Recent reviews

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)

Black Lips

Kids Like You & Me
Universal (2014)

At one point during Kids Like You & Me, the documentary chronicling Atlanta "flower-punks" the Black Lips' 2012 tour through the Middle East, drummer Joe Bradley remarks that it would be easy for the band to go out and book a tour in North America or even Europe really since the band already has a developed audience there. However, for the group to book a tour that would take them though Cyrus, Egypt, Lebanon among other stops would be much more of a challenge for them as artists. By all accounts, neither indie rock nor its cousin garage rock are very prevalent in the Middle East. For the Black Lips, a band whose live set was long characterized by exposed dicks, fireworks and general excess, to tour through the area just seems downright brazen. In the documentary, all four members of the band make reference to an ill-fated tour through India a few years prior in which the band says they "got in trouble" but avow that they "learned their lesson." And that's the other thing. Bassist Jared Swilley, guitarists Cole Alexander and Ian Saint Pe and drummer Joe Bradley are 100% sincere in their desire to explore this part … Read more

Low Forms

Low Forms EP
Big Action Records/Tectonic Plates (2014)

Low Forms self-titled 7” is a six minute blast of power-pop defined by clean guitars, rhythmic chops, and traditional format … Read more

Barghest

The Virtuous Purge
Gilead Media (2014)

This black metal act from Louisiana continues to spread destruction and devastation. Barghest released their debut album back in 2011, … Read more

White Reaper

White Reaper EP
Polyvinyl (2014)

White Reaper is a cool-named trio who are rubber-burning their way out of the Louisville, KY DIY scene. There’s a … Read more

Tessela

Rough 2 EP
Different Grooves (2014)

This drug influenced, euro-electronic laser beam, drum and bass can be very, VERY repetitive, Anxiety inducing, tough to listen to, … Read more

Versus You

Moving On
Bomber Music (2014)

Despite a confrontational name, Versus You are every bit positive punx with songs praising friendship, relationships, and the like. It’s … Read more

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One from the archives

Joyce Manor

40 oz. to Fresno
Epitaph (2022)

Joyce Manor is one of those bands that I always follow, a band that shaped my tastes in my earlier years of digging into pop punk/emo subculture. Let’s say I would like to thankgod, ‘cause 2022 is a year where a lot of good stuff is coming out and unfortunately 40 oz. to Fresno is not so good for me. Well it's not an easy task to review one of your favorite bands as they put out bad stuff. The previous works like Million Dollars To Kill Me and Cody were good stuff and I would guess this may be a factor for the band, having its own "burden" on meeting expectations. Also writing in quarantine times seems not a good fit for everyone, maybe Joyce Manor. As revealed on … Read more

More album reviews

Versus You

Moving On
Bomber Music (2014)

Versus You's album Moving On is short and sweet, but not with out its flaws. It's heartbreak music at its semi finest and the simple yet meaningful lyrics and fun brand of melodic, emotional pop punk establishes itself well with the opening track “When It All Goes Down.” Don't be fooled by the opening track, there's a lot this album … Read more

Hotel Books

I'm Almost Happy Here, But I Never Feel At Home
In Vogue (2014)

Hotel Books' I'm Almost Happy Here But I Never Feel At Home is well-versed prose that at times can be a bit repetitive. Each verse has elements that are thought provoking and heartfelt which helps carry the album to make up for the repetition. The tone sets in almost immediately with the opening song, “Lose One Friend,” and quickly gets … Read more

Pujol

Kludge
Saddle Creek (2014)

Daniel Pujol is prolific and ever changing. The leader of Pujol continues to release records at a rapid pace, successfully switching up his backing sounds in the process. While early material was a lot more garage in style, the overall tone on Kludge is quirky and rock-based, but it ranges from sauntering slower material (“Spooky Scary”) to minimalist electropop (“Small … Read more

Various Artists

Moloch / Meth Drinker - Split LP
Feast of Tentacles (2013)

