Search results

Reviews by Loren

668 total search results — Page 2 of 34

Banner Pilot – Resignation Day

Review — November 20, 2008

With a pedigree including Rivethead and Off With Their Heads there are certain expectations behind Banner Pilot's debut full length. In addition to their resume, the band has received a number of rave reviews that boost these lofty expectations. Resignation Day largely proves the buzz correct. What Banner Pilot delivers …

The Measure [SA] – One Chapter in the Book: A Collection of Standard Waits and Measurements

Review — November 25, 2008

New Brunswick, NJ seems to be bringing the rock lately. The Measure [SA] is one of the town's hard working bands with a slew of releases. One Chapter in the Book: A Collection of Standard Waits and Measurements compiles many of them in one place, with the album title being …

Roll the Tanks – Suffer City

Review — December 18, 2008

Something about Roll the Tanks sounds familiar. I can't put my finger on who they remind me of, but they have a light, bouncy Brit-pop feel with enough enthusiasm to overcome their lack of originality. On Suffer City, the Massachusetts/Los Angeles quartet brings a half hour of concise, polished …

Star Fucking Hipsters – Until We're Dead

Review — December 21, 2008

Let's face it: a lot of punk rock comes across through the singer's voice, and that voice often isn't pretty: Johnny Rotten's snottiness, Tim Armstrong's slurs, Jello Biafra's warble. When it comes to the Star Fucking Hipsters' Sturgeon (Choking Victim, Leftover Crack), his voice is easily identifiable and his work …

Constantines – Kensington Heights

Review — January 18, 2009

Kensington Heights is the fourth album from Ontario's Constantines and their first since 2005. The group, best known for a powerful live show, has yet to capture their stage presence on a piece of wax. However, the record takes strides and shows flashes of that magic energy that sets the …

An Albatross – An Albatross Family Album

Review — January 11, 2009

With their first release since 2006, An Albatross decided to get serious: they spent five weeks in the studio with a team of ex-members, new players, and studio musicians to create the concept record An Albatross Family Album. What's it sound like, you ask? Like a noise band doing …

Deathcycle – Prelude to Tyranny

Review — January 20, 2009

Deathcycle brings hardcore laden with throwback influence and metal finishes. They're young, angry lads who have, within the past month, announced their breakup before I even got around to Prelude to Tyranny. The first thing to strike me upon listening is Ron Grimaldi's voice. It's especially powerful and carries …

Swingin' Utters – Hatest Grits: B-Sides and Bullshit

Review — February 8, 2009

If the name isn't clear enough for you, the Swingin' Utters' new record, Hatest Grits: B-Sides and Bullshit, does not contain new material. It also does not contain greatest hits, which is a little less clear. Instead, there are (surprise!) b-sides, demos, three Cock Sparrer songs, and other unreleased …

Monikers – Wake Up

Review — February 12, 2009

2008 was a year I kept hearing Monikers' name without knowing a thing about them. They turned up on split releases, message boards, and year end lists before I really familiarized myself with them. It turns out they live up to the endorsements received, not to mention the bonus points …

Maps of Norway – Die Off Songbird

Review — February 23, 2009

It's refreshing to hear bands showing their influences without becoming a fiftieth-wave hybrid, a la The ePoxies. Maps of Norway obviously love 1980's new-wave. However, they don't set out to make a copy of that, they fuse the sound into their own artistic development, and Guilt Ridden Pop's release Die …

Virgins – Miscarriage

Review — February 25, 2009

Orlando's Virgins play hook orientated, chorus heavy punk with scratchy throat vocals. The three-piece formed from the ashes of New Mexican Disaster Squad and their sound is a logical development. While the band has clear roots in early hardcore, they maintain an approach that's easier on the palate with a …

Child Bite – Fantastic Gusts of Blood

Review — March 12, 2009

There are different kinds of eccentric bands - the parody and weird bands like Ween or Beck or They Might Be Giants, and there are the faster, heart attack drumming sort schooled by the likes of Mr. Bungle and methamphetamine. Detroit's Child Bite are somewhere in the middle ground of …

RevCo – Sexo Olympico

Review — March 23, 2009

Who's your favorite Cock? Hopefully you answered either Al "Buck Satan" or Luc, Luc Van Acker, seeing as they're the only returning members. I missed 2006's Cocked and Loaded, which was their first record since 1993, but the change from its predecessor Linger Ficken' Good to Sexo Olympico is …

Anchor Arms – Cold Blooded

Review — March 30, 2009

These days everything reminds me of The Fest. Today's memory comes from release FSR001 by Anchor Arms, reminding me that I missed the Fail Safe warehouse show last year because I couldn't find a ride across town. While that intro had all too little to do with the band themselves, …

P.O.S. – Never Better

Review — April 2, 2009

The unique style of P.O.S. continues to come together - from the disjointed and experimental Ipecac Neat that caught Rhymesayers' attention, and the slightly more mainstream Audition in 2006, Never Better continues to build and unify P.O.S.'s distinct and witty brand of hip-hop. To get it out of the way …

Maniqui Lazer – I Learn Everything on TV

Review — April 13, 2009

I don't know much about music along the US-Mexico border, and the name Maniqui Lazer and the cartoonish sketches on the cover only intrigue me so much. Mostly, it gives the impression of a weird band with a lot of keyboards. Lo and behold, I got that part right. I …

The Ergs! – That's It...Bye

Review — April 21, 2009

Bands break up all the time. Sometimes they blow up on stage, storm off from a tour, grow apart, and on occasion they cordially agree that it's time to move on. In any case, they almost always leave fans wanting more. The Ergs! decided to hand one to their fans, …

O Pioneers!!! – Neon Creeps

Review — April 27, 2009

With their Asian Man debut, Neon Creeps, O Pioneers!!! is trying to make a name for themselves while upping the ante on stupid punctuation in band names. What I hear is a sloppy three-piece punk band with hints at a more minimal and sometimes folk-punk style. I call them …

Austin Lucas – Somebody Loves You

Review — May 5, 2009

When O Brother, Where Art Thou sold over seven million copies, you knew that people were listening and that the soundtrack would have an influence on future music. Where you probably didn't expect that influence to show was in the punk rock world. Seven years later, we have a label …

The Measure [SA] – Songs About People... and Fruit N' Shit

Review — May 13, 2009

It's another vinyl-only release from The Measure [SA]. As a reviewer, I get an mp3 disc with a handwritten label instead of the art. I'll try not to hold that against them. "Drunk by Noon" does exactly what a first song should do: it promises high energy, offers a sample …