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Asid Bateri

Demo
Dead Tank (2014)

Here's some of that good ol’ raw punk that was en vogue a few years ago. You know, those salad days before everyone started going gaga for the gothic, post-punk, all-weird-all-the-time trend that’s hot right now. (Personally, I like both styles quite a bit so I’ve got no complaints. I’m just having some fun here.) While the intro shows a … Read more

Mittenfields

Optimists
Independent (2015)

Optimists is the debut LP from Washington D.C. emo/indie-rock outfit Mittenfields. The band’s influences are immediately recognizable: Singer Dave Mann obviously listens to Modest Mouse and Arcade Fire, while the band’s three guitarists draw heavily from 1990s indie and emo classics like Mineral, Built To Spill, and Pavement. If you like those bands and want to hear the same sound … Read more

Bell Witch

Four Phantoms
Profound Lore (2015)

Getting it right when it comes to extreme doom/death is a very tricky business. It is quite a misconception that as long as a band is able to play really, really slow and have heavy riffs, they can be considered successful and good at what they do. Bell Witch know better. The duo from Seattle is relatively new to the … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Sick/Tired

Dissolution
A389 (2014)

Sick/Tired don’t mess about. They’re angry, and they want you to know about it and they do so via the medium of fast, raw grindcore. The Chicago band pound through fifteen short, but certainly not sweet, tracks in a delirious sub-twenty five minutes with guest collaborates Merzbow and Lasse Marhaug adding more noise bases compositions to the furious mix of … Read more

S/V\R

Deluge
Union Finale (2015)

It was not that far ago that I was listening to the previous S/V\R album, Sur Les Femmes and I was thinking just how intense their music was. Separating their previous album into two halves, the first saw them taking on their most chaotic and punishing form, rendering their soundscapes completely indecipherable. On the second part though, they seemed to … Read more

The Splits

II
Dirtnap (2015)

I really like Dirtnap Records, but they can’t all be winners. The Splits start off II with a really positive vibe in “Rotten Me,” with a powerful and familiar rock ‘n’ rollin’ base behind music that’s emphatic and emotional. I really like the enunciation by singer Helena throughout this song.Unfortunately, the majority of the record doesn’t hold up to the … Read more

Friend Roulette

I See You. Your Eyes Are Red.
Good Night (2015)

As far as indie-rock goes, Friend Roulette’s sophomore album I See You. Your Eyes Are Red. is pretty gothic. I don’t mean “gothic” as in Bauhaus and bats, but more in the sense of classic literature imbued with feelings of terror and longing. This six-piece band from Brooklyn is both bold and bizarre, featuring violin, clarinet and two percussionists along … Read more

Steve Von Till

A Life Unto Itself
Neurot Recordings (2015)

I had always found it amazing how both Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till were able to separate the different musical modes that defined. Obviously at the top of the pyramid, for both guys, stands Neurosis, being the focal point of the experimental mindset. But both Kelly and Von Till had other projects throughout the years that would allow them … Read more

Lagwagon

Hang
Fat Wreck Chords (2014)

Punk rock veterans, Lagwagon, had been missing from the scene for quite some time. Sure, they had a tour here and there as well as reissues of their 90s classics, but it's been years since we've heard some fresh new music from the band. They released an EP in 2008, but most of that material had previously already been featured … Read more

Algiers

Algiers
Matador (2015)

I feel like I’ve seen a lot of bands forcing genres together - black metal and shoegaze (Deafheaven), indie rock and hip-hop (Why?), jazz fusion and rap (Flying Lotus’ You’re Dead) - and I could go on and on. Often genre mashing can be a bit gimmicky, but if it’s done right, it can be a recipe for some of … Read more

Menace Beach

Ratworld
Memphis Industries (2015)

Though many people – even those who weren’t around when the system was - could probably rattle off several of the more popular NES titles of the 8-bit era, there was a whole world of games existing outside the realm of the familiar gray plastic cartridge. Developed by independent publishers, unlicensed NES games appeared in misshapen, strangely colored plastic housing … Read more

Warhorse

As Heaven Turns To Ash...
Southern Lord (2015)

As much as I like the “what if?” scenarios, at the same time I hate them. It is always nice to theorize about what could have happened if x has taken place instead of y. In the case of Warhorse that is a big “what if?” and at the same time an unavoidable one. The band from Massachusetts started off … Read more

Rei Rea

Food For The Worms
Union Finale Records (2015)

Christian Dubé’s project has certainly blossomed over the years. Originating back in 2000, Rei Rea started off as a software-based musical outlet based in Dubé’s basement (that must be one fucking dark basement), releasing a number of split collaborations throughout the years as well as standalone albums, such as Hate Hand And Hate and Slug Launching Stinction. As time progressed, … Read more

Mishka Shubaly

Coward’s Path
In Music We Trust Records (2015)

If Nic Cage from Leaving Las Vegas had cut an album, it might sound something like Mishka Shubaly’s Coward’s Path. Dealing with such upbeat subjects as alcoholism, death, alcohol, loneliness, drugs, failure, and alcohol, these tunes were originally written in 2008 during a particularly out-of-control patch in the author’s life, and it doesn’t take a listener long to realize just … Read more

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