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)

Pandemix

In Condemnation
Dirt Cult (2019)

Pandemix are new to me, and they’re difficult to sum up in just a few words. That’s a complement. It’s punk by genre, but a few subgenre adjectives aren’t going to capture the band. In Condemnation isn’t exactly complex (we’re talking punk rock here), but it’s diverse in subtle ways that keep the energy level high and fresh as it shreds through 10 tracks in 28 minutes.There’s a 1980s bluntness, along with vocalist Shannon Thompson’s general style that’s a speak-sing-shout with vitriol, spite and, yes, condemnation. But the music is far from the predictable verse-chorus-verse singalong where you know the words on first listen. The lyrics tell a story instead of a catchphrase and the music builds up and shifts gears accordingly. The guitars here are as much The Jesus Lizard as they are Black Flag.Those unpredictable turns give extra power throughout. “No Monuments” sets the tone early. After a brief intro, a heavy beat segues into fierce aggression with a few breathers interspersed before a hellacious breakdown kicks it into overdrive to finish. That energy transfers in “Can’t Assimilate,” one of many standouts on the record, which is a little more chord-heavy but with some quick change-of-direction moments that … Read more

Cliff and Ivy

American Saints
Independent (2018)

Every now and then I come home from the supermarket and think to myself, while unpacking: I should not have … Read more

Spirit Adrift

Divided By Darkness
20 Buck Spin (2019)

Spirit Adrift may have only been a band for five years or so, yet their output has been consistent (Divided … Read more

Big Eyes

Streets Of The Lost
Greenway Records (2019)

In the past I’ve described Big Eyes as half-punk, half-classic rock in a Cheap Trick vein. It’s concise and punchy … Read more

ASHRR

Oscillator
First Second (2019)

Encompassing all of the most salient aspects of 80s synth pop, with clear nods to Talking Heads and New Order, … Read more

Ian Lawrence Campbell Swordy

The Bull Loving Truth
Independent (2019)

I came to this book through it’s author. Ian Lawrence Campbell Swordy aka Pony. His involvement in Bent Outta Shape, … Read more

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One from the archives

Vegas

Sagevisule
Last Anthem (2014)

The ever elusive Vegas has returned. While the band have released a scant few songs in the years since their full-length those songs have shown them maitaining a sense of quality. After a lengty wait a new EP containing four songs arrives, reflecting what Vegas is and where they may be heading.The whole shebang begins with a dark riff sounding like something from a Siouxsie & The Banshees song before quickly breaking into a neck snapping riff. Couple this with buried echoing vocals and one gets the full darkened effect. Sound effects occupy the calmer areas giving a base degree of uncertainty to the listener before fading into the next rager. The songs while dark and brutal fit within the existing dynamics of the band. They use the echoing vocals … Read more

More album reviews

The Carvels NYC

Life Is Not A Waiting Room EP
Independent (2019)

Is artwork an important part of a record? I tend to think so. I am bit old-school and like to listen to a record with the cover in my hand looking at the artwork or reading along with the lyrics. The Carvels NYC must feel the same. Their previous EP Everything With You Is A Travesty had a real gem … Read more

L7

Scatter The Rats
Blackheart Records (2019)

At the height of the Northwest music explosion of the early 90s, L7 were among many bands branded with the ubiquitous tag of “grunge”. They weren’t from Seattle, but they had just enough distortion on their guitars to be regarded as such. This put them in a unique situation, as they were really the only all-female band to be inducted … Read more

Sunn 0)))

Life Metal
Southern Lord (2019)

Experimental drone alchemists Sunn O))) have defined two decades of extreme music with their slow, dark offerings. Starting in the early ‘00s, the duo comprised of Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson proved to be the most talented disciple of Dylan Carlson’s early sonic investigations with Earth. In those early days the music of Sunn O))) was a cataclysmic experience, highlighted … Read more

Rivers Edge

New Hope for the Dead
Lifer Tapes (2018)

As a record reviewer, sometimes I find it hard to review different works by the same artists. There comes a point when I just say “this sounds like that,” which doesn’t help anyone. So as much as I’m trying to avoid that angle here, I’m going to start out by mentioning that Rivers Edge features members (and the same vocalists) … Read more

Vaura

Sables
Profound Lore (2019)

Vaura is an interesting act for multiple reasons. Firstly it is the brainchild of four incredible musicians in Joshua Strawn of experimetal, dark pop explorers Azar Swan, Kevin Hufnagel of technical death metal beast Gorguts, Toby Driver of elusive post-everything act Kayo Dot and Charlie Schmid, previously of extreme avant-metallists Tombs. What is even more intriguing however is that Vaura … Read more

Wristmeetrazor

Misery Never Forgets
Prosthetic (2019)

With a name like Wristmeetrazor could assume what you would be getting with this record before heading in and pressing play. While you may not be entirely wrong you would most certainly be partially wrong at best. While you could assume the record treads in emotionally raw lyrics and you would be correct but to also assume there is a … Read more

Bob Mould

Sunshine Rock
Merge (2019)

Music is a form of expression and therapy and often times the only way an artist can make sense of the events going on around them. It's something Bob Mould makes very clear when he steps up to the mic. After years of dealing with loss and delving deeper into a darkness that surrounded him, he's letting his new album, … Read more

Inter Arma

Sulphur English
Relapse (2019)

In the early ‘10s it felt like the progressive sludge scene had produced all of its great records, and that moving forwards the genre would settle in a plateau state. But in the underground, there was one band that was still not contempt with the confinements of the genre, and they displayed that with their debut record Sundown. Inter Arma’s … Read more

Oozing Wound

High Anxiety
Thrill Jockey (2019)

Chicago’s Oozing Wound have been riding the thrash train since their inception in 2011, yet this trio are more than just that label, instead they are a band that incorporates many different aspects of the metal world into their music and in doing so create high energy vibrations that enable them to put their points across in a fun and … Read more

Nadir

Collecting Misery
Independent (2019)

From the start of Collecting Misery it’s clear that Nadir is one of those bands fronted by someone who is usually on a different instrument. Sure, the DIY production also influences the sound, but the vocals are just a bit less fluid than in most bands. It’s not a slight against the band, just that it sounds a little less … Read more

Coathangers

The Devil You Know
Suicide Squeeze (2019)

Much of what I listen to on the regular is of the three-chord punk variety. While I want the bands in that field to switch up their sound, to develop and grow, the differences are usually pretty subtle in that world. The Coathangers, though, are something else and for some reason I’m always surprised when I put on each new … Read more

Various Artists

Symphony Of Distraction / 69 Enfermos - They Came From Faster Space Split
Morning Wood Records (2018)

Recently I picked up my longboard from the barn where it was in hibernation for quite some time. I have been cleaning the bearings and other necessary maintenance. All the while looking out the window checking if the weather was adjusting to the meteorological time of the year: spring! Why this urgent need to skate? A long answer short: this … Read more

Nightmarathons

Missing Parts
A-F (2019)

Nightmarathons are a tough band to pin down. Sure, they fit somewhere under that ever-widening punk umbrella, but it pulls from different areas without fitting neatly into any single substyle. To make a blanket statement, I’d say its heavily influenced by ‘00s punk across the board, with different singers who take the songs in different directions. There’s some first wave … Read more

Various Artists

The Bananas/Rivers Edge - split
Lifer Tapes (2018)

It had been a long time since I’d listened to The Bananas – and I have to ask myself why. It’s that peppy, poppy, yet underproduced DIY thing that I basically groove on. A few seconds of “La Touraine” is all it takes to get the leg bouncing and a smile on my face. I’m not going to say that … Read more

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