Old Tower
Draconic Synthesis
Hospital (2023)
The line between dark ambient and dungeon synth has always been blurry. Since Mortiis’ departure from Emperor and his stellar, first-era works in Født til å Herske and Ånden som Gjorde Opprør, many have traveled the same path. Amongst the newest additions to this merry group is Old Tower, the obscure project from the Netherlands. Since the mid-10s, Old Tower … Read more
Opus Kink
My Eyes, Brother!
Nice Swan Recordings (2023)
It’s something new if you’ve never heard something old before- in the best way possible. Despite the general overcrowding of the UK post-punk scene, Opus Kink cut their own silhouette with My Eyes, Brother!. Opus Kink are a UK based sextet, who released their debut EP, ‘Til The Stream Runs Dry, in June 2022 to critical acclaim. Four singles from … Read more
Origami Angel
The Brightest Days
Counter Intuitive Records (2023)
I’m not biased. Not really. I just don’t like it. It, being pop-punk. I’m just young enough that the initial wave of melodic, palm-muted, nasal voiced rock revival passed by while I was listening to Hannah Montana on my parent’s five disk stereo. However, I’m just old enough that I don’t find the modern-day nostalgic rehash all that impressive. There … Read more
Pack Sounds
Real Gusto
Friend Club Records (2023)
“Keep it simple / It’s not that hard / Just play three chords / On the chorus part” That lyric comes from “Paper Bag Palpitations, “the final song on Real Gusto, but it covers the whole record quite well. Pack Sounds are an emo-tinged punk band that plays driving and energetic music that moves forward rather than looking back. It’s … Read more
Paint It Black
Famine
Revelation (2023)
Paint It Black kind of burst back onto the scene the last two years. It had been 15 years since their last full-length, New Lexicon, and now we get Famine, which came out last fall. And “burst” was a word a chose purposely, because this record is fast and loud. Just as important, when it’s playing, you can’t ignore it. … Read more
Parker
Never Let This Go
Independent (2023)
I like poppy punk: melodies, singalongs, all that predictable stuff. But I also like it rough around the edges, not the super clean production style of Ramonescore or whatever that garbage from the early 2000s that’s on the nostalgia train right now is. So I choose my words carefully because it seems pop-punk means different things to different people. And … Read more
Perennial
The Leaves Of Autumn Symmetry
Independent (2023)
Earlier this year I reviewed In The Midnight Hour, the second album of Perennial, and I liked it. In fact, I liked it enough to check out their debut album The Symmetry Of Autumn Leaves. A debut that was nice, but pales in comparison with their sophomore record. If you ask me it missed focus in the song-writing and lacked … Read more
Psing Psong Psung
Only Fan
ORG Music (2023)
Not to be confused with Neil Diamond's Song Sun Blue and I draw no real comparisons to that classic housewife panty-wetting meandering staple of heart-melting, throbbing, pulsing underlying sexual tension in Diamond’s piercing, crooning, come hither and watch me slither succubus style. Come to me, look into my eyes… look deep into my eyes. This leads me to a small … Read more
Public Speaking
An Apple Lodged In My Back
Whited Sepulchre (2023)
It is always difficult to balance between creativity and immediacy. For Jason Anthony Harris, and his project Public Speaking, this is a much-welcomed challenge. Indeed, Harris’ new work An Apple Lodged In My Back does not shy away from its pop sensibilities. As “Swollen Feet” comes in, the soulful and intimate approach usually produced by mainstream artists comes through. It … Read more
Queens of the Stone Age
In Times New Roman
Matador (2023)
“Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light.” Since the decayed hands of time turned the page into a promising new decade, a whole lot has happened in this world. It’s been a harder road traveled for some of us than others. There’s been love and loss. Sickness and wellness. Dark and light. Like … Read more
Rancid
Tomorrow Never Comes
Epitaph (2023)
Other write-ups I see of Tomorrow Never Comes are basically calling this Rancid V, Part 2. The cover art looks a bit like the back of that album, actually. And while there is some merit to the comparison, I think that description is misleading. This record absolutely shares that style of short, repetitive, and angry punk songs but it has … Read more
Raspberry Bulbs
The World Is Empty, The Heart Is Full
Hospital (2023)
Raspberry Bulbs are an act that is seemingly allergic to bullshit. Since their inception, they have bounced between different scenes and sounds, but one thing that remained constant was their adherence to their punk roots. No matter if these were infused with a primal black metal spirit in Nature Tries Again, or adorned by deathrock variations with Before The Age … Read more
Rebuilder
Local Support
Iodine (2023)
In an era of searching for nostalgia, Boston natives Rebuilder have managed to remind us that living in the present isn’t so bad after all —and if it is, there’s always support. With their sophomore album Local Support, Rebuilder has captured what it means to persist as a local, gnarly punk band in the ever-changing world both in and outside … Read more
Robby Bloodshed vs Voice Of Doom
Robby Bloodshed vs Voice Of Doom
We Are Horror Records (2023)
This four track EP is a collaboration of New Jersey's finest as seasoned punk/metal artistes Voice Of Doom and youngblood Robby Bloodshed battle it out to cover classic Misfits songs and then each others songs. Let the horrorpunk battle of the year so far, commence!! Starting off with a sample from the 1938 radio adaptation of H.G Wells's War Of … Read more
Screaming Females
Desire Pathway
Don Giovanni (2023)
The lead song and first single on Desire Pathway” is “Brass Bell,” a fine song that’s indicative of Screaming Females’ general sound. That said, it’s really the second song, “Desert Train,” which gets this album rolling for me. It’s a fierce guitar song that’s hard and driving. Just like its name, it’s steeped in classic rock but with modern twists. … Read more
Seagulls
The Rapture and Resurgens
Say-10 (2023)
While this is their second overall (if Bandcamp is up to date), The Rapture and Resurgens is my first time really sitting down with a Seagulls full-length. And my takeaways match with seeing them at FEST 21 recently. It’s heavy punk that’s big on singalongs, equally angry and melodic -- and usually both at the same time. I like the … Read more
Sincere Engineer
Cheap Grills
Hopeless (2023)
You know those bands whose music you enjoy, but each record sort of sounds the same, just a little fresher? Well, Cheap Grills is the third LP from Sincere Engineer and it continues exactly as you’d expect from the Deanna Belos led band. The first five seconds of the album feature the lyric, “I’m a walking open wound,” in her … Read more
Skating Polly
Chaos County Line
El Camino Media (2023)
I won’t condescend. I won’t explain to you what ugly means. You know what ugly means. The sale rack at Marshall’s, usually. The concrete apartment complex built in 1992 and never updated. The cake your seven-year-old niece decorated for you. Okay, that one might’ve been a little mean, but the point still stands. Ugly, ugly, ugly. You don’t need it … Read more
