Ann Beretta
Rise
Bully Me Now (2022)
I've been sitting on this record since it came out, and I wasn't sure exactly where I was with it until now. I really wanted to love this record, but my musical taste is that of a 47 yr old guy who has listened to so much music and been in so many bands, that I was afraid the review … Read more
Annabel
Each and Everyone
Count Your Lucky Stars (2009)
It's been a while since my last review and I'm still shaking off the writing cobwebs. After multiple tests and papers discussing the typical critiques of Western academia over the past few weeks, that module of my brain is somewhat worn out. So I am approaching the end of the decade with a somewhat lazy, but never inattentive, mindset on … Read more
Annasay
Annasay
Independent (2006)
I know this sounds familiar and you've heard a thousand of projects along these lines by now. But bear with me. Following the breakup of melodic hardcore/rock band Linus, Brad Lebakken decided to start writing music on his own. The songs that developed from these writing sessions were acoustic guitar driven indie rock. Lebakken recorded and released these songs under … Read more
Anne
Dream Punx
A389 (2011)
In a genre of little distinction, Anne’s Dream Punx delves deeper into their own capabilities than most would’ve thought possible. The melodies used and the intertwining riffs create a wall of sound that evoke a sense of nostalgia for when Slowdive was around without having the feeling of a cheap knock off. The most captivating thing about this album is … Read more
Anneke van Giersbergen
Everything is Changing
PIAS (2012)
There's something odd about Anneke van Giersbergen. I keep hearing her name tossed around next to acts like Napalm Death, Moonspell and Within Temptaion, and I've heard her collaborations with other artists scores of times. And yet I've never heard what her solo music sounds like. Let me tell you, I wasn't expecting an alternarock album when I first played … Read more
Annie Jump Cannon
Flourishing Apart
No Sleep (2022)
Every 15-20 years there’s a revival. This time it’s emo and Annie Jump Cannon may be a modern 2022 band, but this could have come out in 2005 and fit into the scene of that day: both for its strengths and its weaknesses. Emo has always been a flawed genre for me. The melodrama plays well with crescendos and soaring, … Read more
Annihilation Time
II
Six Weeks (2005)
For the past few years these ragers have been taking their brand of Bl'ast-influenced punk all over the world. Their first LP was twelve inches of furious hardcore taking from 1980s California bands like Black Flag, Aggression, and Bl'ast. The Bad Reputation 7" took the band into a new direction, influenced more by the '70s rockers that those California bands … Read more
Annuals / Sunfold
Wet Zoo
Canvas Back (2008)
Annuals 2006 release Be He Me was an interesting album. It balanced on the tip of a melting iceberg between a respectable indie release and an unfortunate pop rock attempt. The Wet Zoo EP has solidified the unfortunate and brought to light Annuals' turn for the worse. Once, Annuals' sound was embodied with multiple layers and experimentation with song space. … Read more
Another Breath
Mill City
Rivalry (2006)
Fulton, New York's Another Breath have returned with their debut full-length, Mill City. This is their follow-up to their first offering, 2004's Not Now, Not Ever, which blasted through eight songs in just fifteen minutes. Mill City may contain nearly twice as many songs, but the album clocks in at just over thirty-five minutes. So what we have here is … Read more
Another Breath
The God Complex
Panic (2009)
It's been quite some time since Another Breath released Mill City. Granted it has only been a few years, but in hardcore that means an eternity; a lot has transpired in the world of hardcore since 2006. Countless bands have come and gone. Some have come back too! Essentially, the entire landscape of hardcore has transformed. In spite of all … Read more
Another Kind of Death
Sleepless Every Night
Underhill (2007)
Anyone that knows anything about gun safety knows that no one ever stuffs a loaded gun down the front of their pants. That's just a good way to blow your wiener off. Sure you may see movie or any random gangster rap video where some dillrod shoves a .357 down their drawers. What they don't show you is that in … Read more
Anthony Raneri
New Cathedrals EP
Gumshoe (2012)
While he’s best known as the front man for Long Island pop-punk juggernauts Bayside, Anthony Raneri has been making a name for himself as a solo artist for some time. Participating in the inaugural Where’s The Band tour a few years back, Raneri charmed crowds with acoustic renditions of Bayside songs and select covers of Death Cab For Cutie, Bad … Read more
Anthrax
Worship Music
Megaforce (2011)
The story of how Worship Music came to be is longish and a bit complicated—dating back to 2009 in what was essentially a three-way dance for the vocalist spot. Some of the original material was adjusted accordingly or, in most cases, scrapped all together and rewritten, resulting in what is ultimately the best case scenario for long-time Anthrax fans: the … Read more
Anti-Flag
American Spring
Spinefarm Records (2015)
Barack Obama recently apologised to the families of two Western hostages killed during US drone strikes in January in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The use of drones is nothing new, they've been used since George W Bush was commander in chief, and it seems the narrative of American politics never greatly changes. The only thing that does change is the level … Read more
Anti-Flag
The People or The Gun
Side One Dummy (2009)
It takes a lot for me to completely lose faith in some of my favorite bands, and I came pretty close to completely giving up on Anti-Flag after the disaster that was The Bright Lights of America. My faith was then restored a bit after hearing that they left RCA Records and joined the ever growing roster at Side One … Read more
Antibalas
Security
Anti (2007)
The Anti label is willing to produce the type of DIY artists who are obviously more concerned with what their music is doing for them as opposed to what it may do for whoever is listening. It's this type of balls out approach that brings us Brooklyn's Antibalas: a reggae-infused, ska-inspired, band playing funk-derived afrobeats. If that description seems longwinded, … Read more
Antinode
The Canary That Named The Stars
Independent (2021)
I’m always up and ready for some good prog, especially when we’re looking at a concept piece. I’m tempted to say something along the lines of ‘they don’t make’em like they used to’, but we’re talking about music, not audiophile grade consumer electronics so that doesn’t ring true. It’s just that these days you have to dig further and deeper … Read more
Antioch Arrow
Gems of Masochism
Three One G (2003)
Weird, artsy, dark hardcore was nothing new to San Diego in 1994 when Antioch Arrow released their seminal masterwork, Gems of Masochism. The presses had been putting out consistently darker and stranger albums each passing year, mostly thanks to upstarts Gravity Records. Gravity had bands that were few and far between, but things were on the upswing, as Angel Hair's … Read more
