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Astpai

Burden Calls
Jump Start (2014)

I’m not sure what this says about me, but I like Astpai’s Burden Calls just fine but it takes until they pull a sample from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the original) to hit that next level. It has little to nothing to do with the actual songs, but somehow it shifts the tone and the energy just picks up at … Read more

Girl Scout

Self Titled EP
Independent (2014)

Musically tight and lyrically inventive, Pittsburgh, PA-based, self-proclaimed “slacker rock” group Girl Scout seems to draw inspiration from various indie rock groups of the ‘90s and early 2000s - it doesn’t at all seem a coincidence that the band included a cover of Pavement’s “Cut Your Hair” as the b-side to their first single. Built around Jeremy Zerbe’s vulnerable voice … Read more

John, The Void

Self Titled EP
Independent (2014)

Proving that Italians can do the doomy, post-metal thing just as well as anyone else, mysterious and methodical five-piece group John, the Void’s 2014 self-titled EP (which actually runs a bit longer than what I might typically expect from an extended play) features six tracks ranging from two minute ambient pieces to sprawling, nine-minute epics. Throughout this very atmospheric but … Read more

GG Allin

(un)Censored Live 1993
MVD Visual (2014)

Despite the fact that the man’s been dead for more than two decades at this point, the reputation of GG Allin, self-described “public animal #1” who aimed to bring the danger back into rock and roll through live performances that existed somewhere in the netherworld between punk rock shows and performance art pieces, has only continued to grow over the … Read more

Earthless & Heavy Blanket

In a Dutch Haze
Outer Battery Records / Roadburn Records (2014)

Hour-long songs can be somewhat of a hard sell. For starters, there has to be an audience of listeners who are willing to carve out the time and sit and engage for sixty-plus minutes. Additionally and most crucially for instrumental projects, the sounds have to be there. Dopesmoker is an hour long, but it tells a story to go along … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Wildhoney

Seventeen Forever
Photobooth Records (2014)

Demonstrating on their 2013 self-titled EP that they may be the modern group that best replicates the sound of classic, British shoegaze bands (particularly, Isn’t Anything-era My Bloody Valentine), Baltimore five-piece Wildhoney returned with 2014’s three-track Seventeen Forever. Showing off new vocalist Lauren Shusterich as well as more confident songwriting, the EP kicks off with the calming “Seventeen.” Guitarists Joe … Read more

London Grammar

If You Wait
Columbia (2013)

Heartbreak in its truest form is one of life's most sobering and unyielding experiences. As the tedious old adage goes: there's a thin line between love and hate. The strength of these emotions can feel like a bizarre tug-of-war. They're not lacklustre, they're arresting, enthralling and all-consuming. If You Wait siphons some of the rawest feelings, left over after picking … Read more

The Sands

Hotel & Casino
Houseplant (2014)

Say what you will about the old “don’t judge a book by its cover” metaphor, but it’s got some credence in the music world too. The Sands’ Hotel & Casino is a case in point. The black vinyl sleeve may have suggested something darker, but the simplicity and attention to precision that marks the cover is befitting of the record … Read more

Electric Funeral

Total Funeral
Southern Lord (2014)

Total Funeral is the entire anthology-to-date of Electric Funeral, the one-man Swedish raw punk hobbyhorse manned by Jocke D-Takt. And holy crap is it ever unnecessary. We’re talking about 53 songs that, to the untrained ear, are nearly indistinguishable from one another. Southern Lord, as is their wont, reached into their deep-ish pockets to compile material from yet another act … Read more

Gog

Gog
King Of Monsters (2014)

I had the fortitude to come across GOG’s previous album, Ironworks, and was astonished with what I discovered. On his previous album, Michael Bjella (the man behind GOG) explored the noise and industrial scenes with much precision and no hesitation when it comes to how extreme a musical offering can be. The ability of Bjella to retain the harsh industrial … Read more

Maur

Elegy
Independent (2014)

Running nearly twenty minutes in length and featuring two tracks, 2014’s Elegy is the second demo from Indonesian five-piece Maur. I’d classify this band as sounding somewhat similar to stoner metal, particularly on Elegy’s fourteen minute title track which unleashes crisp guitar work played at a deliberate, relaxed tempo. There are moments when the instrumental parts didn’t quite match up … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Van Dammes

The VD EP
Keep Fishin’ Music (2014)

Though the band is not doing anything that the typical punk rock fan wouldn’t have heard dozens of times before, there’s definite energy and excitement in the four rowdy songs featured on Finnish group Van Dammes’ debut EP. Opening track “(Let’s) Go” kicks the album into high gear immediately, with the sort of singalong punk one would expect from The … Read more

Tobacco

Ultima II Massage
Ghostly International (2014)

Known primarily as the frontman for Black Moth Super Rainbow, Tobacco (the stage name of electronic musician Thomas Fec) has nonetheless carved out a little niche for himself as a solo artist in the electronic music scene with albums like 2010’s Maniac Meat, which featured contributions by the one and only Beck. Four years later, Tobacco has unveiled Ultima II … Read more

PS I Love You

For Those Who Stay
Paper Bag (2014)

Coming to prominence in 2011 on the strength of the almost unanimously praised debut LP Meet Me at Muster Station, PS I Love You (made up of guitarist/vocalist Paul Saulnier and drummer Benjamin Nelson) popped up at precisely the right time to take advantage of a music community all too willing to embrace an unconventional indie rock duo. Though the … Read more

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