Recent reviews

Our latest album reviews, featuring the records we've most enjoyed (or not) over the past few weeks.

Reviews by score
Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)

Various Artists

Junius-Rosetta
Translation Loss (2011)

Junius and Rosetta are two odd bands to select for a split. It's hard to imagine the sonic distortion of the band behind The Galilean Satellites matching up with a band as mellow (in comparison, anyway) as Junius.Their contribution, “A Dark Day With Night,” sounds eerily ethereal; the sweet nature of the writing feels almost at odds with the sorrowful longing of its vocals. The guitar lines are laid as thick and as deeply moving as they are with artists like Cloudkicker, with just a hint more melodic awareness.Rosetta's piece “TMA-3” is, only narrowly, the stronger of the two. The song starts off with light, ambient guitars and soft, yet still busy, drum work, almost entirely out of Explosions in the Sky's playbook. And yet, by the time the song is finished, Rosetta have arrived at overwhelmingly repetitive and mathy chugging, heavier than even the densest sludge metal. This is a really strong sampling from both artists. Translation Loss again is eager to please fans of epic-length post-rock, and this record does not disappoint. Read more

Cloudkicker

Loop
Independent (2011)

Following the release of Beacons in 2010, musician Ben Sharp began releasing a series of short, acoustic instrumental loops on … Read more

Brainkiller

The Infiltration
RareNoise (2011)

I was actually quite excited when I heard the trio Brainkiller's new album, The Inflitration, described as a mix between … Read more

Between the Buried and Me

The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues
Metal Blade (2011)

It's hard to describe the nature of Between the Buried and Me's new project, The Parallax. It is kind of … Read more

Beware Of Safety

Leaves/Scars
The Mylene Sheath (2011)

Beware Of Safety are a Post-Rock band. Sounds simple and plain enough. As they do reside in a genre known … Read more

Björk

Biophilia
Nonesuch (2011)

I have immense respect for Björk. She combines all of the showmanship and bombast of pop artists like Lady Gaga … Read more

Browse our review archives

Review categories

200 Words Or Less

749 reviews

Book Review

42 reviews

Classic Album

25 reviews

Multiple Authors

300 reviews

Review

4881 reviews

Video/DVD Review

19 reviews

One from the archives

Sun Ra/Merzbow

Strange City
Cold Spring (2016)

Big kudos are due to Justin Mitchell of Cold Spring for making this release possible, and bringing to life one of the strangest meeting of the minds. Irwin Chusid of the Sun Ra estate released a few rare and unreleased tracks from the great artist, which would be remixed by noise maestro Masami Akita, also known as Merzbow. Strange City is the resulting remix/collaboration between the two, connecting the planes of free jazz and noise. The record was initially released in 2016, but the first reissue arrives just one year later. The album kicks off beautifully with Sun Ra and his Arkestra introducing a vivid free jazz aesthetic, but that is quickly submerged over the noise waves produced by Merzbow. The remainder of the record sees the noise take the … Read more

More album reviews

Crooked Necks

Alright Is Exactly What It Isn't
Handmade Birds (2011)

Going in to this album blind seems like a fun proposition for me (Handmade Birds has introduced me to a plethora of new bands this year) because discovering exciting new bands is one of my favorite activities, and let me tell you, Crooked Necks were another huge surprise that thankfully did not fly under my radar for me to regret … Read more

Timeshares

Bearable
Kind Of Like (2011)

When I first heard the NY band Timeshares, I knew they were going to be a punk band to lookout for. After excessively playing the few songs they had and their split with Captain, We’re Sinking, the guys finally released their first LP Bearable. I have to admit—it was definitely worth the wait. Each song off of Bearable varies in … Read more

Greys

Brightly Our Stars Did Shine As The Sea Reached Into The Sky
Music Ruins Lives (2011)

After being slowly consumed by the subtle graces of In Fades (the debut cassette from this project), the longing for another recording from Greys similarly began as a slow ache until thinking about it became a weird tic (ask certain people that I will not name and they can corroborate my incessant pestering over the next Greys project); and then … Read more

