Some Girls
Heaven's Pregnant Teens
Epitaph (2006)
Some Girls is an enigmatic conglomerate of musicians that produce incredibly grating and challenging pieces of music. Considering the pedigree of this band, expectations for its output have consistently run high. Seriously, what would a listener expect from a band comprised of members of Unbroken, Swing Kids, The Locust, American Nightmare (Give Up the Ghost), and more? Most would probably … Read more
Some Girls
The Blues
Deathwish Inc. (2003)
This one didn't immediately catch me like The Rains did. After maybe a half dozen listens, I think I'm starting to get it. I guess my main complaint is that some of the songs sound too similar to each other, but that starts to fade on closer examination. Oh well, first impressions are key often times. I'm also bummed that … Read more
Some Girls
The DNA Will Have Its Say
Three One G (2005)
By now you know who's in Some Girls. The cred they've garnered through their previous bands at this point doesn't mean shit if the songs suck. Luckily for Some Girls, they don't suck. With each release they have gotten progressively weirder. The Rains was a grungy thrash EP. The Blues was similar to The Rains but offered a glimpse in … Read more
Something Fierce
Don't Be So Cruel
Dirtnap (2011)
Chalk up another one for the misleading band name file—Something Fierce makes me think violent and brutal, which definitely isn’t what this Houston group is after. The walking bassline and jangly guitars of the opening track on Don’t Be So Cruel establish a mood of calculated cool that relies on bounce and rhythm instead of aggression. To borrow from the … Read more
Sonance
Like Ghosts
Independent (2012)
Like Ghosts is the debut from Bristol based Sonance, a band so disgustingly heavy that they are currently drowning the car alarm that's been going off in my street for the past half hour. Writhing with sickness and masses of doomed out symphony, Sonance curl around the psyche with a terrifying grip and their tightly woven structures spin out into … Read more
Sonata Arctica
Acoustic Adventures: Volume One
Atomic Fire Records (2022)
Finnish melodic metal quintet Sonata Arctica started out in the mid 90s as hard rock band Tricky Beans releasing 3 demos under that guise before changing their name to Tricky Means a year later and going down a more power metal route than before taking influence from bands such as Stratovarius. Their first demo as Tricky Means, Full Moon, was … Read more
Sonic Youth
Daydream Nation (Reissue)
Geffen (2007)
When I first heard Sonic Youth, I didn't know about their formidable New York hipster cachet: Glenn Branca confederates, initially hated by Village Voice snob Bob Christgau, ex-No New York alumni (at least before Steve Shelley got behind the skins), etc. I had no idea that this was the band that bridged hardcore and the downtown gallery scene - how … Read more
Sonic Youth
Sonic Nurse
Geffen (2004)
Since June, I've been laboring over how to start off a review of Sonic Nurse. Now, it's December, and all I've come up with is a cliche about how I don't know what to say. Really, the only thing I can think to say is that Sonic Nurse is great. It's not flawless, but it is great. Style goes a … Read more
Sons and Daughters
The Repulsion Box
Domino (2005)
So... that whole selling out thing. Can someone tell me what it actually means? Growing up listening to punk music, I always found that it was almost synonymous with signing to a major label, or about how many records the band sells. Generally, selling out was a popularity thing, and it got thrown at any band that had the audacity … Read more
Sons of Azrael
The Conjuration of Vengeance
Metal Blade (2007)
"Trail of Flesh," "Sweet Blasphemy," and "Scent of a Dead Whore". Sure, we all know these titles as classic children's books, but did you know that they've been adapted into songs by a group called Sons of Azrael? Yes, that's right - all your favorite bedtime stories set to music on one convenient disc as sung by the cookie monster. … Read more
Sophie Lillienne
The Fragile Idea
IRMA Records (2015)
Artistically satisfying and incredibly eclectic, 2015’s The Fragile Idea from Italian electronic artist Sophie Lillienne seems designed to lull a listener into a somnambulistic state. Typically lumped into the trip hop genre, Sophie Lillienne’s music is full of unconventional, quietly haunting melodies, scratchy rhythms, and dramatic vocal performances. I would almost say that the dark and gloomy Fragile Idea is … Read more
Soror Dolorosa
No More Heroes
Northern Silence/Beneath Grey Skies (2013)
They say that imitation is the best form of flattery, and France’s Soror Dolorosa, in choosing to name their sophomore record after a Stranglers album (due to a badge depicting the album appearing on a jacket used for the cover art) manage to wear their hearts on their leather sleeves and show exactly what they’re about in one fell swoop. … Read more
Sorority Noise
You’re Not As _____ As You Think
Triple Crown (2017)
What is emo? A classicist view may lend itself to sounds like The Promise Ring’s Nothing Feels Good or Weezer’s Pinkerton, which gave way to second-generation icons like Brand New. While The Promise Ring and especially Weezer never really quite built on the successes of their early records, Brand New began as a yawpy pop-punk band that suddenly transformed into … Read more
Soul Control
Cycles
Bridge Nine (2009)
Cycles marks a couple of firsts for Soul Control. After a slew of releases (an EP, a split 7", a comprehensive CD release also featuring several new songs, and a 7" singles series) the Rhode Island hardcore outfit ventures into the land of a proper full-length album. But that's not the only first for the group as they also have … Read more
Soul Control
Involution
Rivalry (2007)
Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the union, so you would think that with them already delivering Verse, they'd be all out of good hardcore bands. Well, they are not, because Soul Control is equally as, if not more, impressive. The four-piece band delivers a modern take on 90's post-hardcore popularized by the likes of Quicksand and Burn. … Read more
Soul She Said
As Templar Nites
Dim Mak (2006)
Putting their best foot forward from the off, Soul She Said's debut record opens with what is easily its strongest track, "Sunken City." Strongly influenced by My Bloody Valentine, early Primal Scream and probably a whole host of hallucinogens, it's the prefect balance to the Icarus Line's dark back alley, class A take on The Stooges. Soul She Said is … Read more
Soup
Visions
Crispin Glover Records, Glassville Music (2021)
My first contact with Soup was somewhere in late 2020 towards early 2021, so it hasn’t been long since I’ve been following the band. I was really taken with Remedies, falling in love with the epic post rock passages and the sweet and easy-going delivery of the rest of the elements. Not long ago we got a follow up to … Read more
Sourvein
Ghetto Angel
This Dark Reign (2008)
It must be difficult for bands in the sludge metal game stand out from one another. Everyone's got the same huge amps. Everyone's got the same monster guitar tone. Everyone's on the same drugs, the burnouts from which have left everyone too fatigued to play anything faster than mid-tempo. Everyone has that oddly-conceived but still widely popular shrieking that makes … Read more
