout one would relate with a grindcore and screamo band. If you actually bought the CD and listened to the first song, the first impression might … Read more

More album reviews

Ian William Craig

Slow Vessels
Fat Cat (2017)

The classically trained Ian William Craig released in 2016 one of the best experimental works of the year in Centres. Applying ample processing to his vocals, in effect enhancing the performance, he created an adventurous record without tempering with the underlying emotion. Today he returns with Slow Vessels, a long EP, which extends the concepts of Centres in a very … Read more

Flobots

No Enemies
Independent (2017)

pro·testnounˈprōˌtest/A complaint, objection, or display of unwillingness usually to an idea or a course of action.It's been 5 long years since Flobots released their 2012 effort Circle in the Square. Normally that wouldn't be such a long stretch of time, but given all that's happened within that time frame, it seems like eons since Brer Rabbit, Jonny 5 and Kenny … Read more

Svart Crown

Abreaction
Century Media (2017)

Blackened death metal requires a complex formula. It is not a hybrid state between black and death metal, where 50% of each individual component will give you the appropriate result. Svart Crown belongs in the few bands that understand how to get his sound right, and they have been traveling this distance since their debut album, Ages of Decay, came … Read more

Video/DVD Review

Cult of Luna

Years In A Day
Indie Recordings (2017)

Years in a Day, a Live DVD/CD combo, is the latest release from Sweden’s Cult of Luna. A DVD featuring a 13-song live performance and two live CDs, each with 7-song performances, are included. Intense photographic artwork and thorough visual coverage of their live set make this release a special experience and a physical release that will highlight any collection. … Read more

Western Addiction

Tremulous
Fat Wreck Chords (2017)

Has it really been 12 years since Cognicide? Well, Western Addiction are back with another single word, make-you-think album title in Tremulous. They may have skipped releasing records for the entire Obama presidency (plus some), but the band didn’t mellow with age.Tremulous is 11 songs of melodic hardcore. Led by Chad Williams’ power drumming, Williams punctuates the sound while the … Read more

The Slackers

Redlight (20th Anniversary)
Pirates Press (2017)

Has it really been twenty years since this album made its way out into the world? Time does fly by when you are living life, but Redlight does not sound like a two decade old record in the least bit; the Slackers still sound down right in the moment with their second album and that in it of itself is … Read more

Oxbow

Thin Black Duke
Hydra Head (2017)

I first saw Oxbow perform live back in 2007. The band has just released their then new album, The Narcotic Story, and the experience was simply beyond words. I was not familiar with their back catalogue and they completely stunned me, apart from the vocalist methodically removing his items of clothing through the show, was their radical take on rock … Read more

Planning For Burial

Below The House
Flenser (2017)

Would you rather a musician be great live commanding all manner of powers that conjure spirits and whisk the entire gathering to a place of other or of temporary enlightenment, or would you rather that same musician be a paragon of studio craft, wielding instruments like a paintbrush and the studio like a canvas?I was standing on the side of … Read more

Pharmakon

Contact
Sacred Bones (2017)

Back in 2014, Margaret Chardier came face to face with a life-threatening situation, which inspired her new record at the time, Bestial Burden. As was the case with her third record, her previous works were dealing with the human experience, the disconnect between mind and body, and the notion of one's mind being trapped inside their body. A young veteran, … Read more

L.A. Takedown

II (2017)
Ribbon Music (2017)

You don’t need to have been to Los Angeles to best experience L.A. Takedown’s latest album, II. It’s an album that’s evocative of a time and place, though it’s one that may or may not exist. The fact that it’s almost entirely instrumental (save for some lightly sprinkled vocoder in its final moments) doesn’t provide any concrete evidence. It’s an … Read more

Jim and the French Vanilla

Afraid of the House
Dirtnap (2017)

Jim and the French Vanilla is the solo moniker for Jim Blaha, guitarist in The Blind Shake, a band with have several of their own releases, as well as collaborations with notables like Michael Yonkers and John Reis. This is his third “French Vanilla” release, but the first with true distribution and also the first to feature a full band.There … Read more

The Tossers

Smash the Windows
Victory (2017)

The term “Irish punk” sprung up in the late ‘90s around the time Flogging Molly jumped into the spotlight and in the waning days of ska-punk. A new hyphen was needed for those into punk aggression and hybrid genres.I’ve always had a soft spot for violins, mandolins and other instrumentation common in the style. While time and more and more … Read more

Travoltas

Until We Hit the Shore
White Russian Records (2017)

Reunions make me cringe. I’ll just say it like it is. I dislike reunions. A lot. I am always afraid a band will ruin their legacy. Or at the very least it will feel different. This is most likely due to the fact I’m a different person than I was when I listened to a band first. New material just … Read more

Dag Rosenqvist & Matthew Collings

Hello Darkness
Denovali (2017)

There is a familiarity that builds when musicians collaborate. Experimental alchemists, Dag Rosenqvist and Matthew Collings have met in the past to produce the wonderful Wonderland EP, released in 2012 as part of Hibernate's collaboration series. Their new record together, Hello Darkness, produces a more distinct and complete end result of what their combined musical vision is. At first glimpse … 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)