Recent reviews

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)

Die! Die! Die!

Die! Die! Die!
S.A.F. (2007)

I don't know why, but there is something really unsubtle about naming a band Die! Die! Die!. It's like using a nuke to kill a mouse, just a bit too over the top to really ever be needed. It also means that the band has got to do an awful lot to live up to the name, so you can imagine my trepidation as I jammed this self-titled album in my CD player. And they really don't live up to the name. Not to say that this is a bad album, it's not bad in any way, it's just not that good. To be quite frank, there about a thousand other bands that are playing pretty much the same sort of thing and Die! Die! Die! is just another album in an already overcrowded market of bands plugging away with an angry rocky/punky sound. Just ten minutes after listening to the album I had pretty much forgotten the twenty-one minutes and fifty-three seconds that I had spent listening to the album, which just goes to show how generic and samey this album is. The album is also poorly mastered, with gaps between songs when it seems that the band aimed … Read more

Flobots

Fight with Tools
Independent (2007)

Every era has seen the chocolate/peanut butter combination of music and activism mixed together to create the tasty sensation of … Read more

Hi Ho Six Shooter!

Empire
Good Night (2007)

I'm not going to classify Hi Ho Six Shooter! as a gimmick band. Granted they play shows with bandannas wrapped … Read more

Soul Control

Involution
Rivalry (2007)

Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the union, so you would think that with them already delivering Verse, … Read more

Cold War Kids

Robbers and Cowards
Downtown (2006)

With a few EP's and a couple of renowned festivals under their belt - Lollapalooza and South by Southwest - … Read more

Coliseum

No Salvation
Relapse/Auxiliary (2007)

In less than four years, Coliseum has proven to be a busy band with their touring crisscrossing the United States … Read more

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One from the archives

Power

Death Haunts
Twelve Gauge (2011)

Having existed for roughly three years now, Bremerton, WA’s, Power have created somewhat of a rep for themselves in the Pacific Northwest. The aftermath of one particular incident resulted in half the band landing in jail—a demolished automobile left in their wake. And legend has it that Power set a dumpster on fire while Tacoma band, Sojourner, were filming a music video. All malignant actions aside, Power is most known for being the best hardcore act to come out of the area in recent times. Their new EP, Death Haunts, is a testament to that.Don’t let the graffiti tag-style band logo fool you: Power is not a 90’s DMS thug-core renaissance band. Sure, some of the facets are there (moshy breakdowns, crunchy bass lines, a guy in a basketball jersey, … Read more

More album reviews

Rilo Kiley

Under the Blacklight
Warner Bros. (2007)

Rilo Kiley has finally joined forces again with their fourth full-length album, Under the Blacklight. It has been three years since the band made their widely praised More Adventurous album, released in 2004. Since then, Rilo Kiley took a break from each other with solo projects. Jenny Lewis released Rabbit Fur Coat featuring the Watson Twins in 2006, while Blake … Read more

Patton Oswalt

Werewolves and Lollipops
Sub Pop (2007)

For the most part, humor is always subjective. Not in this case, however. If Patton Oswalt doesn't make you laugh, then you, my sad little friend are wrong. Dead wrong. So wrong in fact, that I can't even look at you. Go on. Get out of my sight. Go to Target and buy the new Bill Engvall album, you jagoff. … Read more

Between the Wars

Death and the Sea
Think Fast! (2007)

Everyone has his or her favorite guitar virtuoso. For some it might be the finger-tapping charmer Eddie Van Halen or maybe they go way back and think of the blues inspired violin bow using wizardry of Jimmy Page. There are even some people out that really know their collective six-string shit and cite Yngwie Malmsteen as their favorite axe man. … Read more

Tegan and Sara

The Con
Sire (2007)

What is it about Canada? You know, Due South, The Arcade Fire, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Dan Aykroyd, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Terrance & Philip. Perhaps it's merely been a case of overwhelming ignorance, but lately it seems that all of the best things in the world originated in this faraway place. Last summer whilst sitting in a friend's bedroom … Read more

Engineer

The Dregs
Black Market Activities (2007)

The first time I saw Engineer was when they opened for fellow New Yorkers Another Breath. I had anticipated another youth crew styled band to be playing and I was absolutely astonished when they turned out the lights and performed the loudest set I'd ever seen. From then on I was a fan, no question. For those of you unfamiliar, … Read more

Old Sun

Old Sun
Faux Fetus (2006)

I received this release and was intrigued by its DIY packaging: card stock covered in some kind of blue block print with a heavier cardboard latch closing the front. I'm unable to decipher the artwork, but it looks awesome. Old Sun is from the city of brotherly love, my new hometown. One of the first things I noticed about this … Read more

Love, Hope and Fear

Fate's Frowned on Us
Escapist (2007)

Love, Hope and Fear are not what they used to be. And I mean that literally as well as musically. Their latest release, the four-song Fate's Frowned on Us, is the band's third official release in the band's five year (give or take) career. However, it is their second release since the revival of the lineup. Love, Hope And Fear … Read more

Black Cross

Severance Pays
Auxiliary (2007)

What's wrong with more of the same, especially when what you've got is solid? If you're dating Scarlett Johansson, is Demi Moore really an improvement? Unfortunately, Black Cross' newest, Severance Pays, makes me question my acceptance of change and long for their days as a four-piece. With Evan Paterson's move from bass to guitar, Black Cross seems to have moved … Read more

Black Cross

Severance Pays
Auxiliary (2007)

Where the hell have you been for the last four years Black Cross? The circumstances that have hampered this woefully underrated band need not be espoused because it really does not make a difference; the fact remains that Severance Pays has been a long time coming, and thankfully it hits in ways that are completely unexpected and leaves a definite … Read more

Torche

In Return
Robotic Empire (2007)

Without a doubt, this just might be one of the more beautifully packaged records to come out in recent memory; Torche's latest record, In Return has been released as a ten inch vinyl record that includes the CD (a great idea that Shellac also hit on with their latest, which more record labels and bands need to start doing), and … Read more

Public Enemy

How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul???
Slam Jamz (2007)

Soul (noun) : A sense of ethnic pride among Black people and especially African Americans, expressed in areas such as language, social customs, religion, and music. relevant (adjective) : Connected with or saying something important about what is being spoken about or discussed It's been twenty years since the release ofYo, Bum Rush the Show and Public Enemy are still … Read more

Burden of a Day

Pilots & Paper Planes
Blood & Ink (2006)

It might say something for my enthusiasm for this record that it has sat for almost a year in my 'to review' pile since first receiving it. While I do attempt to avoid at least complete bias in my reviews, in the case of Florida's Burden of a Day, I knew exactly what I was going to hear when I … Read more

Never Looking Back

Fragile Hearts
Detonate (2007)

Here we go again. Once again we have yet another young hardcore band, this time hailing from Tacoma, WA, playing overly sincere emotional overcharged hardcore. If you have heard Modern Life is War, Comeback Kid, or maybe Shai Hulud you get the gist of what Never Looking Back is trying to accomplish. If you can sense my boredom right now, … Read more

The Good Life

Help Wanted Nights
Saddle Creek (2007)

Bands evolve and the fans have to deal with it. Their musical palette expands and the records change. This holds true with Cursive frontman Tim Kasher's music catalog. However, one aspect never changes, his bleak outlook on the world. It's always cynical, full of sarcasm, and consistently heartbroken. No matter what musical guise he wears, these sentiments are expressed through … Read more

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