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Louden Up Now
Touch & Go (2004)
This whole intro paragraph is going to serve as a completely unneeded expository explanation on how dance music has all of a sudden become huge with indie kids. Yeah, so dance music. It's become pretty big hasn't it? I guess there are a few kinds: shit like The Rapture, where's these sleazy kids dancing around; terrible stuff like The Faint … Read more
All the Saints
Fire on Corridor X
Touch & Go (2009)
Fire on Corridor X, the debut full-length from this Atlanta, GA three-piece swirls up their influences in a Bass-O-Matic and shotguns the remains. I hear some Ride, some Swervedriver, even a little Jesus and Mary Chain. "Sheffield" starts this one off with a bang, and the band just let the tides flow. "Hornett" builds up the tension with some cool … Read more
CocoRosie
La Maison de Mon Reve
Touch & Go (2004)
I'm always in a mood. It's not always a bad mood, although it may be three-quarters of the time, but I'm always in a mood. I've found that certain CD's better suit certain moods. Like, if I feel like partying my ass off, I'll put in Echoes by The Rapture. The other day I was in a weird mood. I … Read more
CocoRosie
The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn
Touch & Go (2007)
A guitarist who died too soon, going by the name of Rust Epique, once said: "Bad art is still art." These words came back to me when listening to CocoRosie, and brought back the memories of when I was a young kid that listened to shitty music, like Crazy Town, which featured Rust Epique. Anyway, as I was listening to … Read more
Crystal Antlers
Crystal Antlers
Touch & Go (2008)
1. This is soundtrack music. I couldn't hear it at all until I took a drive through the hills, windows down at night, blaring this EP to stay awake until I got home. I put it on because all I could hear in it was THE KIND OF SHIT TO WHICH YOU CANNOT FALL SLEEP. Which I more or less … Read more
Mekons
Natural
Touch & Go (2007)
Some critics may think that their age gives them more credit and validates every opinion they have. I am on the lower end of the age spectrum when it comes to critics, but that doesn't mean I have no clue what I'm talking about when it comes to music. Hey, I'm not a worldly expert but I think I can … Read more
Pinback
Autumn of the Seraphs
Touch & Go (2007)
After three years of Rob Crow sowing his wild musical oats with namely Goblin Cock and his solo album, he has joined back with Armistead Burwell Smith IV to put out another album under the name Pinback. Autumn of the Seraphs is Pinback's second album for Touch & Go and you can tell right from the first note that the … Read more
Pinback
Summer In Abaddon
Touch & Go (2004)
Directly after the cover of Pinback's photographically dense lyrics booklet, there is a certain image that I consider of extreme relevance to the rest of this tight, ten-track album. It's a picture of a staircase set in arid yellow stone, one that leads downwards into an old underground bunker. This image, along with a similar and intrinsically linked photo at … Read more
Shellac
Excellent Italian Greyhound
Touch & Go (2007)
The first Shellac record that I bought was Terraform in college. I popped it onto my record player and shortly thereafter fell oddly in love with Shellac's minimalist crushing sound. Todd Trainer (drums) and Robert Weston (bass) provide a heavy tight rhythm while Steve Albini (guitar) lays over a tin can like tone, or lack there of some might say, … Read more
Supersystem
A Million Microphones
Touch & Go (2006)
A Million Microphones is undoubtedly one of the biggest surprises of the year. Supersystem, minus the drummer, was formerly known as El Guapo. Despite releasing records on Dischord, El Guapo never managed to make an impression on me. So when they changed their name to Supersystem and signed to Touch And Go, I remained vaguely indifferent. "Not the Concept", the … Read more
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
Living with the Living
Touch & Go (2007)
Like a well-deserved punch to the face, a breath of fresh air in a smog-ridden city, or indeed, a good musician amongst a plethora of bad ones, Ted Leo and his illustrious Pharmacists have returned with their Touch & Go debut, Living with the Living. At just over an hour long, the record beats Leo's previous offering, 2004's Shake the … Read more
The Black Heart Procession
The Spell
Touch & Go (2006)
The Black Heart Procession has been producing challenging, dark indie rock for almost ten years now. Formed by members of the band Three Mile Pilot - who will also be releasing a new album sometime this year or next after an extended absence since 1998 - The Black Heart Procession have consistently released some of the moodiest sounding albums on … Read more
The Fix
At the Speed of Twisted Thought
Touch & Go (2006)
Let me begin by saying I have a soft spot for early '80s hardcore. There was something special that happened in those few short years that not only changed the face of punk rock forever, but also changed the face of all aggressive music to come. Everybody knows Minor Threat, Black Flag, Bad Brains, et al., but there were a … Read more
TV on the Radio
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
Touch & Go (2004)
Young Liars was one of the most exceptional releases that I have heard in recent years. It caught me completely off guard. Based on the descriptions I was given prior, I anticipated to be extremely bored. Despite the warnings of others, I went forward and purchased the album blindly. I don't regret it for a moment. Now a year later, … Read more