Moloch returns a second time for 2013 while Meth Drinker join them this time. Moloch remain relatively the same in that what they do is play a deep dark style of doom that embraces the blacker elements of the genre. New Zealand's Meth Drinker return the favor by playing something that can at one point resemble trudging doom and at … Read more

Various Artists

Moloch / Ensorcelor - Split LP
Psychic Assault (2013)

This is a record resembling Clash Of The Titans. Both Canada's Ensorcelor and England's Moloch have been lurching in the darkest reaches of the metal underground for a few years. While some bands err to the side or fluid hooks in their riffs and others slink towards creating the most noise possible, somewhere in between lie these two.On one side … Read more

Container

Adhesive
Liberation Technologies (2014)

Combining throbbing electronic music with scratchy and crackly noise elements, Providence, Rhode Island’s Container has been getting more and more notice in recent years. Perhaps one reason for this is the fact that musician/producer Ren Schofield (who essentially is Container) has continued to improve, pumping out almost industrial-oriented tracks using conventional techno beats even as many electronic artists have been … Read more

Ensemble Economique

Melt Into Nothing
Denovali (2014)

I became familiar with Ensemble Economique back in 2010 when they released their album Psychical, with Bryan Pyle (formerly of Starving Weirdos) combining world music with a very intriguing soundtrack type of feeling. Even though the original incarnation of the band with their fascinating influences was monumental, Ensemble Economique has crossed into darker territories. Pyle has reduced this act to … Read more

Jon McKiel

Jon McKiel
Independent (2014)

An old, black-and-white photo depicts five dilapidated homes slowly crumbling away on an island in the middle of a vast, dismal ocean; the sea's endlessness and archaicness adds a sense of sentimentality to the picture. With such a glum album cover, it’s a dazzling surprise once the effervescent, action-packed “New Tracy (I Will Learn To See)” - opening song on … Read more

Mike "McBeardo" McPadden

Heavy Metal Movies
Independent (2014)

According to Mike "McBeardo" McPadden's Heavy Metal Movies, Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey"profoundly influenced" a yet-to-be-named Black Sabbath. Fifty pages later on in the book, and the reader learns about the night in 1969 in Birmingham, England when Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward were getting ready to take the stage as blues rock … Read more

Benjamin Shaw

Goodbye, Cagoule World
Audio Antihero (2014)

The UK is a miserable place at times, more often than not in fact, and artists such as Benjamin Shaw fully embrace that misery and spin it out in stories of hopelessness, rejection and the knowledge that pretty much everything is complete shit. Luckily, Goodbye, Cagoule World isn't complete shit and instead takes all the rubbish that life throws out … Read more

Pixies

Indie Cindy
Pixies Music (2014)

Indie Cindy is the first new Pixies full-length since 1991 (Trompe le Monde). After the band reunited a few years back for the tour circuit the rumors of new material started to flow, the band continued to tour, and nothing came out. Eventually, shortly after the departure of original bassist Kim Deal (The Breeders), the band put out three EPs … Read more

The Atlas Moth

The Old Believer
Profound Lore (2014)

I still remember when I first listened to the Atlas Moth debut album, A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky. Instantly I thought that this heavy psychedelic doom/sludge band was on to something really great. The sonic experimentation and the insane weight of the band combined with sick riffs and screaming vocals was an unbelievable record to process. And when their … Read more

†††

†††
Sumerian (2014)

The latest in a series of side projects from Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno, ††† (pronounced “crosses”) takes much of its somewhat spooky iconography from the weird world of witch house (ooo look – every ‘T’ is replaced with a †), yet probably has more in common with Nine Inch Nails than any of the here-today-gone-tomorrow genuine witch house groups. Formed … Read more

Death Grips

Niggas On The Moon
Harvest / Third Worlds (2014)

Death Grips have been making a strong and confrontational statement in music since their inception. Zach Hill (Former drummer extraordinaire for Hella), Stefan "MC Ride" Burnett, and Andy "Flatlander" Morin have been making caustic rap punk that always leaves first-time listeners at a loss for words. Their self-described "accelerated music" contains samples that range from "Up The Beach" by Jane's … Read more

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