699 total search results — Page 15 of 35
Ex Friends – Rules for Making Up Words
Review — September 1, 2014
Ex Friends are a group of Philly area punks, recognized from their work in other bands. The band features Joel Tannenbaum (Plow United), JP Flexner (flyer artist), Audrey Crash, and Jayme Guokas. On their debut full-length, Rules for Making Up Words, they don’t let those previous associations …
Joyce Manor – Never Hungover Again
Review — September 8, 2014
This one took a while to stand out, which I didn’t expect given the accolades Joyce Manor has been ringing up with their three releases. Never Hungover Again is my first listen to the band and I can’t say I understand the hype. While they do their style well, it …
The Dwarves – Invented Rock & Roll
Review — September 15, 2014
I won’t say anything as hyperbolic as that the Dwarves invented rock ‘n’ roll, but I’ll still give them another borderline statement that fits on a press sheet: the 2014 Dwarves are a supergroup—not a supergroup side project of glossy mag pin-ups, but a supergroup that is honestly comprised of, …
Flagpolers – Arse Ways EP
Review — September 22, 2014
Sometimes the RIYL doesn’t lie. When Vancouver punks Flagpolers list Tiltwheel as an influence, it comes across clearly on the four song EP Arse Ways. The songs are built in that Davey Tiltwheel guitar style and then the lyrics are pelted atop in a gruff and staggering delivery. It’s …
Steve Adamyk Band – Dial Tone
Review — September 29, 2014
This is Dirtnap Records.Not to pigeonhole anybody, but man does Steve Adamyk Band hit on that pop structure, garage chaos element that defines the label.Dial Tone is the fourth full-length out of Canada’s Steve Adamyk Band and I reviewed Third a while back. This time around, the band …
Devo – The Complete Truth About De-Evolution
Review — October 6, 2014
I’ve long felt there are fewer lesser art forms than the music video. It turns out I was wrong—or, at least pre-1990 it was another game. The Complete Truth About De-Evolution is a DVD compilation of all of Devo’s music videos (1976-1990, minus “Are U Experienced?”), running in chronological order, …
Needles//Pins – Shamebirds
Review — October 13, 2014
Needles//Pins are something different in the punk rock realm. Well, that’s not true. They’re entirely familiar and warm, yet they have that pizzazz—that’s what the kids are calling it these days, if you didn’t know. They play familiar-ish DIY punk with some pop sensibility, but there’s a little more attitude, …
Shitty Weekend – Shit Week
Review — October 20, 2014
This thing is all over the map, from freak-out jazz-punk one minute (“Geneva”) to a track of haunting old man ghost noises laid atop a galloping horse, and then band to spastic punk. I mean that in a good way.Shitty Weekend is made up of members of Transient and …
Total Control – Typical System
Review — October 27, 2014
Sometimes you get stuck on a review. Sure, I meant to delve outside my comfort zone a bit in grabbing this record, but I’ve been a little stuck on the details. The plus side, of course, is that means I’ve given it dozens of spins.Typical System is the second …
Quintron and Miss Pussycat – Spellcaster II: Death in Space
Review — October 27, 2014
Quintron and Miss Pussycat have never been known as a vocal group, but Spellcaster II: Death in Space takes that to a new level, waiting until the fourth song, “Do the Raid” for the first vocal utterings. That’s not a bad thing, but it is a slow start to the …
Various Artists – Low Culture-Needles//Pins - split 7"
Review — November 3, 2014
I’ve probably said this before for those 3 people who read all of my reviews, but I feel that the 7” is one of the hardest items to review. Not because they’re short, but because it takes a truly special 7” to jump from an 8 to a 10. It’s …
Shallow Cuts – Storm Watch
Review — November 3, 2014
Shallow Cuts are a group of friends. Oh, they’re a group of musicians too. Some people call that a band. They’re a three piece, with members of Dan Padilla, Madison Bloodbath, and Dear Landlord/The Gateway District.Oftentimes saying a band features members of XYZ isn’t the greatest …
Neighborhood Brats – Recovery
Review — November 10, 2014
Reading Scene Point Blank can pay off. A year or so ago we streamed No Sun No Tan, which was the first I’d heard of LA’s Neighborhood Brats.And I dug it.September sees the release of Recovery, the band’s first proper LP, released on Deranged. It …
The Copyrights – Report
Review — November 18, 2014
I like most of my music to have a pop bent. Yes, I like it rough around the edges and only mildly repetitive, which often rules out some of the biggest names that fall under ye olde “pop-punk” flag. Ramonescore, for the most part, just doesn’t motivate me like the …
The Tim Version – Ordinary Life
Review — November 24, 2014
The Tim Version’s set at Fest 12 was slower. The songs were drawn out—still loud, and angry—but they were a notch slower, going for expansive and big instead of that 1-2 punch. Was that to be the style on their next album, or was it just the hangover influencing their …
The Smith Street Band – Throw Me in the River
Review — December 8, 2014
Summarizing The Smith Street Band is a bit difficult. While I want to lump them in with folk-punk, that’s only true in song structure. There’s far too much electric guitar to drop that name on them—and maybe too much to just label it “punk.” Think Against Me! without the shouting. …
Rational Anthem – Emotionally Unavailable
Review — December 22, 2014
I can’t figure out just who The Rational Anthem remind me of, but it’s poppy on the clean and crisp side, with a lot of backing harmonies and a fun sound that counters what is generally a lost at sea mindset. In other words, it’s Midwest-influenced pop-punk that would fit …
The Murder City Devils – The White Ghost Has Blood on Its Hands Again
Review — December 31, 2014
Reunited bands have a tendency to disappoint. Maybe their hearts aren’t in it the second time around, maybe they’ve changed as artists and individuals, or maybe the expectations of a rabid fanbase are impossible to meet.Whatever the case, let’s put aside our memories of In Name and Blood, …
Eureka California – Crunch
Review — January 6, 2015
When I hear the phrase “indie rock,” I think of about 4-5 things: Pavement, The Pixies, maybe Weezer, glasses, skinny guys, and bizarre instrumentation or time signatures. Some of that (queue the ‘90s references there) is due to my age, as the former part of that description …
