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Flotsam and Jetsam

No Place For Disgrace 2014
Metal Blade (2014)

I can remember very clearly when I first heard of Flotsam and Jetsam. As a young hesher growing up outside of Vancouver, Canada in 1986, some bands were on my radar and some were not. Flotsam and Jetsam were the latter. Until the end of that year, when I heard that their bassist, a certain Mr. Jason Newsted had left … Read more

Giorgio Moroder

Deja Vu
RCA (2015)

I admit it: arguably the guiltiest of my guilty pleasures is Euro disco, a genre which found (sometimes quite dubiously-talented) European musicians exaggerating the basic tenets of '70s dance music to the point of near-absurdity. Hard as it is to resist the infectious but undeniably cheesy keyboard lines in many of the genre's songs though, it also would be difficult … Read more

Daniel Menche & Mamiffer

Crater
Sige (2015)

In 2014 Mamiffer, the project of Faith Coloccia, released Statu Nascendi, which was described as a transitional album, leading to the next full-length the band would eventually release. Statu Nascendi definitely felt like an album of change, with Coloccia and collaborator Aaron Turner stepping further into the realms of minimalism and drone. It might still be a while until The … Read more

Basement Benders

Lydiad
No Idea (2015)

Side projects aren’t supposed to invite other band comparisons, they’re supposed to separate, to show artisticrange. Who are we kidding here? Basement Benders is a punk project out of members of This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb, Hidden Spots, Future Virgins, and Black Rainbow—DIY bands who live the scene, meaning that being themselves and having fun with friends probably outweighs … Read more

The Great Tyrant

The Trouble With Being Born
Relapse (2015)

In the time before Pinkish Black there was The Great Tyrant. The latest album of Pinkish Black came out a few days back, establishing them as one of the more interesting experimental acts out there, encompassing psychedelia, post-punk and new wave influences, a blackened perspective and even a doom approach. Their first, self-titled album was released through Handmade Birds, but … Read more

Dilly Dally

Sore
Partisan Records (2015)

Dilly Dally is a four-piece rock band from Toronto who describes themselves as “#softgrunge” on their Facebook page - I'm not sure how serious it is, but it seems to be relatively accurate (and in a good way, believe it or not!) Their debut Sore gives me two things I’ve been looking for in modern-day rock: (1) more girl rock … Read more

Extinction A.D.

Faithkiller
Good Fight (2015)

Extinction A.D. rose like hellfire from the rubble of the, now listless, Long Island hardcore outfit This is Hell. In a rare move, the entire musical backing of This is Hell packed up and moved into the world of thrash, leaving the band’s lead vocalist in the dust. The result was Extinction A.D., an immaculate four-piece thrash metal juggernaut. The … Read more

Baldruin

Portal
Wounded Knife Records (2015)

Baldruin, the brainchild of Johannes Schebler, is wondering through the psychic domains of ambient music. Even though the project is relatively new, Schebler has put out a number of releases, various split albums and cassettes. However, Portal is the debut of Baldruin in the vinyl domain, released through Wounded Knife Records. What attracts Baldruin to the ambient domain so much … Read more

Night Birds

Mutiny at Muscle Beach
Fat Wreck Chords (2015)

It’s getting tough to find new things to say about Night Birds. They’re as great as ever with third LP Mutiny at Muscle Beach, it’s just that the sound hasn’t changed all that dramatically from day one. Album #3 is supposed to be when they go all avant on us.Their career has filled out nicely, with textural differences and a … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Mercy Killings

Snuffed Out
Beach Impediment (2015)

This is the second 7” from this new-ish congruence of Richmond, VA old-timers. The band flexes a pedigree that includes Wasted Time, Government Warning, Direct Control and a whole bunch of others. Eight minutes in total of bulldozer USHC in the most straightforward sense. No fucking about whatsoever; just head down, get the fuck out of the way hardcore punk. … Read more

Wrekmeister Harmonies

Night of Your Ascension
Thrill Jockey (2015)

The musical collective led by J.R. Robinson has always been inventive when it came to the subjects of their sonic explorations. You've Always Meant So Much to Me was written to accompany a film that Robinson shot in various areas, including Detroit, the desert of Joshua Tree and the forests of Tasmania. The collaborators in this album helped greatly bring … Read more

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Plays Prog Rock Classics
Cleopatra (2015)

At a point in the late '90s and early-to-mid 2000s, it seemed like every major artist had at least one tribute album out there. Invariably produced by one cheap-jack record label or another, these albums highlighted a dozen or so no-name musicians playing through (and quite possibly butchering) various well-known songs and were often framed around a particular type of … Read more

Hasta

Botanique
Kitsuné Music (2015)

While electronic music used to be a rather exclusive club that only those with access to (expensive) equipment could hope to break into, in recent years, the increased availability of technology has allowed anyone with a will and/or a way to become an electronic producer. Theoretically, this has enabled more talented people to express themselves through music, and there is … Read more

Oneirogen

Plenitude
Denovali (2015)

Diaz de Leon explores the limits of hallucinatory music through his project Oneirogen. Back in 2012, the debut album of Oneirogen, Hypnos, came into existence, combining experimental and heavy music, with the inclusion of big sounding synths, abrupt noise explosions and dark ambient yearnings, all under a veil of distortion and emerging soundscapes. A year later, Kiasma would be released, … Read more

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