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)

Morrissey

England Is Mine
Cleopatra (2017)

Mark Gill's England Is Mine introduces Morrissey while he's on the cusp of adulthood, an enigma of cocksure arrogance presented in the body of a slightly hunched over, uncomfortable young man. A number of key characters in the Mancunian singer's formative years, including the often overlooked Anji Hardy (Katherine Pearce), who died of leukaemia in 1977 and was a strong influence on a teenage Morrissey, and his longstanding friendship with artist Linder Sterling (Jessica Brown Findlay), feature in the film.We see Morrissey as the frustrated Inland Revenue employee who butts heads with his unimpressed boss, we get a glimpse of the isolation the character felt when his friends made the inevitable move to London, and we see him transform from a mop-haired, nervous music fan into a bequiffed frontman. While Jack Lowden gives a nuanced, earnest performance as the singer, we never truly get to see any of the character's depth.The film will undoubtedly be of interest to Morrissey completists, but there is little to take from it for someone with only a passing interest in the singer. We rarely get to see what's happening below the surface of the character, and, in truth, this means the majority of the … Read more

200 Words Or Less

The Holy Circle

The Holy Circle
Annihilvs Power Electronix (2017)

Dream pop, huh?Dark pop?Why not.Baltimore trio The Holy Circle is comprised of vocalist / keyboardist Terence Hannum (Locrian), as well … Read more

200 Words Or Less

At the Drive-In

In•ter a•li•a
Rise (2017)

Interminable slack-ass Omar Rodriguez-Lopez only released 12 solo albums this year on Ipecac Records. So to alleviate the presumed guilt, … Read more

Tim Barry

High On 95
Chunksaah (2017)

Nobody can doubt Tim Barry’s heart. He’s worn it on his sleeve since he began his solo career with a … Read more

Book Review

Keith Morris

My Damage: The Story of a Punk Rock Survivor
Da Capo Press (2017)

Keith Morris is one of the remaining original punk rock figures that is still going and has never really ceased … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Long Knife

Sewers of Babylon 7”
Beach Impediment (2017)

Oh man, haven’t heard Long Knife’s name called in a long time. You can choose to split pubic hairs over … Read more

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One from the archives

The Slackers

Self Medication
Indication (2008)

You might not like ska music, but The Slackers are the exception to that rule (at least for me and probably should be for anyone else) with their smoother sound and laid back vibes which incorporate a variety of sounds across many different genres from jazz to salsa to soul, which all create the amalgamation that is their distinct style. Even the band's songs which utilize faster tempos still manage to exude the smooth confidence that they project on record and live, The Slackers maintain a semblance of consistency and level of quality that few bands can muster over the course of two, three, or four albums let alone the eleven albums under the collective belts of these musicians. Self Medication is The Slackers' latest album and comes from their … Read more

More album reviews

Hard Girls

Floating Now
Asian Man Records / Specialist Subject Records (2017)

Hard Girls are a complex band – or maybe they’re not. They sing about hard life choices, serious moments, and buying candy and cigarettes. A post-punk influence and precise arrangement style seamlessly blend into a more traditional pop structure. At its simplest definition they’re a punk band, but that doesn’t feel like it hits at the fact that both vocalists … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Fried Egg

Back and Forth 7”
Beach Impediment (2017)

Fried Egg is hardcore punk band from Central Virginia. They rule. But that’s not important. What’s important is that I can’t possibly listen to a band named Fried Egg without thinking about, well, not just fried eggs, but all types of prepared eggs. I eat a ton of eggs – fried hard, over-easy, sunny side up, scrambled, hard-boiled, poached, deviled, … Read more

Book Review

J. Hunter Bennett

The Prodigal Rogerson: The Tragic, Hilarious, and Possibly Apocryphal Story of Circle Jerks Bassist Roger Rogerson in the Golden Age of LA Punk, 1979-1996
Microcosm Publishing (2017)

After pilfering the band’s vehicle in 1983, the man in charge of the 4-strings, a reprobate by the name of Roger Rogerson, disappeared into the ether. Almost fifteen years after his disappearance, he emerged with the demand for a reunion of the Circle Jerks in a bid to become the biggest rock’n roll band on earth. Shortly after, he died. … Read more

