Remember when you were a little kid getting tucked into bed? Then someone would reach for a thin book with a shiny gold spine, and they would read you a bedtime story? Well, I don’t, but I certainly remember the books. It was my affinity for those books that drew me towards The Pause’s debut album, A Cautionary Tale, which is an exceptional Indie-Rock record with a cover that serves as an homage to Little Golden Books. They open the album with arguably the best track, and one of the better Indie-Rock openers of the year, “Go North.” It’s a straightforward rock number harboring catchy riffs, beautiful harmonies, and topping it off with a subtle horn background in the bridge. It could be misleading though. Before you know it, they’re going to start diverting from that Rock sound beginning with the contrasting, “Beyond Bianca.” This track is slower paced—using synthesizers to produce an ominous opening. The song gets heavier as it progresses before an explosive outro. They keep the slower pace with, “The Migration,” and get even more diverse making the Rhodes piano the primary lead. After 2 slower tracks, you’d hope they would pick things back up. However, they … Read more
Barren Earth is like an ex-members of who's who. Sporting members from Swallow The Sun, Amorphis, and Moonsorrow among others. … Read more
There’s a garage-pop movement afoot in Wisconsin and Trent Fox & the Tenants are just one of the torchbearers. Their … Read more
Fat hasn’t been releasing many new bands lately. Thus, when they do expand the roster for a debut, it draws … Read more
Captain, We're Sinking don't reinvent the wheel with their new 7" release. They aren't pushing any boundaries. Hell, they essentially … Read more
Choose a year to view reviews of albums released in that year.
754 reviews
42 reviews
25 reviews
300 reviews
5010 reviews
19 reviews
Oh J Church how I love you and your noisy simple pop-punk brilliance. And thank-you for doing a good cover of The Car's "Just What I Need." Flamingo 50, you on the other hand and side, are completely new to me and are apparently from the UK. You remind of a Screeching Weasel mixed with early Discount for a decent showing of catchy simple fun songs that are a head bopping good time. Read more
It’s time to loosen up because Hank & Cupcakes are looking to get you out of your chair and out on the dance floor. This electro-pop duo have released their debut self-titled EP chock-full of catchy beats and tasty rhythms. The first track, “There Ain’t No Love,” gets you moving your body to Hank’s dulcet bass-riffs as Cupcakes keeps the … Read more
It has been nearly 13 years since Hello Rockview was first released, and the album still holds up. Like with the first couple of re-releases, Sleep It Off have redesigned the original cover and coupled the original album with a live recording of it in its entirety.There isn’t much left to be said about the studio recording of the album … Read more
I got into a discussion with someone recently over the validity of this latest release from Polly Jean Harvey. They seemed almost offended that PJ would use the overall theme of war in writing her new release as if it were some sort of parlor trick to try and make “important music”. I argued that Roger Waters has built an … Read more
Six years is a long time between a freshman and sophomore release. Granted, that length isn’t entirely accurate—Sims has been involved in a number of Doomtree records, from the False Hopes mixtape series to appearances on various crew records. Still, he has been patient as Doomtree has released solo records for nearly everyone else in the collective since 2005’s Lights … Read more
Deadlock has been around the block awhile as a band. Gone through member shifts as well as shifts in sound and "artistic vision". The band caught alot of flack with their last album, putting more focus of melodic parts and techno breakdowns than the metalcore they were previously known for. Thus comes from gaining a female singer with a decent … Read more
Do you ever remember when you first purchased a record by a band or individual (does not have to be their first record by any means) that turned out to be a huge door opening into their music (whether that even be bad or good is probably up for debate)? Well, this is the case for me with several different … Read more
As I listen to New World Shadows, the latest opus from Finland's Omnium Gatherum, I am awash in triumphant and majestic riffs that are far prettier than anything that a sub-genre of death metal should ever produce. But therein lies the rub. The reason I stay up at nights listening to New World Shadows followed by Scream Bloody Gore. These … Read more
What can be said about Crowbar that hasn't already been said? Easily one of the heaviest band's in modern metal the Louisiana band has persevered for two decades. While most bands would go through various phases or at least get more mellow through the years Crowbar remains a sludgy standard bearer. The metal press has talked much about leader Kirk … Read more
When a band names their record Recovery Journal it should come as no surprise that the dominant impression is one of earnestness. Broken Gold is the Riverboat Gamblers’ guitarist Ian MacDougall’s project, drawing from varied personal experiences with recurring themes of alienation, heartbreak, and addiction—some drawn from his experiences after his bicycle was hit by a car in October 2009, … Read more
After some blind stroke of luck and the whims of fate, I picked this cassette tape up along with another because I saw it was available and had heard some whispers about the sheer magnificence of this release on the world wide interwebs (a few cryptic reviews and blubbering nonsense about its amazing-ness had me intrigued at least and now … Read more
This band is what one supposes would be the great Canadian deathcore hope. That is to say they follow in the footsteps, at least in theory, of Despised Icon. While I'd be the first to say that those are pretty big boots to fill in reality. So you know in basic terms what to expect, a little tech, heavy moshable … Read more
A new live record finds the artist covering all phases of his storied career with whiplash intensity. Husker Du, Sugar and his solo career material are all represented. Mould brings his usual passion and emotion to the proceedings. But the band’s performance here is just as crucial. Richard Morel’s keyboards add depth but don’t overtake the mix. Jason Narducy adds … Read more
LEADTHEWAY has been around since 2002, but they broke up once in 2004. By 2009, they were back together and self-released their debut full length, And In Vengeance We Strike, through online music outlets. After nearly a decade since their incarnation, the band finally found a label to give their debut album a proper release. They open the record with, … Read more
On The Casino Floor is the newest album from the Seattle-based band Hotels, this release is a seven-song concept album that tells the story of a secret agent and his attempts to save the world from an evil galactic prince. Overall the album has a more refined sound than “Where Hearts Go Broke” their previous release, gone are the Devo … Read more
Looking for the SPB logo? You can download it in a range of styles and colours here:
Click anywhere outside this dialog to close it, or press escape.