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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)

Giorgio Moroder

Deja Vu
RCA (2015)

I admit it: arguably the guiltiest of my guilty pleasures is Euro disco, a genre which found (sometimes quite dubiously-talented) European musicians exaggerating the basic tenets of '70s dance music to the point of near-absurdity. Hard as it is to resist the infectious but undeniably cheesy keyboard lines in many of the genre's songs though, it also would be difficult for me to claim that there's any truly outstanding proper Euro disco album: if any genre of music is best represented by its singles, this may just be it. Taken in large quantities, Euro disco simply loses its appeal and I get lost amongst the pounding rhythms and woozy melodies. Of all the people working this genre, among the most successful was Italian Giorgio Moroder, whose pioneering production work for Donna Summer not only changed the face of disco, but paved the way for full-blown techno in the years to come. Daft Punk's 2013 Random Access Memories thrust Moroder back into the spotlight after years under the radar, and he quickly set about work on his first new album in over two decades. The resulting effort, 2015's Deja Vu is a nice demonstration of Moroder's ability to craft toe-tapping, catchy … Read more

Daniel Menche & Mamiffer

Crater
Sige (2015)

In 2014 Mamiffer, the project of Faith Coloccia, released Statu Nascendi, which was described as a transitional album, leading to … Read more

Basement Benders

Lydiad
No Idea (2015)

Side projects aren’t supposed to invite other band comparisons, they’re supposed to separate, to show artisticrange. Who are we kidding … Read more

The Great Tyrant

The Trouble With Being Born
Relapse (2015)

In the time before Pinkish Black there was The Great Tyrant. The latest album of Pinkish Black came out a … Read more

Dilly Dally

Sore
Partisan Records (2015)

Dilly Dally is a four-piece rock band from Toronto who describes themselves as “#softgrunge” on their Facebook page - I'm … Read more

Extinction A.D.

Faithkiller
Good Fight (2015)

Extinction A.D. rose like hellfire from the rubble of the, now listless, Long Island hardcore outfit This is Hell. In … Read more

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One from the archives

Sun Worship

Pale Dawn
Golden Antenna (2016)

Sun Worship made a grand, and quite unexpected, appearance in the black metal scene with their debut full-length, Elder Giants. The album was supposed to be released just in digital format and on a limited tape release, but, the quality of this work saw an additional CD release coming later on through Translation Loss Records. The band's grasp on the black metal sound was astonishing, while their point of view seemed to encompass many diverse aspects of the genre. From the melodic elements to the brutal outbreaks, with an earthy, rural sense and then a cosmic perspective, Elder Giants managed to find a balance between all these motifs. The return today with Pale Dawn, their sophomore full-length, finds the band appearing with a mixture of their mystical sound and their … Read more

More album reviews

Baldruin

Portal
Wounded Knife Records (2015)

Baldruin, the brainchild of Johannes Schebler, is wondering through the psychic domains of ambient music. Even though the project is relatively new, Schebler has put out a number of releases, various split albums and cassettes. However, Portal is the debut of Baldruin in the vinyl domain, released through Wounded Knife Records. What attracts Baldruin to the ambient domain so much … Read more

Night Birds

Mutiny at Muscle Beach
Fat Wreck Chords (2015)

It’s getting tough to find new things to say about Night Birds. They’re as great as ever with third LP Mutiny at Muscle Beach, it’s just that the sound hasn’t changed all that dramatically from day one. Album #3 is supposed to be when they go all avant on us.Their career has filled out nicely, with textural differences and a … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Mercy Killings

Snuffed Out
Beach Impediment (2015)

This is the second 7” from this new-ish congruence of Richmond, VA old-timers. The band flexes a pedigree that includes Wasted Time, Government Warning, Direct Control and a whole bunch of others. Eight minutes in total of bulldozer USHC in the most straightforward sense. No fucking about whatsoever; just head down, get the fuck out of the way hardcore punk. … Read more

Wrekmeister Harmonies

Night of Your Ascension
Thrill Jockey (2015)

