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Reviews by Loren

712 total search results — Page 36 of 36

The Anomalys – Down The Hole

Review — February 1, 2025

If I have to give the elevator pitch, I’ll call The Anomalys garage rock with an ear for surf and psyche rock -- turned up to 11 and blasted through blown out speakers in an old 1980s sedan. It’s high-energy, no-frills rock ‘n’ roll with attitude. While it’s short, loud …

Chat Pile – Cool World

Review — February 8, 2025

The great American experiment has a wide range of experiences, but it tends to focus on the coasts. There are countless dystopian pieces of art, often culling from a Warriors-esque concept of urban grit. Chat Pile play dystopian, brutal noise-punk, but from a distinctly middle American point of view …

Gus Baldwin & The Sketch – The Sketch

Review — February 23, 2025

When The Sketch opens, I find myself quickly thinking of “Got The Time” by Joe Jackson. For the most part, that comparison fades by the time the power chords kick in at 10 seconds, but I also bring it up because (at least in my mind) that’s a classic …

Celebration Summer – A Little Less Numb

Review — February 28, 2025

I get a lot of music here at SPB and, unfortunately, my memory isn’t perfect. But I consider it a good sign when my first thought on hearing a new release is that, “Hey, I need to go back and relisten to the last one again.” It’s not a …

Deseos Primitivos – Lineas de Muerte

Review — April 11, 2025

Some reviews are written after years of listening to a band and knowing nearly everything about them. Sometimes I listen to a record on repeat for weeks before I even look up the correct song titles – Deseos Primitivos (Primitive Desires) is the latter. This promo came to SPB as …

1186 – Histeria

Review — April 18, 2025

If you read enough press releases, you start questioning if you even know what genre names mean. Post-punk has been one of the most abused terms of the past 2-3 years and it seems to mean wildly different things to different people. To me, it’s always meant an ear for …

Errth – Errth

Review — April 23, 2025

What makes a gruff vocal melodic punk band stand out? That's the question I'm asking myself as I listen to Errth's debut on repeat. I've been playing this record for probably a month straight and I dig it. It checks the heart-on-sleeve style I enjoy but I'm struggling to figure …

Rodeo Boys – Junior

Review — May 5, 2025

Rodeo Boys play in the punk circuit but there's so much going on in their music. I'll broadly summarize it as guitar music. This description, of course, might be biased from my first impression when I caught the last 5 minutes of a set at Fest which was basically just …

Raging Nathans – Room For One More

Review — May 6, 2025

The Raging Nathans are a unique band. They play '90s influenced punk that checks a ton of familiar boxes. It will appeal to fans of the old "EpiFat" sound, as it's been pejoratively called... but they seamlessly add a new element of emotion that's often carries blunt, harsh and personal …

The Slow Death – No Light To See

Review — May 22, 2025

Few bands have as fitting a name as The Slow Death. They play forlorn, self-deprecating punk that’s heavily influenced by lonesome country. The music itself is more driving and punchy, but many of the lyrics would fit just well in a somber old-timey country ballad. It’s forceful music that punches …

Miller Lowlifes – Pinch Hitters

Review — May 30, 2025

The debut album from Florida punk band Miller Lowlifes features a vintage baseball theme, best enjoyed with a can of cheap domestic beer in hand. The metaphor fits, as Pinch Hitters focuses on the American dream -- and where it stands in 2025. The vintage educational TV audio clips add …

ZEPHR – Past Lives

Review — June 13, 2025

Sometimes you can just hear the passion in a voice. ZEPHR is one of those bands. They defy convention a little bit, in that I associate gravelly voices with harsher, heavier sounds, but ZEPHR use sore-throat vocals to great effect with midtempo, emotional and melodic 3-chord chugging punk rock and …