Sometimes you follow a musician for years, only to learn something that should have stood out at the start. Today’s lesson is Tymon Dogg, related subject: Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros and The Clash. Apparently Dogg has played frequently with The Mescaleros and been a songwriting partner to Strummer, even appearing on The Clash’s “Lose My Skin” (Sandanista!).With many namedrops, it should start and stop there, getting the background out of the way before talking new material. But with Dogg’s Made of Light it carries on. There’s a discernable comparison between Strummer and Dogg. Both favor a dramatic delivery and heavy-handed lyrics that hit a range of emotions from political anger to desolate resignation. It’s heartfelt emotional stuff and it’s heart-on-sleeve authentic. The catch is that Strummer mastered sequencing and variety whereas most of this 11-song record carries the same tone across the board. And now, in respect to Dogg, I’ll speak on his own merits instead of association.His voice is distinct: weathered, wavering, and soft. It’s hard not to believe that he’s into what he’s saying as he calls “you’re a part of humanity,” in ballad “As I Make My Way” or with the touching downer “Time for Moving … Read more
Similar to how people said, “Alright, I guess we’re done with the novel now” after James Joyce’s Ulysses, I thought, … Read more
Back in early 2014 Elder Giants dropped like a bomb in the midst of the black metal scene. The German … Read more
Forming in Brooklyn in 1995 as a collective based around abstract sound, Pas Musique translates to “Not Music” in French, … Read more
Without doubt, one of my favorite musical discoveries of the past few years has been British singer-songwriter Craig Taylor-Broad. After … Read more
Choose a year to view reviews of albums released in that year.
749 reviews
42 reviews
25 reviews
300 reviews
4865 reviews
19 reviews
2004 was an odd year in the United Kingdom. The word 'chav' became part of everyday life, there was an extremely hot summer (the likes of which we had never seen), and a bizarre group of Welshmen came out of nowhere to become the most talked about group of the year (mainly in the tabloids). Goldie Lookin' Chain's Greatest Hits, or Straight out of Newport as the American version was called, was a fun-time album with songs about mother's having sex changes, men dressing as robots, and a rapper who couldn't be trusted. So could the boys latest major label effort continue the fun and joy brought to the nation so easily? The simple answer is no. Safe as Fuck is a horrible waste of time. The band seems to … Read more
When you hear the term "industrial" in regards to music from the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Rammstein or Ministry, Foetus (a.k.a. Jim Thirlwell) is who you have to thank. Making cacophonies of the highest order since the early eighties, Thirlwell's music in all its incarnations has become more and more visual. Visual, that is, in the sense of the … Read more
There appears to be a quite mysterious aura surrounding the existence of PC Worship. The band itself has left a trail of albums and EPs, within just a small margin of time, navigating through the seas of alternative music. It is a really difficult task to give a description of PC Worship's music. On one hand it contains a lot … Read more
How much hatred can be produced within 48 hours? That is how long it took apocalyptic sludge outfit The Body and the main man of black metal sonic force Krieg, Neil Jameson, to record their collaboration. The Body are not new to the field of collaborative albums, which includes works with Braveyoung, Vampillia and Thou. However, there is something much … Read more
Murray/Smith King/Hanneman Tipton/Downing These are just a few of the lead guitar duos from Iron Maiden, Slayer and Judas Priest respectively, that dominated heavy metal music of the 1980s and beyond. Perhaps lesser known, but by no means lesser in all other areas is the guitar duo do Michael Denner and Hank Shermann from Mercyful Fate, the band whose music … Read more
Nice little split 7” here from Dead Tank that I’ve admittedly been sitting on way too long. Technically this is a 2014 release, although I don’t think it started hitting the shops until 2015. Rose Cross is really awesome. One of my favorite discoveries of this past year. They’ve been around for a while but I wasn’t acquainted with them … Read more
Back in 2010, Make Do and Mend were taking over top 10 lists with their debut, End Measured Mile. The band went on to shake things up with, Everything You Ever Loved. They slowed things down and focused on finding the right formula for their songs to burst and bloom. Their newest record, Don't Be Long, takes every chance it … Read more
I can remember very clearly when I first heard of Flotsam and Jetsam. As a young hesher growing up outside of Vancouver, Canada in 1986, some bands were on my radar and some were not. Flotsam and Jetsam were the latter. Until the end of that year, when I heard that their bassist, a certain Mr. Jason Newsted had left … Read more
I admit it: arguably the guiltiest of my guilty pleasures is Euro disco, a genre which found (sometimes quite dubiously-talented) European musicians exaggerating the basic tenets of '70s dance music to the point of near-absurdity. Hard as it is to resist the infectious but undeniably cheesy keyboard lines in many of the genre's songs though, it also would be difficult … Read more
In 2014 Mamiffer, the project of Faith Coloccia, released Statu Nascendi, which was described as a transitional album, leading to the next full-length the band would eventually release. Statu Nascendi definitely felt like an album of change, with Coloccia and collaborator Aaron Turner stepping further into the realms of minimalism and drone. It might still be a while until The … Read more
Side projects aren’t supposed to invite other band comparisons, they’re supposed to separate, to show artisticrange. Who are we kidding here? Basement Benders is a punk project out of members of This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb, Hidden Spots, Future Virgins, and Black Rainbow—DIY bands who live the scene, meaning that being themselves and having fun with friends probably outweighs … Read more
In the time before Pinkish Black there was The Great Tyrant. The latest album of Pinkish Black came out a few days back, establishing them as one of the more interesting experimental acts out there, encompassing psychedelia, post-punk and new wave influences, a blackened perspective and even a doom approach. Their first, self-titled album was released through Handmade Birds, but … Read more
Dilly Dally is a four-piece rock band from Toronto who describes themselves as “#softgrunge” on their Facebook page - I'm not sure how serious it is, but it seems to be relatively accurate (and in a good way, believe it or not!) Their debut Sore gives me two things I’ve been looking for in modern-day rock: (1) more girl rock … Read more
Extinction A.D. rose like hellfire from the rubble of the, now listless, Long Island hardcore outfit This is Hell. In a rare move, the entire musical backing of This is Hell packed up and moved into the world of thrash, leaving the band’s lead vocalist in the dust. The result was Extinction A.D., an immaculate four-piece thrash metal juggernaut. The … Read more
Baldruin, the brainchild of Johannes Schebler, is wondering through the psychic domains of ambient music. Even though the project is relatively new, Schebler has put out a number of releases, various split albums and cassettes. However, Portal is the debut of Baldruin in the vinyl domain, released through Wounded Knife Records. What attracts Baldruin to the ambient domain so much … Read more
Looking for the SPB logo? You can download it in a range of styles and colours here:
Click anywhere outside this dialog to close it, or press escape.