Spock's Beard
Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep
Inside Out (2013)
As far as modern progressive rock goes, Spock's Beard are probably the most fun band around. Flippantly named after that one episode of Star Trek that gave us the frighteningly barbate Leonard Nimoy, the band have become known for releasing album after album of high quality, if not exactly original, music. Their most recent studio album, Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless … Read more
Spokenest
Gone, Gone, Gone
Drunken Sailor (2016)
I have a type, and it’s short and fast. I’m partial to it and probably less picky. It fills a need that my constantly fidgeting digits and bottomless coffee mug cannot. Besides, short and fast is just better. Duh.Spokenest are seemingly built on that same concept, playing finger-bleedingly fast guitar and drum in this husband-wife two-piece from California. On Gone, … Read more
Spokenest
We Move
Independent (2013)
Two piece bands seem to be gaining in popularity again, and it’s easy to see why from a musician’s perspective. The fewer people involved, the easier to organize, practice, and tour. There are duos done well (see Street Eaters) and lesser cases who aren’t getting the namedrop here. Spokenest is a newer project of similar ilk, bringing Adrian and Daryl … Read more
Spoon
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Merge (2007)
Over the course of the last year Jim Eno, drummer of Spoon and certified electrical engineer, has produced some of 2007's best albums while working with his boys in Spoon to bring us Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Before even getting to the musical element of the record's equation, any enthusiast is quick to note the amazing quality to the … Read more
Spoon
Gimmie Fiction
Merge (2005)
Music elitists say that excellent music has not come out since the 70's; that the past thirty odd some years have been regurgitated, diluted crap. Some might admit that there have been some good bands in the past couple of years, but none of those bands are groundbreaking or memorable. And in the end, those bands are just extremely influenced … Read more
Spoonboy
The Papas
Fuck You is a Seven Letter Word (2011)
Do you like songs about gender issues, white male privilege, masculinity, and society in general? If not, you may want to quit reading here. Spoonboy, led by David Combs, is dedicated and upfront about these causes. Much like his other band, The Max Levine Ensemble, the general tone is preachy (to the choir), with pop song structures, direct lyrics, and … Read more
Sprain
The Lamb As Effigy
Flenser (2023)
One of the many exciting acts introduced through The Flenser, Sprain delivered an impressive work with their debut record, As Lost Through Collision. Introduced during the dark times between lockdowns in 2020, the album is a tour de force through noise rock and post-hardcore. With an off-kilter element and an allure for both the chaotic and depressing nature of no … Read more
Sprints
Letter to Self
City Slang (2024)
Rage meets dance-punk on Dublin four piece, SPRINTS’, first full length release. After a smattering of well received singles and a trail of blazing live performances, the group released their album following the success of their previous EP, A Modern Job. The Irish punk band’s star continues to rise in the good company of contemporaries Fontaines DC and Pillow Queens- … Read more
Stabbed by Words
Stabbed by Words
Hawthorne Street (2006)
Why has no one heard of Stabbed by Words? A better question might be why is no one really talking about them? Seriously, when a band features members and ex-members of Unbroken, The Hope Conspiracy and The Suicide File, how can a band like this slip under the collective radar of the hardcore herd? One reason for their relative obscurity … Read more
Stalaggh
Projekt Misanthropia
Autopsy Kitchen (2007)
When John Zorn released his Kristallnacht album, it contained one track of sheer horror, anger, and sorrow all rolled into one. Entitled "Never Again," Zorn did his utmost to convey his interpretation of the "Night of Broken Glass." The track is essentially just that: over eleven minutes of the unbearable sound of glass shattering. Zorn even went so far, though … Read more
Star Fucking Hipsters
Until We're Dead
Fat Wreck Chords (2008)
Let's face it: a lot of punk rock comes across through the singer's voice, and that voice often isn't pretty: Johnny Rotten's snottiness, Tim Armstrong's slurs, Jello Biafra's warble. When it comes to the Star Fucking Hipsters' Sturgeon (Choking Victim, Leftover Crack), his voice is easily identifiable and his work brings associations of shock appeal and overhanded lefty politics. Star … Read more
Starkweather
Croatoan
Candlelight (2006)
The enigmatic metal behemoth that is Starkweather has been erratically dropping musical bombs sporadically for well over a decade. An uncompromising band of musicians that set out to artistically satisfy their own predilections rather than satisfy any kind of musical "market", Starkweather has been lauded in the underground metal and hardcore community for quite a long time. They have been … Read more
Starkweather
This Sheltering Night
Deathwish Inc. (2010)
Wow, a new Starkweather album, and so soon after their last one (Croatoan)? Seriously, it is exciting to hear another album from this long running and challenging outfit; and maybe being on a label run by fans of theirs, Starkweather may finally see some recognition for their forward thinking music (hopefully they do not remain a band's band). In any … Read more
Stars
Heart
Arts & Crafts (2003)
There are few things worse in this world than a record composed by a group of people that are intensely passionate about the contents, but that doesn't live up to the enthusiasm with which it is crafted. Such is the case with the latest release from Stars, the Montreal pop group most widely known for their ties with Broken Social … Read more
Stars
Set Yourself on Fire
Arts & Crafts (2005)
"Ladies and gentlemen, set yourself on fire!" exclaims novelist Ibi Kaslik on the inside cover of Stars's sophomore album, Set Yourself on Fire. This begins a rather brief but punchy tirade about how we should not laze about while fascist dictators, ahem Bush, are in power. While there are only a handful of political songs, the rest of the album … Read more
Stars are Falling
The Consequence of Revenge
Blood & Ink (2007)
Sacramento's Stars are Falling are yet another in long line of bands coming out of California and inking a deal with Blood & Ink Records, an imprint of Facedown Records. So you basically know what you are going to get here even before you listen to it. Yup, you guessed it more Jesus loving metalcore that today's sleeveless t-shirt camo … Read more
Stars are Falling / Skylines
Split
Blood & Ink (2005)
Is this what you kids call "screamo" nowadays? I don't know and I don't care. As far as I'm concerned all music should be split into two genres: the one I like and the one I don't. This album would then fall under the second category, well the first band at least. The album is a split between two bands: … Read more
Stars of the Lid
And Their Refinement of the Decline
Kranky (2007)
When it comes to currently running ambient acts, they do not get any more prolific than Stars of the Lid. Having released material since 1995, the duo made up of Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie have relocated since releasing their last album and absolute masterpiece The Tired Sounds Of... and found themselves living more than 6,000 miles apart. This distance … Read more
