Wholehearted
Reclaim
Volatile (2008)
What do we have here? You mean there are actually some youths from that godforsaken cheese covered land of Favre that actually don't want to play 2002-era metalcore or "Yo Motherfucker" bro hardcore? This is almost worth a trip to Wisconsin to check these kids out. Luckily, Wholehearted live close enough to the Mississippi that play here in Minnesota almost … Read more
Why?
Alopecia
Anticon (2008)
I'm still trying to fully wrap my head around this album. Why? hails from Oakland, California and puts an interesting hip-hop touch to their predominantly indie rock sound. Frontman Yoni Wolf is one of the founders of Anticon Records, and was also one-third of the late electronica/hip-hop group cLOUDDEAD, where he shared duties with rapper Doseone and DJ Odd Nosdam. … Read more
Wife
Standard Nature
Profound Lore (2016)
WIFE is the solo electronic project of James Kelly, who is probably best known as the mainman of (unfortunately disbanded) insane, post-black metal band Altar of Plagues. WIFE started out with the release of the Stoic EP, an excellent specimen of the experimental electronic path, which Kelly would follow on his debut full-length, What's Between, released through Tri Angle Records. … Read more
Wilco
A Ghost is Born
Nonesuch (2004)
Ok, for a pretty big review like this I'm just going to get right to it. With Wilco's fifth studio release, A Ghost is Born, the band is placed at something of a crossroads. They have just come off something of a masterpiece in Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and now must find a way to either carry the torch of that … Read more
Wilco
Sky Blue Sky
Nonesuch (2007)
Although Sky Blue Sky is their sixth full-length studio record, it wasn't long ago that I hadn't actually heard of Wilco, and thus their stellar reputation was something I hadn't quite expected. The album's superbly striking artwork told me to expect some frosty post-rock atmospherics, but I was pleasantly underwhelmed by the clear-headed (but not quite sunny) alt-rock that didn't … Read more
Wilco
Wilco (The Album)
Nonesuch (2009)
By now, everyone should know the story of Wilco: Chicago alt-country pioneers-turned-alt-rock gurus record the most ambitious record of their career, their record label turns it down, it sits in limbo while the public consumes leaked copies on the web, another record label owned by the same entertainment giant as their previous one snatches it up, and suddenly it's one … Read more
Wild Beasts
Present Tense
Domino (2014)
Wild Beasts are a curious entity and their singular approach to “indie” is one that has seem them take on more electronic feel as their career has progressed and with Present Tense those elements come to the fore while allowing the band to retain their unique sound and emotion. Present Tense is the British bands’ fourth full length and for … Read more
Wild Pink
Yolk in the Fur
Tiny Engines (2018)
Any band's second album is cause for concern. It can go two ways - a retread of the first, a brand new direction, or something entirely forgettable. Yolk in the Fur is none of those. In every way, it's the sound of a New York-based Wild Pink accumulating mass, becoming something bigger than they seemingly ever intended, reaching beyond what … Read more
William Elliott Whitmore
Field Songs
Anti (2011)
William Elliott Whitmore’s Anti debut, Animals in the Dark, was something of an outlier in his discography—the bigger label release introduced more instrumentation and a more global lyrical scope than much of his earlier work. While an excellent album, it isn’t fully indicative of Whitmore’s strengths, and with Field Songs, he returns to his son of the soil theme, built … Read more
William Elliott Whitmore
I'm With You
Bloodshot (2020)
When William Elliott Whitmore signed to Bloodshot, I thought it was a natural fit. I like Whitmore; I like the label. Win/win. But I also wondered how an artist I think of as more on the folk/bluegrass side fit with a label I think of as Americana/alt-country. Similar, for sure, but not quite there. These are silly semantics to worry … Read more
William Elliott Whitmore
Kilonova
Bloodshot (2018)
William Elliott Whitmore’s raspy folk pulls from diverse influences that are on full display over the span of 10 covers on Kilonova that don’t really sound like covers, putting his timeless and heartfelt stamp on songs originally recorded by Bad Religion, Magnetic Fields, Johnny Cash, and more. It’s an impressive feat, considering the nature of the cover song combined with … Read more
William Fowler Collins
Field Music
Sige (2018)
William Fowler Collins is a very interesting experimental music producer from New Mexico, who specializes in creating abstract and majestic dronalities. Through the years he has released some excellent solo records, including Perdition Hill Radio and the amazing Tenebroso, and he has also appeared in collaborations with Aaron Turner (in their shared project Thalassa), Raven Chacon (in Mesa Ritual), avantgarde … Read more
Wills Dissolve
Echoes
Hypnotic Dirge Records (2020)
I think it’s a good rule of thumb to assume if some band has their album art done by Adam “Nightjar” Burke, it’s going to be at least a good album. While that could be an exaggeration, I’ve yet to see a bad record with album art made by that man, so that’s a good track record, right? Anyway, Wills … Read more
Willy Mason
If the Ocean Gets Rough
Astralwerks (2007)
Listening to Willy Mason, it is hard to remember that the voice being projected through the speakers belongs to a youth barely twenty-two years old. His voice is a true hybrid, mixing influences of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and William Elliot Whitmore, producing a voice that is mature beyond its years. Accompanied by an array of instruments that help to … Read more
Windmills by the Ocean
Windmills by the Ocean
Robotic Empire (2006)
Windmills by the Ocean is a collection of songs that have been dusted off after they sat on the shelf for... well, for far too long. Five friends came together in August of 2003 and laid down five tracks of ethereal, drone, post-rock/metal goodness. While the members went on with their main projects, and new ones too, these songs sat … Read more
Wino
Punctuated Equilibrium
Southern Lord (2009)
What is more difficult to believe? That Wino is releasing his first solo album in his music career or that his music career is as long and solid as it has been? A pillar of consistency with stints in the Obsessed, St. Vitus, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand, and the coming soon Shrinebuilder (along with members of Neurosis, The Melvins, … Read more
Wintersun
Time I
Nuclear Blast (2012)
Wintersun make even Godot look punctual.The Finnish black/folk/power metal band was originally conceived as a solo project for Ensiferum guitarist/vocalist Jari Mäenpää, who released its eponymous debut in 2004. The album was incredibly well-received critically, so it was no surprise that a follow-up album, Time, was quickly announced and scheduled for release in November 2006.No, that is not a typo. … Read more
Winterus
In Carbon Mysticism
Lifeforce (2011)
The band Winterus formerly known as The Ancient are a Michigan band that seems to be wishing it was from the coldest regions of Norway. That is to say they traffic in a cleaned up version of what tends to be called blackened death metal. The band does not rely on keyboards to make their songs interesting which is a … Read more
