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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)

End of a Season / Many Men Have Tried

Split
Refoundation (2007)

I've always enjoyed sampling international hardcore or punk. Sometimes it's nice to have a reality check. It seems like sometimes we're under the impression that hardcore is an expressively American creation or tradition, and though the genre certainly manifested itself in the states, predominantly, often times international bands have perfected it. I'd never heard of either of these bands before I listened to this release, which I think was good; I didn't really have a frame of reference. That said, I think both these bands put forth a good effort and have put a together a good split. End of a Season hail from Italy, they have three songs on the record. Based on their name I expected to hear something similar to Envy or Orchid, but was surprised to hear something a little more straightforward. According to the band themselves they were raised on "bread and Poison the Well." The comparison's fair, End of a Season play atmospheric, mid-tempo hardcore with technical guitar leads, with the customary throaty vocals. The band isn't afraid to take some risks, though. The last song, "The White Chrysalis" is probably my favorite offering, it starts off with a nice guitar intro, echoing Saetia, … Read more

Pet Genius

Pet Genius
Hydra Head (2007)

Stephen Brodsky is a shape-shifter. Throughout his musical career, the oftentimes-enigmatic frontman has been the main songwriting force behind numerous … Read more

Woods

At Rear House
Shrimper (2007)

It may seem a bit unproductive to review an album that came out in the early stages of this year, … Read more

Radiohead

In Rainbows
Independent (2007)

What Radiohead have done with the release of In Rainbows will be talked about for years to come. At best, … Read more

Jena Berlin

Quo Vadimus
Jump Start (2007)

Quo Vadimus is the sophomore effort from Philadelphia's Jena Berlin. Unfortunately, odds are that most of you reading this are … Read more

The Great Deceiver

Life is Wasted on the Living
Deathwish Inc. (2007)

The Great Deceiver is the long running project of Tomas Lindberg, also of Disfear and formerly of At the Gates, … Read more

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One from the archives

Pack Sounds

Real Gusto
Friend Club Records (2023)

“Keep it simple / It’s not that hard / Just play three chords / On the chorus part” That lyric comes from “Paper Bag Palpitations, “the final song on Real Gusto, but it covers the whole record quite well. Pack Sounds are an emo-tinged punk band that plays driving and energetic music that moves forward rather than looking back. It’s heartfelt music, but of the whiskey-and-cigarettes variety. Think emo lyrics set to melodic punk and not the Top 40 meaning of the term. Their sound is familiar -- just like that lyrical snippet says -- but they add their own layered twists. It’s really the depth that makes this record stand out. On first listen in the background, Real Gusto felt like rote genre stuff, but the band has a … Read more

More album reviews

The Polyphonic Spree

The Fragile Army
TVT (2007)

Calling The Polyphonic Spree a Flaming Lips knockoff would be lazy and unfair to the Spree's aesthetic, but the similarities are so blatant. Not using The Lips as a point of reference seems just as criminal. So what roads to both these bands walk? To begin, Spree vocalist Tim DeLaughter sings in a manner much like Wayne Coyne. It's the … Read more

Today is the Day

Axis of Eden
SuperNova (2007)

I don't think I have ever felt as polarized about a record as I feel about Axis of Eden. I think a large part of the reason is that I really want to like it, but I just can't overcome its overbearing flaws. Today is the Day is almost inarguably one of metal's most revered and tenured metal acts (and … Read more

Jovian Oblivion

Frontier of Darkness
Independent (2007)

Due to this self-produced album's near industry standard professionalism, you'd never know by only listening to it and paying no mind to the liner notes that Jovian Oblivion is mainly just one guy with a few helpers pitching in here and there. Brent Matney is the mad scientist behind this project; he wrote, arranged, performed and mastered these fifteen songs … Read more

Shipwreck A.D.

