Thee High Priestess
MMXII Demo
Independent (2012)
The internet contains some weird ways to discover music, and this aspect is a double edged sword because now everyone and their brothers and or sisters try to make music in their bedroom or basement or garage and put it up on their interwebz for everyone else to sift through; finding new music can be a giant pain in the … Read more
Thee Oh Sees
Floating Coffin
Castle Face Records (2013)
As a critic there are certain things I’m supposed to keep up with. Fact of the matter is that’s not always possible and, once you get behind, just where do you catch up? Thee Oh Sees are a band I’ve heard peripherally for the past couple of years but never got jumping in on a full-length. Compound that with their … Read more
Thee Oh Sees
The Master's Bedroom is Worth Spending a Night In
Tomlab/Cast-Face (2008)
Stumbling upon this band after reading an intriguing interview (albeit several years after it was initially published), I popped The Master's Bedroom is Worth Spending a Night In from Thee Oh Sees in my stereo expecting some acoustic lo-fi recordings. Instead, what I heard was a hundred times better as the "Block of Ice" exuberantly bounced out of the stereo … Read more
Theo and the Skyscrapers
So Many Ways to Die
Dark Daddy (2007)
It really is a double-edged sword to be visually compelling and a bit theatrical as a musician. If you're not Bowie and it isn't 1972, it's a pretty fine balance to strike with any success. Sometimes the visuals distract and obscure, and that's all there is to it. It seems to me that New York City's Theo and the Skyscrapers … Read more
Theo Young
Tales From The Inland Sea
Independent (2022)
I don’t get to say this every day, but one of my favorite indie artists dropped new material after basically seven years of radio silence. My entire body lit up with excitement when I saw in my inbox that Theo Young is releasing a new album. Shadowplay, his debut EP, was something I had on heavy rotation a few years … Read more
Theologian
A Means By Which To Break The Surface of The Real
Nothing Under The Sun (2015)
It is quite difficult to follow a project as active as Theologian. The career of the dark industrial unit has spawned a large number of releases, with albums such as The Chasms of My Heart and Finding Comfort In Overwhelming Negativity standing out. Main man of Theologian, Lee M. Bartow (a.k.a Theologian Prime) works with David Castillo and Daniel Suffering, … Read more
Therapy?
Crooked Timber
DR2 (2009)
Therapy? have followed a strange path. From underground industrial punks through to rock and roll-tinged pop punk pioneers to a brief spell as darlings of the British rock scene and now relative obscurity with only other bands and a devoted core fanbase paying any real attention to them. They've flitted between independent labels like confused moths for the past few … Read more
These Arms Are Snakes
Easter
Jade Tree (2006)
I'm sure there are a lot of kids out there who refuse to move on and listen to the bands that have formed from the ashes of one of the greatest hardcore bands in history, but that's to their loss and my credit. Minus the Bear isn't bad, Roy is okay for me, but These Arms Are Snakes, well, they … Read more
These Arms Are Snakes
Easter
Jade Tree (2006)
Easter, the second and highly anticipated full-length from These Arms Are Snakes, is finally upon us. But just how anticipated was this album? Well it is no coincidence that the album leaked to the Internet three months prior to its official release date. It's also no coincidence that every review that I've read has been written by a journalist smitten … Read more
These Arms Are Snakes
Oxeneers or The Lion Sleeps When Its Antelopes Go Home
Jade Tree (2004)
The anticipation of the release of a new album is always a difficult burden to bear. That burden is only intensified when said album comes from one of your current favorite performing acts. But as the day draws nearer and nearer, questions form in your head of what you will hear versus what you expected, the most important being the … Read more
These Arms Are Snakes
Tail Swallower & Dove
Suicide Squeeze (2008)
Once again I come into a new full-length from These Arms are Snakes filled with expectations. And while I am filled with hope for repeated greatness, I am also open-minded to any twists and turns that the band may throw at me over the course of these ten songs. Tail Swallower & Dove is only two years removed from Easter, … Read more
These Arms Are Snakes
This Is Meant to Hurt You
Jade Tree (2003)
Nothing sucks more than seeing a band live and loving them, then listening to their recorded material and running into a brick wall. The dissapointment would cause you to do such an irrational action. In short, that 'story' covers what happened to me, verbatim. This record contains many elements that it would require to create a really great band that … Read more
These Arms Are Snakes
This Is Meant to Hurt You
Jade Tree (2003)
Apparently These Arms Are Snakes's debut EP was meant to hurt me. I'm not sure what I did to them, or why they're so angry, but I decided to review the record anyways. After giving the record a spin, I decided I wasn't really hurt, just kind of bored. These Seattle veterans really bring nothing new or impressive to the … Read more
These Arms Are Snakes
This Is Meant to Hurt You
Jade Tree (2003)
The sticker on the front of this CD's jewel case is going to sell lots of copies of it, I guarantee. It reads "Featuring former members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Nineironspitfire," and the name of that first band will get people buying in droves. And then, most likely, many of those who buy it will return it because it … Read more
These Arms are Snakes / Tropics
Split
We-Be (2008)
Here we have another limited edition split 7", this one that was issued in support of These Arms are Snakes and Tropics European tour together. You get one exclusive track from each artist. These Arms are Snakes offer up "Meet Your Major," which is very much in tune with the band's latest full-length offering, Tail Swallower and Dove. You get … Read more
These Days
Chained to the Lake
Twelve Gauge (2007)
Following the release of their debut full-length, one of my favorites of 2005, These Days went on indefinite hiatus. Needless to say, I was bummed out by the announcement. But after little more than a year off, the band decided to give it another go, and with a revamped lineup got to work on playing shows and writing new songs. … Read more
These Days
Death Sentence
Run for Cover (2004)
Before we begin I'd like to officially admit that I have a problem. I have an obsession with the Nor Cal hardcore scene. So if this review seems a little biased, it really isn't my fault. Especially since the Bay Area and surrounding areas have the most promising scene in hardcore. The latest rising star to come out of the … Read more
These Days
These Days
In Spite (2005)
"Hey, these dudes are seriously pissed." That's probably the initial thought that comes to mind when listening to These Days debut full-length. Yes indeed, the music is highly volatile and the lyrics are quite hostile at points. But don't write this Norcal hardcore outfit off as just another bro-band acting tough, for These Days are more than meets the eyes' … Read more
