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Soen

Cognitive
Spinefarm Records (2013)

Albums from supergroups always make me feel torn. I am excited and worried at the same time whenever great musicians decide to collaborate, excited for obvious reasons but also worried because it would be a major disappointment listening to an album with a “dream come true” line-up that turns out to be mediocre. But with Soen there is no reason … Read more

The Avett Brothers

The Carpenter
Columbia (2012)

The Avett Brothers have become bonafide pros at releasing an album. With The Carpenter being their seventh full-length album and second major label release, the Concord, North Carolinians have a method to their folk rock madness, without it being boring. Rick Rubin helps with producing for the second time too. Rubin is the link that ties the band’s songs together … Read more

Low Culture

Screens
Dirtnap (2013)

Low Culture packs a punch. Not an angry punch, but one that, upon hearing it, your foot taps and your head bobs. The band, bringing ex members of Shang-A-Lang and Total Jock together, somewhat combines those sounds, but here they are growing in a cleaner sound that is more rooted in the melody. Oh, and they round out the group … Read more

Mental Architects

Celebrations
Independent (2012)

Though I hadn't heard of Bulgarian math rockers Mental Architects myself, as soon as I heard their 2012 album Celebrations, I knew they weren't your average math rock band. The key feature of Mental Architects' music is the impressive level of technical complexity that abounds in their music. But unlike most tech death or math rock acts, whose technicality can … Read more

Seabuckthorn

The Silence Woke Me
Bookmaker (2012)

I don't listen to folk music that often--not enough 7/8 if you ask me. But when I do make exceptions to that rule, it's usually for a very strong artist, and UK based artist Seabuckthorn (né Andy Cartwright), especially on his new release The Silence Woke Me, is one such musician.His style of music blends folk acoustic guitars with elements … Read more

fragment.

Home
Independent (2011)

Upon first hearing fragment. on the split / collaboration with Iroha entitled Bittersweet, I began a search for more to hear from this seemingly enigmatic French solo artist because the contributions to said record piqued my interest; but finding recorded material to listen to proved somewhat problematic, and then Home showed up in my mailbox with no real explanation as … Read more

Unsane

Wreck
Alternative Tentacles (2012)

Some days, I just can never get enough Unsane on my headphones, which is the method to which I listen to music while at work and might be a great explanation of why that a little Unsane is never enough as anyone with just a tinge of workplace angst might be able to empathize with me; and Wreck is one … Read more

Ancient Wisdom

Deathlike
Prosthetic (2013)

A lot has been said about Ancient VVisdom, not all of it positive, and for many just letting the music do the talking isn’t enough. Heck, it should be more than enough, because Ancient VVisdom’s second shot at the full length is a deadly and distressing thing of beauty. Deathlike does exactly what it says on the tin, and this … Read more

Dum Dum Girls

End Of Daze
Sub Pop (2012)

Ah the Dum Dum Girls… the Dum Dum Girls are in serious danger of transcending the shtick that the band is partially and maybe unfairly saddled with as the End Of Daze certainly shows pushing back at the boundaries of songwriter Dee Dee’s previous songs for the band without losing any of the charm or panache with which those other … Read more

Druglord

Motherfucker Rising
Last Anthem (2012)

Druglord from Virginia are taking a slow, lurching crawl into this world. With this, their first proper LP, the three-piece make a case for less being more in many ways. The 6-song record resides on the cough syrup addled side of the metal/hardcore spectrum, relying on drawn out vocals and lengthy guitar passages. This is as good a place as … Read more

Wayne Hancock

Ride
Bloodshot (2013)

Wayne “The Train” Hancock doesn’t play music to pump you up for a Saturday night on the town. Instead, Hancock’s old-school flavored country is more suited for sitting in a dim bar and lamenting your sorrows, putting the past away and, eventually, moving on. I also discovered on my first listen that it’s quite suitable for -10 degrees Fahrenheit.The album … Read more

Eight Bells

The Captain's Daughter
Seventh Rule (2013)

Sometimes, the best plan can be to have absolutely no plan. Occasionally, a band can inadvertently create something truly unique and enjoyable that defies all categorization. More often, a band will hastily throw something together that is such a mess that the only solution is to slap a fancy description on it in hopes to appeal to the kind of … Read more

Meshuggah

Pitch Black
Scion A/V (2013)

Yeah, I didn't quite believe it either. Though they released the full-length Koloss less than a year ago, Meshuggah seem to think that's too long for fans to wait for new material. Colour me surprised when they released the new (free!) EP Pitch Black late last month through Scion A/V (the second release to come out of their pairing following … Read more

Cloudkicker

Hello
Independent (2013)

Ohio-based musician Ben Sharp (aka Cloudkicker) has made it clear time and time again that he has no intention on confining himself to something as pedestrian as genre labels. Though it's possible to identify trends (the progressive rock and post-anything labels seem to be fairly common for him), there's absolutely no way to tell where he's going next. That element … Read more

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