Lewis Watson
The Wild EP
Warner Bros. (2013)
The transition from performing acoustic covers in your bedroom on YouTube to recording original songs in a recording studio and playing in front of a live audience isn't necessarily easy or guaranteed to work, but in this case it absolutely does. Lewis Watson's career initially began when he uploaded covers to YouTube, covering songs by Bombay Bicycle Club and City … Read more
Liar In Wait
Translations Of The Lost
Profound Lore (2013)
A cold wave/goth group made up of members of dark, black, sludgy metal bands? Huh? Sounds wild right? But hey, don't knock 'til you've tried it! Because Liar In Wait are absolutely the gloomiest band around right now that aren't French maestros Soror Dolorosa and you probably (definitely) should be listening to them. Comprising of Adam Clemans (vocals, Wolvhammer, ex-Iron … Read more
Lifeforms
Multidimensional
Life Force (2013)
I have made some questionable decisions in my lifetime, such as sticking a fork into a live electrical socket, investing in Bernard Madoff, and (briefly) voting Republican. But never have I made a decision I so viscerally regretted as much as I did when I decided to listen to the album Multidimensional, the debut from metal (?) band Lifeforms.Lifeforms are … Read more
Light Bearer
Silver Tongue
Halo of Flies (2013)
The hyper literate lads of Light Bearer have always kept a level of consistency within their records. whether through the content lyrically , or musically the band have always been nothing but themselves. So here the band return with their second official LP and delving deeper into stretched out structures. While the band have never written "short" songs on this … Read more
Local Natives
Hummingbird
French Kiss (2013)
Three years since their infectious first effort, Gorilla Manor, LA's Local Natives return in folk-frenzied fashion. The quartet spawned attention and praise for the self-funded debut, going on to build the studio in which the band's latest, Hummingbird, was recorded. Subsequently, their sound is fuller and refined, ripening these eleven tracks.Youth was a prominent quality of Gorilla Manor - seething … Read more
Locrian
Return To Annihilation
Relapse (2013)
Holy mother of god I was clearly not ready for Return To Annihilation from Locrian, and I guarantee that “Eternal Return” will do the same to you; now, my reaction has more to do with the shockingly uplifting sound and mood that the song seems destined to pop on people as they press play for the first time than the … Read more
London Grammar
If You Wait
Columbia (2013)
Heartbreak in its truest form is one of life's most sobering and unyielding experiences. As the tedious old adage goes: there's a thin line between love and hate. The strength of these emotions can feel like a bizarre tug-of-war. They're not lacklustre, they're arresting, enthralling and all-consuming. If You Wait siphons some of the rawest feelings, left over after picking … Read more
Long Distance Calling
The Flood Inside
Superball (2013)
German rockers Long Distance Calling have always occupied an interesting musical space—though they started out unabashedly as a post-metal act, their slow slide into post-rock has been so slow that, by the time their eponymous third album was released, almost no one noticed the difference. And that's part of what makes their newest album, 2013's The Flood Inside, so intriguing—the … Read more
Long Lost
Save Yourself, Start Again
No Sleep (2013)
Long Lost first began life as the acoustic side project of Transit frontman Joe Boynton, shortly after the release of Transit's fourth album Young New England he turned his attention to Long Lost making it his main band. The result of this is Save Yourself, Start Again, an album of songs consisting of retrospective glances and attempts of retribution. Perhaps … Read more
Loss Of Self
Twelve Minutes
Flenser (2013)
Loss Of Self first garnered attention following the release of their eponymous 2012 demo. With much acclaim following their unique take on the modern trend of positive sounding black metal, it was no surprise that genre label The Flenser saw potential in the lo-fi three-track effort. Now, with Twelve Minutes, the Melbourne-based outfit have set out a record that doesn’t … Read more
Low Culture
Evil
Drunken Sailor (2013)
This EP runs all of 4:59, featuring two new cuts from Low Culture. The band just released a full-length earlier this year on Dirtnap Records, Screens, and it’s making waves—at least in this writer’s household. With that aside, this 7” jumps right into the heart of melodic garage-punk, very in tune with the Dirtnap sound (though this comes courtesy of … Read more
Low Culture
Screens
Dirtnap (2013)
Low Culture packs a punch. Not an angry punch, but one that, upon hearing it, your foot taps and your head bobs. The band, bringing ex members of Shang-A-Lang and Total Jock together, somewhat combines those sounds, but here they are growing in a cleaner sound that is more rooted in the melody. Oh, and they round out the group … Read more
LVMRKS
Pale Fairytale
LVMRKS (2013)
For a band whose onesheet opens with the pointed “[includes former] member of …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead during that band’s peak,” one would expect a band with some fire at their core. Instead, LVMRKS are an exercise in banality. The nine songs here trudge along at the same pace without any expression from vocalist … Read more
Lycus
The Tempest
20 Buck Spin (2013)
Amidst heavy guitars, ritualistic drums and enthralling melodies, Lycus raise their head howling. The band from California brings their debut album, Tempest, their first release since their Demo MXII, and they succeed in crafting funeral doom of the highest quality. The slow pace of the songs is enriched with Lycus’s stunning melodies, mournful leads, deep growls as well as howling … Read more
Mainland
Girls Unknown
Independent (2013)
Sounds can create images. New York City based 4 piece Mainland have this effect on "The Stroll". It concocts an image of bright strobe lights that make you even more bleary eyed in your drunken stupor, as you stomp your heels off the sticky floor in time to the drums as though your life depends on it, before the bridge … Read more
Mammoth Grinder
Underworlds
20 Buck Spin (2013)
Mammoth Grinder have made a name for themselves by playing a mix of old school death metal , d-beat and hardcore. While that combination of influences isn't singular to them they have played it with a considerable amount of consistency and rage. This got the attention of more than a few people including 20 Buck Spin. While not their first … Read more
Mans' Gin
Rebellion Hymns
Profound Lore (2013)
Led by multi-instrumentalist Erik Wunder (also of Cobalt,) Man’s Gin are releasing the follow up to their debut album (Smiling Dogs,) entitled Rebellion Hymns. If you believe that the band is similar sounding to Cobalt, you are gravely mistaken. Accompanied by an arrange of great musicians such as Bruce Lamont (Yakuza,) Jarboe, John Lamacchia (Candiria) and Phil McSorley (Cobalt), Man’s … Read more
Medicine
Self, Shot Forth Living
Captured Tracks (2013)
“Sometimes it rains inside my head / All the words run dry…”She sang so sweetly up there on the big screen, and I had absolutely no idea at the time that what I was seeing in the movie theater at that minute was to become a weird love affair that has literally spanned virtually two decades, and I have loved … Read more
