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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)

Agalloch

The Serpent & The Sphere
Profound Lore (2014)

Portland, Oregon (and beyond) and Agalloch have long been held in high regard as being at the forefront of the much-loved Cascadian black metal movement. With bands like Wolves In The Throne Room, Skagos and the oft-cited as hugely influential, Weakling as peers and a curiously under-appreciated record in 2010s Marrow of the Spirit, Agalloch have much to prove with their first full length in four years. The Serpent & The Sphere is a record that pays homage to the Agalloch of the past with recognisable guitar motifs appearing frequently throughout the album yet the band never feel as though they are living in the past, rather they are breaking free of their older selves and moving forward into a new era. The use of similar lines is used perhaps only for reference, to allow Agalloch to begin the process of looking ahead while giving their audience something tangible to hold onto. It’s certainly effective as the Agalloch of today is distinctly more vital than they have been in the past. Gone are the sections of clean vocals, which here seem buried deeply within the mix and used as backing laments, in order to be replaced by vocalist John Haughm’s … Read more

Coffinworm

IV.I.VIII
Profound Lore (2014)

Coffinworm has been terrorizing the world since the release of their debut demo, Greater Bringer of Night. From that point … Read more

Merzbow, Scott Miller & Lee Camfield

No Closure
Cold Spring (2013)

Merzbow is noise music. While this may seem like an overstatement, Masami Akita is the forebear of the genre itself … Read more

Barren Harvest

Subtle Cruelties
Handmade Birds (2014)

It is quite difficult to define what Barren Harvest is offering in Subtle Cruelties. The duet of Jessica Way of … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Tweak Bird

Any Ol' Way
Lets Pretend (2014)

Tweak Bird is the Los Angeles sludge-pop duo of Caleb Benjamin and Ashton Leech. Their stoner/garage rock crossover sound has … Read more

200 Words Or Less

WAR//PLAGUE

Primal
Profane Existence (2013)

WAR//PLAGUE always come a little different each time out. Primal is their fifth release (and the seventh single in the … Read more

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One from the archives

These Arms Are Snakes

Tail Swallower & Dove
Suicide Squeeze (2008)

Once again I come into a new full-length from These Arms are Snakes filled with expectations. And while I am filled with hope for repeated greatness, I am also open-minded to any twists and turns that the band may throw at me over the course of these ten songs. Tail Swallower & Dove is only two years removed from Easter, so its naturally going to be cut from a similar sound. But within the sound These Arms are Snakes have continued to diversify their songwriting. These Arms are Snakes start off with "Woolen Heirs," another fine opening track. Guitarist Ryan Frederiksen is at it again with his trademark guitars. Meanwhile bassist Brian Cook and drummer Chris Common provide a solid groove that throughout the song moves things along at a … Read more

More album reviews

Tweens

Tweens
French Kiss (2014)

I heard about Tweens as a Vacation side project. Well, they’ve dwarfed that band’s popularity already, so it’s the last I’ll use that term. The Cincinnati three-piece released their self-titled debut earlier in April on French Kiss Records, and they’ve been hitting the supporting tour scene hard, including dates on the Breeders’ recent Last Splash tour.So how does a band … Read more

The Bellicose Minds

The Spine
Black Water (2013)

Whole genres are made off the backs of originators. Sometimes these genres become forgotten for awhile or just bogged down with repetition and simplicity. Every once in awhile a band sheds mere aping to become something interesting, yet familiar. Something clearly within genre stereotypes but with their own sense of interpretation. The Bellicose Minds are one of those on the … Read more

Architecture in Helsinki

NOW + 4EVA
Casual Workout (2014)

I haven't been following Architecture in Helsinki too much since the underwhelming, Places Like This. In 2011 they released, Moment Bends, which almost completely flew under my radar. I once again almost missed another album cycle with their new record, Now + 4EVA. Following their sophomore output, In Case We Die, the group began to lean more towards synth-pop and … Read more

Banner Pilot

Souvenir
Fat Wreck Chords (2014)