The musical collective led by J.R. Robinson has always been inventive when it came to the subjects of their sonic explorations. You've Always Meant So Much to Me was written to accompany a film that Robinson shot in various areas, including Detroit, the desert of Joshua Tree and the forests of Tasmania. The collaborators in this album helped greatly bring … Read more

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Plays Prog Rock Classics
Cleopatra (2015)

At a point in the late '90s and early-to-mid 2000s, it seemed like every major artist had at least one tribute album out there. Invariably produced by one cheap-jack record label or another, these albums highlighted a dozen or so no-name musicians playing through (and quite possibly butchering) various well-known songs and were often framed around a particular type of … Read more

Hasta

Botanique
Kitsuné Music (2015)

While electronic music used to be a rather exclusive club that only those with access to (expensive) equipment could hope to break into, in recent years, the increased availability of technology has allowed anyone with a will and/or a way to become an electronic producer. Theoretically, this has enabled more talented people to express themselves through music, and there is … Read more

Oneirogen

Plenitude
Denovali (2015)

Diaz de Leon explores the limits of hallucinatory music through his project Oneirogen. Back in 2012, the debut album of Oneirogen, Hypnos, came into existence, combining experimental and heavy music, with the inclusion of big sounding synths, abrupt noise explosions and dark ambient yearnings, all under a veil of distortion and emerging soundscapes. A year later, Kiasma would be released, … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Pontius Pirate

Pterodactyl Island LP
Backwoods Butcher (2015)

Every so often I go through a phase where I’m listening to a lot of pre-Independent Wormhole Saloon era Butthole Surfers. Such was the case when this 17-song slab-o-wax landed in my mailbox via Food Fortunata, the genius behind Ear of Corn fanzine. I promptly ripped this to MP3s so that I could listen to it while riding my bicycle. … Read more

Black Wing

...Is Doomed
Flenser (2015)

The name Dan Barrett is well known to anyone following projects such as Have a Nice Life, Giles Corey and Enemies List (and quite a few more.) In his latest project, Black Wing, Barrett sets on a digital-only path. While the motto of his other project, Giles Corey, has been: “only acoustic instruments allowed,” Black Wing features only digital instruments. … Read more

Grave Pleasures

Dreamcrash
Metal Blade (2015)

Back in 2010, Beastmilk were on the rise with the release of their demo White Stains On Black Tape. The band from Finland, with an impressive line-up featuring Kvohst (Hexvessel, ex-Code and ex-Dodheimsgard), Valtteri Arino, Linnea Olsson (ex-The Oath), Johan “Goatspeed” Snell and Paile, was putting together a disturbing vision of apocalyptic post-punk. The result of this concept was the … Read more

The Necks

Vertigo
Northern Spy (2015)

The Necks is an experimental jazz band from Australia, which has been outputting record after record since their inception back in the '80s. Following the release of their previous full-length, Open, this trio of excellent musicians embarked on a journey towards their next release, Vertigo. Where Open features a more minimalistic mindset, Vertigo is a cinematic piece placed against a … Read more

Panda Kid

I Saw My Soul Leaving
Lollipop Records / FDH Records / Already Dead Tapes (2015)

Gloriously unpolished and perhaps one of the outright loudest and gnarliest records I've heard all year, 2015's I Saw My Soul Leaving is a sort of greatest hits album released to commemorate the first US tour by Italian garage rocker Panda Kid (a.k.a. Alberto Manfrin). This album combines two new tracks with eight from the artist's back catalog in a … Read more

The Blind Shake

Fly Right EP
Slovenly (2015)

The Blind Shake have honed their sound over the years, always identifiable yet always moving it forward and with a keen difference between records. It’s pretty impressive considering they write 2-3 minute stomp-garage tracks with a big emphasis on beat and hook—a style where repetition and sameness run rampant.Where Fly Right stands out is its variation from that tradition. The … Read more

Chuck Cirino

Not of This Earth Original Soundtrack
Terror Vision Records (2015)

Though composer Chuck Cirino is not a name that most movie fans – even those who like B-movies – would instantly recognize, there's a decent chance cult film aficionados have heard some of his work. First breaking into movie soundtrack work on 1980's Gypsy Angels, a film best known for featuring a then-unknown Vanna White in various states of undress, … Read more

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

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