What Goes Up
Laws of Gravity
Brassneck Records, Rad Girlfriend Records, Waterslide Records (2023)
Based on the name, pop-punk sounds like a limited genre. There are a million bands that sound like the Ramones. There are also a million copycats of that stuff that hit big in the early Aughts. But we aren’t going there… What Goes Up proves that you can make emotional, driving, yet poppy punk rock tunes that vary in sound … Read more
What-A-Nights
Self Titled
Drunken Sailor (2013)
What-A-Nights are a Japanese four-piece punk group, mostly falling on the pop-punk side of the spectrum, with some tight Buzzcocks sensibility seeping in. Their self-titled full-length, first self-released in Japan and now brought to the larger masses by Drunk Sailor Records, brings ten songs of soaring melody, hooky guitar, and positive vibes.The songs, while labeled as pop-punk, utilize the guitar … Read more
What's Fluffy
Happy B-Day Mike
Independent (2013)
On Happy B-Day Mike, the latest self-release from math rockin’ boys What’s Fluffy, the Bloomfield, NJ quartet fires out six sonic anecdotes of hypnotic guitar lines, swaying time signatures, sparkling saxophonic blows, and never-ending feelings.The EP, running at just over 18 minutes, opens up with “I Really Hate Cats”. The track isn’t something PETA should be worried about: it’s meant … Read more
Wheezing Maniac
Shade Through The Night Door
Puto Jefe (2023)
Breathe In Breathe Out. Wheezing is often heard as a whistling sound primarily while breathing out but can also be heard when taking deep breaths. It is frequently attributed to the small Bronchial Tubes situated deep within the lungs. However, a maniac can often be seen as a derogatory term used in place of a lunatic, mad person, loony, wing … Read more
When We Fall
A Cry in Despair
Panic (2007)
Most of the materials I get in for review usually goes on at least one bus ride with me. It's the perfect time for me to take a more in depth listen without being interrupted by work, phone calls, roommates, Josh IMing me about Fastbreak lyrics, or any other hinderances that deviate from the task of giving a CD a … Read more
Where the Land Meets the Sea
Listen for the Gulls
Independent (2009)
It surely takes balls to release your own record nowadays (not that it didn't back in the day), but some bands do believe in what they are doing enough to take such a plunge. Where the Land Meets the Sea offer Listen for the Gulls as proof that some bands, be it punk or not, still breath some life into … Read more
Whirr
Pipe Dreams
Tee Pee (2012)
Formerly known as Whirl this band has been within the emerging hype machine of the shoegaze / Dream pop underground. After a demo and EP that were both well regarded they managed to both change their name, get noticed more, and get signed by psych rock label Tee-Pee Records. Their past EP Distressor contained showed a band with the ability … Read more
Whiskey & Co.
Ripped Together, Torn Apart
No Idea Records (2017)
Whiskey & Co. are something of an outlier on the No Idea Records roster, but it’s still a cultural fit. Their boozy, swaying country may not be in the same vein as the gruff punk “Gainesville sound,” but it’s a fitting morning after with its laid back, introspective vibe. Ripped Together, Torn Apart is their latest, and it’s a solid … Read more
Whiskey & Co.
Rust Colors
No Idea (2010)
Whiskey & Co.’s sound hasn’t changed, even if a couple members have. On their third record, the Gainesville band continues their old-school flavored country that spends as much time regretting past decisions as it does swilling beer at the corner bar. Like its predecessors, Rust Colors mines familiar themes- exploring the emotional gamut and adding a bit of boogie-down twang … Read more
Whiskey & Co.
Whiskey & Co.
No Idea (2003)
Do you enjoy the taste of cheap beer? Do you pronounce the words creek as "crick" and hollow as "holler"? Have you ever gone "cow-tipping"? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I've got a record for you! The self-titled debut of Gainesville, Florida's Whiskey & Co. is 9 punk-tinged country songs about booze and pills, lost … Read more
White Lung
Deep Fantasy
Domino (2014)
Deep Fantasy is pissed off, but it could still use a good angry howl every so often.The record, the third from Vancouver’s White Lung, is their first on Domino Records and was recorded as a trio (though they still tour as a quartet). The band has seen its fair share of comparisons to Pretty Girls Make Graves and this release … Read more
White Lung
Sorry
Deranged (2012)
If you were a fan of White Lung's debut album, It's The Evil, for it's raw and straight forward approach, then you might be a little taken aback by the sophomore record, Sorry. They've re-evaluated their style of songwriting and have turned it into something more melodic and refined. It was all for the better though. Make no mistake, the … Read more
White Mice
Ganjahovedose
20 Buck Spin (2009)
To start I took a whole bunch of notes on White Mice's Ganjahovedose and realized afterward that I missed something kind of big about this band, no guitars. White Mice operates as a three-piece and that may be the only truly normal thing about them. They use drums, bass and most oddly an oscillator to make some of the strangest … Read more
White Reaper
The World's Best American Band
Polyvinyl (2017)
You’d think that a band that titled their album The World’s Best American Band may be getting ahead of themselves. But not every band is White Reaper. They might have just done it.The second album from the Louisville, Kentucky natives somehow takes elements of ear-pleasing 70’s hard rock a-la Van Halen and a very coked-up Aerosmith, but imbues a punk … Read more
White Reaper
White Reaper EP
Polyvinyl (2014)
White Reaper is a cool-named trio who are rubber-burning their way out of the Louisville, KY DIY scene. There’s a dude named Tony Esposito who sings and plays the guitar, and twin brothers Nick and Sam Wilkerson who play drums and bass respectively. Their self-titled debut EP will appeal to fans of Wavves, Japandroids, and Jay Reatard. Hate to drop … Read more
White Suns
Psychic Drift
Flenser (2017)
White Suns, the New York based noise trio, has been slowly descending on the path of deconstruction. Founded in 2006, the band has released a series of albums, presenting an experimental rock perspective and subsequently deconstructing it to its most basic core. The highlight of this process was Totem, a record where at times it felt like the experimental aspect … Read more
White Ward
Futility Report
Debemur Morti Productions (2017)
Hailing from Odessa, Ukraine, White Ward exist within the post-black metal scene, stirring experimental means to enhance the core of the genre, and push it forwards. Initially founded in 2012, the band has released a series of EPs and demos, taking five long years for their first complete work, Futility Report, to come into light. Being released through White Ward's … Read more
White Willow
Future Hopes
Lasers Edge Records (2017)
They call it prog-rock, art-rock, jazz-rock, they call it tedious and pretentious, they call it heady, too-much, reserved as the best time to get a drink at the bar or shop the merch table….White Willow’s record Future Hopes assists in refuting that argument.I like when a musician takes an idea to its very end, and when it’s done right, time … Read more
