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The Banner

Greying
Good Fight (2014)

The Banner has always been a band that embraced the darker side of their style. Being a hardcore band that tends to them lean closer to metal than punk, the band have always made their own version of this general style. Whether it was the more youthful style of their early album Your Murder Mixtape or later with the murky … Read more

Treasure Fleet

The Sun Machine
Recess (2015)

You can’t have your middle finger in the air all the time. As such, Isaac Thotz (The Arrivals) has stepped away from his punk-leaning project to explore spacey 1960’s inspired psychedelia with The Treasure Fleet. The band also includes members of Smoking Popes, The Lawrence Arms, and Sass Dragons and was produced by Preston Bryant of Andrew Jackson Jihad, so … Read more

Atlas Losing Grip

Currents
Creator-Destructor (2015)

I first discovered Atlas Losing Grip after the release of their 2009 EP, Watching the Horizon, and became an instant fan. 2009 seemed to be a dark time for technical melodic skatepunk and Watching the Horizon was basically a glimmer of hope in the blackness. It didn’t hurt that the singer, Rodrigo, was a founding member ofSatanic Surfers, one of … Read more

Various Artists

NEONAUTICS v.01
SkyQode (2014)

Running nearly 70 minutes in length, the Neonautics v.01 compilation from Russian label skyQode collects sixteen tracks (many of which in album-exclusive versions) from a variety of European synthpop artists who clearly know their stuff when it comes to making catchy, danceable electronic music. Full of bouncy rhythms, lots of flashy keyboard and synthesizer, and awkward but lovable “English as … Read more

Terminal Sound System

Dust Songs
Denovali (2014)

Hailing from Australia, Skye Klein’s project Terminal Sound System is set on an interesting path. The merging of doom, post rock, and jazz with the diverse fields of electronica and heavy dub has yielded some very promising results. The music of Terminal Sound System is quite difficult to pinpoint due to the above reason but what is quite intriguing with … Read more

I Wanna Die

I Wanna Die
Independent (2015)

Offering up an abrasive quintet of hardcore punk that flies by in five minutes, the 2015 self-titled demo from Oakland, California four-piece I WANNA DIE conveys the type of reckless desperation suggested by their name – the hopelessness present in the material is probably the demo’s strongest and most noticeable aspect. An opening trio of 45-50 second punk thrashers gives … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Emmy The Great

S EP
Bella Union (2015)

Creating the most welcoming introduction that you're likely to hear this year, S opener "Swimming Pool" features haunting, echoing synthesisers that sound like a distorted church organ, while Wild Beasts' bassist Tom Fleming's vocal timbre compliments the ethereal quality of the song. Musing on the perils of engaging with other people on "Social Halo", Emmy sings "You and your friends … Read more

The Blind Shake

Breakfast of Failures
Goner (2014)

The Blind Shake have been consistently banging out juicy, syncopatic jams for the better part of a decade now. Breakfast of Failures is their fifth full-length and, with it, continues the evolution. They’ve always been a concise group, focused on big stomping hooks within the confines of a pop structure, and they’ve slowly made their sound less homogenized in the … Read more

Kayo Dot

Coffins On Io
Flenser (2014)

Just last year, Kayo Dot were releasing one of their most ambitious and challenging albums, Hubardo. The US based band, led by mastermind singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Toby Driver, has made a career out of their crazy mold of different musical genres. Hubardo was the perfect example of the Kayo Dot vision, encompassing in its two disks elements of avant-garde metal, post-metal and … Read more

Triptykon

Melana Chasmata
Century Media (2014)

In his long, storied, and in this mind, legendary career, Thomas Gabriel Fischer (Tom G. Warrior) has been a man of dark talent and darker vision. Where I think he has always been separated from his peers however, is always being able to show the listener the beauty in that darkness. From Hellhammer to Celtic Frost to Apollonyon Sun to … Read more

Rancid

Honor Is All We Know
Epitaph (2014)

For years I was the biggest Rancid fan. The first record I didn’t buy on its release date was B-Sides & C-Sides, and that’s because I already had the songs. I was an unapologetic completest. As the post-2000 records have been coming, I became an apologetic completest. I bought the double album version of Let the Dominoes Fall and spun … Read more

Video/DVD Review

Various Artists

Clockwork Orange County: The Rise of West Coast Punk Rock
MVD Visual (2014)

Detailing the history of southern California punk of the late 1970s and early ‘80s and in particular, the scene that revolved around the legendary Cuckoo’s Nest club which hosted live music shows, the 2012 documentary Clockwork Orange County: The Rise of West Coast Punk Rock! (which earlier had been released under the title of We Were Feared) covers a fascinating … Read more

Pharaoh

Negative Everything
A389 (2014)

Pharaoh’s debut full-length, Negative Everything, is an absolutely crushing release. The New Jersey three-piece play a blend of doom, sludge, hardcore, and crust that is generally slow, sometimes fast, never predictable, and always heavy. The record’s opening track, “Recease,” starts with a slow, chugging, unaccompanied guitar and effectively sets the pace for the record. Pharaoh has no need for frills, … Read more

Weeping Rat

Tar
Handmade Birds (2015)

Tar has been an insane surprise for me. Even though the album was released back in December, I did not notice Weeping Rat until Handmade Birds announced that they were going to release the album on vinyl with an additional five bonus tracks! Weeping Rat comes from Australia, and even though when you first hear their music you will probably … Read more

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