174 total search results — Page 2 of 9
Sounds Like Violence – With Blood on My Hands
Review — December 31, 2007
Alternative Press called Sweden's Sounds Like Violence "post-grunge." I don't know what the fuck post-grunge is supposed to sound like, but apparently it's catchy pop-punk "recommended for fans of: My Chemical Romance, Underoath, Refused, [and] The Hives." The music isn't as bubbly as your average pop-punk band, which is definitely …
Skin Like Iron – Amalgamation II
Review — April 30, 2008
Amalgamation II compiles together the three self-released cassette recordings from Skin Like Iron. These recordings were originally released separate from each other beginning last year; they were ultimately brought together in a limited edition cassette box set before the good people at Free Cake Records saw fit to offer them …
Grace Alley / Skin Like Iron – Quake City
Review — October 14, 2008
We all know how much I love the Bay Area music scene, so it's really no surprise I'm loving this split 7" from Grace Alley and Skin Like Iron. Grace Alley leads things off with "Sunday Morning, "Fifth and Harrison." The music has that definitive East Bay Punk sound of …
Kids Like Us – The 80s are Dead (Reissue)
Review — April 5, 2009
I might as well start this review off by saying I have never liked Kids Like Us. There is nothing about their music that enthralls me. Actually their moshy "skater jams" annoy the living piss out of me with their juvenile lyrics and token mosh parts. There has been countless …
Skin Like Iron – All Human Failings
Review — July 20, 2009
Never wasting a moment, the Bay Area's Skin Like Iron has brought forth yet another new recording with this seven-track 12" EP. All Human Failings is another blast of gritty, raw, and noisy hardcore punk from one of the genre's top bands. They didn't leave much room for improvement with …
Like Wolves – Paths
Review — December 10, 2009
Paths is the second 7" release from Rochester's Like Wolves. I really enjoyed their demo 7", but this is even better, showing immense promise for future recordings. Just as with the songs on their demo, "Live Wires" boasts some stellar guitar work, bringing to mind the hardcore meets rock approach …
Girls Like Us – Bitter 'Til The Bitter End
Review — August 23, 2023
There’s the references with friends, right? The inside jokes. The glib comments only your inner circle knows to find funny. A real rocks and dirt moment- sorry, that’s one of mine. There’s another level too. The inside jokes you have with yourself. Sometimes you’re the only one who sees the …
The Distance – If You Lived Here You'd be Home Already
Review — November 13, 2005
When middle-school seemed too far away and Goosebumps represented literature, birthday parties were the fucking shit. I'd eat cake, party hard and take the occasional peak up a dress. Okay, 33% of that was a lie. The only negative aspect was having to get a birthday present for the little …
Do Make Say Think – You, You're a History in Rust
Review — August 6, 2007
In recent years, post-rock has become the urban sprawl of independent music. Invasive, bloated, and undeniably comfortable, it has steadily, albeit consciously, delineated from its richer, more substantive origins to assume the role of pleasant background music, antiseptically reliable but hopelessly predictable. Tortoise's feral meanderings and Mogwai's bulky, aggressive overtones …
Atmosphere – When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold
Review — June 29, 2008
While When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold brings Ant and Slug closer to full-blown mainstream success, it's an album that's not really about either of them. Rather, it's about those that possibly buy their albums, those that struggle to make it through the day, no real …
Texas Is The Reason – Do You Know Who You Are?
Review — June 8, 2012
Do You Know Who You Are? is one of the best selling albums that Revelation ever released, and Texas Is The Reason flirted with major label courtship (almost signing to Capitol before splitting up instead) on the strength of their what would ultimately prove to be this their sole album; …
Sorority Noise – You’re Not As _____ As You Think
Review — March 27, 2017
What is emo? A classicist view may lend itself to sounds like The Promise Ring’s Nothing Feels Good or Weezer’s Pinkerton, which gave way to second-generation icons like Brand New. While The Promise Ring and especially Weezer never really quite built on the successes of their early records, …
The Smith Street Band – More Scared of You Than You Are of Me
Review — June 18, 2018
There’s something oddly humbling and comforting about listening to the Smith Street Band, it’s like they’re that hometown band you watched put on shows in garages and living rooms growing up. It just feels like you know them—their lyrics are very real and they as people are very much real, …
Worriers – You or Someone You Know
Review — May 19, 2020
If it weren’t for playing in a certain scene, Worriers would likely be branded as a pop band instead of punk. The band is DIY all the way, with a growing discography, plus a back catalogue of previous bands dating into the early 2000s. As the project has grown since …
Jennifer Otter-Bickerdike – You Are Beautiful and You Are Alone
Review — February 8, 2022
1966 saw the first incarnation of Velvet Underground serenaded by the deep alto wails of Nico and resulting in more of a performative shock value prank than a musical act. From the get go it was clear that what Nico brought to the table fundamentally altered the DNA of Velvet …
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – Worlds Apart
Review — February 7, 2005
Vocalist Conrad Keely poses a question on the album's title track; "What's the future of Rock-n-Roll?" A rhetorical question? Perhaps, but he chooses to answers anyway, even if it is sarcastically: "Does it matter?" To answer his question, yes, it does. For if the future is filled with annoying indie/pop …
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – So Divided
Review — November 13, 2006
In 2005, Texan art-rockers ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead released World's Apart to critical acclaim and commercial failure. The unfortunate victims of a leak that saw the album seep onto the Internet months before its heavily delayed release date. At the time, Conrad Keely openly …
Bosch's With You – Dreams That Come a Thing Part II
Review — May 2, 2008
I believe that Bosch's With You is the first Russian band I've sat down and actually listened to. I can't help but make the excuse that Russia is half a world away from where I reside, but on the other hand, the Internet has made it so easy for us …
You May Die in the Desert / Gifts from Enola – Harmonic Motion: Volume 1
Review — August 7, 2008
Harmonic Motion: Volume 1 is the start of a Differential Records series aiming to bring together like-sounding instrumental groups. The record starts off with "The Sound of Titans," a twelve minute atmospheric piece with several ups and downs in sound levels. For the most part, the song is more of …
