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)

Loud Boyz

Party In The USA
Independent (2017)

You know, I’ve never knowingly listened to Miley Cyrus, but I’m pretty sure this record is named tongue-in-cheek and doesn’t include a cover. Full disclosure, I looked up her “Party in the USA” song a couple hours after my first draft of this review. I wish I hadn’t, though it was certainly a learning experience about different lifestyles.For some reason I tend to think hardcore bands should have three, maybe four people: powerful, yet restrained and to the point. Loud Boyz are a five-piece, and it’s not just to fill space on the stage. Every second of this EP rips and rages in aggressive aural entirety without feeling bloated. The tone is equally impressive, mixing serious and light-hearted lyrics without losing their aesthetic in between. This 4-song EP plays through in less than 10 minutes with some bass-driven hardcore. Title track “Party in the USA” would more accurately be called “Fucked Up in the USA.” The chords chug through with the rhythm section taking lead over easy to sing-along to lyrics that mostly reflect the song titles, also including “The Badge,” “What a Time To Be Alive,” and “Weekday Warrior.”There are aggressive breakdowns, including near the one-minute mark of “The … Read more

Dödsrit

Dödsrit
Alerta Antifascista (2017)

After a couple of years of reviewing I’ve got a love-hate relation with genre definitions. I love ‘em because it … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Balcanes

Carne Nueva EP
Humo (2016)

Spain’s Balcanes tread a glorious path through noisy rock with a sound that is as filthy as it is consuming. … Read more

Mind Spiders

Furies
Dirtnap (2018)

While I’ve always enjoyed Mind Spiders, they’ve kind of felt like a side project, an idea that hadn’t really grown … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Various Artists

Say Sue Me / Otoboke Beaver Split 7”
Damnably / Electric Muse (2017)

Though the thought of pairing a shoegazey indie pop band with an anything-goes punk group on a split record may … Read more

Portal

Ion
Profound Lore (2018)

There is no easy starting point with a record such as Ion. It’s an album that’s dense, almost to the … Read more

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One from the archives

Kanye West

Graduation
Roc-A-Fella (2007)

Kanye has lost it. Well, sort of. I don't know. Shit, I'm sorry. Believe me, I am. I didn't want this to happen. Unlike most of the intelligent people in the world, I had convinced myself that his absurd behavior was justified, that he really was as good as all that. Apparently, I was wrong - Graduation doesn't hold a candle to either of his previous two albums. The problem is that this is a good album. Well, a decent album. I want to love it or hate it, but it's kind of...meh. Of course, Kanye is still the best producer working. And when his verses match his musicianship, he's pretty unstoppable. Here and there, we see flashes of the old Kanye. You remember - crazy sample choices, justified self-references, … Read more

More album reviews

200 Words Or Less

Spiritual Cramp

Mass Hysteria
REACT! Records (2017)

Given their name, it's appropriate that San Francisco's Spiritual Cramp have a sound rooted in the punk rock of 40-ish years ago. I don't think debut EP Mass Hysteria would have the same punch had it featured a more aggressive approach. Alienation figures prominently in the lyrics of opener “All MY Friends Are Out Tonight (Alright),” and the somewhat vulnerable, … Read more

Nick JD Hodgson

Tell Your Friends
Prediction Records (2018)

Erstwhile Kaiser Chief Nick Hodgson has spent the past five years penning songs for the likes of Mark Ronson and Shirley Bassey, basking in being out of the limelight and no longer having to endure a punishing touring schedule as part of one of the UK’s most successful indie bands. The 40-year-old spent much of his 20s and 30s perched … Read more

Orphaned Land

Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs
Century Media (2018)

Music with a message has long been a starting point for many bands but for Orphaned Land that message is of the most extreme importance. Spreading the missive of peace and understanding has been at the root of the Israeli band and their output since the very beginning and over the last twenty six years. Addressing the turmoil that has … Read more

The Dwarves

Take Back the Night
Burger Records (2018)

Take Back The Night isn’t one of those experiment Dwarves records, like the industrio-tinge of Come Clean. On their latest offering, the long-running band alternates styles consistently between their unique and twisted take on bubblegum pop-punk and screaming, single-vocalist hardcore. For the most part, the hardcore songs are fronted by Rex Everything (Nick Oliveri), with occasional SPB guest contributor Blag … Read more

