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)

Rebuilder

Local Support
Iodine (2023)

In an era of searching for nostalgia, Boston natives Rebuilder have managed to remind us that living in the present isn’t so bad after all —and if it is, there’s always support. With their sophomore album Local Support, Rebuilder has captured what it means to persist as a local, gnarly punk band in the ever-changing world both in and outside of the music industry. The band has really stepped it up in terms of experimenting and expanding the dynamic of their sound. There’s a subtle tenderness on this record that remains present throughout, adding complexity and depth to the foundation holding up the record. A genuine record from a genuine band; Local Support shouldn’t be slept on, it’s albums like this that also continue to hold up the local scene and support like yours that keep things going. The album opener “Hanging On A Telephone Pt 2”, is one of the catchiest songs on the whole record. The standout vocals at the start of the track, and the way the music builds around these vocals, start off the album in a really soft, beautiful way. It’s unexpected and the chorus is catchy as hell, you couldn’t ask for more from … Read more

Merger

Second To Last
Impetus (2023)

Merger was a short lived band that was active between 2017 and 2019. In that time the band recorded one … Read more

Anton Ponomarev / Guillaume Cazelet

Pyrocene
Utech (2023)

Another one for Guillaume Cazelet, the prolific artist from avant-garde icons Neptunian Maximalism and his solo black metal project Ôros … Read more

American Television

Scars
Smartpunk Records (2023)

There are a few basic moods to punk. American Television fall into the singalong category. This is short, fast, and … Read more

Half Dead

Nasty, Brutish, and Short
Early Onset Records (2023)

I have two sisters (both younger) and growing up I found myself with their chores on my list, despite the … Read more

Raspberry Bulbs

The World Is Empty, The Heart Is Full
Hospital (2023)

Raspberry Bulbs are an act that is seemingly allergic to bullshit. Since their inception, they have bounced between different scenes … Read more

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One from the archives

Back When

We Sang as Ghosts
Shock Value (2005)

Escaping cliches can be difficult. In 2005 the instrumental metal band has become its own cliche, along with their album's reviews. Being referred to as a Neurosis-rip off or an Isis-wannabe has become a formality for these bands, and sometimes it isn't even the bands fault. Reviewers are often guilty of only looking towards the genre defining or benchmark bands/albums as reference points. So how does Omaha's Back When fit into the clich'? It's true; Isis and Neurosis' influence run through parts of We Sang as Ghosts. But upon further listening you begin to break through the surface and get to the core of the album. Drawing from wide influences such as 90 Day Men, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Electric Light Orchestra, and Hum - to no surprise, as Matt … Read more

More album reviews

The End

Why Do You Mourn
Trost (2023)

The End is assembled by stellar musicians of the Swedish and Norwegian avant-garde jazz scene, amongst them the likes of Mats Gustafsson and Sofia Jernberg. Their moment of origin with Svårmod Och Vemod Är Värdesinnen, found this collective relishing their all too familiar chaos. Crazed saxophone solos and frenetic rhythmic changes collapsed any notion of structure. At the center of … Read more

Various Artists

Beex/L'Amour - Split
Zero Degree Records (2022)

Oh, hail Richmond, Virginia !. Occasionally regional bands became lauded on compilations for greedy grabbing sweaty secretive nerdy evil record lords. Seeking out and posting their findings on social media for all to tilt their caveman posturings and send a spindle of sweaty spittle cascading down their black head-encrusted chin thus avoiding their overpriced modern artifact shelved in the thickest … Read more

Sprain

The Lamb As Effigy
Flenser (2023)

One of the many exciting acts introduced through The Flenser, Sprain delivered an impressive work with their debut record, As Lost Through Collision. Introduced during the dark times between lockdowns in 2020, the album is a tour de force through noise rock and post-hardcore. With an off-kilter element and an allure for both the chaotic and depressing nature of no … Read more

Old Tower

Draconic Synthesis
Hospital (2023)

