Shitty Weekend
Shit Week
Secret Pennies (2014)
This thing is all over the map, from freak-out jazz-punk one minute (“Geneva”) to a track of haunting old man ghost noises laid atop a galloping horse, and then band to spastic punk. I mean that in a good way.Shitty Weekend is made up of members of Transient and The Taxpayers and call Portland home. They’re a six-piece band with not one, but two different saxophone players, but it’s punk through and through, despite the horns. It’s tongue-in-cheek, angry, and fun all in one encompassing sweep. Sometimes it’s ‘80s-inspired hardcore, at others it’s melodic fare with a smooth saxophone breeze under the core. Then they say “fuck all” and close with the acoustic, folk-punky “Oh Dear.” While that sounds like there’s not a unifying factor, there is. The band establishes a cheeky tone that works across the styles and the DIY production works well with their varied sounds, pulling it all together under in unglossed package with a lot of screaming vocals and screaming saxophones. While the lyrics are of a political bent, it avoids the preachy angle.Ultimately, Shitty Weekend a band that’s out there having a good time, planting some sarcastic seed along the way, well evidenced by the … Read more
Death From Above 1979
The Physical World
Last Gang / Warner Bros. (2014)
For a time in the mid- to late-2000s, it seemed as if Canadian drum and bass duo Death from Above … Read more
Jimi Goodwin
Odludek
Heavenly Recordings (2014)
After a career spanning more than ten years and 4 critically acclaimed albums as the frontman of Manchester 3-piece Doves, … Read more
Pallbearer
Foundations of Burden
Profound Lore (2014)
When Pallbearer released their debut album, Sorrow and Extinction, I was stunned. No matter how good their 2010 demo was, … Read more
