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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)

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 hardcore and powerviolence. Sick/Tired force harsh vocal through stuttering guitars and rolling drums with songs not so much flowing, as bursting through the dams and raging for all they’re worth. Dissolution is rammed with fiery punches of guitar that swing from one mode of hatred to another, Jennings' voice full of bile, spite, animosity and total resentment at any given moment yet more subdued passages push through the aggression and allow Sick/Tired a brief respite. Of course, any slower movements are still marred with agony, and the sludged out progression of "In Articulo Mortis" is still in keeping with the heavy, disparate edge that the preceding tracks showcased. 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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … Read more

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One from the archives

Eater

The Lost 1978 Sessions
Cleopatra (2025)

Hopefully everyone reading this already knows that Eater was one of the early British punk bands. Forming in North London in 1976, Eater was one of the youngest bands in the burgeoning UK punk scene, with the members being aged 14-17 at the band’s inception. Eater issued a series of singles and one album for The Label between 1977-1978 before splitting up in early 1979. Their sole long player, aptly titled The Album, was underappreciated upon its initial release. Critics originally considered Eaters’ music as average and adolescent. Over time, the band and the album became more highly regarded as fans of the UK ’77 punk sound started digging past the Damned, the Buzzcocks and other better-known contemporaries to realize that Eater had a chaotic tunefulness and penchant for singalongs … Read more

More album reviews

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

Underground Railroad To Candyland

The People Are Home
Recess (2015)

I wasn’t sure what to make of Underground Railroad to Candyland when I first saw them. They were a very new band, but the style was off-kilter and different than what I expected of a Todd Congelliere (Toys That Kill,F.Y.P) band. But along the way it’s clicked, both for me and the band. Where they first seemed slogany and weird, … Read more

Prurient

Frozen Niagara Falls
Profound Lore (2015)

There is not much one can say about Prurient, the project of Dominick Fernow. Throughout the years Prurient have produced an extensive discography that sees them creating a cartography of the dark ambient and noise genres with their own experimental mindset. The project has been going on for about twenty years now, but it seems that the focus that Fernow … Read more

Red Dons & TV Smith

A Vote For the Unknown
Deranged (2014)

Red Dons are a band I’ve meant to check out for some time. As a reviewer, perhaps I’m supposed to go check out the whole back catalog, but I often find it equally useful to approach a band tabula rasa, as that gives a better view of where this specific record is at. Past accomplishments, be damned, it’s the A … Read more

Lightning Bolt

Fantasy Empire
Thrill Jockey (2015)

This noise rock duo has been terrifying the music scene for close to two decades now with their unconventional sound and experimental attitude. Throughout their career Lightning Bolt have stuck with the same recipe that seems to be working so marvelously for them: chaotic patterns, schizoid riffs, intense songs and with a fucking razor sharp edge to them. Fantasy Empire … Read more

Multiple Authors

Lightning Bolt

Fantasy Empire
Thrill Jockey (2015)

Though much attention relating to 2015’s Austin Psych Fest (a.k.a. Levitation) was directed towards the reunion of the legendary 13th Floor Elevators, one of the biggest surprises in the lineup for me was the appearance of Rhode Island’s Lightning Bolt. I guess I never really thought of this aggressive and abrasive noise duo (made up of Brian Gibson who plays … Read more

Blind Idiot God

Before Ever After
Indivisible (2015)

Coming back from an extended break seems to be always tricky, for any band. Back in the late '80s and early '90s, Blind Idiot God were releasing great record after great record. Their refreshing style and no boundaries approach to mixing different genres under their unique kaleidoscope resulted in three excellent albums. The band officially went in hiatus in 1996 … Read more

Priscilla Ford

The Blackout Club
Basement (2015)

Priscilla Ford's debut EP, The Blackout Club, is a raging punk rock'n'roll album. It careens with a controlled abandon, much like the Reno, Nevada murder spree after which the band is named. The band is composed of veteran musicians from a variety of punk rock subgenres, but The Blackout Club is a concise and directed effort. The band appears to … Read more

Birthday Suits

Adult Party: Spin the Bottle
Recess (2015)

Birthday Suits always surprise me on record. Live, it’s fierce and reckless; sweaty mayhem and cathartic rock ‘n’ roll. On record, it’s more calculated, with the vocals coming stronger in place of the guitar/drum overload that powers the live show.The Minneapolis two-piece play something in the vein of garage rock, but with a ballsy and crafty “serious” musicianship that’s as … Read more

Hannahband

Retirement
Art As Catharsis (2015)

Calling it folk-punk isn’t right, but I’m not sure I agree with the post-punk tag slapped on their onesheet either. Hannahband, from Sydney, Australia, have a gritty garage element, making them fall somewhere in between folk-punk minimalism and Murder City Devils coarseness, all while wallowing in lo-fi production that makes the songs even harsher (and more beautiful).Those styles pull together … Read more

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