Bayonet

Self Titled
Mightier Than Sword (2011)

Bayonet is a Jersey super group or sorts. taking members from such bands as Senses Fail, The Banner among others. In any situation like this it is hard to tell if the project is really a band in itself or merely something spat out for fun. One can hardly assume what this will sound like as each members prior (or … Read more

Tommy Stinson

One Man Mutiny
Done To Death Music (2011)

In the long-honored tradition of solo records from Guns N’ Roses members, Tommy Stinson delivers One Man Mutiny. Of course, Stinson has an intriguing back story—he joined the legendary Replacements at age 13, playing with them and even getting manager Peter Jesperson to sign off as a legal guardian for touring’s sake. But that was thirty years ago. The purpose … Read more

Scythia

...Of Exile
Independent (2011)

I admit, I sometimes forget folk metal actually exists. Sure, I toss around the term frequently when discussing Opeth, but rarely do I ever bring forth what the term actually means. I often forget the music of great bands such as Wuthering Heights or Skyclad. That's one reason listening to Canadian group Scythia's latest album ...Of Exile was so fascinating … Read more

Servile Sect

TRVTH
Handmade Birds (2011)

Do you ever cringe whenever a music critic or what have you precludes a genre of music (which sometimes makes me cringe... crunk-core... seriously?) with another term, which even more ridiculous word that is supposed to further clarify what exactly a piece of music sounds like while in reality the word means nothing? This happened to me when I first … Read more

Grouper

AIA: Alien Observer
Yellow Electric (2011)

Oh the dreamy sounds of Grouper, how is it that you so mellifluously consume my both my conscious and subconscious mind while your records turn on my turntable, and why can I not control my hand each time that it flips your vinyl platters in a near incessant buffeting of my weary mind? AIA: Alien Observer is the sister album … Read more

Grouper

AIA: Dream Loss
Yellow Electric (2011)

Where have you been all my life, and why in the name of hell have I missed out on you for these last several years? These two questions have been dominating my mind for the last four hours while exclusively listening to the latest two albums from Liz Harris, or more commonly known as Grouper; seriously, four hours of hazy … Read more

Ash Borer

Ash Borer
Pesanta Urfolk (2011)

YES! So this is without a doubt one of the five black metal releases that I can point to as my answer to the question regarding what black metal records (modern era only as I refuse to get into the nascent progenitors here) I like most because in my black metal dabbling journey, this is one of the better examples … Read more

Gnaw Their Tongues

Per Flagellum Sanguemque, Tenebras Veneramus
Crucial Blast (2011)

Nightmares are a hard thing to quantify. As they happen without any control or uniformity. The terror invoked can be quite real and seem silly later when described out loud. This is a problem many musicians have in trying to deal with dark, evil or, dare I say, nightmarish sounding music. Since the early days of metal (and possibly earlier) … Read more

Sutekh Hexen

Daemons
Dead Section (2011)

At this point, Sutekh Hexen is one of those groups that has reached full on obsession with me to the point where I could not say if there are days where I do not pop on something by them; Daemons (the second vinyl offering from the group) is a fine addition to the duo’s discography, which is quickly growing to … Read more

Boris

New Album
Sargent House (2011)

New Album is a bit of a misnomer, at least on this side of the pond. It was actually released all the way back in March in Japan, two months before Heavy Rocks and Attention Please were released globally. The rest of the world had to wait until November to get their paws on it. Somewhat frustratingly, there are actually … Read more

Action Bronson & Statik Selektah

Well Done
Dcide (2011)

Individually it has already been a busy year for both of these East Coast cats. Well Done marks the third release of 2011 for the culinary chemist-turned-rapper Action Bronson—following the the Bon Appetite…Bitch! mixtape and the impressive Dr. Lecter album—and the fifth for producer/DJ extraordinaire Statik Selektah, who dropped collabo joints with Freeway, Freddie Gibbs, and Freddie Foxxx, as well … Read more

Reviews by score
Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)