Baronen & Satan

Why Does The Blood Never Stick To Your Teeth/Satan Is A Lady
Dirty Water Records (2017)

Every now and then I find it entertaining to randomly pick something out of the promo-bin without overthinking what to review. Sometimes this way I discover brilliant stuff, sometimes I question my choices. Baronen & Satan’s short and snappy promo chatter sounds promising enough. This quartet is from Gothenburg, Sweden. There’s more than enough quality music coming from Sweden. That … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Damon Eliza Palermo

Beacon of Maracaibo
Johnkôôl Records (2018)

Contemplative and calming, “Delacorta” kicks off Damon Eliza Palermo's Beacon of Maracaibo release with flowing piano and bubbling electronic tones playing under a pleasant, naturalistic bed of chirping birds. Slightly glitchy but undeniably relaxing even when it introduces a cymbal-heavy beat late in the going, the opener transitions into a lengthy title track awash in sweeping synths, seesawing vocal tones … Read more

City Mouse

Get Right
It's Alive (2017)

The Fest is a pretty cool event. The first time or two I went, I went to see the headliners on the big stages, packing a day of well known (by punk standards) into one action-packed 12-hour period. Over time, I’ve come to seek out the newer bands on the smaller stages. The atmosphere is more my vibe, but it’s … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Daniel Ruiz

A Cup of Coffee with Two Sugar Cubes, Cream, and a Tiny Drop of Whiskey
Independent (2017)

Described aptly by its creator, Barcelona songwriter Daniel Ruiz, as an “ode to misery,” A Cup of Coffee with Two Sugar Cubes, Cream, and a Tiny Drop of Whiskey is a relaxed and dreamlike work built around layers of hazy guitar, warbling organ, and just a hint of piano. Vaguely idiosyncratic lyrics deal with a woman, her particular taste in … Read more

Ann Beretta

Old Scars, New Blood
Say-10 (2017)

There’s a lot of analysis when listening to Old Scars, New Blood. When singer Rob Huddleston sings, “Nothing ever changes/ Nothing ever stays the same” in “Fairweather,” it seems to epitomize the experience of this record, a re-recording of 13 songs by the recently born again Ann Beretta.I can’t decide if this album is a great idea, modernizing a reformed … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Otoboke Beaver

Love is Short
Damnably Records (2017)

To put it mildly, Otoboke Beaver's Love is Short doesn't beat around the bush, though that phrase seems wildly inappropriate given the origin of the band's name. Following a churning title track that sets off immediately at breakneck speed and features aggressive foreign-language vocal shouts, shrieks, and howls, even -gasp- a bit of melody, the album transitions to the more … Read more

Book Review

Jesse Fink

Bon: The Last Highway: The Untold Story of Bon Scott and AC/DC's Back in Black
Random House Australia (2017)

Ronald Belford “Bon” Scott.Lyrics, the personality and presence – it is not merely because of his vocal range and the band he headed that he is considered to be one of the greatest frontmen and rock’n roll vocalist of all time.His life and untimely death is being revisited in the new biography Bon: The Last Highway: The Untold Story of … Read more

Ryan Adams

Prisoners B Sides
Blue Note (2017)

Ryan Adams is one of the 21st centuries most prolific songwriters. Like Springsteen on speed, he just can’t seem to stop, whether it’s country, blues, metal, or an assortment of other areas for which he has lent his voice, he is constantly pushing out something new. His drive to write and produce is a great thing and has provided an … Read more

Kid You Not

Never A Dull Movement
Deep Elm (2017)

Kid You Not has some pretty clear influences behind their melodic pop-punk sound. With semi-coarse vocals that lead to big sing-along choruses, Iron Chic and Red City Radio shine through. It’s not really shining music though. These are some cynical songs that wallow in an unpleasant world.As a whole, this is a solid record with some flaws. The overall sound … Read more

Weezer

Pacific Daydream
Atlantic (2017)

I think that sometimes it’s really hard to review a Weezer record… I mean.. Their first record, the self-titled Blue album, is firmly perched on the list of “best debut albums of all time”. It’s quick punch of pop-punk aesthetic, quirky songwriting, and heavy crunch guitar is only mirrored by the sensitivity and honest lurch of songs like “Say It … Read more

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