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Needles//Pins

Shamebirds
Dirt Cult (2014)

Needles//Pins are something different in the punk rock realm. Well, that’s not true. They’re entirely familiar and warm, yet they have that pizzazz—that’s what the kids are calling it these days, if you didn’t know. They play familiar-ish DIY punk with some pop sensibility, but there’s a little more attitude, a touch of that first person rock star swagger that … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Vow

Make Me Yours EP
The Native Sound (2014)

Easily the aural equivalent of the light and fluffy clouds that pepper your daydreams, LA duo Vow's second EP Make Me Yours finds them producing a more definitive sound couched in an ethereal sweetness. Opener "Miles Away" embraces an industrial aesthetic with vocalist Julia Blake's lithe, sugar-sweet singing acting as a curveball amongst the heavy, morose synths. It sounds like … Read more

United Nations

The Next Four Years
Temporary Residence (2014)

United Nations have been locked away for a few years now. Members have come and gone and we aren't even exactly sure which ones. In those four years though, they created music, and that music is finally available to the masses in the form of The Next Four Years. While it's being released as a new full length, it's fair … Read more

Cara Neir

Portals to a Better, Dead World
Broken Limbs Recordings (2013)

Cara Neir have made a name for themselves by playing a suffocating blend of grind and black metal. while this may not seem like a particularly novel mix how the band does it and/or makes it work lends them enough credence to deserve a listen. From the discordant riffing of opener "Peridot" the band makes it's mark on the listener … Read more

Electric Wizard

Time To Die
Spinefarm Records (2014)

Somewhere along the way (and it's hard to say when exactly), but somewhere along the way Electric Wizard became more than a band. They became an idea. They became an attitude. A state of mind. Words like "titans" and "legends" began to accompany the band any time they were mentioned in print or online. People who didn't before identify as … Read more

The Proselyte

Our Vessel's in Need
Gypsyblood (2014)

Proselyte return with their newest EP, Our Vessel’s In Need, which also marks the first release for Gypsyblood records ( the label of Stavros Giannopoulos of The Atlas Moth) and they really nail it. The insane trio from Boston throw everything they got in this EP, putting together their admiration for bands such as The Melvins alongside acts like Cave … Read more

Teenage Bottlerocket

American Deutsch Bag
Fat Wreck Chords (2014)

I never learned German in high school, but Teenage Bottlerocket must have because their latest 7’’ is a nod to the punk side of the German language. It's been nearly a year and this is still the most currently release from Teenage Bottlerocket. People didn’t seem to expect much from it, and still don’t, unless you’re one of those middle-aged … Read more

City States

Geography
Safety Records (2014)

They say that good things come to those that wait and for City States and their main member Joel Ebner, it's certainly true. Ebner has spent many years creating and perfecting his debut - Geography - and after forming in 2008, City States first record finally saw the light of day earlier this year. Geography is a lovely little record, … Read more

Sd Laika

THAT'S HARAKIRI
Tri Angle Records (2014)

First showing up in 2012 and making waves in the underground music scene ever since, Sd Laika makes a brand of electronic music that seems to suggest what Richard D. James (i.e. Aphex Twin) might have been making had he turned up in the 2000s and 2010s as opposed to the 1990s. Hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin which seems about as … Read more

Video/DVD Review

Devo

The Complete Truth About De-Evolution
MVD Visual (2014)

I’ve long felt there are fewer lesser art forms than the music video. It turns out I was wrong—or, at least pre-1990 it was another game. The Complete Truth About De-Evolution is a DVD compilation of all of Devo’s music videos (1976-1990, minus “Are U Experienced?”), running in chronological order, and it’s a spectacle to behold. Besides the high quality … Read more

Subrosa

More Constant Than the Gods
Profound Lore (2013)

Subrosa have managed to get lumped into the doom genre. While that genre tag isn't completely inaccurate it certainly fails to tell the full story of the band. The band certainly has doom elements at times heavy guitars and lengthy song structures may stick out the band refuses to stick to convention and allowing for a style that is more … Read more

Botanist

VI: Flora
Flenser (2014)

The whole concept of one-man black metal projects is quite old. From back in the ‘90s you would have acts like Burzum and Ildjarn (although they would feature also Nidhogg occasionally.) Those acts were great and it was quite nice to see that other musicians today would adapt the same philosophy and try to create solitary projects, with excellent examples … Read more

Steve Adamyk Band

Dial Tone
Dirtnap (2014)

This is Dirtnap Records.Not to pigeonhole anybody, but man does Steve Adamyk Band hit on that pop structure, garage chaos element that defines the label.Dial Tone is the fourth full-length out of Canada’s Steve Adamyk Band and I reviewed Third a while back. This time around, the band continues their well-crafted, energetic and generally positive vibes in the same fashion. … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Various Artists

Balsa/Sei Hexe - Split EP
String Break (2014)

Two bands hailing from the US Northwest bring a Metalcore filled split from String Break Records. Seattle's, Balsa, take control of the first half with three tracks, while Portland's all-female act, Sei Hexe, fills out the rest of the split with two tracks. Balsa opens the EP with, "Rasputin." The track doesn't hesitate to play with the core of the … Read more

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