Abyss
Deathwish Inc. (2007)

Let's be honest about things. Deathwish has hardcore locked down and Shipwreck A.D. is a key part of their commanding roster. After two self-titled 7" releases that have fueled the band with a fair amount of hype - which isn't always a bad thing - Shipwreck A.D. have brought forth their debut full-length, Abyss. Abyss begins with "Squall," a song … Read more

Eastern Blok

Folk Tales
Independent (2007)

World music is a funny thing. It begins with the purest of intentions: to invite the listener to explore the country of its origin by providing an aural guide to its history, its peoples, its struggles and its victories. The thing is, almost the entire genre has been co-opted by new age douchebags seeking to show their eclecticism by having … Read more

The Weakerthans

Reunion Tour
Epitaph (2007)

Few of us lead the jet-set life, so when television and tabloid magazines glorify the lives of celebrities it often leaves us feeling ordinary and under whelmed. Could our lives be that anti-climatic? Where does meaning lie in the routine? Is there anything extraordinary about everyday life? John K. Samson wouldn't answer the question straight; instead he'd tell you a … Read more

A Step Behind

This is What We've Become
Independent (2007)

I knew this was bound to happen. I feel slightly invaded by the fact that it has. I've never been one to shun a good pop-punk record, but I can't remember the last time I found a rock band whose music I can enjoy on the most base level, that being the level where it inspires absolutely nothing except the … Read more

Pulling Teeth

Martyr Immortal
Deathwish Inc. (2007)

Pulling Teeth have quickly emerged as one of hardcore's most respected groups following their formation a couple years back. With a steady supply of releases coming in their short lifespan - a self-released demo, last year's Vicious Skin, and a split 7" with U.K outfit Frightener earlier this year - they've garnered the attention of just about every individual that … Read more

The Hives

The Black and White Album
A&M (2007)

You either like The Hives or you don't. Yes, it's that simple. The whole shtick, the outfits, the ego, be it embellished or not, the band formation at the behest of never-seen oft-mentioned mysterious "Randy Fitzsimmons." And, oh yeah, the music. It's all part and parcel of The Hives experience, which you dig, or you don't. I dig The Hives. … Read more

Grave in the Sky

Cutlery Hits China: English for the Hearing Impaired
Heart & Crossbone (2007)

Grave in the Sky is a three-piece from Israel that plays thick, but still raw doom-y music. The tempos are slow and the sound is a crawling, bleak wall of sound. Cutlery Hits China: English for the Hearing Impaired is a super raw sounding album. Even though it does not completely sound like them, Grave in the Sky play a … Read more

Jay Eff Kay

America: Suicide Notes Vol. 1
Independent (2007)

I don't see myself as a hip-hop expert, but I think it's fair to say that the genre is pretty jaded. Mainstream rap like Chingy or Soulja Boy or whatever is on the radio now has been pegged as "good hip-hop" by the media, which means underground rappers basically have their work cut out for them just to defend their … Read more

Capital

Homefront
Revelation (2007)

There is presumably no one this side of the Mississippi that is more stoked than me on hearing the latest offering from the Long Island hardcore outfit Capital. Bands like Capital, Thieves and Assassins, Agent, and even Crime in Stereo have made many of us older hardcore fans forget about recent "Strong Island" emo superstars like Taking Back Sunday and … Read more

Black Moth Super Rainbow

Dandelion Gum
Graveface (2007)

Making themselves known to a national audience by opening for The Flaming Lips and already slated as an opener for Aesop Rock this winter, Black Moth Super Rainbow latest release, Dandelion Gum, was lent to me by a friend. The psychedelic/drone-pop is repetitive and spaced out in all the right ways, but the jams never get in the way of … Read more

J Church

The Horror of Life
No Idea (2007)

With the passing of Lance Hahn, the fragile punk continuum lost one of its all-time greats. Smart, critical, and relentlessly prolific, Hahn's work provided a formidable example of what could be accomplished in DIY music: punk not as a costume contest or stale doctrine, but a design for living. Hahn refused to separate his art and his life, delivering record … Read more

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