Future Girls
Motivation Problems
Dirt Cult (2018)
Future Girls’ debut full-length is one I’m going to have a tough time describing. Motivation Problems fits well within the Dirt Cult Records catalog. It’s punky, but there’s more going on. It’s melodic in focus with some rough-around-the-edges touches, both musically and in the recording. Twelve songs race past in just 27 minutes, but it feels diverse even within that … Read more
Future of the Left
Polymers Are Forever EP
Xtra Mile (2011)
From what I gather, I’m supposed to love Andy Falkous and his body of work. For a man who talks so much shit, he sure has a lot of admirers. But, whatever…I’m reviewing Polymers Are Forever here, not writing as essay on ego worship. This EP is the latest from his post-Mclusky group, and something of a teaser for an … Read more
Future of the Left
The Plot Against Common Sense
Xtra Mile (2012)
The Future of the Left may have released their third full-length in The Plot Against Common Sense but little has changed in terms of band definition. The songs here are mostly built around frontman Andrew Falkous and his direct, biting commentary/lyricism. The music is sharp-toothed and forceful and, when the band drops a new release, the question isn’t so much … Read more
Future of the Left
Travels With Myself and Another
4AD (2009)
It doesn't look like a man. It doesn't talk like a man. But does it fuck like a man? Does it? Does it fuck like a man? It doesn't smell like a man. It doesn't taste like a man. But does it fuck like a man? Does it? Does it fuck like a man? Wise words there from album highlight … Read more
Future Primitive
Expression Sessions
Independent (2006)
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Fuck! Fuck! No, I'm not quoting Ceremony, but instead referring to the blistering pain in my pinky toe. What could have caused my toe to go numb and bleed all over my trusty vans shoes? I blame Future Primitive, and their debut release Expression Sessions. Hailing from the traffic jammed freeways of Southern California, Future … Read more
Future Virgins
Doomsday Raga
Let’s Pretend Records/Recess Records (2018)
I was excited about this record 3 seconds in. To put it directly, I’m a big fan of everything Future Virgins has done so I was expecting it. Doomsday Raga fits their catalog well, but it also fits in with the gradual progression from coarse DIY to well-rounded, crisp melodies.There’s a lot to like about the band, but for me … Read more
Future Virgins
Late Republic
Recess (2013)
After how hard Western Problems hit, it would be hard for Future Virgins to deliver another punch-out of similar quality. Or would it? With a new record, Late Republic on Recess Records, the Chattanooga band has blown my expectations away. The sound this time is a bit cleaner, which lends a pop sensibility to their powerful melodies, but it’s just … Read more
Future Virgins
Western Problems
StarCleaner\Plan-it-X South (2011)
2011 saw me getting deeper into garage bands. What better way to close out my year than with Future Virgins, who blend garage brevity and song structures with pop punk melodies. The Chattanooga, TN band mixes up a garage influence without feeling nearly as formulaic, due in large part to the punk that oozes over the surface. Sure, the songs … Read more
FVRMN
Back To The Whip
Bifocal Media (2024)
This is apparently the fourth LP from FVRMN, previously known as “Fever Moon” and presumably pronounced as such. It’s not exactly a solo project, as there is a full band on Back To The Whip, but it’s definitely the brainchild of Jay Holmes (formerly of The Ladderback and also a recognized visual artist who has done design work for the … Read more
Gaahl's Wyrd
GastiR - Ghosts Invited
Season of Mist (2019)
Kristian Eivind Espedal, otherwise knows as Ghaahl has been a polarizing fixture on the Norwegian Black Metal scene since the mid 90s, fronting bands such as Gorgoroth and God Seed. In the nine years fronting Gorgoroth, Gaahl helped to create some the most vicious and brutal darkness in the genre without ever really straying from the true Norwegian style.But Gaahl’s … Read more
Gabriel Garcia
Crucifix My Baroquen Heart
Coming Home (2006)
I've always been interested in the correlation between hardcore and indie pop or folk music. Hrishikesh Hirway, playing under the moniker of The One AM Radio, has released numerous albums with Level-Plane, a label known mostly for their work with screamo and hardcore bands. Brandon Peck, singer of great hardcore band Wow, Owls! and now the soon to be great … Read more
Galactic Cannibal
We're Fucked
Hewhocorrupts Inc. (2013)
Goddamn, these are some brutally hoarse vocals. Like the kind that makes my voice hurt just thinking about singing along, and I mean that in the best possible way.Galactic Cannibal are a Milwaukee punk band comprised of brothers Nick Woods (Direct Hit!) and Peter J Woods (noise artist). Throw those comparisons out the window, though, as this slams the pedal … Read more
Gallows
Grey Britain
Warner Bros. (2009)
After landing a million-pound record deal with Warner Bros., a lot of the punks were expecting Gallows' follow-up to Orchestra of Wolves to go in a "poppier" direction so it would sell well. Guess what? They were wrong, very wrong. Gallows' latest offering, Grey Britain shows the band more hateful, aggressive, and powerful than ever. The benefit of a higher-budget … Read more
Gallows
Orchestra of Wolves
In at the Deep End (2006)
For the most part, the state of music - underground or major label - is stale and nothing more than a regurgitation of what has been previously done. But there are those rare gems, those bands that do something that is just a little bit different, that exist and make you excited about music. It's been quite a while since … Read more
Gallows
Orchestra of Wolves (Reissue)
Epitaph (2007)
The word "fucking" appears on Orchestra of Wolves forty-nine times. Let me break it down for you: there's thirty-nine "fucking"s on the full-length and ten on the two bonus tracks for a grand total of forty-nine. That's not including variants such as "fuck", "fucked", etc. I counted every time it appears in the lyrics (there's an extra in one song … Read more
Gamenight
Simple Starts in the Mind
The New Beat (2006)
In the mid to late nineties, there was an overwhelming flood of new bands practicing the musical style known as emo. At that point, the three-letter term covered a much wider range of rock groups. Bands that would now be neatly separated into sub-categories like shoegaze, math-rock, or post-punk were openly embraced by all that considered themselves emo fans. Ironically … Read more
Gang Gang Dance
God's Money
The Social Registry (2005)
Rare is music that can evoke a time and a place in the mind of the listener. Rarer still is when that time and place are of an otherworldly nature, subtle and peculiar, yet strangely settling. Of course, such music is often difficult to embrace, but with enough patience it is often the best. Gang Gang Dance's second LP, God's … Read more
Gang Of Four
What Happens Next
Metropolis (2015)
I haven’t listened to Gang of Four in a long time, and I tend to stick to the classic Entertainment!, released in 1979, when I do. That’s not to talk about the band’s changes in 30 years, but to introduce that I’m not well versed on recent output. Obviously the band has changed since the early days, the most significant … Read more
