Travoltas
Until We Hit the Shore
White Russian Records (2017)
Reunions make me cringe. I’ll just say it like it is. I dislike reunions. A lot. I am always afraid a band will ruin their legacy. Or at the very least it will feel different. This is most likely due to the fact I’m a different person than I was when I listened to a band first. New material just … Read more
Unearthly Trance
Stalking the Ghost
Relapse (2017)
To my mind Unearthly Trance was the act that truly defined the doom/sludge push of the '00s. Starting off with their debut album, Seasons of Seance, Science of Silence they displayed a claustrophobic, catastrophic drone induced version at a time where the push was towards the more fun side of doom/stoner. Through the years they kept evolving, switching from the … Read more
Various Artists
ESC Life / Remedy - split EP
PDV Records/Laserlife Record/LastExit Music/Ill in the Head (2017)
This is a sweet and short three track 7’’ released by two befriended bands. This EP had me interested when I saw ESC Life was on it. I was looking forward to hearing more from these friendly Croatians after their excellent album Access All Areas from 2015. It was about time I got to hear something new from them! And the one … Read more
Various Artists
Sad Vacation: The Last Days of Sid And Nancy DVD
MVD Visual (2017)
Ah, Sid Vicious.The sung hero of my formative years and fashion sense of the time (including pad lock necklace and safety pin piercing, inspiration for much mischief and muse for many often amazingly bizarre lyrical explorations of punk bands, e.g. the German’s OHL formal and very polite plea “Hey Sid Vicious, wir benötigen Sie!” and The Exploited’s plaidoyer that could be … Read more
Various Artists
Say Sue Me / Otoboke Beaver Split 7”
Damnably / Electric Muse (2017)
Though the thought of pairing a shoegazey indie pop band with an anything-goes punk group on a split record may seem odd, in the case of this effort from South Korea's Say Sue Me and Japan's Otoboke Beaver, the results are magical. Say Sue Me's contribution is the sunny “Good For Some Reason,” which finds gorgeously hazy vocals soaring over jangly guitars and … Read more
Wear Your Wounds
WYW
Deathwish Inc. (2017)
Is the world filled with melancholy and sadness that gives way to brief moments of euphoric happiness or joy that carries people from peak to peak, or is that just those of us not blessed with “cheer-y” dispositions nor the ability to feign an air of contentedness or ease? Some people drown themselves in mood altering substances in the hopes … Read more
Weezer
Pacific Daydream
Atlantic (2017)
I think that sometimes it’s really hard to review a Weezer record… I mean.. Their first record, the self-titled Blue album, is firmly perched on the list of “best debut albums of all time”. It’s quick punch of pop-punk aesthetic, quirky songwriting, and heavy crunch guitar is only mirrored by the sensitivity and honest lurch of songs like “Say It … Read more
Western Addiction
Tremulous
Fat Wreck Chords (2017)
Has it really been 12 years since Cognicide? Well, Western Addiction are back with another single word, make-you-think album title in Tremulous. They may have skipped releasing records for the entire Obama presidency (plus some), but the band didn’t mellow with age.Tremulous is 11 songs of melodic hardcore. Led by Chad Williams’ power drumming, Williams punctuates the sound while the … Read more
Whiskey & Co.
Ripped Together, Torn Apart
No Idea Records (2017)
Whiskey & Co. are something of an outlier on the No Idea Records roster, but it’s still a cultural fit. Their boozy, swaying country may not be in the same vein as the gruff punk “Gainesville sound,” but it’s a fitting morning after with its laid back, introspective vibe. Ripped Together, Torn Apart is their latest, and it’s a solid fit in … Read more
White Reaper
The World's Best American Band
Polyvinyl (2017)
You’d think that a band that titled their album The World’s Best American Band may be getting ahead of themselves. But not every band is White Reaper. They might have just done it.The second album from the Louisville, Kentucky natives somehow takes elements of ear-pleasing 70’s hard rock a-la Van Halen and a very coked-up Aerosmith, but imbues a punk … Read more
White Suns
Psychic Drift
Flenser (2017)
White Suns, the New York based noise trio, has been slowly descending on the path of deconstruction. Founded in 2006, the band has released a series of albums, presenting an experimental rock perspective and subsequently deconstructing it to its most basic core. The highlight of this process was Totem, a record where at times it felt like the experimental aspect of … Read more
White Ward
Futility Report
Debemur Morti Productions (2017)
Hailing from Odessa, Ukraine, White Ward exist within the post-black metal scene, stirring experimental means to enhance the core of the genre, and push it forwards. Initially founded in 2012, the band has released a series of EPs and demos, taking five long years for their first complete work, Futility Report, to come into light. Being released through White Ward's Bandcamp … Read more
White Willow
Future Hopes
Lasers Edge Records (2017)
They call it prog-rock, art-rock, jazz-rock, they call it tedious and pretentious, they call it heady, too-much, reserved as the best time to get a drink at the bar or shop the merch table….White Willow’s record Future Hopes assists in refuting that argument.I like when a musician takes an idea to its very end, and when it’s done right, time … Read more
Woe
Hope Attrition
Vendetta (2017)
After a promising start to a career that began in earnest with the release of debut A Spell for the Death of Man in 2008 and continued through to 2013s Withdrawal, Woe’s fate took a turn soon after that many bands find themselves encountering – real life happened and the music took a backseat for founder Chris Grigg and his … Read more
Worriers
Survival Pop
Side One Dummy (2017)
It seems like Worriers nailed down their sound on day one, when they rose from the ashes of The Measure S.A.. The Lauren Denitzio-fronted group plays a melodic and quirky style of indie-poppish-punk. On Survival Pop, that sound takes a stronger pop turn, with ear-pleasing hooks paired to politically-charged and empowering lyricism. In many ways, this record is a call of solidarity … Read more
Zola Jesus
Okovi
Sacred Bones (2017)
Nicole Hummel aka Zola Jesus, is one of the most enticing singer/songwriters of the current scene. By incorporating elements of electronica and industrial alongside a darkwave tone and with classical leanings, she has released a series of great records highlighting her intricate sound. From the extreme days of her debut, The Spoils, in 2009, Zola Jesus has been projecting an extravagant … Read more
Zu
Jhator
House of Mythology (2017)
As an entity Zu always strive to move forward, aiming towards the very essence of experimental music: innovation. Through the years they have changed multiple forms, and collaborated with a diverse array of artists, including free jazz guru Mats Gustafsson, experimental hip-hop project Dalek and singer of experimental rock outlet Oxbow, Eugene Robinson. Morphing from one sound to the next, … Read more
