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Our latest album reviews, featuring the records we've most enjoyed (or not) over the past few weeks.

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Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)

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Bookmarks
EMI (2011)

Despite having the most un-Googleable artist/album name combination in existence, the Hungarian band Subscribe have beautifully combined influences of hardcore, heavy metal, progressive rock and what-else-have-you in their latest release, Bookmarks.Oh, sure, it starts out innocently enough with the orchestral track "Griping Portentous", featuring the most nightmarish combination of brass and sound effects possible. Of course, that's still pretty standard fare; they're just llulling you into a false sense of security before pulling a u-turn and heading off into god-knows where territory; before you know it, they're freely mixing melodic vocals with screaming, acoustic guitar with heavy electric chugging, and bright synths with only the spookiest-sounding keyboard effects possible. And that's just on track two ("Delusion").The rest of the album is just as chaotic and unpredictable--"Álomtégla", for example, features some excellent prog metal arrangement and what I'm guessing are Hungarian lyrics, "Gay Rodeo" digresses into some jazz, and "Miles away" is just a soft piano ballad. "The Final Relief" and "Orchitis" are some of the best hardcore-inspired moments on the album, perfectly emulating the hallmarks of the genre while still branching out and making it their own. "Books for the Dyslexic" is notable for its rhythmically confusing breakdown about halfway … Read more

Actors & Actresses

We Love Our Enemy EP
The Mylene Sheath (2011)

Reissues tend to be a funny thing. Sometimes they are done in good taste. To help fans get a hold … Read more

Panopticon

On The Subject Of Mortality
Flenser (2011)

Many people (I was going to say all but did not want to over generalize) seem to have certain touchstones … Read more

Kerretta

Saansilo
Golden Antenna (2011)

Though the artist/album title combination features enough frustratingly doubled letters to require this review to be rewritten no less than … Read more

Pink Floyd

The Dark Side Of The Moon (Experience Edition)
Capitol (2011)

'Oh great,' you're probably thinking, 'another critic on the Internet with her head up her own ass talking about this … Read more

We're Doomed

Like A Machine
Independent (2011)

Despite what they may want you to think, We're Doomed don't sound like the end of the world. They sound … Read more

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One from the archives

Sunn 0)))

Black One
Southern Lord (2005)

This is the sound of being stalked by some unnamed horror that you are too afraid to turn around and see. The suspense builds and wanes and builds more to the harrowing climax leaving you with only the droning aftermath to contemplate that anxiety attack that you may have just experienced. What a deliciously terrifying opening to an album. Sunn 0))) truly expands on their usually feedback intensive forays into sound experimentation, and Black One is no different. But, this new album is by no means a logical expansion of their "typical" sound. It is however further proof that they intend to set new marks for their version of droning doom. Black One is a step in a new direction. Never before has the musical collective Sunn 0))) driven by … Read more

More album reviews

We're Doomed

Like A Machine
Independent (2011)

Despite what they may want you to think, We're Doomed don't sound like the end of the world. They sound more like Muse took some Adderall and borrowed whatever illegal-drug-based songwriting method I highly suspect that Battles uses. If their debut EP Like a Machine is the apocalypse, it's certainly the most enjoyable one since we on Earth failed to … Read more

Kovlo

Hey Mom, Where's Timbuktu?
On The Camper (2011)

Swiss post-rockers Kovlo have quietly released two albums over their career, beginning with their debut A new position for the second degree burn in 2005 and followed up with I’m so happy on this boat in 2007. For a band that has (rather unfortunately) seen as little notice on the world stage as they have, they’ve actually done a very … Read more

Traveler

Going Home
Independent (2011)

All right, Traveler don't waste time, so neither will I. The Cleveland punk/melodic hardcore group write short, enjoyable pieces that are stripped down to their absolute bare essentials. The four tracks of their debut EP Going Home take only around seven minutes of your time to listen to. The songs are chock full of happy melodies, major chords, and general … Read more

City of Ships

Minor World
Translation Loss (2011)

