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Ghost

Meliora
Loma Vista Recordings (2015)

When Ghost first materialized on the scene in 2010 with their debut album Opus Eponymous, they made quite an impression. First there was the image: five "nameless ghouls" performing the music in hooded robes (now silver, horned masks) and vocalist Papa Emeritus, dressed as a sort of anti-pope with a penchant for fog machines and blacklight paint. These aspects of … Read more

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Supersuckers

Get The Hell
Acetate Records (2014)

There's very few bands that work as hard to bring the music to the masses as Supersuckers. They're like a sleeper cell. Without warning, they'll come out of hiding in Anytown, U.S.A. and blow shit up. They are a band that everyone needs to see live at least once - and when you do, you'll want to see them every … Read more

The Sonics

This is The Sonics
Revox Records (2015)

Upon hearing that legendary northwest garage rockers The Sonics were releasing a new album – their first in (gulp!) nearly fifty years – in 2015, I didn’t know if I should be excited or very, very afraid. Here was a band that helped to invent the signature, rowdy rock and roll sound in the early-to-mid ‘60s and delivered songs such … Read more

Titus Andronicus

The Most Lamentable Tragedy
Merge (2015)

Titus Andronicus (+@, as they shorten it) is a punk outfit led by Patrick Stickles, an obvious obsessive who has spent the last three +@ albums cramming barrages of references to Pieter Bruegel, Cheers, Nietzsche, and obscure New Jersey baseball teams into angry punk songs. +@’s most-talked-about work is their second album The Monitor, a grandiose, Civil-War-themed account of what’s … Read more

Infera Bruo

In Conjuration
Bindrune Records (2015)

I came across Infera Bruo a couple of years back when they were releasing their debut album, Desolate Unknown. The perspective of the band on the black metal genre was intriguing, remaining true to the roots of the genre, but also building on top of its traditional outlook. The dissonant quality was overflowing in the record, while the inclusion of … Read more

Neon Shudder

Ghost Process
Independent (2015)

Covering much of the same ground as a group like Perturbator, Philadelphia’s neon shudder makes dark electronic music inspired by the world of cyberpunk – a genre of sci-fi that’s often described as “future noir” and includes works like Blade Runner and Shadowrun. Though I didn’t say as much in my review of it, Áine O'Dwyer’s Music for Church Cleaners … Read more

Rixe

Coupes et Blessures EP
La Vida Es Un Mus Discos Punk (2015)

Well this was bound to happen. With so many hardcore acts flirting with Oi! for the last few years it’s not surprising that somebody finally came out like, fuck it, we’re just going to be an Oi! band. It’s not the first time by any means—there’s been the PDX crusties’ side project Criminal Damage and the Brendan Radigan-fronted Battle Ruins—but … Read more

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Boilerman

Boilerman
86'd records (2015)

It took me 8 minutes to listen, so it should 8 minutes to write it too. Or, something. Really that’s just a bad Futurama reference so I can “cleverly” say that this is a short EP with 5 songs total. The song names are on this EP are “I,” “II,” “Weak Week,” “III,” and “IV.” Speaking of clever.Boilerman are punk … Read more

Coliseum

Anxiety's Kiss
Deathwish Inc. (2015)

On Anxiety’s Kiss, punk veterans Coliseum are back with a heavy, dark, melodic new album. The band’s maturity and experience are evident here even to someone who, like this reviewer, was woefully ignorant of their music until now. If you, like me, have somehow stayed in the dark about Coliseum this long, this album is a fine entry point. Unfortunately, … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Grease Thieves

The World This Hour
Independent (2015)

Newly-formed Vancouver, BC pop-punk trio Grease Thieves boast a vocalist whose snarl makes him sound a bit like vintage Tim Armstrong, and one can almost hear the saliva flinging around on the four songs featured on the group’s 2015 The World This Hour - about as enthusiastic and fun a debut EP as one could hope for. Unfortunate though it … Read more

Vaaska

Todos Contra Todos
Beach Impediment (2015)

I've been meaning to check out this Austin, TX-based band for quite some time now (they’ve been active since 2009) but for whatever reason I’ve never gotten around to it. So much punk, so little time I guess. They have released a string of EPs and splits up until this point, but this record is their first official LP. It … Read more

Matt Skiba and the Sekrets

Kuts
Superball (2015)

Matt Skiba's latest side project sound like they've been born out of the wave of late-90s American indie that brought us the likes of Weezer and Blind Melon, and with Skiba adopting a Bowie-esque aesthetic on the band's album cover it gives the impression of a band fully embracing the indie sensibilities that they couldn't explore in as much depth … Read more

Áine O'Dwyer

Music for Church Cleaners
MIE (2015)

Without doubt one of the more strange albums released in 2015 (or any year for that matter), Irish-born harpist Áine O'Dwyer’s Music for Church Cleaners is a two LP collection that presents ninety minutes of improvisational music made on the pipe organ at St Mark’s Church, Islington, UK. Aside from being, essentially, a live performance album (where the audience was … Read more

Sophie Lillienne

The Fragile Idea
IRMA Records (2015)

Artistically satisfying and incredibly eclectic, 2015’s The Fragile Idea from Italian electronic artist Sophie Lillienne seems designed to lull a listener into a somnambulistic state. Typically lumped into the trip hop genre, Sophie Lillienne’s music is full of unconventional, quietly haunting melodies, scratchy rhythms, and dramatic vocal performances. I would almost say that the dark and gloomy Fragile Idea is … Read more

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