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)

Hollow Ground

Cold Reality
Organized Crime (2005)

I can't possibly make this a lengthy review. I can't! I've tried to think of creative ways to give my opinion on this piece of melodic, tough-guy hardcore, "in the vein of Comeback Kid, Hatebreed, and Terror." But I keeping finding myself back at that very phrase which sits mid-page on the band's bio that Organized Crime sent out. "...in the vein of Comeback Kid, Hatebreed, and Terror." Hmmm. See, by the time the first song, "Ill Fate," has just about run though, I can't help but think, "Goddamn, that vocalist sounds exactly like Jamey Jasta." Then, by the time the song, "Cold Reality" is also over, I can't help but think, "Man. Those vocal and guitar melodies sound just like Comeback Kid." And every breakdown on this 6 song EP sounds like... surprise! Terror. I can't do this. I love hardcore and I hate people who feel the need to bring negativity to a scene that, for me, means a whole lot. But you know what, Hollow Ground? Make your own album. The bands your label so easily referenced in your bio and on the neat little packaging device that sits on top of the actual CD case have … Read more

The Pogues

Ultimate Collection
WEA (2005)

I've never really been a fan of "best of..." collections. Too much of the time, they are released mid-career without … Read more

The Frames

Burn the Maps
Anti (2005)

The Frames are five Dubliners, with a handful of releases already. They use a variety of instruments, ranging from piano … Read more

Hollow Ground

Cold Reality
Organized Crime (2005)

An open letter to Hollow Ground and Organized Crime Records I'm not a detective or a mind-reader. I am neither … Read more

Gang Gang Dance

God's Money
The Social Registry (2005)

Rare is music that can evoke a time and a place in the mind of the listener. Rarer still is … Read more

Hangedup

Clatter for Control
Constellation (2005)

Every so often an album seems to come out of nowhere and totally blindsides you. This is one of those … 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

4865 reviews

Video/DVD Review

19 reviews

One from the archives

Cross

Pyre
Deranged (2014)

Made up of one half of Sweden’s Masshysteri (vocalist Robert Hurula and drummer Erik Viklund), Cross play dark and grimy music that seems indebted to the almost primal, noisy garage rock of the ‘60s and ‘70s. The group’s loud, sinister, and chaotic 7” debut Pyre makes up for what it lacks in quantity with an overload of shrieky guitar, loud, echoed vocals, and hypnotic rhythms, kicking off with a thunderous title track that may as well be labeled as haunted house jazz. Hurula bellows out lyrics over ghostly, warbling saxophone blasts, shrieking guitar, and a heavy rhythmic bass, the track building towards a free jazz freakout in its final quarter. The flip side of the vinyl features the brief, slightly more conventional “Repetition,” a track that’s comparatively groove-oriented and tightly … Read more

More album reviews

The White Stripes

Get Behind Me Satan
V2 (2005)

The very First time I heard White Stripes I honest to God thought I was hearing a Led Zeppelin bootleg. I walked into a record store and a minute later was telling a clerk "I'll take it". It wasn't Led Zeppelin. "I'll take it anyway". That was their sophomore album De Stijl, the album I still consider as one of … Read more

Colin Of Arabia

Illegal Exhibition of Speed
Rock Vegas (2004)

The first thing I noticed when pulling this CD out of the tray, was that it was one of those full size compact discs that only uses three inches in the middle. The outer ring of the disc was clear plastic. The image screened onto the disc looked pretty menacing with the clear background. I also noticed that the band … Read more

A Day To Remember

And Their Name Was Treason
Indianola (2005)

We've all done it - you mention a band unfamiliar to your friend and they'll ask "What does it sound like?" and being lazy North Americans we'll often reply with a barrage of noteworthy names just recognizable enough to wipe the inquisitive look from our hapless chum's face, and just obscure enough to retain "street cred" with the remainder of … Read more

