Recent reviews

Our latest album reviews, featuring the records we've most enjoyed (or not) over the past few weeks.

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

Benton Falls

Guilt Beats Hate
Deep Elm (2002)

Thanks to Cursive, every band on the planet has to try to out-honest each other in their lyrics. Call it the fallout of their neutron bomb of a record, if you will, but the lasting effects of their gut-wrenching sincerity will be felt for years. The most interesting thing to watch is how bands in the indie/emo/whatever genre that existed before Cursive are adapting to their unique lyrical concepts. Enter Benton Falls, from Santa Rosa, California, and their second, and unfortunately, last record. On the band's first effort, Fighting Starlight, the band was equal parts frustrating and intriguing. Their mathy rhythm section and octave-driven guitar howls were underplayed by the need to play things safe and an uncertain lyricist spewing garden variety emo cliches as often as strikingly heart-on-sleeve poetics. This new record, for better or for worse, sounds like an almost completely different band, and I'm inclined to lean towards the former. The guitars surge and leap out of the speaker, and the lyrical blunders of the first record have been replaced with truths not rampantly recorded to tape. The first mathy rocker on the album, "This Housecall Could Kill," starts out with nicely played notes, some screeching guitars, … Read more

Mogwai

Happy Songs For Happy People
Matador (2003)

The indie nation are a bunch of whiners. Not only that, but they're pretentious, snobbish, and apparently humorless. Probably why … Read more

Acceptance

Black Lines to Battlefields
Militia Group (2003)

Living in the Seattle area, I hear a lot about certain bands that are a part of the Seattle music … Read more

Multiple Authors

Radiohead

Hail to the Thief
Capitol (2003)

Thom Yorke had billed this record as OK Computer 2, and Radiohead's cookie doesn't crumble all that different from the … Read more

Multiple Authors

Radiohead

Hail to the Thief
Capitol (2003)

Radiohead are one of those bands that people go out of their way to like because there's quite a bit … Read more

Guff

Engine Trouble
Go Kart (2003)

Sometimes I really wonder about people. I turn on the television and I see rape, murder, and complete apathy towards … Read more

Browse our review archives

Reviews by year

Choose a year to view reviews of albums released in that year.

Reviews by artist name

Choose a letter to view reviews ordered by that letter (band name first).

Review categories

200 Words Or Less

748 reviews

Book Review

42 reviews

Classic Album

25 reviews

Multiple Authors

300 reviews

Review

4852 reviews

Video/DVD Review

19 reviews

One from the archives

Saul Williams

The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust
Fader (2008)

It's been over sixteen years since the death of Robert Lee Maupin, otherwise known as Iceberg Slim. An African-American author and poet responsible for works such as Pimp: The Story of My Life and Mama Black Widow: A Story of the South's Black Underworld, hHis works, while revolutionary at the time, have since been co-opted over the years to become synonymous with the blaxploitation films of the 70's and the pimp-style posturing still saturating hip-hop music today. Saul Williams's music is like the soundtrack to Iceberg Slim's life, brutally honest yet somehow misunderstood and underappreciated. Continuing without irony in the musical vein of his ancestors - Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield - rather than throw down with his contemporaries, Williams' flair for language leaves most writhing in the dust. Like any … Read more

More album reviews

Multiple Authors

Modern Life Is War

My Love. My Way.
Martyr (2003)

The problem with the hardcore scene is that its music has become so immersed in repetition, unoriginality, and generality, that people are beginning to lower their expectations to the pits of Hell. As a result of this dilemma, large amounts of hype start to swell for bands that really do not deserve it. Case in point: Modern Life is War. … Read more

Multiple Authors

Modern Life Is War

My Love. My Way.
Martyr (2003)

One of the best, if not the best, hardcore album of 2003 so far. If hardcore doesn't strike your fancy, stop being a cold hearted wench and check this out anyways. The only thing that is better than this album is seeing Modern Life Is War live, which is packed with stomping and diving rolls. This doesn't sound like Madball, … Read more

Multiple Authors

These Arms Are Snakes

This Is Meant to Hurt You
Jade Tree (2003)