The line between dark ambient and dungeon synth has always been blurry. Since Mortiis’ departure from Emperor and his stellar, first-era works in Født til å Herske and Ånden som Gjorde Opprør, many have traveled the same path. Amongst the newest additions to this merry group is Old Tower, the obscure project from the Netherlands. Since the mid-10s, Old Tower … Read more

Sincere Engineer

Cheap Grills
Hopeless (2023)

You know those bands whose music you enjoy, but each record sort of sounds the same, just a little fresher? Well, Cheap Grills is the third LP from Sincere Engineer and it continues exactly as you’d expect from the Deanna Belos led band. The first five seconds of the album feature the lyric, “I’m a walking open wound,” in her … Read more

Video/DVD Review

Mike Schiff

The History of Metal and Horror
Independent (2022)

The History of Metal and Horror is an extensive dip into a world where two defining genres of audio and visual come together so perfectly it's difficult to imagine one without the other. Music and film have had a long and happy marriage and both play a big parts in each others existence . Rom Coms and pop music, action … Read more

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros

Live at Acton Town Hall
BMG, Dark Horse Records (2023)

Most music fans were stunned when Joe Strummer passed away in 2002. I’d recently skipped out on a Mescaleros show, thinking I had plenty of time to see the legendary musician. I honestly wasn’t all that into his work with the Mescaleros at the time, but Streetcore is one of the records of that era that’s still in heavy rotation … Read more

Grischa Lichtenberger

Works for Last Work
Raster (2023)

Grischa Lichtenberger’s works are defined not only by their experimental foundation but also by relentless energy. Be it through glitch and EBM components, or jazz injections, there always is a volatile core. This is now changing with Works for Last Work. While the abstract mindset still defines Grischa as an artist, this time around it is applied over a minimal … Read more

The Stargazer's Assistant

Fire Worshipper
House of Mythology (2023)

Making their first appearance in 2007 with The Other Side of the Island, it felt like The Stargazer’s Assistant would just be a one-off. Luckily, David Smith, David Knight, and Michael J. York found something worth revisiting through the drone and ambient layers of their early release. Returning with their third record since 2016 in Fire Worshipper, The Stargazer’s Assistant … Read more

Spanish Love Songs

No Joy
Pure Noise (2023)

I saw Spanish Love Songs before I ever dove into their catalog. And it was immediately clear they’re the type of band where fans really connect, singing along to every word, not just the choruses. In truth, the band doesn’t really use choruses much, but that’s not really the point here. Their sound is rooted in melodic and emotional midtempo … Read more

Public Speaking

An Apple Lodged In My Back
Whited Sepulchre (2023)

It is always difficult to balance between creativity and immediacy. For Jason Anthony Harris, and his project Public Speaking, this is a much-welcomed challenge. Indeed, Harris’ new work An Apple Lodged In My Back does not shy away from its pop sensibilities. As “Swollen Feet” comes in, the soulful and intimate approach usually produced by mainstream artists comes through. It … Read more

Bankrupt

Illiberal Holiday
Independent (2023)

There can be many reasons to pick an album to review. Sometimes it is the description, sometimes it is a connection with another band and sometimes it is the artwork. Upon seeing this for the first time I thought: “This better be good, ‘cause artwork like this deserves something good!”. This thought got stronger and stronger after I discovered every … Read more

Les Lullies

Mauvaise Foi
Slovenly (2023)

I’m not going to pretend I know any French, but I can tell you that the rhythm of the language is perfect for Les Lullies. Mauvaise Foi (“Bad Faith,” according to google), begins with the title track, a barn burning guitar rocker with big licks and a repetitive chorus in 4/4 time. It’s immediately familiar in that garage rock way, … Read more

Be Your Own Pet

Mommy
Third Man (2023)

Retrospective genre creation by both grizzled music critics and TikTokers has had many victims, from the constituents of Twee to Yatch Rock; however, the rebranding of 2005 garage rock and punk to indie sleaze has to be one of the more egregious. Half aesthetic movement and half musical umbrella for any 2000s band with smudged eyeliner (that hadn’t already been … Read more

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