103 total search results — Page 2 of 6
After The Last Sky – There's No Light at the End of This Tunnel
Review — February 13, 2012
While this is not a particularly good album, as a band After The Last Sky does possess some promising attributes. It takes only one listen to realize they are undoubtedly talented musicians. A fact that is not surprising, considering the rate at which they genre-hop their way through There’s No …
J-Zone – Root for the Villain: Rap, Bullshit, and a Celebration of Failure
Review — February 20, 2012
In his memoir Root for the Villain: Rap, Bullshit, and a Celebration of Failure, J-Zone, born Jay Mumford, chronicles a lifetime spent playing the lead role in an endless comedy of errors. The brunt of the stories are culled from a decade or so chasing fame and fortune in the …
Digital Leather – Modern Problems
Review — April 2, 2012
It’s been three years since Shawn Foree’s one man synth-punk project Digital Leather released the critically acclaimed album Warm Brother. In that time he’s seen the untimely passing of his friend-turned-manager Jay Reatard, and—after one-off stints on Goner and Fat Possum—has returned to the smaller label he was with before …
Mean Jeans – On Mars
Review — April 30, 2012
Whoa, is it 1994 again and someone didn't tell me? Much in the way Teenage Bottlerocket appropriated the early to mid-‘90s Lookout bands like Screeching Weasel and the Groovie Ghoulies, which were puréeing the Ramones, Beach Boys and macabre cinema, you can't really credit Portland, OR's Mean Jeans …
ANATOMI-71 – Från Primat till Reptil
Review — May 7, 2012
Swedish purveyors of crust Anatomi-71 return with their latest injection into the overly congested genre that is D-beat—Från Primat till Reptil. This is a heavy slab of melting Scandi-core, both literally and figuratively. The vinyl—housed in an impressive double gatefold jacket, courtesy of Power It Up Records—is thick, rigid …
Reks – Straight, No Chaser
Review — May 15, 2012
Nipping at the heels of 2011’s acclaimed Rythmatic Eternal King Supreme—a record that earned him nominations in Boston for both “Hip-Hop Artist of the Year” and “Album of the Year”—Reks returns alongside fellow Beantowner—and a man that knows a thing or two about striking while the iron is hot—DJ/Producer …
Various Artists – Police Bastard & War//Plague - Attrition split LP
Review — May 28, 2012
Attrition brings together two punk bands from opposing sides of the Atlantic Ocean—England’s Police Bastard and the United States' War//Plague. Most of the material was recorded at various points in 2009 but not released on vinyl until May of 2011, when Profane Existence Records pressed up a couple thousand slabs …
Quelle Chris – 2Dirt4TV
Review — May 28, 2012
Hot off the heels his underappreciated 2011 debut full-length Shotgun & Sleek Rifle, Detroit MC/producer Quelle Chris drops his latest EP, 2Dirt4TV. This time around Quelle steps from behind the boards, leaving the production to “Legendary underground MySpace producer” Mr. Dibia$e. The result couldn’t be more seamlessly …
Martyrdöd – Paranoia
Review — June 4, 2012
Swedish ragers Martyrdöd, along with Acephalix and fellow countrymen Wolfbrigade, are the latest to be chosen in the great Southern Lord crust roundup. Featuring former and current members of Skitsystem, Agrmonia and others, Martyrdöd have been unleashing their brand of blackened everything to the crust-consuming masses for over …
1982 (Statik Selektah & Termanology) – 2012
Review — June 12, 2012
In what makes for a numerically confusing artist/album title (and opening sentence,) 2012 is the new record by 1982—the producer/rapper duo Statik Selektah & Termanology.At just 30 years old, DJ/Producer Statik Selektah has enough projects under the flattened brim of his New Era cap to have earned veteran status—utilizing …
Oh No – Ohnomite
Review — June 25, 2012
Following two collaborative efforts already this year alongside his fellow beatsmith and emcee The Alchemist as the duo Gangrene—the Vodka & Ayahuasca LP and the Odditorium EP—the West Coast producer and rapper Oh No returns once more for a solo mission with Ohnomite. Oh No—the younger brother of Madlib …
Broken Heroes – This Is Oi!
Review — July 17, 2012
I am not the most qualified reviewer when it comes to modern-day Oi! music. Yes, I am familiar with the genre in general—I still spin The 4 Skins, The Business, The Oppressed, Blitz, or Sham 69 from time to time, and Cock Sparrer is the one band that has never …
From Ashes Rise – Rejoice The End / Rage Of Sanity
Review — July 23, 2012
Formed in Nashville, Tennessee during the mid-‘90s American crust punk swell, From Ashes Rise later relocated to their current base in Portland, Oregon, where alongside fellow scene forerunners His Hero Is Gone, Tragedy and Hellshock, they helped cast the prototype for modern-day “epic crust punk”—a big sound that, while still …
Dinosaur Jr. – Live at 9:30 Club: In the Hands of the Fans
Review — July 23, 2012
In 1988 Dinosaur Jr. released their third record Bug. Despite it being lead singer/guitarists and band leader J.Mascis’ least favorite outing, it was their most successful album up to that point. While touring in support of it, tension between Mascis and bassist Lou Barlow, who had known each other since …
Reks – Rebelutionary
Review — August 20, 2012
Taking Reks’ past few years of productivity into account—dating back to 2008’s applauded Grey Hairs and last year’s R.E.K.S, a record that earned him a “Best Album of the Year” award in his hometown of Boston—it is clear the revered underground emcee is not one to idle by in tranquility …
Nü Sensae – Sundowning
Review — September 5, 2012
Whether it is rap music, hardcore or pop punk, it seems the ‘90s are forcing their way back into our unsuspecting eardrums thanks to a handful of well-versed history-appreciating up ‘n’ comers. And with that sentiment arrives Sundowning, the second album by Vancouver, BC’s Nü Sensae, a band leading the …
La Coka Nostra – Masters of the Dark Arts
Review — October 1, 2012
Masters of the Dark Arts marks the return of La Coka Nostra, a rap supergroup who were last heard from in ’09 on their then long-awaited debut album A Brand You Can Trust. LCN had originally assembled sometime in ’05 as a much larger entity than they are today. With …
Oiltanker – Shadow of Greed/Crusades
Review — October 8, 2012
A while back I caught Oiltanker in the midst of the second day of Midwest Hell Fest—a one-off weekend crust punk festival that was happening in, of all places, a sports bar in Kimberly, Wisconsin. I was thoroughly enthralled by the outpouring of anger emanating from the stage while …
WAR//PLAGUE – On A Darker Dawn
Review — October 22, 2012
Minneapolis’ scene veterans WAR//PLAGUE have finally released their debut full-length LP On A Darker Dawn on Profane Existence Records. The recipe first displayed on their debut 7” single Smolder b/w Malevolent Winds and subsequent Attrition split LP with Police Bastard continues to evolve, albeit minor—then ‘n’ now comparisons show …
