Schammasch
Contradiction
Prosthetic (2014)
Existence is a series of challenges – ones that force you to adapt, to change and to create sides of yourself that you show to the world, ones that are more appealing and accepted, ones that help you feel more at ease and able to cope with the journey we call life. Those ideas are at the heart of Contradiction, … Read more
Sciatic Nerve
Sciatic Nerve
Anxious And Angry/ Gunner Records (2017)
Sciatic Nerve is a band that doesn’t care what you think. They don’t have “band sound,” or so the press release claims. To get all meta on them, their stated brand-less concept is a concept itself. But I digress. The important thing is that it’s a group of long-time friends who came together to have fun and play music. That’s … Read more
Scissorfight
Victory Over Horseshit
Tortuga Recordings (2006)
I'm going to jump right to the point; if you don't like rock-n-roll music, you're not going to like Scissorfight. This New Hampshire outfit plays gritty rock music - this is music for the blue collar working man. So if that is you, grab a case of your favorite beer, crack one open, and turn up the volume. Victory Over … Read more
Scorpions
MTV Unplugged in Athens
Sony (2014)
In the interest of full disclosure, this reviewer would like to go on record as saying that he loves The Scorpions. They are exceptional musicians and have a catalog of hard rock classics that go far beyond the power-ballads they became synonymous for in the 80's and 90's. There's been the odd misstep over the years (see Eye II Eye) … Read more
Scott Walker
The Drift
4AD (2006)
Scott Walker - to those who know and love his music - is one of those towering figures of American culture that is as much the stuff of legend as an actual person, like Roky Erickson or Thomas Pynchon. Walker spent the late '60s recording four astonishing LPs of lush, overwrought continental melodrama, entitled Scott through Scott 4. These are … Read more
Scraps And Heart Attacks
Still Sick
Triple Crown (2004)
These guys were incredibly hyped a little over a year ago when they had their demo out. However, then they were known as The Heist and their 7" was about to come out on Dead By 23 Records. Then they had to change their name, their record was delayed, and everything seemed to sort of die down for them. When … Read more
Scream Hello
Smart & Stupid
Red Leader (2008)
Super melodic emo-pop with wimpy vocals. Your girlfriend is going to like this band more than you will. It's cute and catchy but a bit too sugary sweet for me. I like the fact that it reminds more of The Get Up Kids and The Promise Ring than any of that garbage clogging up the stages of Warped Tour with … Read more
Scream Poet, Scream
Illegitimate Descendent of a Pope
Independent (2006)
Out of Chicago, Illinois, Scream Poet, Scream play energetic punk. Some songs, like "Trainwwreck," are harsh and dissonant while others - see "I Have Decided to Starve" - have pop sensibilities. They remind me of an opening band... not a specific band, just one of those groups you find yourself paying some attention to as you wait for the other … Read more
Screaming Females
Desire Pathway
Don Giovanni (2023)
The lead song and first single on Desire Pathway” is “Brass Bell,” a fine song that’s indicative of Screaming Females’ general sound. That said, it’s really the second song, “Desert Train,” which gets this album rolling for me. It’s a fierce guitar song that’s hard and driving. Just like its name, it’s steeped in classic rock but with modern twists. … Read more
Screaming Females
Power Move
Don Giovanni (2009)
All right, might as well just get this done and over with. There's been a lot of hype surrounding this three-piece Jersey group and I for one never thought it warranted. Then again, I'm not a hipster and never cared about the hype that came with any band. Hype is for people that need to think what they are about … Read more
Screeching Weasel
The Awful Disclosure of Screeching Weasel
Monona Music, Rum Bar Records, Striped Records (2022)
Before starting, I would like take a quote from the band's spotify profile” "Went to a Ramones show. Started a band. Pissed a lot people off". The quote tells a lot about the band's history and controversies. Begin with having a beef with many label owners, Fat Wreck one of them, up to the constant changing of its regular and … Read more
Scrunchies
Colossal
Learning Curve Records (2024)
I’ve covered a lot of bands in the Scrunchies family tree in the past, so Colossal is pretty much what I expected. Yet, at the same time, it’s a slight turnaround in style for the band, who released Feral Coast in 2022, which was a punkier sound. Their third LP, on new label Learning Curve, Colossal takes a hard ‘90s … Read more
Scrunchies
Feral Coast
Dirtnap (2022)
I'm new to writing actual reviews of records. Don't get me wrong, I have opinions and I share them openly with everyone, even if they don't want to listen. Until this record, I really couldn't find much out there worth reviewing. The name of the band caught me. The fact that they have a record coming out on Dirtnap Records … Read more
Scum
Gospels for the Sick
Tuba (2005)
The moment Shannon Larkin walked out of Amen and into Godhead, or Godsmack, or whatever the fuck awful band with 'God' in their name it was that he walked into, Casey Chaos was turned into that much maligned Dani Filth-esque character. You know the type, right? The ones that float around the music press on a weekly basis, but whom … Read more
Scythia
...Of Exile
Independent (2011)
I admit, I sometimes forget folk metal actually exists. Sure, I toss around the term frequently when discussing Opeth, but rarely do I ever bring forth what the term actually means. I often forget the music of great bands such as Wuthering Heights or Skyclad. That's one reason listening to Canadian group Scythia's latest album ...Of Exile was so fascinating … Read more
Sd Laika
THAT'S HARAKIRI
Tri Angle Records (2014)
First showing up in 2012 and making waves in the underground music scene ever since, Sd Laika makes a brand of electronic music that seems to suggest what Richard D. James (i.e. Aphex Twin) might have been making had he turned up in the 2000s and 2010s as opposed to the 1990s. Hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin which seems about as … Read more
Seabuckthorn
In Nightfall
Bookmaker (2011)
Seabuckthorn is the one-man solo acoustic project of UK guitarist Andy Cartwright. He's listed as similar to artists like Grails, John Fahey and James Blackshaw, but I hear him almost as an instrumental version of Splinterskin. Even though his debut album In Nightfall is only slightly over twenty minutes long, there is an unexpected amount of maturity to the material.Cartwright … Read more
Seabuckthorn
The Silence Woke Me
Bookmaker (2012)
I don't listen to folk music that often--not enough 7/8 if you ask me. But when I do make exceptions to that rule, it's usually for a very strong artist, and UK based artist Seabuckthorn (né Andy Cartwright), especially on his new release The Silence Woke Me, is one such musician.His style of music blends folk acoustic guitars with elements … Read more
