Recent reviews

Our latest album reviews, featuring the records we've most enjoyed (or not) over the past few weeks.

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

Attention

!Attention!
Tour Van Records (2016)

Do you like long song titles that are loosely related to the subject matter, along with gruff vocal singalong punk? If so, !Attention! is right at home. I haven’t seen the band but it’s easy to picture them playing a Durty Nelly’s set at The Fest as drunkos spill half their PBR cans on the floor after hitting them on that stupid broken ceiling fan. [I haven’t been there in 2 years, is that place still open?]And since that’s the most niche intro ever, let’s just start over for those who kept reading even if you didn’t get the reference.!Attention! play familiar chord-heavy punk that’s mid-tempo to fast, building and falling in action and with the full band kicking in vocal cues come chorus-time. It’s thoughtful and reflective music, pulling from inner struggles instead of political sloganeering. “Broseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream Couch,” “The Unwitting Bastard Sons of Stompin Tom Connors,” and “The Salt in My Bones” are a few of the standouts on the record, where they use up and down emotional nuances within the relatively one-note vocals that ride out the melodic flow. It’s driving punk that has enough variation to keep it from all sounding alike. … Read more

Brain Tentacles

Brain Tentacles
Relapse (2016)

Three great musicians of the extreme/experimental metal scene meet up to as Brain Tentacles. Bruce Lamont of Yakuza, Dave Witte … Read more

Bullnettle

Bullnettle
Dirt Cult (2016)

I discovered This Is My Fist at the tail end of the band’s run, which was unfortunate in that I … Read more

200 Words Or Less

White Lung

Paradise
Domino (2016)

Since the 1980s, Vancouver, B.C. has always had a thriving punk scene, but the new millennium came in like a … Read more

Shallow Cuts

Empty Beach Town
No Idea Records (2016)

Sometimes I want to add a lot of back story, my own perspective coming into a record. While that certainly … Read more

Coathangers

Nosebleed Weekend
Suicide Squeeze (2016)

A lot of the bands I listen to have gotten older and slowed their productivity so it’s nice to realize … Read more

Browse our review archives

Reviews by year

Choose a year to view reviews of albums released in that year.

Reviews by artist name

Choose a letter to view reviews ordered by that letter (band name first).

Review categories

200 Words Or Less

750 reviews

Book Review

42 reviews

Classic Album

25 reviews

Multiple Authors

300 reviews

Review

4938 reviews

Video/DVD Review

19 reviews

One from the archives

Red Sparowes

At The Soundless Dawn
Neurot Recordings (2005)

Even though Red Sparowes is a new project, they didn't have much difficulty making a name for themselves. Neurosis visual-effects man Josh Graham and Isis members Bryant Clifford Meyer and Jeff Caxide were members of the band at the time of recording. But if you weren't sold on the band based solely on its members previous projects, perhaps this description might help win you over. Back in the 90's, Earth released the album Sunn Amps and Smashed Guitars. That album title is a fair assessment of the music contained on At the Soundless Dawn. On "Alone And Unaware, The Landscape Was Transformed In Front Of Our Eyes," we are immediately introduced to complex and intricate guitar tones interweaving to form a beautiful composition that would put the torchbearers of post-rock … Read more

More album reviews

American Football

LP2
Polyvinyl (2016)

American Football are the sort of band that shouldn't have attracted so much attention. When they first properly emerged in 1999, a copy of their eponymous debut in hand, they were still playing small college bars around the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Their album cover was so low-key it should have been unremarkable, depicting the darkened exterior of a … Read more

Esben and the Witch

Older Terrors
Season of Mist (2016)

Taking their name from a well-known Danish fairytale, the trio from Brighton entered with confidence the alternative rock world. A series of EPs and three full-length records, with Violet Cries and Wash The Sins Not Only the Face especially standing out, has led the band down an interesting road, as their alternative rock style took on elements from indie rock … Read more

SURVIVE

RR7349
Relapse (2016)

S U R V I V E, the experimental synth quartet from Austin, rose to fame quite fast when it became known that two of its members contributed to the score of Stranger Things, a hit sci-fi/horror series on Netflix (just in case you have been living under a rock.) That information alone can give a fair insight on what … Read more

Metallica

Hardwired...to Self Destruct
Blackened Recordings (2016)