Nothing sucks more than seeing a band live and loving them, then listening to their recorded material and running into a brick wall. The dissapointment would cause you to do such an irrational action. In short, that 'story' covers what happened to me, verbatim. This record contains many elements that it would require to create a really great band that … Read more

Multiple Authors

These Arms Are Snakes

This Is Meant to Hurt You
Jade Tree (2003)

Apparently These Arms Are Snakes's debut EP was meant to hurt me. I'm not sure what I did to them, or why they're so angry, but I decided to review the record anyways. After giving the record a spin, I decided I wasn't really hurt, just kind of bored. These Seattle veterans really bring nothing new or impressive to the … Read more

Multiple Authors

These Arms Are Snakes

This Is Meant to Hurt You
Jade Tree (2003)

The sticker on the front of this CD's jewel case is going to sell lots of copies of it, I guarantee. It reads "Featuring former members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Nineironspitfire," and the name of that first band will get people buying in droves. And then, most likely, many of those who buy it will return it because it … Read more

Multiple Authors

Thrice

Artist In the Ambulance
Island (2003)

This record is by no means bad, but it's also not a great record. As a newcomer to Thrice, I was prepared to give this an un-biased review. Once I'd sat and listened through the record, I was sad to hear (literally) that they didn't stand out much from the current crop of hardcore/emo/punk/metal-core bands currently populating the scene. While … Read more

Multiple Authors

Thrice

Artist In the Ambulance
Island (2003)

You've heard this record before. Honestly, you have. The last time that band you know jumped ship from their indie and put out a big budget major label debut, actually. Cave In already made this record earlier this year. Granted, Cave In had a mind-blowing first record to give themselves some credibility, which Thrice most certainly did not, but let's … Read more

Multiple Authors

Thrice

Artist In the Ambulance
Island (2003)

Thrice have built quite a large fanbase in quite a short period of time. Perhaps this was one of the factors that led them to singing to a major label (Island) and subsequently shooting out a new record less than a year and a half after the release of their second full-length record, The Illusion of Safety. Illusion sparked that … Read more

Multiple Authors

Ten Grand

This Is the Way to Rule
Southern (2003)

Who knew that such an exciting and promising musical force was sitting right across the border from me? After hearing so much about this band and being severely disappointed when they postponed their Omaha show (and still haven't made it up), I was glad to finally get my hands (figuratively) on their newest album. In all its underproduced glory, "This … Read more

Multiple Authors

Ten Grand

This Is the Way to Rule
Southern (2003)

Upon listening to this in a moving automobile with my father, he was quick to inform me that the singer of this band sounded like vocalist of The Murder City Devils. I have no idea what he was talking about. Ten Grand manages to give off a raw sounding vibe without playing very simple music, which I'm sure is a … Read more

Multiple Authors

Ten Grand

This Is the Way to Rule
Southern (2003)

Ten Grand (formerly The Vidablue) are definately an acquired taste. Hearing their stuff before I thought it was just alright. Nothing to go nuts over. After seeing them live, my outlook on them changed drastically. I gave them a second chance and found out I had been kidding myself. This new record is no different. I suppose you could classify … Read more

Multiple Authors

Ester Drang

Infinite Keys
Jade Tree (2003)

On previous records, Ester Drang's output had an epic feel to it; it was more drawn-out and atmospheric than that on Infinite Keys. However, the strength and rise-and-fall aesthetic seemed to be more of a focus on density than precise instrumentation. Even as 2001's Goldenwest brought out more focused songwriting effort, the composition on Infinite Keys is leaps and bounds … Read more

Multiple Authors

Ester Drang

Infinite Keys
Jade Tree (2003)

The party starts to wind down and everyone is sitting in lawn chairs around the bonfire. There are at least 3 "marijunana cigarettes" being passed around while everyone kinda just kicks back and gets their chill on. Conversation goes back in forth in a mild manner yet there is always one guy dazed out to the music behind him. That … Read more

Multiple Authors

The Mars Volta

De-Loused In the Comatorium
Universal (2003)

Every now and then a super heavily hyped record comes along and completely lives up to all of the expectations set by the preliminary buzz. This is neither now nor then. De-Loused in the Comatorium was hyped by some to be the "best album of all time", but alas, it's not even one of the best albums put out this … Read more

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