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Theo and the Skyscrapers

So Many Ways to Die
Dark Daddy (2007)

It really is a double-edged sword to be visually compelling and a bit theatrical as a musician. If you're not Bowie and it isn't 1972, it's a pretty fine balance to strike with any success. Sometimes the visuals distract and obscure, and that's all there is to it. It seems to me that New York City's Theo and the Skyscrapers … Read more

Have Heart

Songs to Scream at the Sun
Bridge Nine (2008)

From the get-go Have Heart has had a rabid and devoted following. Beginning with their demo in 2003 and What Counts EP a year later, the band's dynamic mixture of youth-crew and metallic hardcore won over fans around the globe. With their debut full-length, The Things We Carry vocalist Pat Flynn and company launched themselves to the forefront of the … Read more

Transistor Transistor

Ruined Lives
Level Plane (2008)

A towering full stack stands alone in a winter-worn forest of New England. Dead branches have routinely fallen in a seasonal battle of survival, but the amplifier remains. The cover of the album is simple, but it sends a message of solidity. Transistor Transistor, four New Hampshirites on Level Plane Records, add to their repertoire with their second full-length, Ruined … Read more

Know the Score

All Guts, Still No Glory
Eulogy (2008)

We don't care about your labels and your fucking trends / We only care about the music and hanging out with our friends / So stand to the side and don't get in our way / Kids like you drop out of hardcore every single day. This quote from "Pep Talk" sums up what Know the Score is about. Playing … Read more

Dartz!

This is My Ship
Deep Elm (2007)

From what I can tell, Dartz! is the U.K.'s shot at Q and Not U. However, their British accents, along with more of a Bloc Party feel, lessen the gap of similarity between the two groups. Some of the guitar work on This Is My Ship, the Teesside trio's debut, also reminds me of a lazy Minus the Bear, using … Read more

Grails

Take Refuge in Clean Living
Important (2008)

Elusive is the best adjective to describe Grails (a now four-piece outfit from Portland, Oregon) and their unique take on instrumental music. And while that might not sound like a good description, it only does so in the most accurate way; there is no other manner to ascribe the long passages of music which are created by a band that … Read more

Hex Machine

Run to Earth
Molsook (2007)

Hex Machine was formed in 2004 by drummer Dave Witte of Municipal Waste, Melt Banana, Burnt by the Sun and Discordance Axis. The four-song EP, Run to Earth, was recorded by three of the original members, as Witte needed to devote his time to his other bands. Chris Gallo (Clockhammer, Chainsaw Jazz) took Witte's place alongside guitarist Scott Hudgins (Sliang … Read more

Wait in Vain

Seasons
Think Fast! (2008)

When you look at the list of previous ventures from the members of Wait in Vain, it's hard to not get excited. Frontman Timm McIntosh was a founding member of Trial, as well as spending some time with Champion. Bassist (and now guitarist) Roger Kilburn was in Sinking Ships among others, guitarist Chris Jacobsen did some time with Set Your … Read more

The Architects

Vice
Anodyne (2008)

You know that Less Than Jake song, "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads?" Well, just keep that in mind for a minute. On The Architects' third release, Vice, there are catchy, group-sung choruses that spring images of dudes in leather jackets walking in synch down a dark street. This, however, is not an ironic project. The Kansas City group features … Read more

Cult of Luna

Eternal Kingdom
Earache (2008)

After four albums of progressive refinement of their compositional abilities, sound, themes, and overall work, Cult of Luna is releasing their fifth and latest full-length, Eternal Kingdom on an increasingly rabid following of people who enjoy their records. Again this new record links its songs thematically in a cycle that deals with the world of a murdering lunatic of whom … Read more

Men as Trees

Weltschmerz
Daijoubu (2008)

Richard "Dick" Proenneke died in 2003 after living alone in the Alaskan wilderness for roughly thirty years. He built his own furniture after constructing a cabin for himself, was attacked by bears, and almost tamed a wolverine. Proenneke's naturalist life and journalistic observations at Twin Lakes is an obvious influence for Men as Trees' third release on Daijoubu Records, as … Read more

Bongripper

Hate Ashbury
Independent (2008)

It's easy for people to dismiss a band like Bongripper. Instrumental doom metal isn't the most glamorous business out there, and the band's name just screams "gimmick." Every time I mention Bongripper to someone, I get scoffed at. "PFFFFFFFFFFFFFT oh real cool kid BONG you think that's funny? Grow up." I don't know if the band was trying to be … Read more

Melon

Mirage
Milltown (2007)

I really love this kind of music but it has to be the most difficult thing for the musicians themselves to pull of or to be lauded for. There has to be more bands playing psychedelic heavy, Black Sabbath/Blue Cheer rock than any other type of music and every single reviewer writes the same thing every single time; "It's good … Read more

Samamidon

All is Well
Bedroom Community (2008)

Whether or not a band is unknown is pretty subjective. While I was at the Portraits of Past reunion show in Berkeley recently, many passers-by and uninformed parents continued to ask who was playing. They saw the line of 500-plus kids and couldn't believe that this line was for a band they had never heard of. In this case, sometimes … Read more

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