699 total search results — Page 13 of 35
Future Virgins – Late Republic
Review — November 26, 2013
After how hard Western Problems hit, it would be hard for Future Virgins to deliver another punch-out of similar quality. Or would it? With a new record, Late Republic on Recess Records, the Chattanooga band has blown my expectations away. The sound this time is a bit cleaner, …
Caves – Betterment
Review — December 2, 2013
I’d call Caves frantic punk rock, if not for the title track on Betterment actually being a casual acoustic affair. Other than that song, though, the eleven songs on the UK’s band’s latest offering are non-stop energy, complemented by vocal trade-offs, relentless percussion, and a whole lot of screaming. The …
Kitten Forever – Pressure
Review — December 9, 2013
Pressure is a party. The three-piece band Kitten Forever trade off vocals constantly throughout, and even swap instruments while they’re at it. It starts off with a 43 second intro track of vocal switcheroos and handclaps before shifting into the muddy “Cry Baby” that sets the stage well for …
The Julie Ruin – Run Fast
Review — December 16, 2013
The onesheet drops the term “subversive pop.” While the term may apply lyrically, musically The Julie Ruin is more ‘80s pop in sound. Keyboards lead the melodies and punchy vocals with earworm melodies are at the core, accentuated by a range of percussion accompaniments and funky, danceable bass lines.The …
Iron Chic – The Constant One
Review — December 24, 2013
If ever a band was created for an epic singalong, it was Iron Chic. There’s that big feeling at the core of their soaring melodies as they build and rage, starting with a verse from Jason Lubrano and building to a gang singalong at the chorus in nearly every song. …
Various Artists – Brokedowns / Vacation Bible School split
Review — December 30, 2013
Taking Side A on the Elgin, IL focused 7” are The Brokedowns, who last released Species Bender in 2010. After a slew of splits in their career and a few full-lengths, they’ve really settled into a distinct style. It’s punk with a verse-chorus-verse kind of structure at its core, …
Direct Hit! – Brainless God
Review — January 6, 2014
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, …
Mind Spiders – Inhumanistic
Review — January 13, 2014
Maybe Minnesota is just a long way from Texas, but it seems that Mind Spiders are more of a studio band, releasing a record a year but only hitting my town once in the past three. Or maybe it’s just the 1000 miles in between. That’s really neither here nor …
King Khan & the Shrines – Idle No More
Review — January 20, 2014
In King Khan & the Shrines, King Khan goes big band. Not in the jazz sense, but in a horn-laden variety a la Memphis rock with some James Brown thrown in for good measure. It’s leg-kicking, camelwalkin’ rock with horns that fill out the sound over a funky groove.While …
The Dwarves – Younger & Even Better Looking
Review — January 28, 2014
Age makes fools of us all. First it was In Utero releasing all of my hard-found rarities on a single disc, and now comes The Dwarves Are Younger & Even Better Looking a new double-gatefold LP package that combines the group’s 1997 record Young & Good Looking (record …
Moistboyz – V
Review — February 3, 2014
Moistboyz aren’t a particularly active group. The band, based around the duo of vocalist Guy Heller and multi-instrumentalist Mickey Melchiondo (aka Dean Ween), has only released five items in about twenty years. V is the third full-length in that bunch and, while the artists have aged, it’s clear they …
Audacity – Butter Knife
Review — February 10, 2014
It didn’t take long for Mellow Cruisers to appeal. Butter Knives, the follow-up from California’s Audacity, though, seems to be more of a grower.A band quick-summed-up as power-pop (though that description lacks), the new record seems to miss that one-two punch, earworm aspect. Instead, the songs are …
Pretty Boy Thorson & the Falling Angels – An Uneasy Peace
Review — February 17, 2014
Have things finally turned around for Jesse Thorson, making the country-punk band sing a new song of joy and celebration? Of course not.Previously, the band didn’t play alt-country so far as they wrote punk songs to country lyrics—however, An Uneasy Peace definitely sees that paradigm shifting toward a …
The Obits – Bed & Bugs
Review — February 24, 2014
Obits don’t offer many surprises on Bed & Bugs, but that’s never really been the expectation. In a long lineage of bands, Rick Froberg has defined a distinct sound and this, Obits’ third full-length, doesn’t offer many deviations. The success of Obits comes through classic, big r’n’r chops. It’s …
The Lawrence Arms – Metropole
Review — February 24, 2014
When The Lawrence Arms released Oh Calcutta! back in 2006, it was billed by the band as a collection of songs utilizing the back-and-forth, high octane punk they enjoy listening to—a conscious decision to switch-up their sound for a record. Then, life happened and the group took eight years …
Dead Mechanical – OK Night
Review — March 3, 2014
Dead Mechanical is one of those mid-tempo punk bands, built on life’s grimy surfaces and reflecting that tone of rough-and-tumble, down-and-out luck. The music fits this tone, drudging, cursing, and lamenting, striving for a blend of catharsis and transcendence. OK Night is their third full-length and its title just …
Tim Timebomb & Friends – Mixtape
Review — March 10, 2014
Tim Armstrong (Rancid) has spent over a year releasing a song a day on YouTube under the moniker Tim Timebomb. While astute fans can pull his work right off the internet these days, there’s just something about holding a record and being able to play it at your …
Bad Sports – Bras
Review — March 18, 2014
Bad Sports want you to turn it up. They play loud rock, rooted in the elements, but not tied to rollicking times or anti-authority volume, but taking that foundation and blending it with a fundamental structure that pulls from The Ramones and draws melodic ideas from the genres …
Coathangers – Suck My Shirt
Review — March 24, 2014
This Atlanta trio caught my attention with Larceny & Old Lace a couple of years ago, and Suck My Shirt is a continuation of that sound. It shifts into hypnotic, rhythmic patterns and eschews melodies at times, instead just shouting their fury over the beat while discordant guitars clash …
