Editors
In Dream
PIAS (2015)
Long considered the perennial sons of British 1980s post punk, Editors have never quite been able to shake off the Depeche Mode and Joy Division comparisons that are a near constant every time their name is mentioned. Embodying a haphazard approach in their output, such as on the simmering synth gloom of In This Light and on This Evening and … Read more
Editors
Violence
PIAS (2018)
Editors first appeared as part of the British indie music scene in 2003, when there was a swell of guitar bands dominating the charts. They released their Mercury-nominated debut album The Back Room in 2005, which has endured over the years thanks to its anthemic songs and dark lyrics, and since then their albums have traversed genres and attracted an … Read more
Ef
Ceremonies
And The Sound Records (2013)
Ef are an unusual band, and not just for their inexplicable fear of breaking their precious consonant-to-vowel ratio. Their take on the inexorably-expanding post-rock scene is a highly unique one, especially at a time when more and more bands are starting to sound suspiciously homogenous. And as if any more proof of their immense creativity was called for, we have … Read more
Efrim Menuck
Plays "High Gospel"
Constellation (2011)
Thank goodness I have musical OCD. I likely would not have even known this album existed if not for my compulsion to check and re-check the post-rock section of my local record store with worrisome frequency. Needless to say, after finding out that Godspeed You! Black Emperor and A Silver Mt. Zion guitarist Efrim Manuel Menuck had put out a … Read more
Eight Bells
The Captain's Daughter
Seventh Rule (2013)
Sometimes, the best plan can be to have absolutely no plan. Occasionally, a band can inadvertently create something truly unique and enjoyable that defies all categorization. More often, a band will hastily throw something together that is such a mess that the only solution is to slap a fancy description on it in hopes to appeal to the kind of … Read more
Einstürzende Neubauten
Alles in Allem
Potomak 2020 (2020)
It’s a fairly long story as to the exact circumstance, but a couple of years ago on a rainy winter day in Tasmania I found myself as the only passenger in a shuttle bus when just when we were about to depart, the door opened and three constituents of the Einstürzende Neubauten entered the vehicle. While their World War I … Read more
Ekko Astral
pink balloons
Topshelf (2024)
Their music is for people “who are struggling, who are at their absolute lowest". That’s a quote from vocalist and guitar player Jael Holzman talking to The Washington Post. Am I struggling? Am I at my absolute lowest? No. Have I had a bit of a rough patch? Sure (it’s not that bad- don’t worry about it mom). Work sucks, … Read more
El Chupa Cobras
El Chupa Cobras
Acerbic Noise (2008)
El Chupa Cobras belong to the breed of bands that, aside from having amusing names also have extremely short attention spans and exponentially spastic approach to creating music. This kind of music is never easy to pull of on record. Live, the sheer energy of each member immersing him/herself in the music on stage could be enough to provide for … Read more
El Ten Eleven
Every Direction is North
Bar/None (2007)
Some would argue that post-rock has, in recent years, become overpopulated with carbon copies of Explosions in the Sky. Although I am not so sure about that myself, I can definitely see that there are some bands falling into a bit of a quiet-loud-quiet, delayed and reverbed guitar formula. Not that I am complaining, because I have to dig pretty … Read more
El-P
Cancer 4 Cure
Fat Possum (2012)
A man such as El-P is an anomaly to say the least. To fully describe his music in genre labels or easily identifiable terminology is almost an exercise in futility as both a music fan and writer. The life long New Yorker and figurehead within the underground hip hop scene manages to make a legitimate argument for hip hop as … Read more
El-P
I'll Sleep When You're Dead
Definitive Jux (2007)
Nas' latest release makes the claim that hip-hop is dead. If he paid attention to the underground, he'd know the genre is not only alive and well but with a pulse fresher than ever. Five years after the release of his first solo release, Fantastic Damage, El-P returns with I'll Sleep When You're Dead, an album proving why El's label … Read more
El-P & Killer Mike
Run The Jewels
Fools Gold (2013)
Run the Jewels could easily have been a victory parade after the momentous 2012 that Killer Mike and El-P had. Before declaring themselves an actual duo, the two artists were both lauded for albums that were released a week apart of one another. Killer Mike's R.a.p. Music, produced almost entirely by El-P, combined Producto's electronic palette with the slow draw … Read more
Electric Funeral
Total Funeral
Southern Lord (2014)
Total Funeral is the entire anthology-to-date of Electric Funeral, the one-man Swedish raw punk hobbyhorse manned by Jocke D-Takt. And holy crap is it ever unnecessary. We’re talking about 53 songs that, to the untrained ear, are nearly indistinguishable from one another. Southern Lord, as is their wont, reached into their deep-ish pockets to compile material from yet another act … Read more
Electric Horsemen
Electric Horsemen
Churchtown Deathbed (2006)
Somewhere - where I have no idea - the idea that traditional stoner-rock could get a huge kick in the ass by adding some of the successful elements of "hardcore" popped into some tattooed (probably grizzly) peoples' heads. I imagine the plethora of people who own the Hydra Head catalog also have a few Eyehategod and Sleep records, and vice … Read more
Electric Wizard
Time To Die
Spinefarm Records (2014)
Somewhere along the way (and it's hard to say when exactly), but somewhere along the way Electric Wizard became more than a band. They became an idea. They became an attitude. A state of mind. Words like "titans" and "legends" began to accompany the band any time they were mentioned in print or online. People who didn't before identify as … Read more
Elizabeth
Where Vultures Land
Throatruiner (2012)
Throatruiner Records have steadily increased their presence in the world of black/hardcore/completely mad music of late, and this little French label continually put out some of the most exciting and interesting sounds out there. The Phantom Carriage, Love Sex Machine, Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire....each hold massive sound and that little something extra that gives Throatruiner that … Read more
Elliott
Photorecording
Revelation (2005)
This is not a re-release. Photorecording is Elliott's last testament. Allow me to regress a few years. I had always dismissed them as overrated. US Songs was okay, but it just seemed like it was missing that little extra something. When False Cathedrals came out, I gave them another chance; it was their statement, an almost perfect 10 in my … Read more
Elliott
Song In the Air
Revelation (2003)
It's always sad to see a pioneer go. Especially when it feels like they have reached the peek of their game. This was the case for Elliott. Since their birth back in 1995, Elliott has cemented themselves as a trailblazer in the "emo" game. With every release, they set new standards on how the game should be played. Your first … Read more
