Recent reviews

More album reviews

Lupe Fiasco

Food & Liquor
Atlantic (2006)

"Yes, yes, yes. Guess who's on third? Lupe still like Lupin the Third." Little did we know that our introduction to Lupe Fiasco on Kanye West's "Touch the Sky" was merely a taste of what this Chicago native had to offer. While not a complete unknown, Lupe's previous appearances had mostly fallen under the radar. After numerous Internet leaks and … Read more

DJ Shadow

The Outsider
Universal/Motown (2006)

Spending much of the time since 2002's ENDtroducing with his producing hat on, DJ Shadow has finally returned to our stereos with The Outsider. A return that sees him take a massive shift in style. Crass rapping styles, questionable lyrical content, and some gunshots filtering through the background adds just too much of a touch of Tim Westwood that is … Read more

Pound for Pound

For Our Fallen Brothers
Surprise Attack (2006)

Pound for Pound hail from Springfield, Illinois, not to be confused with the hometown of The Simpsons, as the true location of that fictional town has never been pinpointed. However, if Pound for Pound were to hail from that specific Springfield, I think the band would be best represented by the likes of Nelson, Kearney, Dolph, and Jimbo. Okay, I'm … Read more

Multiple Authors

Converge

No Heroes
Epitaph (2006)

In its recent history, Converge is responsible for two of the most unique and cathartic albums in the history of extreme music, Jane Doe and You Fail Me. Of course, you can't deny Converge's long, rich heritage going back to the early '90s. Unlike very few bands in their genre, Converge have not only survived, but thrived and strengthened. Jane … Read more

Multiple Authors

Converge

No Heroes
Epitaph (2006)

After rock and roll's pop ascension in the postwar era, the recording industry adopted the practice of "front-loading" albums, situating the strongest songs at the beginning. This serves several purposes: it sells the album to skeptical listeners (such as radio programmers, distributors and consumers), and it enables bands who don't have enough material to compete in the LP realm to … Read more

The Hold Steady

Boys and Girls in America
Vagrant (2006)

Do you remember being just a small child, rifling your dirty paws through the cereal box trying to fish out the prize at the bottom of the box? No? Okay let's flash forward about ten years; what about when you were sitting at the dinner table thinking how you were going to get those same dirty paws down your boy/girlfriend's … Read more

She Killed Poetry

Shut Out the Silence
Imagine It (2006)

Mediocrity is not a hard thing to come by in the metalcore genre. In fact, since every metalcore band has decided to rip off Prayer for Cleansing and Heaven Shall Burn, metalcore has become a little too stagnant in this As All That Killswitch Remains Dying "scene." She Killed Poetry would easily fall off the radar for me, for this … Read more

Across Five Aprils

Collapse
Indianola (2006)

December 14, 1999: Poison the Well's Opposite of December was re-released and marked the end of metallic hardcore as everyone before it. Before "Nerdy" made all the mixtapes there was a quite of few metallic edged hardcore bands like Cleveland's apocalyptic Integrity, San Diego's depressive Unbroken, and Vegan Militants Earth Crisis whom all played palmed muted e-chord chugga chugga until … Read more

The Lillingtons

The Too Late Show
Red Scare (2006)

We're in the middle of a pop punk renaissance. New recruits are signing up left and right and firing off catchy odes to the evergreen vagaries of romance, teenage or any age. But this is a post-Lifetime era, so for the most part today's young turks eschew the Ramonesianism of a Screeching Weasel or a Queers in favor of the … Read more

230 Divisadero

A Vision Of Lost Unity EP
Milk & Moon (2006)

The year is 1797. You are a sailor. Bound for distant colonies, you awake one morning to find that a storm has driven your ship out to sea. As you rub the sleep from your eyes, stumbling out onto deck, you call out to your crew mates, but your voice is swallowed by the howl of the wind. There is … Read more

Smudged

Demo 2005
Independent (2006)

Every so often you end up with a friend's bands demo in your hands and most of the time, let's be fair, you are just at the shows and buying the demos and merch to help support your friends. Most of the time you have to admit that there is a hint of jealousy at the fact that it's them, … Read more

Versoma

Life During Wartime
Robotic Empire (2006)

With Versoma's debut offering, Life During Wartime, it would be extremely easy to make assumptions about the sound based off the previous bands of its members (having done time in Anodyne and Lickgoldensky, amongst others). But that would be a huge disservice to this short and sweet EP. This record is chock full of noise laden guitars that establish an … Read more

The Falcon

Unicornography
Red Scare Industries (2006)

The Falcon is here, so ready your crusty, unpolished, dull silverware and let a knife sink through the skin of the first layer of Unicornography, "The Angry Cry of the Angry Pie." I warn you though, don't be surprised when you hear the pie's shrill scream before his patented rough-yet-melodious crooning, for Brendan Kelly has ensured that this pie will … Read more

Lemuria

Lemuria
Art of the Underground (2005)

I have a bottomless love for Discount that no one I've ever met has matched. Together with Lifetime, they were the band that defined my high school years - I took up songs like "Disappointed" and "On the Counter" and made them my own; they were the soundtrack for my adolescent late nights. If I had been in a wistful … Read more

• First
• Previous
• …
• 242
• 243 (current)
  Page 243 of 300
• 244
• …
• Next
• Last