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Various Artists

Beex/L'Amour - Split
Zero Degree Records (2022)

Oh, hail Richmond, Virginia !. Occasionally regional bands became lauded on compilations for greedy grabbing sweaty secretive nerdy evil record lords. Seeking out and posting their findings on social media for all to tilt their caveman posturings and send a spindle of sweaty spittle cascading down their black head-encrusted chin thus avoiding their overpriced modern artifact shelved in the thickest … Read more

Sprain

The Lamb As Effigy
Flenser (2023)

One of the many exciting acts introduced through The Flenser, Sprain delivered an impressive work with their debut record, As Lost Through Collision. Introduced during the dark times between lockdowns in 2020, the album is a tour de force through noise rock and post-hardcore. With an off-kilter element and an allure for both the chaotic and depressing nature of no … Read more

Old Tower

Draconic Synthesis
Hospital (2023)

The line between dark ambient and dungeon synth has always been blurry. Since Mortiis’ departure from Emperor and his stellar, first-era works in Født til å Herske and Ånden som Gjorde Opprør, many have traveled the same path. Amongst the newest additions to this merry group is Old Tower, the obscure project from the Netherlands. Since the mid-10s, Old Tower … Read more

Sincere Engineer

Cheap Grills
Hopeless (2023)

You know those bands whose music you enjoy, but each record sort of sounds the same, just a little fresher? Well, Cheap Grills is the third LP from Sincere Engineer and it continues exactly as you’d expect from the Deanna Belos led band. The first five seconds of the album feature the lyric, “I’m a walking open wound,” in her … Read more

Video/DVD Review

Mike Schiff

The History of Metal and Horror
Independent (2022)

The History of Metal and Horror is an extensive dip into a world where two defining genres of audio and visual come together so perfectly it's difficult to imagine one without the other. Music and film have had a long and happy marriage and both play a big parts in each others existence . Rom Coms and pop music, action … Read more

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros

Live at Acton Town Hall
BMG, Dark Horse Records (2023)

Most music fans were stunned when Joe Strummer passed away in 2002. I’d recently skipped out on a Mescaleros show, thinking I had plenty of time to see the legendary musician. I honestly wasn’t all that into his work with the Mescaleros at the time, but Streetcore is one of the records of that era that’s still in heavy rotation … Read more

Grischa Lichtenberger

Works for Last Work
Raster (2023)

Grischa Lichtenberger’s works are defined not only by their experimental foundation but also by relentless energy. Be it through glitch and EBM components, or jazz injections, there always is a volatile core. This is now changing with Works for Last Work. While the abstract mindset still defines Grischa as an artist, this time around it is applied over a minimal … Read more

The Stargazer's Assistant

Fire Worshipper
House of Mythology (2023)

Making their first appearance in 2007 with The Other Side of the Island, it felt like The Stargazer’s Assistant would just be a one-off. Luckily, David Smith, David Knight, and Michael J. York found something worth revisiting through the drone and ambient layers of their early release. Returning with their third record since 2016 in Fire Worshipper, The Stargazer’s Assistant … Read more

Spanish Love Songs

No Joy
Pure Noise (2023)

I saw Spanish Love Songs before I ever dove into their catalog. And it was immediately clear they’re the type of band where fans really connect, singing along to every word, not just the choruses. In truth, the band doesn’t really use choruses much, but that’s not really the point here. Their sound is rooted in melodic and emotional midtempo … Read more

Public Speaking

An Apple Lodged In My Back
Whited Sepulchre (2023)

It is always difficult to balance between creativity and immediacy. For Jason Anthony Harris, and his project Public Speaking, this is a much-welcomed challenge. Indeed, Harris’ new work An Apple Lodged In My Back does not shy away from its pop sensibilities. As “Swollen Feet” comes in, the soulful and intimate approach usually produced by mainstream artists comes through. It … Read more

Bankrupt

Illiberal Holiday
Independent (2023)

There can be many reasons to pick an album to review. Sometimes it is the description, sometimes it is a connection with another band and sometimes it is the artwork. Upon seeing this for the first time I thought: “This better be good, ‘cause artwork like this deserves something good!”. This thought got stronger and stronger after I discovered every … Read more

Les Lullies

Mauvaise Foi
Slovenly (2023)

I’m not going to pretend I know any French, but I can tell you that the rhythm of the language is perfect for Les Lullies. Mauvaise Foi (“Bad Faith,” according to google), begins with the title track, a barn burning guitar rocker with big licks and a repetitive chorus in 4/4 time. It’s immediately familiar in that garage rock way, … Read more

Be Your Own Pet

Mommy
Third Man (2023)

Retrospective genre creation by both grizzled music critics and TikTokers has had many victims, from the constituents of Twee to Yatch Rock; however, the rebranding of 2005 garage rock and punk to indie sleaze has to be one of the more egregious. Half aesthetic movement and half musical umbrella for any 2000s band with smudged eyeliner (that hadn’t already been … Read more

Redshift

Worst Timeline Possible
Boss Tuneage Records (2022)

Wax the boards, Everybody Lets Go Surfing, Surfing US-DECAY. On the crest of a sea of plastics, discarded textiles. Built to replace and ready to feed the ever-reaching loving chubby sweaty dirty fingernailed hands of many a landfill. Discard, Destroy and Forget and repurchase. Articles of Waste Forget Faith! Bondi spits shards of coloured sea glass upon canvas recreating, rebirthing, … Read more

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