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 playful “Introduce Me to Your Family.” Here, back-and-forth vocal outbursts between the four bandmates play out over a slick bassline, but the more relaxed and sometimes almost sugary sections are book-ended by furious guitar-driven chaos. The EP finishes off with the noise punk romp “Mean,” which rips and grinds through all of 20 seconds. Irresistibly jagged and compellingly "different," Love is Short's only downside is explained by its title: the five-minute run time is almost painfully short. That said, it's gonna be complete insanity when this energetic Japanese group, who may literally be the antithesis to the flashy and polished world of J-pop, gets around to putting together a US-release full-length. Read more
Ronald Belford “Bon” Scott.Lyrics, the personality and presence – it is not merely because of his vocal range and the … Read more
Ryan Adams is one of the 21st centuries most prolific songwriters. Like Springsteen on speed, he just can’t seem to … Read more
Kid You Not has some pretty clear influences behind their melodic pop-punk sound. With semi-coarse vocals that lead to big … Read more
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The Cavemen are a garage band from New Zealand with a ton of releases to their name. You know the style: it’s abrasive, it’s risqué, and full o’ swagger. But it’s also catchy, highly energetic and upbeat -- perversely positive, if you will.This 4-song EP runs at about 10 minutes (to be generous) and delivers a wallop. Fittingly titled Euthanise Me the songs are crude-but-kinda cute, balancing a tightrope that avoids shock rock while being clever and still relatable, with some human emotion and metaphor buried behind lyrics like “You ain’t nothing but roadkill to me…I wanna eat your heart and wear your face” or “It’s a nightmare/ Every time I see you/ I lose control.”Fans of fast, sloppy and machismo garage-rock should check this out. It checks all the … Read more
One thing I love about split albums is that there’s more often than not one band on it that is new to me. I’ve discovered some really great bands or albums because a band I love introduced me to another band through a split record. Case in point: Remedy. I just loved their split with ESC Life earlier this year. … Read more
For the uninitiated, and if you are, you might want to look at changing that immediately – shame on you: Mute Records (commonly known, referred to and stylized as “mute”) by and large is one of the most influential British independent platforms and record labels that helped launch the careers of acts that not only fundamentally changed the idea of … Read more
NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories is a comprehensive autobiography from one of the world’s most prominent punk bands that worked its way up. New aficionados as well as die-hard long time followers will discover new and interesting facts via the stories of counterfeiting, murder, terminal illness, suicide, addiction, riots, bondage, the Yakuza, and drinking urine and the other … Read more
Neil Young releases records at an alarming rate for a septuagenarian. It doesn’t matter, the guy gets a gold pass on whatever he releases. His recent health scare not slowing him down, yet showcasing the mortality we have seen in the recent past with Young’s friends and peers moving on at an alarming rate. Neil Young has walked a frantic … Read more
When English duo Royal Blood released their self-titled debut in 2014, i got into an argument with a friend of mine as to how many members were in the band - my friend insisting that there had to be “at least three - because just listen”. Of course we now know that this friend was very wrong and he has … Read more
Led by Falls of Rauros' Jordan Guerette, Foret Endormie takes quite a different route to what we can expect from the black metal guitarist. This chamber ensemble draws its influences from the past, be it the modern take on classical music implemented by the likes of Erik Satie or the poetry of the decadent movement, mainly Paul Verlaine. This is … Read more
When Living Colour toured earlier this year performing their debut album Vivid for the almost 30 year anniversary, a lot of folks were ecstatic, thinking one of their favorite bands were back together again. Problem is, they hadn’t broken up. I mean they did for a few years in the '90s, but they’ve been touring and making music together since … Read more
It's a different world than when Manson made his debut over two decades ago and scared the shit out of everyone. He scared us because things felt relatively safe and calm. He was like a monster scaring a child out of the peaceful tranquility of their bed. Now that things are fucking bananas and chaos reigns and we know exactly … Read more
All the best albums are made for mood. Some for when you’re feeling happy and carefree, and some for when you’re driving around the city in the pouring rain, with the neon lights of seafood restaurants and used car dealerships shimmering through your windshield and your tears. Japanese Breakfast is the latter, and Soft Sounds From Another Planet excels in … Read more
Darkness isn’t something everybody can access within themselves. Some are afraid to explore those shadowy recesses, some deny they exist, and some embrace it and find a cathartic release through some outlet of their choosing.Luckily for us, Chelsea Wolfe would appear to be in the latter category. To describe her music by any particular genre would only seem dismissive. Tawdry, … Read more
Matt Cameron has long been the kind of drummer that most drummers wish they were. Seemingly able to play anything - to bounce from project-to-project with nary a blurred line. In short, Matt Cameron knows his shit. It would be fair to say that despite being the drummer for Pearl Jam since 1998, Cameron will forever be inexorably linked to … Read more
Out of all the bands painted with the seemingly ubiquitous metalcore tag, Converge seem both the most likely to accept the term graciously and rip your throat out for the mere suggestion. But really, they are a true amalgam of both - the sound is the heavy and the vocals and attitude are the core.The Dusk In Us is the … Read more
Code Orange are really hardcore. Not the genre, the noun. As a descriptive and an ethos, they wear it well. Forever is the band's first album with Roadrunner Records and it's gargantuan, throwing down the gauntlet for the next generation of heavy music.It's probably no coincidence that the band hail from Pittsburgh, because there's a strong working-class sound and attitude … Read more
I came late to the party when it comes to Mark Lanegan and his career. It was him opening for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in 2013 and I was instantly overcome with the feeling that I have missed out on an intriguing man and his works. Delving into his oeuvre and myriad of collaborations, among which the ones … Read more
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