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Lotus

The Road To Calvary
Shield Recordings/Assault Records (2017)

Deep inside Belgium lies Lotus, the Powerbar of Antwerp hardcore. In early December Lotus released their particular blend of pessimistic optimism, paradoxically digestible yet equally unsettling. Steering modern hardcore trends away from cheap nihilism, The Road to Calvary bites down a vicious chunk of hardcore spirit that raises my pulse, burning the excess fat that clogs my record shelf.Within Lotus’s … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Neighborhood Brats

Night Shift EP
Taken By Surprise (2018)

It was such a disappointment to see Neighborhood Brats go on hiatus in 2015. I really enjoyed all their output to that point (a couple of EP’s and one full length). Luckily for me the band see the error of their ways and decided to start anew. With a new drummer and bass-player that is. That has not influenced the … Read more

Cheap Tissue

Cheap Tissue
Lolipop Records (2018)

LA’s Cheap Tissue bill themselves as rough around the edges garage punk, namedropping melodic yet understated groups like Radioactivity. While the general sound isn’t too far off the mark, the band’s take on high energy garage-fueled punk is more brash and spit-shined, showing more in common with acts like The Hives and New York Dolls. There’s more flash and posturing … Read more

High Priests

Spinning
Triple Eye Industries (2018)

When I first saw High Priests 3 or 4 years ago, I would have labeled them as stoner punk. While their press photos certainly still hit on that imagery, I’m not so sure that Spinning matches that descriptor in any sense. As for additional semi-relevant background info, the band has some recognizable faces from the punk scene: members and ex-members … Read more

Madensuyu

Current
Unday Records (2018)

I’ll start with a request for the reader: think about genres and how difficult it truly is to define music. It’s hard to hold in your head. Take metal for example. It is obvious that Black Sabbath is metal and so is Isis, despite how different they are. It isn’t as obvious how one turned into the other gradually. The … Read more

Jack White

Boarding House Reach
Third Man (2018)

Jack White has always been his own man. With The White Stripes, he cultivated a strong persona - turning blues guitar on its side and reworking what would normally be tired rehashed riffs and making them into something new and shiny for impressionable young ears.His first two solo albums, Blunderbuss and Lazaretto continued this tradition, giving the millennials a fresh … Read more

Various Artists

Starkweather/Concealment - Split
Translation Loss (2018)

After seven patient years Starkweather releases their third split Divided by Zero with Portugal’s Concealment. The two-song split cements itself with every listen as masterful. Like a vitamin, it’s not to be consumed on an empty stomach, or listened to with impatience. But brevity being the byproduct of vigor, and in summing up an emotionally exhausting 49 minutes of listening … Read more

Shame

Songs of Praise
Dead Oceans (2018)

Shame seems to have captured some buzz. They’ve had several clips in big UK publications and their debut was issued on Dead Oceans here in the States. The band plays forceful and somewhat haunting punk that’s brutal and harsh, but with heart and authentic emotion that seeps throughout the tough-on-the-surface songs. Sure the band screams out descriptive lyrics like “bathe … Read more

Legend of the Seagullmen

Legend of the Seagullmen
Dine Alone (2018)

It's easy to be complacent with side projects. At worst, they're self indulgent jam sessions repackaged and sold to indifferent masses. At best, they tend to be self indulgent jam sessions repackaged and sold to the accumulative fanbase of assembled band members.Where it seems to differ with the side projects of Mastodon band members, is they really seem to be … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Sun-0-Bathers

Local Warming EP
Morning Wood Records (2018)

If you think this band has something to do with Sun-0)))))))))))))))))))) or Deafheaven (even after looking at the artwork), please look on! You will not find anything of your liking here. And I'm grateful for that! Seven tracks (five if you don't count the intro and outro) would have felt like an eternity to me if I had to sit … Read more

Amenra

VI
Neurot Recordings (2017)

I thought it a safe bet to listen to any album off Neurot Recordings with care and patience, and expect something great. Amenra is no fragile exception. Their essence taps a well of meaning seemingly endless on all levels of analysis, as much as it taps a particular sound thrust forward first by Black Sabbath, and most recently by Neurosis. … Read more

Paradise Lost

Medusa
Nuclear Blast (2018)

With the daring first notes of a church organ, Paradise Lost primes its listeners for a quasi-sermon on the mount in Medusa. A part description of suffering, part omen for eventual destruction, part heroic call to arms in the face of meaninglessness, Medusa glorifies godless bravery and turns those who cower from responsibility to stone. The album is predicated on … Read more

Dean Ween Group

Rock 2
Schnitzel Records (2018)

I generally shy away from track-by-track reviews, because they get long, boring and kind of miss the point of an album as a whole anyway. That said, whenever I write about Ween and related projects, the disparity from song to song is a little more difficult. There are 11 songs on this 38-minute record and they range from classic rock … Read more

Barren Womb

Old Money/New Lows
Spartan Records (2018)

Shortly after releasing their debut full length I had the opportunity to have a chat with Barren Womb. They then told me they liked playing in a two-man band as it gave them the opportunity to work really fast. The decision making process is so much easier without a lot of different opinions around. These words seemed to be true … Read more

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