La+ch and Dustbuster
Hunter
Independent (2014)
It’s safe to say that everyone’s already getting a head start on choosing the song that will be most played this summer. Over the past few months, La+ch and Dustbuster of the band Coleman Hell have become increasingly popular on Soundcloud for their remixes of songs by artists like Katy Perry and Rihanna. But this time around, the duo has … Read more
Lagwagon
Hang
Fat Wreck Chords (2014)
Punk rock veterans, Lagwagon, had been missing from the scene for quite some time. Sure, they had a tour here and there as well as reissues of their 90s classics, but it's been years since we've heard some fresh new music from the band. They released an EP in 2008, but most of that material had previously already been featured … Read more
Le Butcherettes
Cry Is For The Flies
Ipecac (2014)
When The Mars Volta went on hiatus and sequentially disbanded, I was interested to see what Omar Rodriguez-Lopez was going to get himself involved in. Soon his new band Bosnian Rainbows released their first, self-titled album and that was how I got introduced to Terri Gender Bender, the vocalist of Bosnian Rainbows and the leader of Le Butcherettes. I did … Read more
Lord Mantis
Death Mask
Profound Lore (2014)
You know the saying: “Third time’s the charm?” Well it could not be more suitable for the latest Lord Mantis album. The band from Chicago delivered two previous full-lengths, Spawning the Nephilim and Pervertor, both of which were great, but this one really fucking hits the spot. Death Mask is way nastier and dirtier listen, lifting the band to a … Read more
Low Forms
Low Forms EP
Big Action Records/Tectonic Plates (2014)
Low Forms self-titled 7” is a six minute blast of power-pop defined by clean guitars, rhythmic chops, and traditional format rock ’n’ roll. While it’s not reinventing anything, it’s a solid homage to a timeless style with a nice build-up from opening verse to close, milking the verse-chorus-verse structure to increase urgency as the song progresses without succumbing to dumbed … Read more
Lvcifyre
Svn Eater
Dark Descent Records (2014)
London’s Lvcifyre have been slowly, murkily climbing towards the top of the local death metal scene for a number of years now and while their inception occurred sometime in 2007, the band didn’t release their debut – The Calling Depths – until 2011. It’s surprising then, that they took much less time to create Svn Eater but when you have … Read more
Mad The Martian
Blast Off
MtM Records (2014)
All I keep hearing these days is that Rock is dead, the ever popular Gene Simmons schooled us with this factoid in an interview he did with Esquire (Esquire WTF??) last month. Well friends let me assure you Mad the Martian, a band we interviewed here on Scene Point Blank recently, are here to save Rock and Roll. The band … Read more
Mamiffer
Statu Nascendi
Sige (2014)
Even though Mamiffer started off as a studio project of Faith Coloccia, throughout the years it has blossomed into something much more. The atmospheric experimental band of the former mastermind behind Everlovely Lightningheart, and Aaron Turner (also of Old Man Gloom and previously of ISIS) released a couple of full-lengths and a number of splits and collaborations with other amazing … Read more
Mannequin Pussy
Gypsy Pervert
Tiny Engines (2014)
It’s kind of remarkable how vaguely similar the debut album by Philadelphia’s Mannequin Pussy is to that of another of 2014’s breakout artists, Perfect Pussy. Both these similarly-named, female-fronted bands utilize rough sound production to create a listening experience that’s raw, ragged, and jarring, but while Perfect Pussy’s churning Say Yes to Love almost borders on being unlistenable (at least … Read more
Mark McCabe
A Good Way to Bury Bad News
Cats? Aye! Records (2014)
On one end of an (unscientific) scale of popular male singer-songwriters sits Ed Sheeran, perched comfortably at the top of the charts while still maintaining an air of authenticity, and at the other end is pop supremo Bruno Mars, master craftsman of insuppressible earworms. Somewhere between these two sits Mark McCabe's brand of insular emoting, not quite hooky enough to … Read more
Masked Intruder
M.I.
Fat Wreck Chords (2014)
I haven’t met a person yet who doesn’t like Masked Intruder, and I prefer to keep it that way. However, despite everyone being completely in love with them, they manage to still remain mysterious. I’m sure everyone has asked themselves these questions before about Masked Intruder: How long are they gonna keep up the gimmick? Are all their songs gonna … Read more
Maur
Elegy
Independent (2014)
Running nearly twenty minutes in length and featuring two tracks, 2014’s Elegy is the second demo from Indonesian five-piece Maur. I’d classify this band as sounding somewhat similar to stoner metal, particularly on Elegy’s fourteen minute title track which unleashes crisp guitar work played at a deliberate, relaxed tempo. There are moments when the instrumental parts didn’t quite match up … Read more
Meg Myers
Make A Shadow
Atlantic (2014)
Though many have tried to position singer/songwriter Meg Myers as the latest in the line of angsty female singers that includes the likes of Fiona Apple, the alarming level of bitterness and near hostility found in the lyrics of theMake a Shadow EP, the second release from the ferocious former Jehovah’s Witness, almost puts her in a different league entirely. … Read more
Metallica
Through The Never Soundtrack
Blackened Recordings (2014)
You had to be there. In the grand scheme of box-office existence, Through The Never was a blip. The release was limited, as was apparently, the appeal. Despite all this, It was well worth seeing. It looked fantastic, the sound mix was great. It was possibly the most immersive concert-film experience ever. But, sadly, It will never be credited as … Read more
Mike "McBeardo" McPadden
Heavy Metal Movies
Independent (2014)
According to Mike "McBeardo" McPadden's Heavy Metal Movies, Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey"profoundly influenced" a yet-to-be-named Black Sabbath. Fifty pages later on in the book, and the reader learns about the night in 1969 in Birmingham, England when Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward were getting ready to take the stage as blues rock … Read more
Modern Baseball
You're Gonna Miss it All
Run for Cover (2014)
If I were to label the music of Modern Baseball, genre would not be the most adequate descriptor. It fits with some difficulty into the category of pop punk or emo, but even that requires a bit of beating them into a mold. As pretentious as it sounds, a better characterization of the four man band from Philadelphia would probably … Read more
Modest Midget
Crysis
Multi-Polar Music (2014)
Following the group’s ambitious 2010 debut The Great Prophecy of a Small Man, Dutch group Modest Midget returns with 2014’s Crysis, an album that’s equally as sprawling, eclectic, and generally cheerful as its predecessor. Admittedly, it took me a few listens to really get into what Modest Midget had to offer on their first album, and this second effort is … Read more
Moonlit Sailor
We Come From Exploding Stars
Deep Elm (2014)
A post-rock review is always a challenge. If you think it’s tough to capture the attention of an audience and carry them on your journey, musically, for 45 minutes without lyrics or choruses then try writing about that action. The successes and failures of the genre come in the ebb and flow, the storytelling, atmosphere, and ability to pull away … Read more
