Puscifer
Donkey Punch The Night
Puscifer Entertainment (2013)
I first became aware of Maynard James Keenan's solo work through his latest studio album, Conditions of My Parole, which immediately sold me with its incredibly pleasant meanderings through light-rock post-industrial soundscapes (with a fair amount of his trademarked humour mixed in). So, of course, I scooped up his new EP, Donkey Punch the Night, as soon as I saw … Read more
Puscifer
V is for Viagra: The Remixes
Puscifer Entertainment (2008)
Remix album - blah blah - no one buys them - yadda yadda - only useful for DJs - hamana hamana hamana. Now that that's out of the way, we can talk about this Puscifer release. For anyone not in the know, Puscifer is a solo-ish project by Maynard James Keenan of Tool and A Perfect Circle fame. To those … Read more
Pusher
Pusher
Auxiliary (2007)
Pusher hails from Louisville and features an impressive cast of ex-members as Steve Sindoni (vocals) comes to the band after handling vocals in Breather Resist and Matt Jaha (drums) comes from his former drumming duties in Black Cross and Coliseum. Unfortunately this release is a posthumous document of a short-lived group that just could not keep it together, but at … Read more
Pussygutt
She Hid Behind Her Veil
20 Buck Spin (2008)
Pussygutt is a two-piece ambient droning doom outfit. Well, not exactly but a more accurate description may be given as Pussygutt is a group that works their magic with two actual members and a revolving cast of collaborators as its two masterminds (Brittany McConnell and Blake Green) see fit. She Hid Behind Her Veil is the third album from the … Read more
Putois
The Problem is not a Problem Anymore
Cerebral Cliff (2008)
A friend asked me the other day if it would be possible to write a record review vein of a musical genre. I mean we all get sick of the formulaic quality these things often take, don't we? For me this means constantly trying new things out. My biggest setback isn't in telling a reader whether I think some thing … Read more
Pygmy Lush
Bitter River
Robotic Empire (2007)
Bitter River is the most bipolar release of 2007, hands down. Members of Pygmy Lush were once in groups such as Pg. 99, City of Caterpillar, Majority Rule, and Hissing Choir just to name a few. Now, they've found themselves writing an album that changes drastically over the course of fourteen songs (two songs were added to the CD release, … Read more
Pygmy Lush
Mount Hope
Lovitt (2008)
The metamorphosis is complete. Where Bitter River combined harsh and acoustic tracks, Mount Hope excludes the 'harsh.' In this way, one can view Pygmy Lush's roots, the seminal Pg. 99 and City of Caterpillar, as the larva, or caterpillar, if you will. Pygmy Lush's first release, Bitter River, then serves as the cocoon transition between musicians' prior work into the … Read more
Pygmy Lush
Old Friends
Lovitt (2011)
Pygmylush have certainly put their time in their scene their ex members list is extensive and well documented. Knowledge of their past endeavors would do little to really prepare one for what you will get upon listening to their music. Know for playing a mix of thrashing punk and hardcore not dissimilar to some of their past bands coupled with … Read more
Pyongyang Metro
Tower of White Tigers
Arsenic (2007)
Pyongyang Metro is a tough band to separate from their other projects. The band shares members with Off With Their Heads, Rivethead, and Banner Pilot - bands with a unifying sound that's hard to dismiss. Tower of White Tigers, their debut release, is a different beast. It is the second release from Arsenic Records who, per their outdated Myspace page, … Read more
Pyramids
A Northern Meadow
Profound Lore (2015)
Back in 2008, Pyramids were setting off with the release of their self-titled debut album. Blending together the different elements of shoe gaze, post-rock, black metal, dark ambient, drone and experimental their first album was nothing less than fascinating. Following the release of the album a variety of artists and bands, including James Plotkin, Colin Marston and Blut Aus Nord, … Read more
Pyramids
Following the Tracks, Forcing Motion Through Phases
Slave Union/Paramnesia (2006)
Listening to this album is like being on a train, a train that you know is going to crash. But even knowing this, you just sit there and wait. Slowly you look out the window and lament all that passes by almost without knowing why. As the music builds up your heart rate increases, the song climaxes, people scream, and … Read more
Pyramids
Pyramids
Hydra Head (2008)
So Pyramids is one of a slew of new bands making their debuts with Hydra Head recently. However, this outfit seems to have either a much lower profile than the label's most recent output or Pyramids completely flew under everyone's radar, and thus allows this self-titled album to be quite the surprise. After hearing their samples available in certain notorious … Read more
Pyramids
Through the Hourglass
Protagonist Music (2007)
Fuck "emo," fuck "screamo." Let's talk about music with intensity and passion. Pyramids' second full-length release, Through the Hourglass, features eight equally brutal and beautiful songs. I was fortunate enough to recently see the band perform at the Lo-Fi Social Club in Baltimore; after their set (prolonged one song by a unanimous call for an "encore"), I couldn't help but … Read more
Pyramids with Nadja
Pyramids with Nadja
Hydra Head (2009)
How does a group of people who make a decent first album top that album (or theoretically top that album anyway)? Pyramids must have similar thoughts regarding sophomore records considering that their debut sparked much conversation and brought them a decent amount of attention. And when the time came for them to follow up their own record, they brought in … Read more
Q and Not U
Power
Dischord (2004)
Mike Watt famously said that the Minutemen "divided the whole world into two categories: there were flyers and the gig. You're either doing the gig, which is like one hour of your life or everything else to get people to the gig. Interviews were flyers, videos were flyers, even records were flyers. We didn't tour to promote records, we made … Read more
Q and Not U
X-Polynation/Book of Flags
Dischord (2003)
Sometimes I find myself shaking my ass, clapping my hands, and just plain out getting down. I can say that, for 80% of these moments, Q and Not U is the soundtrack to such ass shaking. Sure Different Damage didn't provide nearly as many ass shaking moments but when it provided one, it far surpassed any of them on No … Read more
Quaaludes
Rejects
Independent (2016)
Leave it to Quaaludes to elevate a tape of previously unreleased demos to a work of art. I have to admit, even as a long-time Quaaludes fan (and, full disclosure, someone who personally knows Aimee,) I was a little skeptical about their decision to release these demos, “recorded in Quaaludes practices.” It felt like filler, maybe even like a rip-off, … Read more
Quaker Wedding
In Transit
Salinas Records (2020)
Sometimes when you take a test drive, you know right away that it’s the car for you.Quaker Wedding, if they were a car (sorry, but I’m going to drive this metaphor as far as I can), would be the 150,000+ mile American economy vehicle I drove for a decade in the ‘90s. It’s unique and agile, but with rust spots, … Read more