Nine Inch Nails

With Teeth
Interscope (2005)

Pretty Hate Machine, The Downward Spiral, The Fragile - you name any of these titles to a Nine Inch Nails fan and they could probably give you a whole host of reasons why it's their favorite album. Then, of course, they'd inundate you with any number of words to describe front man/founder Trent Reznor: Genius, brilliant, twisted, brilliantly twisted genius … Read more

New Order

Waiting for the Sirens' Call
Warner Bros. (2005)

The past year or two have been interesting times for bands that mattered more in the 80's. In 2004, The Cure and Morrissey both released albums that earned them more attention (read: blind praise) than they'd seen in years. Apparently, 2005 marks New Order's turn. The term "washed up" once again comes to mind, but to me it seems like … Read more

Throwdown

Vendetta
Trustkill (2005)

Haymaker is one of the worst albums, hardcore or otherwise, I've ever heard. We're talking 'makes-Hatebreed-look-like-Converge' bad here. I honestly cannot fathom a duller, more cliched, and more mentally aggravating record ever coming out of any music scene (with the possible exception of post-rock). It was a harrowing, monstrous disappointment from a band who has managed to put out a … Read more

Bane

The Note
Equal Vision (2005)

Remember in high school when big ass dudes would ask you if you knew where the beach was, just so they could flex their muscles and say "that way"? I don't know if that made your underpants moist, but The Note is Bane flexing, and I am currently sitting in a puddle. Has Bane ever done anything bad? Ever disappointed … Read more

Four Tet

Everything Ecstatic
Domino (2005)

There is nothing quite like having to follow up a great record. 2003's Rounds was such an album; engaging, beautiful and charismatic. And for an electronica album, or "IDM" if you must, that was really something. Ironically, it was even released in the same month and on the same very label as Ulrich Schnauss's latest attempt to create the perfect … Read more

Autolux

Future Perfect
Red Ink (2004)

Are My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, and perhaps Fugazi cool with you? Do you have an incurable fondness for spacey, fuzzed-out guitar rock? Do you suffer from chronic jock itch or something equally unpleasant? If so, you should indubitably investigate Autolux's Future Perfect pronto. There's no denying that the album is positively derivative, but its eleven nuggets of joy are … Read more

The Starting Line

Based on a True Story
Drive-Thru (2005)

I am glad that i am not a radio personality because my voice is less then stellar from being that guy you see in his car trying to sing along with his CD player. Yes, the album is that good. It's been 3 days and i already have the first half of the album memorized. I don't think we could've … Read more

Gorillaz

Demon Days
Virgin (2005)

It's been four years since Gorillaz, the world's first animated group, debuted with Gorillaz, a wacky blend of pop, rock, and hip-hop. A fun, terrific debut guided by one of the best single's to hit MTV in the past half-decade, "Clint Eastwood." I myself am not too overzealous when hearing a great single, but damn, that track sucker-punched me pretty … Read more

Say Goodbye

Misanthropy
Western Front (2005)

Say Goodbye isn't one of your run of the mill, "fast pissed off hardcore bands." These guys give something more that makes them stand out in the style of hardcore they play. This is the third release for Say Goodbye, and I was very excited to hear this record. But I had high expectations for this record since I liked … Read more

Folsom

If You're a Viper
Spook City (2005)

Last year Folsom released their debut full-length through Westcoast Worldwide Records, a label that I would describe as a "word of mouth label." The larger hardcore labels are able to promote their releases in prominent music magazines and have their records distributed by larger entertainment chains such as Best Buy, FYE, etc. Westcoast Worldwide, instead, must rely on the closely … Read more

The Unseen

State of Discontent
Hellcat (2005)

I like punk rock. A lot. I listen to some punk bands that are far from extraordinary, who play contrived music, but make it fun (both for them and the listener). I am no expert on the scene; I've been involved with punk since I was 8, but I've always got more to learn. That being said, this is one … Read more

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