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The Lookouts

Spy Rock Road (And Other Stories)
Don Giovanni (2015)

I was apprehensive about reviewing this record. When hear “music by teenagers,” it tends to mean preachy and rather one-sided political rants that are well meaning but, well, immature or not all that developed. Plus teenage voices aren’t all that great to hear singing, know what I mean?The Lookouts were a band comprised of Larry Livermore (not a teenager at … Read more

Built To Spill

Untethered Moon
Warner Bros. (2015)

Calling Untethered Moon guitar rock is somewhere to start. While the band takes their chops from the 1990s alternative boom, the defining moments of their songs come out of the guitars rather than in vocal styling or rhythmic direction. This record succeeds or fails because of that guitar. (See what I just did there? Now you have to keep reading.)As … Read more

Death Grips

Jenny Death
Harvest / Third Worlds (2015)

I almost don’t want to write a review for experimental rap outfit Death Grips, because I feel like I’d be giving them exactly what they want: attention. Their overly abrasive attitude – from no-show live shows to perpetually shitting on their record label via publicity stunts – comes off as an immature gimmick begging for press. But it would be … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Six Of Swords

Polar Vortex EP
Sorrow Carrier Records (2015)

Modern death metal often suffers under the weight of trying to emulate old school heroes while not doing very much of interest at all, so it’s a nice surprise when a newer project manages to pay homage to the old days while still bringing a nice modern flavour to proceedings. Six of Swords, who hail from Toronto, play death metal … Read more

Dodheimsgard

A Umbra Omega
Peaceville (2015)

It always takes a while for Dodheimsgard (DHG) to release a new album, but it is also always worth the wait. The experimental alchemists from Norway started off their career back in the mid ‘90s when the second wave of black metal bands was starting to come together. The core of the band back then with the release of their … Read more

Strung Out

Transmission.Alpha.Delta.
Fat Wreck Chords (2015)

There are some albums that you hear for the first time and fall in love instantly. There are others that require repeated listens in order to grasp the depth and complexity of the material. These albums get progressively more enjoyable as you listen to them. With every spin another pleasant nuance exposes itself. Strung Out’s latest album Transmission.Alpha.Delta falls into … Read more

Derek Grant

Breakdown
Red Scare Industries (2015)

Chances are, most listeners have would heard everything on Derek Grant’s 2015 solo album Breakdown before - it seems to imitate everything from the driving road music of Jackson Browne to the ballads of Guns ‘n’ Roses while frequently capturing an alt-country vibe that might be unexpected coming from a musician undoubtedly best known for drumming in punk group Alkaline … Read more

Summer Cannibals

Show Us Your Mind
New Moss Records (2015)

I know I’d already read the band’s bio, but I think I would have guessed Pacific Northwest anyway. There’s just something dreary and with a bi to’ sunshine about Summer Cannibals. Just like their name, it’s a mix of positive and desperate, with a genre tag somewhere in the vein of grunge-pop.It’s the Portland, OR band’s second full-length and the … Read more

200 Words Or Less

The Rutabega

Shiny Destination
Triple Eye Industries (2015)

After a 2013 full length album that marked the band’s first full-length as a self-described “Carp Rock Power Duo,” a title which I can in no way explain yet love nonetheless, South Bend, Indiana’s The Rutabega is back with Shiny Destination, a 7” vinyl release that presents two very different sides of the group’s sound. With its playfully chaotic feel, … Read more

Matana Roberts

COIN COIN Chapter Three: River Run Thee
Constellation (2015)

The meaning of the word “personal” does not even begin to describe what the COIN COIN works must signify for Matana Roberts. Through the chapters of COIN COIN, Roberts narrates the story of her family as far back as it can be traced. Roberts herself has said that it would probably take her a dozen albums to finish recounting this … Read more

Western Settings

Yes It Is
La Escalera (2015)

When listening to a band you’ve never heard of, it’s a lot easier to make all those “sounds like” comments. Whether that’s why I think Western Settings sounds so much like some familiar favorites, or if that’s because they really do, well, that’s maybe beside the point anyway. It’s punk rock, man. There’s supposed to be a touch of derivation … Read more

Dustin Kensrue

Carry The Fire
Staple Records/Vagrant Records (2015)

The basic tenets of theology and philosophy concern discerning right from wrong, good from evil. There will never be any clear answer to this, but as humans we're going to keep guessing and muddling through. At least partly as a result of its ambiguous nature, morality will always be a topic that's ripe for exploration and dissection. This isn't the … Read more

Siskiyou

Nervous
Constellation (2015)

Third album for the American indie rock, and it comes with a quite disturbing story to it as well. Main man, Colin Huebert, of the band was diagnosed with hyperacusis, a condition that makes the ordinary noise level of everyday life intolerable. That enough could knock out most ordinary people, but you can only imagine what effect it could have … Read more

Pears

Go To Prison
Gunner Records (2014)

Naming an album is something of a branding concept. Yes, it’s also artistic, but occasionally those two worlds collide, even if we don’t want to admit it.Go To Prison is fitting for Pears debut. It’s angry and often reflects the tone of a loner lashing (slashing?) out at the system. Then the group choruses come, bringing solidarity to the forefront … Read more

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