Direct Effect
Sunburn
Tiny Engines (2014)
With roots in Orlando, Florida but now touching down in Philadelphia, members of hardcore outfit Direct Effect have presumably fallen victim to the general awfulness that is otherwise known as traveling up and down I-95 for extended periods of time. A slow crawl on a good day, traffic on this expanse of east coast highway has been actually known to … Read more
Direct Hit!
Brainless God
Red Scare (2013)
Direct Hit! get filed in the Midwest pop-punk scene and, while they deviate throughout the course of Brainless God, that’s definitely a fair starting point. While there are some harder influences at play, the band’s core is in that school of Dear Landlord and The Dopamines. It’s melodic, catchy, and peppy. There’s some Screeching Weasel in there, but it’s more … Read more
Dirge
Elysian Magnetic Fields
Division (2011)
Dirge, the self-described 'neurotic post-core' band from France, may have gotten just a bit big for their britches. Ever since Blight and Vision Below a Faded Sun was released in 2000, Dirge have been pushing the limits of how much space they can cram into their music and get away with it. 2004's And the Sky Shall Descend saw this … Read more
Dirty Three
Toward The Low Sun
Drag City (2012)
The things I like about this album start with the art itself; guitarist Mick Turner's beautiful artwork perfectly captures his music's mood and sound. In fact, it's the best visual summary I can give of Dirty Three's newest album, Toward the Low Sun.Primarily, the album seeks to obtain this extremely casual, laid-back atmosphere, as if just a collection of rough … Read more
Disappearer
Disappearer
Trash Art (2006)
Disappearer is the latest creative outlet for the majority of the short lived band, There Were Wires (which also includes a member of Doomriders). Whereas their previous outfits were and are more metal oriented, Disappearer is a post-rock group more akin to bands like Pelican and Red Sparowes (both of which they share a definite similarity) that also eschew the … Read more
Disappearer
The Clearing
Magic Bullet (2009)
Massachusetts-based Disappearer returns with their long-awaited second release. The Clearing marks the band's first full-length effort, which follows up the band's 2006's self-titled EP release (which is actually the group's 2004 demo reworked). So it has been, in a way, five years since we've gotten fresh material from Disappearer. For the super-fans, I am aware of last year's Steven Brodsky … Read more
Disappears
Irreal
Kranky (2015)
Fifth album for the rock band from Chicago, and they are still at it, blending the elements of shoe gaze and kraut rock in their alternative rock base. Irreal is an album that finds Disappears pushing their sonic identity to extremes, with the dark quality of the album remaining always present as does their search of finding the most intriguing … Read more
Disembodied
Psalms of Sheol
Prime Directive (2009)
As the crushing, bottom heavy sonic force of "Enochian Prayer" plays, the only thought running through my mind is: "YES! Disembodied rules where would I be without their destroying my ear drums right at this moment?" If you have ever given a spin or two or more to any Disembodied record, than you kind of have an idea of what … Read more
Disfear
Live the Storm
Relapse (2008)
After what is quickly becoming a normative hiatus for this Swedish five-piece band, Disfear delivers their latest blast of d-beat influenced mayhem onto the masses. Live the Storm is their second full length with Tomas Lindberg, vocalist of At the Gates and an innumerable number of other heavy bands, and the first with former Entombed guitarist Uffe Cederlund, as well … Read more
Dismantled
Standard Issue
Dependent/Metropolis (2006)
Gary Zon's blurb about the ethic behind Standard Issue reads something like, "a sarcastic take on the simplicity and emptiness of the current musical climate." What this means is, either it sounds exactly like what it says, or it means that Dismantled have disappeared into the chasm of banality that seems the staple of the current popular set of industrial … Read more
Dispensing of False Halos
With Prayers and A Scalpel
Init (2003)
So comrade, this elderly man walks into a bar and asks the bartender, "Where can I find the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated?" Then out of fucking left field, sometimes inadvertently perceived as right, Dispensing Of False Halos busts through the adjacent wall and tears that geezer a new blowhole. Now, what exactly instigated this odd situation and, better … Read more
Dissolute
Demo 2004
Independent (2004)
Every city has that one local band that should be signed to a label and off touring Europe because they are that phenomenal. For Cleveland, that band is a three-piece metal outfit named Dissolute. Previously, the band was restricted by the members additional projects, but with those endeavors out of the way, Dissolute can finally evolve into the musical juggernaut … Read more
Dissolute
Intermittent Parasitic Oscillatior
Daredevil (2006)
For this Cleveland math-metal band, this release has been a long time coming. It was several years ago that I heard their first demo; the contained music was raw and frantic, yet it showed great promise. Now, seven years later, I am listening to the band's debut full-length, well sort of. Throughout their time as a band they have recorded … Read more
Distants
Distants
Salinas Records (2024)
Something about this guitar tone always picks me up. Add in the raspy vocals and it really only takes me a few seconds into this record to know that Distants are my kind of band. Honestly, I’ve seen them before too, so I already knew that, but that was just a half set at The Fest, not a deep dive … Read more
Ditches
Ditches
Drunken Sailor (2020)
Am I going to be able to review this record without comparing Ditches to Marked Men? Clearly not, but I made it 14 words. This debut album from Stockholm’s Ditches bears a lot of similarity to that band. Given how good that band was, I’m not sure that’s a knock against them. Besides the sonic similarities, the record was also … Read more
Ditches
Drunk Dial #9
Drunk Dial Records (2022)
The Drunk Dial series is a 7” concept where the label hooks up with a band, gets them inebriated, and records. Side A is an original, Side B is a cover. I guess the point is a spontaneous, live feel with a glimpse into influences. This time around we get Ditches, a power-pop/garage trio with a great catalog thus far. … Read more
Divider
At Twilight
Shock Value (2006)
A few days ago I found out that I had Bell's Palsy - the muscles that control the right side of my face are so weak I cannot smile with the right side of my mouth or close my right eye with ease. I will essentially be without the control of the right side of my face for weeks. The … Read more
Dizzee Rascal
Maths + English
XL (2007)
Despite the abrasive nature of U.K. garage, Dizzee Rascal has performed the extraordinary task of achieving eminence in various circles of British music, from his immediate contemporaries in grime and hip-hop to the less approximate in metal and indie. The Arctic Monkeys have gotten in on some mutually reciprocal sampling, and Dizzee was an unexpected highlight of 2004's Carling Festival; … Read more
