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Moon Duo

Stars are the Light
Sacred Bones (2019)

This year, Moon Duo released their seventh album, Stars are the Light, on Sarced Bones. Many of their signature spacey psychedelic elements are here: droning saturated guitars, looping synths, dual hypnotic vocals. But Moon Duo have another motive this time around -- getting our bodies moving.As they depart from machine-driven krautrock rhythms, they often slow down the tempo and bring … Read more

The Hussy

Looming
Dirtnap (2019)

It’s been fun watching The Hussy grow. All those scuzzy, dirty licks and rough-and-tumble beats of their early work is still present, but on Looming the now-trio lets the once understated melodies take the lead. It’s driving rock with some notable grooves, but it’s also singalong with shades of ‘60s garage, psychedelia, and even hints of pop.Looming contains 16 songs … Read more

200 Words Or Less

State Drugs

Takings and Leavings
Jigsaw Records (2019)

This LP sounds like something that teleported here from my moody early-2000’s CD rack, which they acknowledge with their self-description of “grown-up punk”. The distorted chord progressions recall Sugarcult and Samiam while the grainy country-tinged vocals bring Gaslight Anthem to mind. The lyrical themes of alcohol and heartache nod to their influences as well, but the vocals lose their soul … Read more

Calabrese

Flee The Light
Spookshow Records (2019)

This year I was so psyched! I am a big horror punk fan. There are three bands I really, really enjoy. Calabrese is one of those bands. I’ve followed this hard working band since their second album and have enjoyed each and every release so far. I had no problem following them in their development from their campy horror punk … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Various Artists

Rakta & Deafkids – Forma/Sigilo
Nada Nada Discos (2019)

Brazilian act Rakta were at the forefront of the post-punk revival several years back, and continue to be one of more captivating crews working in what has become a sort of genre-less field. Are they punk? Absolutely. But what punk means today is so much more than what it meant even 10 years ago. I saw them play at Iron … Read more

Blood Incantation

Hidden History of the Human Race
Dark Descent Records (2019)

By now it’s clear that Blood Incantation are the death metal band of the future, a band willing to push the genre and do things with its base elements that others may be scared of or not capable of. The quartet meld progressive qualities with dirty riffs, speak of their love of science fiction and their quest for the ultimate … Read more

The Blackjaw

Burn The Artisan
White Russian Records (2019)

Some soft strumming on the guitar draws your attention. Post-hardcorish emo vocals ask you if you ever wondered what it is like to kill someone. Welcome to the wonderful world of The Blackjaw.The Blackjaw is Spanish quartet who recently released their fourth album unto an unsuspecting world. Well, it is either that or I have been living under a rock … Read more

Cunts

Cunts
Ipecac (2019)

Calling your band “Cunts” and releasing some sort of grindcore or blackened death album wouldn’t really be a big shocker. It wouldn’t take a whole lot of balls or thought to do. But calling your band Cunts and releasing a more-melodic-than-extreme hardcore album complete with a Tom Waits cover takes a little bit more ingenuity.Comprised of Retox twinsies Michael Crain … Read more

Have a Nice Life

Sea of Worry
Flenser (2019)

Time changes us all. As people we are bound to the rules of time and how it moves regardless of whether we want it to or not. Music changes us. However, the rules surrounding how music moves us is on a different scale to that of time - one piece of music will affect ten people differently. Have a Nice … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Fleshies

Introducing The Fleshies
Dirt Cult (2019)

Sure, I know of Fleshies but I don’t really know them. I’ve heard the hits over the years, but I’m coming at Introducing The Fleshies from a relatively clean slate. And it’s a rager. It’s got the aggression, a little bit of slop, and lyrics that are both biting and intelligent. It works on both levels: something to shout along … Read more

Tool

Fear Inoculum
RCA (2019)

hype - Informal.nounexaggerated publicity; hoopla.an ingenious or questionable claim, method, etc., used in advertising, promotion, or publicity to intensify the effect.Let’s be real. 13 years is a long goddamn time between albums. Particularly for a band that didn’t even break up. There’s just no way on earth ANY band could hope to return to whatever glory cradled them in their … Read more

Various Artists

Desert Sessions, Vol. 11 And 12
Matador (2019)

It’s been 16 long years since Josh Homme sent out invitations to a group of musicians to join him out in the high desert for a few days.The last time it happened was in 2003 and a whole lot has happened for Homme in that time. Queens of the Stone Age has been the cornerstone, but there’s been time served … Read more

DIÄT

Positive Disintegration
Iron Lung (2019)

Positive Disintegration is an ideal name for this album, the follow-up to Positive Energy, which DIÄT released in 2015. The record is dreary post-punk with a lot of repetition and monotone vocals that carry a beaten-down-by-the-world-but-the-show-must-go-on vibe. “We,” starts things on this path, but as the record progresses that exasperation turns to a call for action at times.The very next … Read more

Thom Yorke

Anima
XL Recordings (2019)

There’s a kind of anxious immediacy that bleeds through every song on Anima, Thom Yorke’s latest solo album. Normally this would signal a lack of cohesion or at the very least an uneven listening experience, but somehow Yorke manages to pack all his troubles in his old kit bag and smile, giving us his strongest solo album to date.The whirring, … Read more

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