The Secret
Agnus Dei
Southern Lord (2012)
Southern Lord have been on a roll this year – Martyrdöd, Wolfbrigade, Eagle Twin and Acephalix to name but a few - and the fourth full-length from Italian masters of all out noise, The Secret, is a worthy addition to a roster that is always expanding and never diluting. Agnus Dei is pure, unadulterated fury and the bile and venom … Read more
The Secret
Solve Et Coagula
Southern Lord (2010)
This four-piece crust/grind band hails from Trieste, Italy and formed in 2003. The Secret released their first record Luce on Goodfellow Records. After various line-up changes the band finally released their second record Disintoxication in 2008. Since then Goodfellow Records is no longer a functioning label. The Secret found a home in Southern Lord Recordings after an impressive demo was … Read more
The Sensibles
A Bunch Of Animals
Rijapov (2013)
The opening track to The Sensibles’s first full-length album is entitled “Happy,” which may be the most self-descriptive name I’ve seen in ages. I was hooked immediately—not just from the first song, but from the first few exuberant drum beats. The Italian pop punk/punk rock band is still relatively fresh on the scene, having only released one 4 track EP … Read more
The Setup
Torchbearer
GSR Records (2009)
Many hardcore bands go one way or the other. Either they play ridiculously heavy to an almost numbing degree. On the other hand there are the overly melodic bands that almost sound too clean or almost like screaming pop punk bands. Yes, these are broad generalizations and I do love hardcore of both types. Most bands do very little to … Read more
The Seven Mile Journey
The Metamorphosis Project
Fonogram/Pumpkin Seeds in the Sand (2008)
Operating under the post-rock banner, The Seven Mile Journey's The Metamorphosis Project offers an hour of sparse and atmospheric soundscapes. It is the group's second release for Denmark's Fonogram Agency, and is released in the United States on Pumpkin Seeds in the Sand. The design is minimal yet eye-catching, with a white logo stamped in the corner of a glossy … Read more
The Shaking Hands
The Shaking Hands
Kiss of Death (2009)
In my recent Kiss of Death reviews there's been a steady diet of pop-influenced beard punk. Expecting more of the same, Gainesville's The Shaking Hands threw me for a loop with their late '90s street punk anthems. The band would be at home on a Give 'em the Boot or Old Skars and Upstarts comp, with their tendencies toward tough … Read more
The Shaky Hands
Lunglight
Kill Rock Stars (2008)
It's raining today. No sun. Shaking angly tree branches. Impenetrable sky rising up out of the ground. Hourless glide from late morning to dusk. I've been in bed all afternoon, admitting how sick I've gotten over the last week. Fucking autumn: always makes me think of Portland. Portland used to be my girl. Well... Portland used to be the girl … Read more
The Shame
The World Is Ours
Profane Existence (2013)
Profane Existence kicks off their Limited Edition Single Series—a subscription service that delivers a new 7” each month—with The World Is Ours, a brand new EP by the The Shame. Considering The Shame are an Oi! band, it seems like an odd selection for a label that deals primarily in anarchist-fueled crust punk and metal. However, it’s not completely outside … Read more
The Shins
Chutes Too Narrow
Sub Pop (2003)
Since I've only heard a couple of songs from last year's solid debut, Oh, Inverted World, this review will be free of any mentions of "sophomore slumps." Chutes Too Narrow deserves better than that. The album completely shatters this notion to the point that it doesn't deserve recognition. That said, the entire album feels like a soundtrack to some wonderful … Read more
The Shins
Port Of Morrow
Aural Apothecary (2012)
Spring has arrived. The sun pours through the sky. Pollen blankets the surroundings. The streets suddenly become more occupied. Much has happened in the world since last spring. Even more has occurred in the five years passed since we were last offered a new album from The Shins, a band whose spring-like sound sonically reflects the seasonal transference.In the world … Read more
The Shins
Wincing the Night Away
Sub Pop (2007)
Mainstream indie pop may not be as popular as it was when "New Slang" dominated the world a short while ago, but that hasn't stopped The Shins from continually engineering contagious, almost viral, songs that affix themselves to your temporal lobe and snub your best attempts to remove them. "Sleeping Lessons" opens the record with a soft, nearly alien, series … Read more
The Shits
You’re A Mess
Rocket Recordings (2023)
With their origin dating to the late ‘10s, I was quite amazed to find in Discogs that this is only the fifth instance of a band named The Shits. However, I am not taking into account the many out there who feel the need to adorn the famous noun with an adjective. The Sniveling Shits, The Tough Shits, the list … Read more
The Shore
The Shore
Maverick (2004)
Could it be that my computer has a secret quality music detector and it was trying to warn me? My computer isn't that advanced, in fact, most of the time it is just dysfunctional. It is sufficient enough to play a CD, however, this time it refused to play The Shore's self-titled debut album. The CD drive made an awful … Read more
The Sick Lipstick
Sting, Sting, Sting
Tiger Style (2003)
Everyone enjoys a little no-wave now and again, right? Anyone who is into The Red Light Sting, Arab on Radar, or Black Cat #13 will enjoy this. In fact, half of The Sick Lipstick is composed of members from Black Cat #13, and they have done a split with XBXRX. It seems like music this cool can only come from … Read more
The Sidekicks
Awkward Breeds
Red Scare Industries (2012)
Cleveland, Ohio's The Sidekicks have always had it in them to make a record like this. It’s their most polished, mature, and best to date. There is not one bad track out of the eleven here. It’s musicality at its most honest.Taking the influences from past acts like The Replacements and Elvis Costello, The Sidekicks created 2009’s Weight of Air … Read more
The Sidekicks
Happiness Hours
Epitaph (2018)
The Sidekicks are a band that I still pay attention to past my “punk only years”—you know, the years of my youth when only punk music and anything within that sub-genre mattered to me. I know, how naive. But it was also naive of me to brush off The Sidekicks as just another sub-par punk band. Throughout the years I … Read more
The Silks
Last American Band
Independent (2013)
When I first caught The Silks playing in a friends living room I was amazed at the raw energy these guys bring to a live show and as we have learned time and again, one of the hardest things to pull off as a record producer is to capture that sound and feel in the studio. Well I'm happy to … Read more
The Slackers
Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya
Pirates Press (2022)
Forget all the silly fourth wave hashtags for a minute. The Slackers have been playing old school ska/dub/rocksteady since 1991 now. Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya is their whopping 15th album (depending how people count the early self-released material). They’re not “prolific,” though. They’re hard workers. There is a clear working-class New York vibe that permeates their every song, … Read more
