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The Hold Steady

Live at Fingerprints
Vagrant (2007)

The Hold Steady is a rock and roll band. With this title come certain expectations with loud electric guitars topping the list. So what happens when the band opts to go acoustic and trade the sold out concert halls for a handful of people crowded inside an independent record store? The result is the band's latest EP, Live at Fingerprints, … Read more

Low

Drums and Guns
Sub Pop (2007)

Low are known as pioneers of the slow-core genre, or what I like to call "intense sleepy-time music." They reached their noisiest peak in the winter of 2005 with The Great Destroyer, an album that boomed with huge percussion and the most distortion they had ever put on guitar. Pushing their sound to such a loud extreme must have tired … Read more

Rwake

Voices of Omens
Relapse (2007)

Progressive sludge? That sounds like an oxymoron. When I think of progressive in terms of music I think of Rush being listened to by some nerdy kid wearing a tie-dyed shirt that is playing Dungeons and Dragons in his parents' basement (yeah I stole that image from SLC Punk, whatever). When I think of sludge, I think of some dirty … Read more

Consular

Don't Cross the Swine
Makeshift Origami/Abort the World (2006)

South Florida is usually known for being the breeding ground for such bands as A New Found Glory and Dashboard Confessional. What many don't recognize is that the area also has a seedy underbelly of sludge, metal and generally heavy music. I guess living a couple miles from swamps and Jeb Bush can do that for you. For the past … Read more

Smoke or Fire

This Sinking Ship
Fat Wreck Chords (2007)

Sophomore slumps are a bitch. Smoke or Fire's debut full-length, Above the City, was a nice, short, potent shot of melodic punk with introspective lyrics that felt honest and kept it simple, but This Sinking Ship sounds more like the band is trying too hard to prove that they're relevant. This Sinking Ship is overflowing with political rants, tales of … Read more

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Some Loud Thunder
Wichita Recordings (2007)

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah had a lot of pressure on them for their second album, mainly due to them being the most hyped up band of 2005. Their story was one told over and over ever since their first album came out: five indie rockers out of Brooklyn that released and distributed their debut album themselves. By great reviews … Read more

Multiple Authors

Hot Cross

Risk Revival
Equal Vision/Hope Division (2007)

If you consider yourself a fan of traditional screamo, you're already familiar with Hot Cross's roots. If not, no big deal. Just click your way over to Wikipedia and do a bit of research (it's worth knowing a band's origins). Risk Revival is the perfect album name for a band that lost one of its guitarists and avoided a break-up. … Read more

Multiple Authors

Hot Cross

Risk Revival
Equal Vision/Hope Division (2007)

Contemporary hardcore is beginning to swing toward a repetitive joke. If drop-d jun jun's and massive amounts of double bass explosions followed by 2-step drum beats sounds familiar, then you know what I mean. Hardcore is not about the breakdown, well not in the common sense of the word anyway. Hardcore is about aggressiveness and honesty. Unfortunately, many upcoming artists … Read more

Justice

Escapades
Reflections/Youngblood (2007)

A band of Belgian hardcore enthusiasts who, in the summer of 2003, had only one goal: to stir, shake and move the hardcore/punk scene. Justice, is their name and their latest album Escapades can only be described as powerful. If they were out to change the genre, they definitely succeeded with Escapades. Labeled as a hardcore band, I personally consider … Read more

Hoods

Ghetto Blaster
Eulogy (2007)

In the event of a worldwide nuclear war, I have come to the conclusion that only one thing will survive. And no, it is not the cockroach; it's Hoods. The Sacramento-based hardcore band has survived it all, including constant line-up battles, DIY tours across the globe, and a brief tenure with Victory Records that didn't go so well - see … Read more

Marillion

Somewhere Else
Intact (2007)

Throughout their over twenty-five year history, Marillion and their music have maintained what many thought impossible: prog without pretension. This has been a key component to their rabidly loyal fan base. It would appear that nobody jumped ship after the band's loss of their original frontman, Fish, way back in 1988. What would have signaled the death of many a … Read more

LCD Soundsystem

Sound of Silver
DFA (2007)

This is the LCD Soundsystem experience; the more you test it and the more you take a sip, the more you become engulfed in it. Suddenly you realize you're singing LCD at your school, in your dorm, in your bathroom. Suddenly your shower is the best party you have ever been to. Your life turns over like an overdone pancake … Read more

Champion

Different Directions | The Last Show
Bridge Nine (2007)

I'm not going to lie; I was never the hugest fan of Champion. Actually, I think Champion's greatest achievement lies nine seconds within "Harrison and Broadway" where the music stops suddenly and Timm McIntosh does that little guitar squeak. I don't know why I think this is so splendid but I love it every time I hear it. Throughout Champion's … Read more

Multiple Authors

Arctic Monkeys

Favourite Worst Nightmare
Domino (2007)

Not many albums open with a song like "Brianstorm." I'm talking Dick Dale on angel dust. I'm talking a sentient '68 Ford Mustang playing a sentient '68 Fender Mustang. Seriously, surfboards in the seventh dimension. The future of rock and roll, so retro it makes me want to dance like a Pulp Fiction character. Actually, Pulp Fiction came to mind … Read more

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