Slapshot
Make America Hate Again
Bridge Nine (2018)
What pisses the supremely tolerant off? Intolerance. What pisses Slapshot off? Edgebreakers, trainwrecks, narcissists, whiners, whingers, hypocrites, the mentally weak, and quitters! Slapshot lists, tackles, hip checks, and pins this notion of kindness to the boards, praying for full on donnybrook. They are Brad Marchand staring at one of theSedin’s, asking for a tilly; they are Sean Avery screening Martin … Read more
Sleep
The Sciences
Third Man (2018)
Hendrix takes the stage with his band—right-handed guitar upside down, LSD stashed in his headband, visions of blue baize fields and purple skies are immanent. The experience is underway. "Voodoo Child" ends, bongos rip, drums roll, Jimi feedbacks and chaos continues behind him. “Oh say can you see, by the dawn’s early light” Jimi’s acid wash jeans match his acid … Read more
Starcrawler
Starcrawler
Rough Trade (2018)
Starcrawler vocalist Arrow De Wilde is one of the most arresting vocalists I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing in the last 20 years. When watching Starcrawler play live, it’s really a roll of the dice as to whether the front row will be appalled or attacked. Or both. And it’s that kind of unpredictability that makes Starcrawler unique in today’s … Read more
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots
Atlantic (2018)
Jeff Gutt has a thankless task before him. Some might say impossible, even. He's replacing Scott Weiland, one of the most loved and recognizable frontmen of the last 30 years, who tragically died far too young.He's also replacing Chester Bennington, Weiland's replacement who, after leaving Stone Temple Pilots and returning to Linkin Park, also tragically died far too young.So what … Read more
Street Sects
The Kicking Mule
Flenser (2018)
This deviant punk/industrial hybrid sprout onto the scene in 2014 with their EP Gentrification I: The Morning After the Night We Raped Death, introducing their aggressive, noisy and extravagant sound. However, it was their debut record End Position that saw them produce a succinct and complete offering presenting their full vision. Street Sects arrived with an intense and furious perspective, … Read more
Summoning
With Doom We Come
Napalm (2018)
Summoning have been at the forefront of Tolkien inspired metal for the twenty five years they’ve been a band. Formed in Austria in 1993, the duo take from the world of The Lord of the Rings – and its extended universe – to create music that is extraordinarily cinematic in scope while feeling rich and earthy at its core. Summoning … Read more
Sun-0-Bathers
Local Warming EP
Morning Wood Records (2018)
If you think this band has something to do with Sun-0)))))))))))))))))))) or Deafheaven (even after looking at the artwork), please look on! You will not find anything of your liking here. And I'm grateful for that! Seven tracks (five if you don't count the intro and outro) would have felt like an eternity to me if I had to sit … Read more
Superchunk
What a Time to Be Alive
Merge (2018)
The world feels like it’s coming apart at the seams, some new scandal or piece of terrible news hits daily, or sometimes with even more frequency. It takes more effort to simply keep up than it does just to be able to digest the news. The result is mind numbing. Then you look to find respite from these things. There’s … Read more
Superhero Status
Escape The Herd EP
WTF Records (2018)
This EP is voted best album of 2018 by half of the band according to the sticker on the CD. That should tell you something about the band we are dealing with today. So they do have humour, there's no denying that. The big question is: do they deserve their superhero status? And if they do, are they in league … Read more
Svalbard
It's Hard To Have Hope
Translation Loss (2018)
Some bands need a couple of albums to find their sound, their niche if you like. Other bands seem to have stumbled upon their sound from their very first rehearsal. Their career is not defined by a grand steps from album to album, but rather by refining their craft on each album. Small changes to better their music a little … Read more
Terror
Total Retaliation
Pure Noise (2018)
I first saw Terror live in a garage with about 30 other people on New Year's Eve in 2002. I remember the day because I was blown away by the band's passion, intensity and musicianship, flowing seamlessly from fast verses to chorus breakdowns, peppered with perfectly-timed two-steps and singalongs. I still distinctly remember drummer Nick Jett's blistering snare fills cutting … Read more
The Beginnings
I Am Dirt
Sixtynine Records (2018)
The last couple of years the Macedonian punk scene was a revelation to me. Fonija, Bernays Propaganda and Noviot Pochetok became personal favourites while other bands like Xaxaxa have had their regular time on my turntable as well. What these bands have in common is a sense of melody that is rather melancholic, the courage to develop their sound in … Read more
The Bils
Past Masters: Volume 1
Independent (2018)
The Bils are Bil and Michelle Bilson, a husband-wife duo that play laid back rock schooled by classic duets. Depending which paragraph of their press sheet you’re reading, they are either named “The Bils” or “The Bil’s.” For the sake of continuity, I’ll match the album art and call them The Bils.Bil is a veteran of The Sunnyboys and he … Read more
The Breeders
All Nerve
4AD (2018)
When the Deal sisters re-assembled the lineup from their seminal Last Splash album for a 20th anniversary tour in 2014, they didn’t know how it was going to go. But, the tour went off without a hitch and any ill-will that seemed to exist between the Deals, drummer Jim MacPerson and bassist Josephine Wiggs appeared to dissipate into the ether. … Read more
The Brokedowns
Sick of Space
Red Scare Industries (2018)
When I stop and look at the discogs, The Brokedowns have been doing what they do for a long time now. What is that, exactly? Well, it’s Midwestern punk that’s angry, funny, heavy, and harmonic. There are contradictions in plain sight in that description, and that diversity in sound is what makes the band so interesting. They seamlessly pull it … Read more
The Carvels NYC
Everything With You Is A Travesty EP
Independent (2018)
Let me tell you something about reviewing and how it is decided what will get a review on here. Sometimes it is very straight forward: our dark overlord gives a direct order to review something. Luckily (for me at least) life is keeping him too busy to that stuff too often. That’s when I get to browse through the seemingly … Read more
The Claudettes
Dance Scandal At The Gymnasium!
Yellow Dog Records (2018)
Do you like to be challenged every now and then? Just so that you are forced out of your comfort zone? Some say the best things in life happen just there: outside of your comfort zone. Although there is reason I like to stay inside that zone (it is quite comfortable there, after all) I enjoy the musical challenge of … Read more
The Crimson Ghosts
Yet Not Human
Ring Of Fire Records (2018)
Currently I am recovering from a heatwave that seemed be going on forever. Unfortunately for me I am not very good at dealing with high temperatures. I fare well with low temperatures and feel very sorry for myself during large parts of summer. Right now I feel like I am yet not human. The right attitude for an album by … Read more