Gnaw

Cutting Pieces
Translation Loss (2017)

Formed by Khanate's vocalist after the demise of the legendary drone band, Gnaw doubled down on the extreme sound of Khanate, filling the drone/sludge hybrid sound with noise injections and industrial pacing. This post-apocalyptic vision was first introduced through This Face, a wretched work of heavy, experimental music, containing all the extreme weight, glacial pace and misanthropic philosophy the band … Read more

No Use for a Name

Rarities Vol. 1: The Covers
Fat Wreck Chords (2017)

I harbour a weak spot for No Use for a Name, a band that eventually became a melodic pop-punk band that landed on Fat Wreck records.What not too many contemporary and younger fans devotees would be aware of, is the fact that No Use for a Name evolved from having started as a much rawer hardcore outfit in the late … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Katastrof

Katastrof
Beach Impediment (2017)

Oh Jesus Christ fuck yeah! It’s been a minute since I checked in on Scandi-core, a genre that at one time ruled my turntable. These days it has to be top shelf to grab my attention, and, well, when the lead singer of Totalitär teams up with the guitar player from Herätys you’ve got my attention. Drop the needle on … Read more

Myteri

Ruiner
Alerta Antifascista (2017)

Why do I do this? I just reviewed the vinyl release of Myteri’s debut album and now, a couple of weeks later I’m already listening to their second album. How am I going to say something new and inspiring about it? I guess the answer is twofold. First of all I really liked what I heard on that first album. … Read more

David Bowie

A New Career in a New Town
Parlophone (2017)

I have successfully broken my brain trying to find something new to say about David Bowie. I believe it to be absolutely impossible to speak in new terms on what the musician, actor, artist, and fashion icon meant to the the worlds he showed up in. Countless of us who mourned his death have done so with some type of … Read more

Video/DVD Review

The Damned

Don't You Wish That We Were Dead
Three Count Films (2016)

Wes Orshoski, who is not unknown among documentary aficionados as he directed Lemmy, which sheds light on the times of trials and times of Mr Kilmister, is also the narrator telling the story of The Damned. The Damned were one of the UK’s punk pioneers as they were one of the first outfits to not only have their emissions pressed … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Brooke Bentham

This Rapture EP
All Points (2017)

Even though 21-year-old Brooke Bentham is firmly entrenched in the burgeoning South London music scene, her music sounds as though it has been dusted with sand from a Californian desert. With a sound that recalls Angel Olsen and First Aid Kit, her music soars and dips though the ravages of a shattered relationship with arresting lyrics and fluid guitars.These affairs … Read more

Trachimbrod

Leda
Dog Knight Records/Zegema Beach Records/Through Love Records (2017)

Would you have told me 20 years ago I would enjoy music like Trachimbrod I would have stared at you in amazement only to laugh at you. Hell, that would have been my reaction until about ten years back. But I’ve learned to broaden my scope and thus have learned to appreciate a lot of different types of music. A … Read more

Acephalix

Decreation
20 Buck Spin (2017)

Setting out with a retro vision of death metal glory alongside a punk sensitivity, Acephalix erupted into the scene with their debut album Aporia. Primitive and relentless, the band appeared to have instantly captured the essence of the genre with their debut record, something that was apparent even more on their sophomore album, Deathless Master. Punk influences begun to subside … Read more

Various Artists

ESC Life / Remedy - split EP
PDV Records/Laserlife Record/LastExit Music/Ill in the Head (2017)

This is a sweet and short three track 7’’ released by two befriended bands. This EP had me interested when I saw ESC Life was on it. I was looking forward to hearing more from these friendly Croatians after their excellent album Access All Areas from 2015. It was about time I got to hear something new from them! And … Read more

Video/DVD Review

Various Artists

Sad Vacation: The Last Days of Sid And Nancy DVD
MVD Visual (2017)

Ah, Sid Vicious.The sung hero of my formative years and fashion sense of the time (including pad lock necklace and safety pin piercing, inspiration for much mischief and muse for many often amazingly bizarre lyrical explorations of punk bands, e.g. the German’s OHL formal and very polite plea “Hey Sid Vicious, wir benötigen Sie!” and The Exploited’s plaidoyer that could … Read more

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