Hurry Up
Dismal Nitch
Comedy Minus One (2022)
“American Weirdos” sets the tone quickly on Dismal Nitch, the second album from Hurry Up, with a refrain of “American weirdos/ Don’t need no more heroes.” A three-piece from Portland, OR, the lineup features Kathy Foster (Thermals), Westin Glass (Thermals), and Maggie Vail (Bangs), each sharing songwriting duties and vocals. Recorded shortly before the pandemic hit, this record does sometimes … Read more
husband&wife
Acoustic Recordings
Crossroads Of America (2013)
The beauty in acoustic albums usually comes from hearing a song you know and love take on a different resonance when it’s stripped back and unpolished. This is definitely the case for the songs on husband&wife’s Acoustic Recordings. All of the songs were recorded in the band members’ homes, which makes the songs sound quite homely and personal, as though … Read more
Hyborian
Volume II (2020)
Season of Mist (2020)
Hyborian is balls to the wall raw sludge metal hailing from Kansas City, Missouri. Volume II is their third album and what feels like a overall continuation from their previous record, Volume I. From the very beginning of the 8 song, 40 minute masterpiece is the song Driven by Hunger which gives you a perfect taste of what the rest … Read more
Hysterese
Hysterese
This Charming Man Records (2021)
The second record of German band Hysterese is a record I own and play quite frequently. To me it is one of those strange records that you enjoy a lot, but didn’t invite you to delve into their past or actively follow the band. Until now. As I saw the band name pop up in the heap of promos I … Read more
I Against I
Small Waves
White Russian Records (2018)
Last year White Russian Records made me very happy by releasing Travoltas’ comeback album Until We Hit The Shore, which ended up being my favourite record of last year. Next to a couple of interesting up and coming bands White Russian Records is now releasing another comeback album of another Dutch punk legend: I Against I. Legendary in part because … Read more
I Am Kloot
Let It All In
Shepherd Moon (2013)
Truly happy yet honest albums are in short supply. If they’re happy they’re usually over-the-top and use cringe-worthy lyrics, but if the album’s songs are bathed in sadness then there’s a risk that it will sound whiny and dull. On Let It All In I Am Kloot have struck a beautiful balance; the album can be best described as giving … Read more
I Am the Avalanche
I Am the Avalanche
Drive-Thru (2005)
If you look at the musical resumes of the members of I Am the Avalanche, they are quite impressive. Vocalist Vinnie Caruana fronted the pop-punk band The Movielife; Guitarist Brandon Swanson played in the highly-toted emo/indie rock band Further Seems Forever; bassist Kellen Robson was a member of Long Island hardcore band Scraps and Heart Attacks; and while guitarist Michael … Read more
I Killed the Prom Queen
Music for the Recently Deceased
Metal Blade (2006)
I'm not going to lie to you, kids. I have an affinity for most things from Down Under. I had family who lived there for fifteen years that I had the pleasure of visiting many moons ago. I've been on the Sydney Harbour Cruise, record shopping in Melbourne, held a wombat in Ballarat, and found my way back to a … Read more
I Rise
Demo
Independent (2007)
If you're even remotely serious about hardcore then you probably already received, or gave yourself, a history lesson about the genre. Depending on the school of thought you belong to your education begins with the early eighties bands like Black Flag and Minor Threat.* If you or your teacher is of another mind it probably started with one label: Revelation … Read more
I Wanna Die
I Wanna Die
Independent (2015)
Offering up an abrasive quintet of hardcore punk that flies by in five minutes, the 2015 self-titled demo from Oakland, California four-piece I WANNA DIE conveys the type of reckless desperation suggested by their name – the hopelessness present in the material is probably the demo’s strongest and most noticeable aspect. An opening trio of 45-50 second punk thrashers gives … Read more
iamthethorn
You are the Lamb
Goodfellow (2007)
Nevermind the seeming monopoly that John Pettibone has on vocals for metal and hardcore bands in the Seattle area. The band, dubbed iamthethorn, that began as a project between he and friend Aaron "Edge" Connell (former member of Himsa, Genuine, Harkonen, The Horde, Grievous, Hellephant, Christ, Autumn, Grip Inc, and probably countless others) lays down its debut EP You are … Read more
IAMX
Kiss + Swallow (Reissue)
Metropolis (2008)
When a press pack goes on and on about an artist's former band and all you can remember about them is a single that maybe cracked the Top 20 (but you're not sure), you know they're clutching at straws. So it is with Chris Corner, former member of Sneaker Pimps and the mind behind IAMX. Kiss + Swallow, his debut … Read more
IAMX
The Alternative (Reissue)
Metropolis (2008)
Well, he still looks like a prick in the ruff but now he's wearing a big stripey kipper tie as well. So it goes. There's a not-so-subtle shift for IAMX on The Alternative, a tweaking of sound from debut release Kiss + Swallow. The first album was noticeable for coasting a bit too much on the metrosexual swagger of its … Read more
Ian Anderson
Thick as a Brick 2
EMI (2012)
If there's anything movies have taught us, it's that sequels almost always suck in comparison to the original. While there aren't nearly as many sequels in the musical world, occasionally an artist will go back and revisit one of the ideas that made them famous in the first place. In almost all of these cases, such as with Mike Oldfield's … Read more
Ian Brown
The Greatest
Polydor (2005)
Ian Brown is held in high regard by many, many people; which I guess you can sort of expect for the man that was the lead singer of The Stone Roses. With the release of his greatest hits album under the imaginative title The Greatest, Brown is pretty sure of himself and his music. God knows why. Seriously the guy … Read more
Ian Cho
The Waking Woods
Tovian (2006)
Reviews of music this insular, personal, and weird usually end up talking about other artists. Something along the lines of: "Cho sounds like that one guy, but with a hint of that other guy. A complex ratatouille of influences including..." but I can't write that review for a couple of reasons. The first is that I don't spend a whole … Read more
Ian William Craig
Slow Vessels
Fat Cat (2017)
The classically trained Ian William Craig released in 2016 one of the best experimental works of the year in Centres. Applying ample processing to his vocals, in effect enhancing the performance, he created an adventurous record without tempering with the underlying emotion. Today he returns with Slow Vessels, a long EP, which extends the concepts of Centres in a very … Read more
Icare
Charogne
Hummus Records (2022)
Swiss band Icare once started out as a studio project with no real intention to play live. Somewhere between their debut (Khaos) and their sophomore album, Charogne, this changed. The band wanted to play live. Of course you do that by playing one 43 minute long song. That sounds like solid logic right? It is a ballsy move indeed. What … Read more
