Envy / Jesu
Split
Hydra Head / Daymare (2008)
Slipping under one's nose is not something an Envy or Jesu release tends to do, but somehow, this split between the two is not receiving the same amount of press as Envy's other split with Thursday. Thursday might be a "bigger" band, but considering the amount of press that Jesu usually gets on a release and the admiration that Envy … Read more
Escape the Floodwater Jug Band
Wrong Doings and Done Wrongs
Whiskey For Breakfast (2008)
With the recent surge of former and current punk rockers playing folk, roots rock, bluegrass, etc. of course there is going to be some interest in other related genres. However, I was quite shocked to receive a CD by a jug band for review. My exposure to jug band music is somewhat limited. I grew up with a mother who … Read more
Estatic Sunshine
Way
Cardboard (2008)
What if an album isn't an album? What if it falls into absurdity while no one is listening? Does it make a series of obnoxious sounds? I'm probably coming off like some Bacharach-rocking philistine, but I really really like songs. Failing that, riffs. Failing that, music. The album Way by Ecstatic Sunshine fills somewhere between zero and three of those … Read more
Eugene Robinson
Fight
Hydra Head (2008)
Okay, so the more that I thought about this, the more ridiculous this concept feels to me, books on tape or CD or whatever. I am able to read so the existence of these types of paraphernalia are completely useless to me, and yes, I get that not everyone can read or not everyone has time to read (which is … Read more
Every Other Fate
Phantoms Fill the Skies
Independent (2008)
Even with the recent explosion of big opus, post-genre fluff, and also considering the success of groups like Radiohead, The Mars Volta, Tool, and to an extent, Dredg, experimental albums will forever maintain a cult following. Most typical trend-trotters "just don't get it," and even some of the more cerebral minds are quick to call the style a pompous exercise … Read more
Exodus
Let There be Blood
Zaentz (2008)
Why re-record your own album almost twenty-five years later? Some, including this reviewer, find the redundancy almost laughable, but yet it appears to be more and more common, crossing across all genres everyone from Dimmu Borgir to the Cowboy Junkies is doing it. The more mainstream of bands could certainly be accused of doing it solely for financial gain. After … Read more
Fall of Serenity
The Crossfire
Lifeforce (2008)
My first exposure to this German outfit is a simple enough experience to recount and that is via the split LP which they have with their compatriots Heaven Shall Burn, and, since that record is several years old at this point, hearing how or if the band has changed in that time. Seeing as how The Crossfire is the first … Read more
Fallen from the Sky
Tonight We Radiate
Eulogy (2008)
Florida's Fallen from the Sky have been on the upward trend since releasing their debut EP, Tune Out the World, in 2005. They were runner-ups in MTV2's Dew Circuit Breakout and this, their debut full-length, was highly anticipated by many publications. In spite of all the praise the band has remained grounded and true to their roots. The band's debut … Read more
Farmers Market
Surfin U.S.S.R.
Ipecac (2008)
Those familiar with Ipecac Recordings know that regardless of the release, whether the listener likes it or not, it will, above all else, be different. Farmers Market is a Norwegian band specializing in Bulgarian folk music presented at an even faster tempo, with a smattering of just about everything else you can think of. The result can most assuredly be … Read more
Fear Falls Burning
Frenzy of the Absolute
Conspiracy (2008)
Damn, is there a trend going on with single member bands or am I just now picking up on this long running reality? Fear Falls Burning is the prolific lo-fi post-rock vehicle for Vidna Obmana (the musical pseudonym for one Dirk Serries). A mostly improvisational project, Fear Falls Burning give Frenzy of the Absolute as one of many LP's which … Read more
Fiancé
Please, Ambitious, Please
Independent (2008)
Denver-based quartet Fiancé has put forth a pretty catchy follow-up to 2007's, The Girl From the Ivory Coast. With 2008's Please, Ambitious, Please, Patrick Maguire (vocals, piano), Michael James (guitar), Tyler Reschke (bass) and Chris Sturniolo (drums) have produced a compelling little offering. The instrumentation is beautiful and quirky, and ultimately provides a satisfying listen. At times the lyrics are … Read more
Fight Amp
Hungry for Nothing
Translation Loss (2008)
Fight Amp (recently shortened from Fight Amputation) is a punk/hardcore outfit that plays a distinctly noisy, bottom heavy brand of punk with vocal chord shredding yelling and screaming going on over top of the morass of sound that relentlessly pummels listeners, and that is just in the live situation. The band tours frequently and this is the latest in a … Read more
Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords
Sub Pop (2008)
When a friend sent me a YouTube link for some live Flight of the Conchords footage a couple of years ago, I was very skeptical. "I don't like comedy music!" I screeched, flapping my arms up and down. Which I don't. It's very rarely as funny as it believes itself to be, which is always made worse when it inexplicably … Read more
Foot Foot
Trumpet
Oedipus (2008)
There is something about Foot Foot I can't quite place. The Californian husband and wife duo is described in their press release as creating "music to dream to, evoking the sand-scabbed knees and street-tarred soles of Los Angeles childhood." And while Foot Foot certainly conjures up a literate and soulful record with their third release Trumpet, I don't think the … Read more
Forfeit
Visions
Reaper (2008)
Heavy, stomp worthy, pissed off mid-tempo to fast in your face hardcore. If you like anything from Agnostic Front, Buried Alive, to the almighty Integrity then there's no reason why this five-song 7" shouldn't be in your collection. You also get some horrible sung parts that would make George from Blacklisted blush, but it all adds into the evil fun … Read more
Fuck Buttons
Street Horrrsing
ATP (2008)
When I was eleven my mother asked me if the family should remodel our basement, converting it into a living room and bedrooms for both my sister and me. Heading into middle school, a time when children begin to blossom socially, I thought this was a great idea. The freedoms were readily apparent. I began taking interest in the local … Read more
Fucked Up
The Chemistry of Common Life
Matador (2008)
In Fucked Up's early years, they only released songs on seven-inch records, two songs at time, sometimes three, very rarely four or more. Songs during the fifties and sixties were released in a similar fashion, the jukebox single on the a-side with one or two more on the back. Songs rarely exceeded the four-minute mark due to the space constraints … Read more
Fucked Up
Year of the Pig (Reissue)
Matador (2008)
A re-release of an EP that came out last year from this overrated punk band from Canada that someone inked a deal with indie's scared cow of a label, Matador Records. If you haven't heard Fucked Up in a while you may remember a time where they wrote sarcastic bites of simple punk rock. If you listen to then now … Read more
