Partial Traces
Wild Surf/Quiet Blues
Salinas Records (2021)
Partial Traces play pop-inspired keyboard rock – but not at all the kind you imagine when you hear those words. In pop songs, the keyboard generally brings melodrama or atmosphere. In Partial Traces, those two ideas meet in the middle. It’s emotional and serious, but instead of dramatic, it’s tonal. It feels real and authentic, which largely comes from the … Read more
Parts & Labor/Tyondai Braxton
Rise Rise Rise
Narnack (2004)
Brooklyn strikes again with this 2-for-1 bargain from noise rock provocateurs Parts & Labor and loop-based composer Tyondai Braxton. Rise Rise Rise may only be the second major release from each of the two parties involved, but surprisingly enough, it manages to exhibit more progress than a second - not to mention split - release would normally demonstrate. Parts & … Read more
Pas Musique
Inside the Spectrum
Alrealon Musique (2015)
Forming in Brooklyn in 1995 as a collective based around abstract sound, Pas Musique translates to “Not Music” in French, a fact which gives some indication of what the adventurous listener is in store for on limited 2015 release Inside the Spectrum. That being said, much of what is contained in the wild, ten-track album is actually quite musical, though … Read more
Pash
The Best Gun
Exotic Fever (2007)
There are two basic guidelines to follow when being apart of the D.C. punk scene: the first is that it is absolutely necessary to be a vegan, straight edge, and a bike messenger, or at least a combination of two of those, or else you're going to feel a bit alienated. I for one think this is really fucking stupid, … Read more
Passion
The Fierce Urgency of Now
Goodfellow (2006)
The Fierce Urgency of Now is a record from Philadelphia, PA's Passion. Fans of hardcore and metalcore will appreciate Passion's intensity and technicality; if you're looking for breakdowns and fast-paced music, you will enjoy this album. If you aren't, you'll hate it. "Statistics Show That We Do Not Care" packs a punch, delivering lyrics against child molestation and an ear-catching … Read more
Passiv Dödshjälp
Fasader
Power It Up (2011)
I’ll admit it; any band that requires key strokes to properly type their name has a good chance of ending up in my review pile. The reason is two-fold: It stems from my days as a Motley Crüe -worshiping adolescent, and the simple fact that I am a sucker for Scandinavian hardcore. Thus we have here the latest vinyl by … Read more
Past Lives
Strange Symmetry
Suicide Squeeze (2008)
The hiatus and eventual breakup of The Blood Brothers in 2007 left many of their fans heartbroken. But honestly, with as many musical outlets as the members have had over the years - Head Wound City, Neon Blonde, Jaguar Love, etc - I didn't really expect them to last that much longer. After the demise of the group, members Jordan … Read more
Pat Metheny
Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)
BMG (2021)
I’m inclined to believe that anyone even just vaguely familiar with the fusion area of jazz has heard of Pat Metheny. Practically one of the legends of the genre, there’s nothing I could really say here to aptly summarize Metheny’s nearly five-decade career, nor add. It’s pretty obvious that in such cases there’s no critique to pass, or rather, no … Read more
Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders
After The Dolls
Heavy Medication Records (2026)
Pat Todd is a roots rock and roll incarnate — a relentless road dog, grinding it out night after night with his hot-as-buckshot band, The Rankoutsiders. His shows are raw, electric, and lived-in, a testament to decades on the road. With a career spanning over forty years, Todd has earned a reputation as one of the hardest-working men in the … Read more
Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders
There's Pretty Things in Palookaville
Hound Gawd! Records (2021)
“As the riders leaned on by him, he heard one call his name If you want to save your soul from hell a-riding on our range Then cowboy change your ways today or with us, you will ride Tryin' to catch the devil herd across these endless skies” Stan Jones Danny and the Juniors belted out that Rock and Roll … Read more
Path of Resistance
Can't Stop the Truth
Victory (2006)
Okay, Path of Resistance was a more hardcore project of Earth Crisis and their friends that convened the first time while certain members of Earth Crisis allowed injuries brought on by a tour accident to heal. Their last album, Who Daresââ¬Â¦Wins came out almost ten years ago. It was panned by many hardcore purists, but for some was more loved … Read more
Path to Misery
Demo
Independent (2007)
Path to Misery is a musical-collective from Pittsburgh, PA. The group of individuals involved focuses their attention of raising awareness of government actions, social issues, and other forward-thinking ideas through music. Musically, they set things to a soundtrack of abrasive hardcore with dashes of metal, d-beat, and grind thrown in for good measure. Their latest demo is comprised of three … Read more
Patrick Higgins
Bachanalia
Telegraph Harp (2015)
Known in his lifetime (1685-1750) primarily as an organist, German-born Johann Sebastian Bach has, in the course of the last three centuries, achieved a status as one of the finest composers to have ever lived. The mathematical precision of Bach’s work is one of its most recognized characteristics, but also an element that provoked a love it or hate it … Read more
Patrick Mackie
Mozart in Motion - His Work and His World in Pieces
Allen & Unwin (2021)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is widely portrayed as a self-contained musical genius, a prodigy that effortlessly managed to pump out an endless array of masterworks. What makes Patrick Mackie’s book on Mozart an intriguing piece of the literary canon of Mozart is that it offers insight on his worldly dealings, his writing process, the rehearsals, negotiations, travels, et cetera. Mozart in … Read more
Patton Oswalt
Werewolves and Lollipops
Sub Pop (2007)
For the most part, humor is always subjective. Not in this case, however. If Patton Oswalt doesn't make you laugh, then you, my sad little friend are wrong. Dead wrong. So wrong in fact, that I can't even look at you. Go on. Get out of my sight. Go to Target and buy the new Bill Engvall album, you jagoff. … Read more
Paul Brannigan
Eruption: The Eddie Van Halen Story
Faber Publishing (2021)
I for one have always found it puzzling how anyone into rock music could not harbour at least a weak spot of appreciation for the charm of the unicum that was Van Halen as from late seventies until the mid-80ies they almost single-handedly restored hard rock to where it belonged, courtesy of David Lee Roth’s charisma and the virtuosic talent … Read more
Paul Morley
From Manchester with Love: The Life and Opinions of Tony Wilson
Allen & Unwin Publishing (2021)
Tony Wilson was known for many things, e.g. being TV presenter, enfant terrible, entrepreneur, founder of the immensely successful Factory Records label and essentially an inspiring cultural catalyst and trailblazer at the centre of a myriad of creative networks, without whom genre-coining bands like Joy Division, Happy Mondays and New Order would have not had a veritable launchpad. Needless to … Read more
Paysage d'Hiver
Im Wald
Kunsthall Produktionen (2020)
Im Wald begins on the slow, crunching footsteps of "Im Winterwald," while howling winds build a canopy of sound, offering a vision of how the succeeding time will unfold. That crackling, blanket of snow motif is one that will be familiar to anyone who has spent many a solitary evening with Paysage d'Hiver's - and it sets the tangible scene … Read more
