Power
Bremerton Zoo
Twelve Gauge (2013)
Old school hardcore punk has really found its feet in the last few years. Bands like Creem, Raw Nerve and Violent Reaction have brought innovation to the scene by utilising lesser heard influences ranging from street punk to crust, whilst reducing the songs to their bare bones; short, pissed-off and raw. With its vibrant artwork and blistering intensity (11 tracks … Read more
Power
Death Haunts
Twelve Gauge (2011)
Having existed for roughly three years now, Bremerton, WA’s, Power have created somewhat of a rep for themselves in the Pacific Northwest. The aftermath of one particular incident resulted in half the band landing in jail—a demolished automobile left in their wake. And legend has it that Power set a dumpster on fire while Tacoma band, Sojourner, were filming a … Read more
Power Trip
Manifest Decimation
Southern Lord (2013)
Of all the sub-genres which seem to stay persistently strong over time, alongside youth crew, crossover thrash is one with some classic releases; Best Wishes (emphatically not Alpha Omega), Handle With Care, Born To Expire. These albums manage to successfully capture the complexity and experimentation of metal with the rawness and spirit of hardcore, forgoing the pomposity of the first … Read more
Powerwolves
You Won't Find Peace
Panic (2011)
Powerwolves had been running around the northeast for a little while now. While this is not important in itself, the band does take their sound from a lineage of past Boston area bands. The most recognizable would have to be The Hope Conspiracy, while this is readily noticeable it comes through only in the style of the vocals. The band … Read more
Prayers for Atheists
Prayers for Atheists
Strange Famous (2009)
I wasn't sure what to make of this upon getting it. I had seen it compared to hip-hop, Rage Against The Machine, Whole Wheat Bread, and spoken word. The thing is all of these comparisons fit, sometimes all at once really. This EP acts as a historical documentation of sorts. According to the liner notes this was written, lyrically, by … Read more
Prefuse 73
Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian
Warp (2009)
For those of you who don't know Prefuse 73 A.K.A. Guillermo Scott Herren, this guy has been putting beats out since I was in middle school. And I'm not talking just about Prefuse 73: Herren has been active with his record label, Eastern Developments Music, and multiple artist collaborations on top of releasing new albums under several different aliases every … Read more
Premonitions of War
Left In Kowloon
Victory (2003)
What can I say about Toledo, Ohio? Honestly, I never found anything about the city to be remotely appealing at all. Then again, I might be a bit biased against the city after the time I got a flat tire on my way home from a show in Detroit and was stuck repairing my tire in the rain while being … Read more
Pretty & Nice
Golden Rules For Golden People
Equal Vision (2013)
Quirky indie pop rockers Pretty & Nice have resurfaced again, this time with a new album full of energetic pop gems that prove this band is worth the buzz around it. The Boston quartet generated a lot of interest off of their first release Get Young and gigs at SXSW but after their second LP release the love faded. While … Read more
Pretty Boy Thorson & the Falling Angels
An Uneasy Peace
Kiss of Death (2013)
Have things finally turned around for Jesse Thorson, making the country-punk band sing a new song of joy and celebration? Of course not.Previously, the band didn’t play alt-country so far as they wrote punk songs to country lyrics—however, An Uneasy Peace definitely sees that paradigm shifting toward a fuzzier genre classification. Maybe it’s because Thorson now has an outlet for … Read more
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Élan Vital
Matador (2006)
When Pretty Girls Make Graves released their 2003 album The New Romance, I didn't think there was any way for it to not make the majority of critics' top 10 lists. It made some, but an album that cracked a window long painted shut and let the air flow through the tomb of modern music deserved better. There were many … Read more
Pride Kills
Deep in the Heart
Thorp (2005)
I was having a conversation the other day with a close friend. We were discussing music, as we normally do, and I started quoting some lyrical excepts from Deep in the Heart. He chuckled and told me that he thought it was kind funny that I listen to "all those tough guy bands," and yet I am such a nice … Read more
Pride Kills
Life of Hate
Carjacker (2004)
While the majority of Texas seems to think that listening to indie rock and "emo" is where all the fun and hype are at, there are those in the know that can attest that people like that know nothing about Texas, let alone its music. During my short-lived time in Texas, I came to discover that the true pride of … Read more
Prideswallower
Lifeswallower
Auxiliary (2007)
Anyone educated in the Louisville family tree of hardcore punk bands - Coliseum, Breather Resist, Young Widows, Black Cross, etc - already knows what to expect from Prideswallower, the latest Kentucky export. But for the unfamiliar, allow me to explain: While each band has a sound unique enough to stand on its own, there is a unifying thread to all. … Read more
Primal Rock Rebellion
Awoken Broken
Spinefarm Records (2012)
As far as supergroups go, I could probably count the number of successful ones on one hand. And, quite frankly, that's using as broad and weighted a definition of "successful" as a sufficiently drunk reading of the dictionary could possibly allow. That's because no one wants to hear a group of otherwise successful musicians get together and simply rehash the … Read more
Primitive Man
Home Is Where The Hatred Is
Relapse (2015)
When listening to the debut album of Primitive Man, Scorn, back in 2013, one thing became perfectly clear about them: they are fucking serious about their music. The blackened sludge band from Denver does not exhibit the signs of their friendlier counterparts within the subgenre. Their dystopic vision back in their independent first release was overwhelming and all-consuming, and it … Read more
Primitive Man
Immersion
Relapse (2020)
Writing about music is a bit like being an anthropologist. The kind who immerses themselves in a culture to better understand it. Not the kind who comes up with whacked-out theories while staring blankly at the wall of the faculty lounge (or I guess now, their kitchen cupboards between Zoom classes). To really do a piece of art justice, you … Read more
Primus
Green Naugahyde
Prawn Song (2011)
I, for one, thought Primus were officially dead in regards to new material. Their last studio album was 1999's Antipop before they went on hiatus, and since their reformation, the only new material we've gotten is the so-so 2003 EP Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People. The fact that they could somehow get it together enough to actually … Read more
Prince
Planet Earth
Columbia/Sony (2007)
Along with "Who would win in a fight between The Incredible Hulk and Hulk Hogan?" and "How do they get cranes on top of half built skyscrapers?" there is only one other question that seems impossible to answer: "Is there anything that would make The Mail on Sunday worth buying?" And so, humble reader, I have decided to take it … Read more
