Darkest Hour
Undoing Ruin
Victory (2005)
Metal is getting to be popular again. Its popularity has fluctuated at times, dipping in and out of the pop culture eye, but usually staying under the radar. With the resurgence of thrash/melodic death metal/"hardcore" hybrids popping up everywhere, there is a sense of excitement (or dread) about new metal releases. So many bands seem to be trying to "one-up" … Read more
Darkthrone
Arctic Thunder
Peaceville (2016)
Darkthrone may have been around for nigh on thirty years, but it hasn’t stopped the Norwegian duo from consistently releasing music and constantly changing up their sound to keep them from living too much in the past. Beginning on a more death metal style, before moving on to black metal (and helping to create the whole second wave of black … Read more
Darkthrone
F.O.A.D.
Peaceville (2007)
Those who know, love, and used to love this genuinely cult Norwegian band will probably know what to expect from their latest disc. Darkthrone have decided to take further musical steps away from the genre they will always be considered legends of and deliberately make all the puritan black metal fans furious. I'm not going to say that they decided … Read more
Darkthrone
The Underground Resistance
Peaceville (2013)
There's not a whole hell of a lot to be said about Darkthrone that is not already legend. Having survived the Norwegian Black Metal Scene relatively unscathed - both the chaos of the early 90's and all the cliches of the subsequent years, they are, with the exception of maybe Mayhem, the last band standing in the ashes of the … Read more
Darling New Neighbors
Every Day is Saturday Night
Independent (2006)
Hailing from Austin, Texas, Darling New Neighbors play indie rock with tinges of country that strays into universal pop and traces of folk. Darlings of the southern underground, Every Day is Saturday Night is their debut full-length. Filled with indie rockers, folk-ballads, and eclectic pop tones, it is tied together through stylistic shifts and lyrics of love gone wrong, which … Read more
Dartz!
This is My Ship
Deep Elm (2007)
From what I can tell, Dartz! is the U.K.'s shot at Q and Not U. However, their British accents, along with more of a Bloc Party feel, lessen the gap of similarity between the two groups. Some of the guitar work on This Is My Ship, the Teesside trio's debut, also reminds me of a lazy Minus the Bear, using … Read more
Das Oath
Das Oath
Three One G (2007)
Das Oath - or The Oath as they are often referred - put out records with shemale pornography in the liner notes, prompting record stores to stock their albums behind the counter like brown paper bag contraband. They've sold dildos with their name on them. They've released four self-titled records in the last seven years. The Oath consists of former … Read more
Dashboard Confessional
Dusk and Summer
Vagrant (2006)
Being in high school when The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most came out, I played the role of the lovesick teenager who, although my heart was always in right place, constantly seemed to be alone. I, however, was just one of thousands of other kids playing the role which - most likely - would have been (so) … Read more
Daturah
Reverie
Graveface (2008)
Hailing from Germany, the "post-rock" sounding Daturah offer Reverie, as their first full-length (following a self-titled EP which they self-released in 2005 and Graveface released in 2006) since their inception in 2003. This album, at five tracks long still clocks in with just about an hour's worth of music. The band focus more heavily on the ambient aspects of their … Read more
Daughters
Canada Songs
Robotic Empire (2003)
My first real exposure to Daughters would be an argument amongst SPB staff members in a thread on our dainty message board, in which their hype and their similarities to the Locust were put on the table. Not being a big fan of the Locust myself, this didn't give me too high of hopes for the Locust, in terms of … Read more
Daughters
Canada Songs
Robotic Empire (2003)
Chances are you're not going to like this record. Chances are you've never heard of grindcore and if you did hear it you would say something to the effect of "this is noise." Ignoring probability let's suppose that you, the reader, likes music that is loud. Perhaps you even like music that is filled with blast beats and screaming. And … Read more
Daughters
Hell Songs
Hydra Head (2006)
Man, The Jesus Lizard really left their mark. And as funny as it seems for such a quaint little band from Chicago, to this very day they're still firmly imprinted and can be spotted ever so clearly within modern music all across the board. Maybe its just that David Yow & Co.'s expansive sound was such a mishmash of punk, … Read more
Dave Hause
C'Mon Kid EP
Sabot Productions (2012)
We’re close to the end of Dave Hause’s 7-inch series. The fourth in the series comes from Sabot Productions. Hause decided to tackle his friends in None More Black and a more predictable Lucero track. Let's see how it went.First of the originals. “C’mon Kid” was turned into a piano ballad. It’s a beautiful one at that, but it’s probably … Read more
Dave Hause
Heavy Heart
Jade Tree (2012)
Of all of Dave Hause’s 7-inch’s for this series, this was the one I was most excited about. Jade Tree is one of my favorite labels with an amazing catalog., including The Loved Ones’, “Keep Your Heart.” There’s no surprise Hause went with this one. I was stoked to see he’d be covering The Promise Ring and Jets to Brazil … Read more
Dave Hause
Paddy EP
Independent (2020)
There’s a lot to unpack in this new Dave Hause EP, released in conjunction with the Patty EP. While there’s a lot in these five songs, it’s also somewhat on the surface: Hause has released two new covers EP paying tribute to songwriters he admires. Paddy contains five songs written by Patrick Costello aka Paddy of Dillinger Four. To paraphrase, … Read more
Dave Hause
Patty EP
Independent (2020)
I reviewed Hause’s Paddy EP before this. The two came out the same day and, as name implies, somewhat work together. The concept for each is similar: highlighting the work of some of his favorite songwriters, albeit from different directions.I’m also coming at the Patty EP from a new perspective. With Paddy I was well versed in Dillinger Four. This … Read more
Dave Hause
Pray For Tuscon
Bridge Nine (2012)
The second installment of Dave Hause's 7-inch series comes from Bridge Nine. Lots of interesting choices for Hause to choose songs to cover from. In the end, he settled on Strike Anywhere and The Trouble. We'll get to that in a bit. First, lets reflect on the renditions of his own, "Pray For Tucson" and "Years From Now." This new … Read more
Dave Hause
Resolutions
Paper + Plastick (2011)
Dave Hause is no secret to anyone that listens to punk rock. He is known for being one of the better storytellers in modern punk. After years in a variety of near classic punk bands Dave has decided to step into the folk singer realm. This certainly is less a copycat scenario as something he has been working on for … Read more