Every once in a while, an album comes along that makes you rethink an entire genre. It's an album that makes you step back and rethink your musical expectations, as well as casting your future thoughts in an entirely new light. City of Ships' newest album, Minor World, is one of these albums. The only issue is that my entire … Read more

Bohren & Der Club Of Gore

Beileid
Ipecac (2011)

Bohren & Der Club Of Gore is a band that has always sat outside of any distinct genre. Clearly influenced by both jazz and doom metal the band have always played in away that evokes both without fully giving into either side of their coin. Although they have reached closer towards jazz over the past few years when they replaced … Read more

Helms Alee

Weatherhead
Hydra Head (2011)

Apologies are in order, and before we even get into this, let me be perfectly frank; Helms Alee is a great and terribly underrated band that ensnared me the minute that I heard their 4 song EP, and when Weatherhead was announced, I could barely contain my excitement at hearing a second album from this three piece from the land … Read more

Pink Floyd

Wish You Were Here (Experience Edition)
Capitol (2011)

I'm really quite thankful that the Why Pink Floyd...? remaster campaign has made it to Wish You Were Here so soon. It has aged incredibly well, and is every bit as perfect of an album today as it was when it was first released. It even holds up favourably in comparison to the first album to be reissued, which was … Read more

TenHornedBeast

Ten Horned Moses Descended The Mountain
Handmade Birds (2011)

Wow, just wow is about the best that I can come up with to describe Ten Horned Moses Descended The Mountain from Tenhornedbeast (yes all one word and possibly erroneously capitalized), the solo project of one, Christopher Walton; and, to be completely truthful, that wow might not actually describe this massive album in an accurate enough manner because every time … Read more

Bringers Of Disease

Gospel Of Pestilence
Translation Loss (2011)

The ex members game is a precarious one to play. For every band that bares similarity to it's members past exploit there are just as many that don't bare that mark. So to tell you that Bringers Of Disease share members with Acheron and Mouth Of The Architect should only say a minimal amount as to what this band is … Read more

Nightgaun

Absurdity Of Meaning
Primitive Future (2011)

There are a number of adjectives that would accurately describe Tempe, AZ’s Nightgaun—noisy, filthy, retching, etc.—but perhaps none more fitting than “raw.” Continuing the chiropteran-themed imagery first displayed on their impressive self-titled 7” debut, the cover art for Absurdity of Meaning— a crude depiction of a bat being stabbed through the sternum with a switchblade—provides a strong indication of the … Read more

The Slow Death

Born Ugly, Got Worse
Kiss of Death (2011)

When The Soviettes’ Annie Sparrows voice starts Born Ugly, Got Worse devoid of instrumentation, it’s a crisp and honest delivery that complements leader Jesse Thorson’s heart-wrenching style. But once the full band kicks in for the second verse, it’s clear that The Slow Death have driving punk rock at their heart and soul, with as many singalongs and middle-fingers as … Read more

Michael Yonkers with The Blind Shake

Period
S.S. (2011)

Michael Yonkers has a fascinating story: getting dropped by the majors, personal injury, and being rediscovered a generation later. That story has already been told in almost every review I’ve read, though. Instead, let’s talk about the rock. Period marks his third record with Minneapolis trio The Blind Shake, and the two forces offer a full collaboration when they get … Read more

Charts And Maps

Dead Horse
Lost Children (2011)

There is no easy way to define Charts and Maps' sound. My gut reaction is to throw the whole thing under 'math rock,' but that term alone ignores all of the other aspects of their sound. Their proper debut album, Dead Horse, features a diverse array of influences from jazz, progressive music, and even jam bands. Needless to say, it's … Read more

Efrim Menuck

Plays "High Gospel"
Constellation (2011)

Thank goodness I have musical OCD. I likely would not have even known this album existed if not for my compulsion to check and re-check the post-rock section of my local record store with worrisome frequency. Needless to say, after finding out that Godspeed You! Black Emperor and A Silver Mt. Zion guitarist Efrim Manuel Menuck had put out a … Read more

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Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)