8 years. Jesus. That’s the same length of time as Barack Obama’s two-term administration. That’s the entire lifespan of an 8 year old child. That’s too goddamn long between albums, is what it is. Yes, Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett and Trujillo have finally returned with a new album – Hardwired…to Self Destruct. We all know, given their rarity of appearance on … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Various Artists

Fatso Jetson / del-Toros Split 7”
Shattered Platter (2016)

Given that it's a split release between a well-established group and one making its U.S. debut, the best thing about 2016's Fatso Jetson / del-Toros 7” may be how well its two tracks play alongside one another. Self-proclaimed “godfathers of the desert rock scene,” California's Fatso Jetson kick off the record with the churning “Dream Homes.” Conveying a sense of … Read more

Arms Aloft

What a Time to Be Barely Alive
Red Scare Industries (2016)

Midtempo punk sounds like such a boring idea.And sometimes it really is.But when it works, it’s hard to top. The chords are still powerful and concise, the frustration and fury still present, but it’s more tempered when the tempo drops down a bit and more powerful when it rises to the top. The vocals need to sneer and snarl instead … Read more

Oathbreaker

Rheia
Deathwish Inc. (2016)

Starting off with an unusual combination of crust, hardcore and black metal, Oathbreaker have evolved significantly since their debut album, Maelstrom. The follow-up album, Eros/Anteros saw a further evolution of their sound, with post-metal elements beginning to populate their palette. This slightly eased the connection between hardcore and black metal, and resulted in a more expansive vision. Rheia comes now … Read more

Various Artists

Oneida & Rhys Chatham - What's Your Sign?
Northern Spy (2016)

Collaborations in the experimental music domain always bring something interesting to the table. Oneida is a great experimental rock band, encompassing elements of noise rock, psychedelia and krautrock, as a method of crafting a diverse sound. Having released a plethora of records, mostly through Jagjaguwar, they are now putting out their first collaborative full-length with Rhys Chatham. Chatham is a … Read more

Johann Johannsson

Orphee
Deutsche Grammophon (2016)

The Icelandic composer has risen magnificently in the last few years due to his works within the film domain. A prolific artist, Johannsson has contributed with scores for some excellent recent movies, including The Theory of Everything, as well as his frequent collaborations with visionary director Denis Villeneuve, in Prisoners, Sicario and the upcoming Arrival. Johannsson returns now with Orphee, … Read more

Marillion

F.E.A.R.
Intact (2016)

For a Marillion fan, a new album isn’t just a release – it’s an event. And as far as events go, on an ascending scale from a co-workers 30 day alcohol-free chip celebration, to a close cousin’s Harry Potter themed wedding, to the birth of your new baby, FEAR is more of a birth. A birth of ideas in a … Read more

The Blind Shake

Celebrate Your Worth
Goner (2016)

I’ve covered The Blind Shake for most of their career so far. Over that time it’s been a steady growth often focused on syncopated and rhythmic rock: forceful, punchy, and precise. The kind of rock that you can set your watch to, while still angry and striking a deeper chord. They’ve taken some turns along the way: their collaborations with … Read more

Various Artists

Okkyung Lee & Christian Marclay – Amalgam
Northern Spy (2016)

OK, here we are dealing with an absolutely stunning collaboration. In a live setting, cellist Okkyung Lee, an excellent improviser who has worked alongside artists such as Jenny Hval, Swans, John Zorn and Cecil Taylor, and Christian Marclay, a visual artist and composer, master of turntablism, meet to create an Amalgam, a combination of the most strange, bizarre metals that … Read more

Big Eyes

Stake My Claim
Don Giovanni (2016)

As much I knew I’d like this record after spending some time with Almost Famous and seeing the band live a few times, I was hesitant to review it. There are certain sounds I have trouble describing. So while I enjoyed Almost Famous, it had this hard to summarize element where I felt vocalist Kait Eldridge’s lyrics blended into guitar … Read more

Taking Back Sunday

Tidal Wave
Hopeless (2016)

Taking Back Sunday accidentally ended up being one of the bands that spearheaded the emo movement that bled into the mainstream in the early noughties, a label that the band aren't entirely comfortable with. More recently, frontman Adam Lazzara got into an argument with the organisers of an LA club night that catered to the nostalgic whims of former emo … Read more

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