Robin Finck and the Wordclock
NOCT Original Soundtrack
Laced Records (2015)
A studio and touring musician with Nine Inch Nails since the mid '90s and part of the whole Chinese Democracy saga for Guns 'n' Roses, guitarist Robin Finck has clearly learned a few tricks from NiN mastermind Trent Reznor over the years. Capable of working in almost any field he became involved in, Reznor went beyond his NiN recordings to … Read more
Robots and Empires
Omnivore
Trip Machine Laboratories (2007)
For a while it seemed like people in hardcore bands would undergo this metamorphosis that changed them from raging balls of adolescent angst into sensitive young adults channeling that angst with more subtlety in their music. This initially spawned the post-hardcore movement where bands like Into Another and Quicksand came into existence. This cycle seems to continue on in one … Read more
Rocket from the Crypt
All Systems Go Volume 3
Vagrant/Swami (2008)
Leaving behind a recording legacy as large as Rocket from the Crypt is doing rates fairly high on the impressive scale considering how difficult it is to maintain consistency and relevance over a couple of albums let alone the roughly six full-lengths as well as a multitude of EP's and singles that this rock and roll outfit is responsible for … Read more
Rocket from the Crypt
R.I.P.
Swami/Vagrant (2008)
It was a sad, sad day when I learned that Rocket from the Crypt had called it a day. Seriously, here was a band that attempted to put the swagger and brashness back into rock and roll with a panache and flair still unrivalled to this point. They have been gone now for several years with only their massive back … Read more
Rockets Red Glare
Moonlight Desires
Blue Skies Turn Black (2004)
Minimalist tendencies. Math-rock. Post-rock. All good things in proper doses. But can they be mixed to produce something great? Ah, well, there's the real question. Rockets Red Glare seems to think so. Judging by this record, I'd have to agree with them. Hailing from Ontario, the band were a strange exercise in restraint for the most part, always intriguing by … Read more
Rocky Votolato
Makers
Barsuk (2006)
Seattle artist Rocky Votolato has been a busy man of late. His debut record for Barsuk, Makers, has already seen an episode of cult teen series The O.C. use the opening track, "White Daisy Passing", on its soundtrack. Such lofty heights for the Texan-born singer were hard to imagine back in his Second Nature Records days. Makers is a record … Read more
Rocky Votolato
Suicide Medicine
Second Nature (2003)
Zed recently turned me onto this guy, and I've become fairly obsessed with his work ever since. The formula is simple, and been used a million times before - a man, his voice and an acoustic guitar. I'm not going to claim to be an afficienado of the whole singer/songwriter thing, but I know what I like, and I like … Read more
Rocky Votolato
The Brag and Cuss
Barsuk (2007)
Rocky Votolato has been a busy man of late. He released last year's Makers to wide acclaim and only just recently re-issued A Brief History with his long time collaborators at Second Nature recordings. This brings us to his latest musical foray. The Brag and Cuss is Votolato's sixth album since he began releasing his solo material in 1999, and … Read more
Rocky Votolato
True Devotion
Barsuk/Second Nature (2010)
Only recently the consensus had been reached in my household that the time for a new Rocky Votolato album was long past due and a lengthy re-visitation of his solo back catalog immediately commenced at that point. Luckily for our household, the new album from Mr. Votolato is here; True Devotion comes via Barsuk Records again (his label for the … Read more
Roddy Woomble
My Secret is My Silence
Pure (2006)
In 2005, following Warnings / Promises, Idlewild finally decided that they were a rock band all along and that the folk edges that had been working their way in since The Remote Part were just a side track to their rock band credentials. The result of this epiphany was that there was room for Idlewild to do both a rock … Read more
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Area 52
ATO (2012)
Everyone's favourite thrash metal duo turned acoustic, Rodrigo y Gabriela stand out amongst their peers not only for their heavily metal-influenced Latin pieces, but also for their impeccable proficiency and astounding musicianship. Their latest album, Area 52, pairs the fiery duo alongside the ensemble C.U.B.A., the first time they've recorded their work with such full instrumentation.Let me tell you, the … Read more
Roll the Tanks
Suffer City
Intelligent Noise (2008)
Something about Roll the Tanks sounds familiar. I can't put my finger on who they remind me of, but they have a light, bouncy Brit-pop feel with enough enthusiasm to overcome their lack of originality. On Suffer City, the Massachusetts/Los Angeles quartet brings a half hour of concise, polished indie rock with positive energy and a lot of group vocals. … Read more
Romance of Young Tigers
I Have Supped Full on Horrors
Magic Bullet (2008)
Untold lies need to be averted by explaining that Romance of Young Tigers are an instrumental band that takes their art (and that is exactly what it is to them and their appreciators, art) dead seriously and with only the best intentions. Their album, I Have Supped Full on Horrors, contains enough composition to exemplify the cinematic soundtrack qualities of … Read more
Romance of Young Tigers
Marie
Magic Bullet (2008)
Marie is an EP-ish release - it is more than a half hour of music - from Romance of Young Tigers. The release is an impressive project with handmade packaging for every physical copy (out of 500) which are made from reclaimed CD covers and packages from other groups. Again, Romance of Young Tigers produce an evocative brand of instrumental … Read more
Rome
Die Æsthetik der Herrschaftsfreiheit
Trisol (2011)
Die Æsthetik der Herrschaftsfreiheit. A three disc journey into the hearts and minds of the oppressed. An album that has become more relevant to the happenings of this past year than band founder Jerome Reuter could possibly ever imagine. At it's core, it's a record of struggle and of overcoming the boundaries set by those in positions of power. Could … Read more
Rome
Hell Money
Trisol (2012)
Jerome Reuter is becoming ever more prolific in recent times and you may remember last year’s Die Æsthetik Der Herrschaftsfreiheit was a surprising addition to his catalogue in that it was a triple disc album that flowed with majestic coherence and innate boldness. Hell Money was quietly announced yet the shock that was felt by fans in the release of … Read more
Rome
Le Ceneri Di Heliodoro
Trisol Music Group (2019)
Rome’s musical output has been incredibly prolific over the last decade and a half of the project’s existence. Releasing albums at the rate of practically one every year, Rome has much to say and the band is Jerome Reuter’s way of expressing many emotions and opinions on revolution, love and the way forward, all within the neofolk genre in one … Read more
Ronen Kauffman
New Brunswick, New Jersey, Goodbye: Bands, Dirty Basements, and the Search for Self
Sub City/Hopeless (2007)
High fives to Ronen Kauffman for head stomping all over my pretentious attitude about what good literature should be. When I first heard about this book's release I was glad to see a paperback devoted to the subject matter but I was a little annoyed that yet another memoir was hitting the shelves. Are people self-centered enough to think their … Read more