Often when a critic writes of a band not changing its sound it’s meant in the negative light: art should be about exploring new boundaries and punching the listener in the face with something new. But sometimes it’s not.Banner Pilot have been kicking out raspy pop-punk jams for the better part of a decade now—since 2005—and in that time they’ve … Read more

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Days of Abandon
Yebo Music (2014)

Five years removed from a self-titled debut released on the legendary Slumberland Records label that to many, signaled the return of sugary indie pop and shoegaze, New York City-based group The Pains of Being Pure at Heart return with 2014’s Days of Abandon, an album that demonstrates that lead singer and guitarist Kip Berman has all but perfected his songwriting … Read more

Roaming Herds of Buffalo

Alien Canyons
Independent (2013)

Self-released in November of 2013, Roaming Herds of Buffalo’s Alien Canyons is the band’s second release to date. The Seattle-based group has described this outing as a “collaborative project” in their web-based press kit, although I’m not sure what to conclude from this vague statement. Maybe everyone played everything and everyone got songwriting credits? Maybe the band considers these types … Read more

Various Artists

Crybaby/Casual - Split EP
Secret Audio Club (2014)

I hate to simplify the role of the split 7”—they’re about way more than this, in truth—but one of the greatest purposes the split 7” plays is in introducing yourself to new bands. Most of the time, the pairings are based on similar sounds or friendships and it’s a good way to branch out and find new groups. This split … Read more

Chad VanGaalen

Shrink Dust
Sub Pop (2014)

It’s 11 o’clock on a Saturday night. You’re lying in your bed, craving some late night music. You want something dreamy, but not Panda Bear dreamy; something minimal, but not Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy minimal; something that comfortably sits in the middle of it all. Try out Chad VanGaalen.The Calgary singer/songwriter has been making awesome psych folk since 2001. After a … Read more

Meg Myers

Make A Shadow
Atlantic (2014)

Though many have tried to position singer/songwriter Meg Myers as the latest in the line of angsty female singers that includes the likes of Fiona Apple, the alarming level of bitterness and near hostility found in the lyrics of theMake a Shadow EP, the second release from the ferocious former Jehovah’s Witness, almost puts her in a different league entirely. … Read more

The Trouble With Templeton

Rookie
Bella Union (2014)

All good stories need an emphatic storyteller to bring the characters to life. Beyond one dimensional storyboards where all film ideas begin and draft-upon-draft of song lyrics harbouring a vision, the most important part of any creative endeavour is when these ideas are brought out of their enshrouded beginnings, and the storyteller tells us why these characters should matter to … Read more

Bl'ast!

Blood!
Southern Lord (2013)

Southern Californias' Bl'ast are certainly not new by any stretch but possibly forgotten by most to the annals of time. Hardcore is a scene that attempts to treasure the past while forgetting certain standard bearers and originators as suits the times. Southern Lord has managed to unearth a forgotten chapter of hardcore history with this record of forgotten and remastered … Read more

La Dispute

Rooms Of The House
Better Living (2014)

La Dispute’s 2011 post-hardcore masterpiece Wildlife was not only the highlight release of that year, but one of the finest records that I myself have humbly observed. Personal accolades aside, this opinion is one shared by many others, and not without due reason. Wildlife represented at the time of it's release not only an extended display of unbridled emotionality, but … Read more

The Bare Minimum

Hit After Hit
Independent (2014)

Oh, to be a fly on the wall during one of Toronto-based The Bare Miniumum's practices. It's generally an added bonus to discover that a band has a sense of humor about themselves, but with these guys it's seemingly the only thing they're concerned with. In interviews, the band presents themselves as lots of things. At times, they're an unconcerned … Read more

Rudimentary Peni

Cacophony (Re-issue)
Outer Himilayan (2013)

In the darkest recesses of some of our minds lies an unspeakable and unknowable terror, and some artists have brushed against that darkness throughout time (some recent examples might be H.P. Lovecraft, Francis Bacon, and a select few others) and Cacophony is a perfect illustration for the madness induced by such brushes with our inner demons; although nowhere near as … Read more

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

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