Review / 200 Words Or Less
Matadors
Flame the Whisper

Devil Doll (2007) — Kevin Fitzpatrick

Matadors – Flame the Whisper cover artwork
Matadors – Flame the Whisper — Devil Doll, 2007

Yippeeeee! It's Matadors time! Plug it in and lets party like it's 1992! Yes, that's right. 1992! Forget those bands of way back when. Gas Huffer. Mother Love Bone. The Mono Men. All great bands that never had a tribute band

until now (zing!).

Fifteen years late, but who the hell's counting? Matadors work on Swedish time, baby. It's not their fault - nobody told them that the war's over, and Seattle lost. Hell, for all I know they're keeping it real and trying to do a Dave Clark Five impersonation. Christ, at the very least you'd think The Hives would have dropped by to tell 'em.

Don't let the ads or press fool you. Billing Matadors as "Stoner Rock" is not accurate. Unless Poison 13 ever counted as stoner rock. Nope, these boys are straight outta tha' garage and let me tell you their garages are a whole lot cleaner than ours. What does that mean? Well it means that Flame the Whisper is sixteen tracks of competent-yet-senseless Sub-Pop nostalgia for the kids too young to remember - and trust me this album isn't exactly gonna have them asking their slightly older uncle if they could borrow his Mudhoney collection. It'll bore them to tears and reinforce the apathy already coursing through their Skyy Vodka soaked designer-drug addled brains. So for heaven's sake, won't someone please think of the children.

Matadors – Flame the Whisper cover artwork
Matadors – Flame the Whisper — Devil Doll, 2007

Recently-posted album reviews

​Pressure Set

​Pressure Set
Dr Strange Records (2026)

Punk rock has never needed complexity to make an impact. Sometimes, all it takes is a handful of riffs, a relentless rhythm section, and enough attitude to make the whole thing stick. Pressure Set understands that formula, but rather than simply recycling it, the band coats it in layers of filthy fuzz, garage-rock swagger, and an unexpectedly sharp melodic sensibility. … Read more

Blood & Sun

Aion's Light
Nordvis (2026)

The trajectory of Blood & Sun has been one of natural evolution. Starting off from rough demos, the project of Luke Tromiczak slowly became something more immersive and complete. The compositions grew richer, the songwriting more nuanced, and the production cleaner. However, the creative process does not necessarily have to be about looking forward and evolving, and in fact at … Read more

The Loved Ones

LATEST HITS!
Lovemonk Records, SofaBurn (2026)

I'll admit, when I first saw a new album from The Loved Ones land in my inbox, I got pretty excited. Being a fan of the Philadelphia punk band fronted by Dave Hause, I thought I was about to hear something I hadn't expected. Unfortunately, these weren't the Loved Ones I was looking for. However, what I discovered instead was … Read more