Mourn
Mourn
Captured Tracks (2014)
Coming out of Spain, this group can come up with some seriously good tunes. Mourn started out as a duo act by Jazz Rodriguez Bueno and Carla Perez Vas, but it soon grew into a quartet with the inclusion of drummer Antonio Postius and bassist Leia Rodriguez. The really crazy part of all this: these guys are teenagers. Three of … Read more
Nadja
Queller
Essence Music (2014)
As a full on Nadja addict, Queller was immediately on my radar when I heard of its upcoming release; but as a “music critic” (that is what we do here right), Queller may just be one of the finest not quite hour of their impressive discography / existence to this point, which is an impressive feat considering how large and … Read more
Nadja and Uochi Toki
Cystema Solari
Corpoc (2014)
Despite the fact that Canadian/German drone group Nadja has a long history of collaborating with various artists from around the globe, their 2014 collaboration with Italian hip hop duo Uochi Toki may be one of the partnerships that seems the most unlikely. I first became aware of Nadja back in 2009 with the release of Pyramids with Nadja, a lush, … Read more
Nai Harvest
Hold Open My Head EP
Dog Knights Productions/Topshelf Records (2014)
Nai Harvest released this four song EP earlier on this year and I've been meaning to listen to it for a while now and man I wish I hadn't waited. It is a powerful record with soaring guitar work and vocals to match compliments of Ben Thompson who is ably backed up on drums by Lew Currie. The band's roots … Read more
Nazoranai
The Most Painful Times Happens Only Once Has It Arrived Today?
Editions Mego (2014)
The guys participating in Nazoranai, do not really need much of an introduction. Stephen O’Malley of drone doom overlords Sunn O))), Australian guitarist Oren Ambarchi (who acts as the drummer in this case) and the maestro himself, Keiji Haino, collaborate to bring a terrorizing album of experimental free rock fury and improvisation. The free rock form of Nazoranai give a … Read more
Nebelung
Palingenesis
Temple of Torturous (2014)
Nebelung's gorgeous Palingenesis is born of melancholy and sadness and the themes of an approaching finality coupled with the knowledge of rebirth echoes throughout a work that is layered and coloured with shades of autumn and the coming winter. Palingenesis is a moody work and its textures flow through beautiful acoustic guitars and Stefan Otto’s emotion-laden voice. He moves from … Read more
Needles//Pins
Shamebirds
Dirt Cult (2014)
Needles//Pins are something different in the punk rock realm. Well, that’s not true. They’re entirely familiar and warm, yet they have that pizzazz—that’s what the kids are calling it these days, if you didn’t know. They play familiar-ish DIY punk with some pop sensibility, but there’s a little more attitude, a touch of that first person rock star swagger that … Read more
Neighborhood Brats
Recovery
Deranged (2014)
Reading Scene Point Blank can pay off. A year or so ago we streamed No Sun No Tan, which was the first I’d heard of LA’s Neighborhood Brats.And I dug it.September sees the release of Recovery, the band’s first proper LP, released on Deranged. It gets things off with the direct “Year of the Brat,” a song indicative of what … Read more
Noises We Make When No One Is Around
the black box contained nothing but our deaths
Independent (2014)
Recorded under the name of the noises we make when no one is around (a name that aside from being wordy, seems quite appropriate), the music of Briton Craig Taylor-Broad reminds me not just slightly of the depressing folk-like music of American project Giles Corey. Though I could point out that Taylor-Broad’s material is rather downbeat however, I’d be more … Read more
Nothing
Guilty Of Everything
Relapse (2014)
it would be perfectly simple to couple Nothing into the wave of modern shoegaze and close the book. They carry certain trademarks that point towards them owing their guitar sound and then some to Slowdive. This would show an immense degree of short sightedness. While it is clear what band their pedal board choices could be attributed to Nothing have … Read more
Off!
Wasted Years
Vice (2014)
I generally hate punctuation in a band name, but it’s uncommonly fitting with Off!. Sure, they only included it to keep the pesticide theme going, but every scrap of vitriol that Keith Morris shouts out in the lyrics deserves to be followed with the exclamation point. It’s loud, shocked, and direct as hell. Almost every song uses the first or … Read more
Old Man Gloom
The Ape Of God
Profound Lore (2014)
THIS IS A FAKE REVIEW!! Old Man Gloom sent out a fake version of the album to the reviewers in order to avoid the actual albums (yeah that’s right! Albums!) from leaking before the release date. So what can I say? The Gloom and The Ape got me. Still, in order to showcase the degree of my ignorance I am … Read more
Olivia Jean
Bathtub Love Killings
Third Man (2014)
Having piqued the interest of Jack White while handing out demos at a Dead Weather show in Detroit, Olivia Jean was quickly initiated into the Third Man Records family. She became the frontwoman of garage rockers The Black Belles, and has backed an assortment of Third Man Records signings, such as Karen Elson and Wanda Jackson. Now, armed with her … Read more
Orange The Juice
The Messiah is Back
Independent (2014)
With a hard copy release that’s designed to look like a blood-spattered wedding invitation, The Messiah is Back has to be one of the most excitingly eclectic and boundlessly imaginative albums that came out in 2014 – or any year for that matter. Produced by Polish group Orange the Juice which, with its seven player lineup more resembles a jazz … Read more
Oruga
Blackened Souls
Apathia Records (2014)
Oruga’s sludged out sound is deep, dirty and disgusting and the French quintet move through massive pits of despair to crawl through the filth and head towards the inevitable end of debut full length Blackened Souls. Their sound has slowly been evolving since the release of a well-received demo in 2010 and with orthodox or post-black metal being more the … Read more
Ourlives
Den Of Lions
Spartan Records (2014)
Somewhere among the snowy and otherworldly environs of Reykjavik, Jón Björn Árnason and Leifur Kristinsson created Ourlives. They've been together for nine years, having already released two albums in their native Iceland. Their second album Den of Lions has now been released stateside, and neatly displays the band's penchant for minimalist, atmospheric songs. Think early-00s Coldplay, but with more weight.Den … Read more
Owls
Two
Polyvinyl (2014)
Post-hardcore merges the experimentation of noise rock with the energy of hardcore punk. During its first two decades, post-hardcore was pretty underground, but it produced notable acts like Shellac, Fugazi, and Big Black in the 80’s and Chavez, Slint, and Unwound in the 90’s.In the 2000’s, post-hardcore broke with The Used’s 2003 self-titled album and My Chemical Romance’s 2004 album … Read more
Padkarosda
Szabadulásom Művészete
Wake Up And Live (2014)
Padkarosda is a three piece punk band from Hungary. Szabadulásom Művészete (translated as Art Of My Liberation) is their second full-length release. Recorded in Budapest in June of 2013, Oakland, CA-based Wake Up And Live Records picked it up for US release this year. It comes on cassette with a pro-printed foldout J-card, complete with song lyrics, band photo, and … Read more
