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Self Defense Family

You Are Beneath Her
Iron Pier (2013)

Surely there has been a band (not just a group of musicians) that is as forward thinking about what the concept of being a “band” is as Self Defense Family (the band formerly known as End Of A Year), but none that I can think of other than say SunnO))) in the way that collaborators shape the music; You Are … Read more

Deadkill

No, Never!
Good to Die Records (2014)

Following a buzz-worthy 7” and string of shows around Pacific Northwest alongside the likes of The Spits, White Lung,OFF!, and High on Fire, Seattle's Deadkill have released their 14-song debut album No, Never! The first thing that jumps out is how clean-sounding this is. The production is over-the-top slick, which is not surprising considering the album was recorded by Matt … Read more

Dead Mechanical

OK Night
Toxic Pop (2013)

Dead Mechanical is one of those mid-tempo punk bands, built on life’s grimy surfaces and reflecting that tone of rough-and-tumble, down-and-out luck. The music fits this tone, drudging, cursing, and lamenting, striving for a blend of catharsis and transcendence. OK Night is their third full-length and its title just screams of that blunted worldview, neither positive nor negative.The onesheet namedrops … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Various Artists

Joie De Vivre/Prawn - Split EP
Topshelf (2014)

The recent collaboration between emo acts Prawn (NY/NJ-based) and Joie De Vivre (Illinois-based) is a rad split album packed with guitar twinkles and gloomy vocals.Joie De Vivre starts off the split. Compared to past albums like We’re All Better Than This and The North End, JDV’s three songs on the collaboration are heavier and, production-wise, more lavish. Their stand out … Read more

The Lawrence Arms

Metropole
Epitaph (2014)

When The Lawrence Arms released Oh Calcutta! back in 2006, it was billed by the band as a collection of songs utilizing the back-and-forth, high octane punk they enjoy listening to—a conscious decision to switch-up their sound for a record. Then, life happened and the group took eight years for a new album. 2014 brings Metropole, and even with the … Read more

Have a Nice Life

The Unnatural World
Enemies List / The Flenser (2014)

Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga’s original gloom-filled masterpiece deathconsciousness managed to pique the interest of the collective interweb persona back in 2008, where an eager audience received the monolithic double-release with a certain trepidatious appreciation. Inaccessible to many thanks to the duo’s characteristically abject bleakness and startlingly desolate atmosphere, it went on to become an instant classic among the cult … Read more

Nebelung

Palingenesis
Temple of Torturous (2014)

Nebelung's gorgeous Palingenesis is born of melancholy and sadness and the themes of an approaching finality coupled with the knowledge of rebirth echoes throughout a work that is layered and coloured with shades of autumn and the coming winter. Palingenesis is a moody work and its textures flow through beautiful acoustic guitars and Stefan Otto’s emotion-laden voice. He moves from … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Acid Fast

Rabid Moon
Protagonist (2014)

Acid Fast play really angst-y yet bouncy punk rock that is rooted as deeply in the Midwest sound as it is the Pacific Northwest. But here’s the thing: they’re not from Olympia or Minneapolis or Portland or Chicago; they’re from Oakland. But goddamn, if they don’t sound like a band that came up playing damp basements alongside The Soviettes, RVIVR, … Read more

The Obits

Bed & Bugs
Sub Pop (2013)

Obits don’t offer many surprises on Bed & Bugs, but that’s never really been the expectation. In a long lineage of bands, Rick Froberg has defined a distinct sound and this, Obits’ third full-length, doesn’t offer many deviations. The success of Obits comes through classic, big r’n’r chops. It’s about taking the familiar and playing it in a new, memorable … Read more

Perfect Pussy

Say Yes To Love
Captured Tracks (2014)

In 2010, it was Wavves. In 2012, it was Japandroids. Now, the vaginal Syracuse outfit Perfect Pussy is Pitchfork.com's newest punk band crush. Yes, this is the same popular indie music site whose 2013 Reader’s Poll allowed Kanye West’s Yeezus to be the Most Underrated and Most Overrated Album Of The Year, and yes, these are also the writers who … Read more

Noisem

Agony Defined
A389 (2013)

For all of the hype and bluster that was the so called "thrash revival" a few years later few bands can make a viable claim that they remain, let alone stick out (save for Municipal Waste). Even the standard bearers (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer) have clearly lost the energy the once had (Slayer) or lost the plot entirely (Metallica and Megadeth). … Read more

The Curtis Mayflower

Everything Beautiful Is Under Attack
Independent (2014)

The first studio release from The Curtis Mayflower titled Everything Beautiful Is Under Attack is a combination of talent, great songwriting, and beautiful haunting melodies. This is what happens when you take five of the best musicians from the Central Massachusetts area and send them up to an old farmhouse in Maine to record an album in 24 hours. Done … Read more

Brown Brogues

Triflin'
Stolen Body Records (2013)

The phrase "hanging out" can mean different things for different people. Some may use it to describe a night-in or a low-key stop at the neighborhood bar. Others may use it to describe their weekend-long, mind-melting bender adventure. In this instance, the phrase "big time hanging out" may be used. Really, though, it's all about attitude and believing in the … Read more

Pretty Boy Thorson & the Falling Angels

An Uneasy Peace
Kiss of Death (2013)

Have things finally turned around for Jesse Thorson, making the country-punk band sing a new song of joy and celebration? Of course not.Previously, the band didn’t play alt-country so far as they wrote punk songs to country lyrics—however, An Uneasy Peace definitely sees that paradigm shifting toward a fuzzier genre classification. Maybe it’s because Thorson now has an outlet for … Read more

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