Review / 200 Words Or Less
Night Owls
Self Titled

Hex (2009) Jason

Night Owls – Self Titled cover artwork
Night Owls – Self Titled — Hex, 2009

Night Owls are a relatively new rock band from Syracuse New York. They have ex-members of some notable bands from hardcore recent past, but they only one I'd like to mention is Spark Lights the Friction who put out a great album on Trustkill many moons ago. Anyhow, Night Owls play rocking post hardcore that reminds of Quicksand boxing it out with Rocket From the Crypt at a Superchunk show. There are lots of hooky guitars, shouted drunk vocals, and plenty of noise piled on top. I like this EP a great deal but I could have done without the live set tacked on the end. Oh well, I keeping this one.

7.8 / 10Jason • December 6, 2010

Night Owls – Self Titled cover artwork
Night Owls – Self Titled — Hex, 2009

Recently-posted album reviews

Witness Chamber

Bronze Gates
Brain Floss (2025)

Straight out of Boise’s unforgiving hardcore pipeline, the band Witness Chamber returns with Bronze Gates, their most suffocating and sharpened release yet. Seven tracks with zero breathing room. If you’ve followed the band since 2021’s Paradise Awaits EP or the 2023’s True Delusion, you already know they’ve never been subtle. However, this time the punishment feels sacramental. It’s straight edge … Read more

Home Front

Watch It Die
La Vida Es Un Mus Discos Punk (2025)

There's a song on Watch It Die called "Dancing With Anxiety," a title that wraps up Home Front's style quite well. Because I like to beat metaphors to a pulp, maybe also consider "Between The Waves" as another title that captures how they straddle the punk and new wave worlds. Home Front plays street punk with a lot of synth … Read more

PitchBlack

Walking on Burning Ground
Producciones Paganas (2025)

Formed in the mid-2000s, PitchBlack have always been one of Danish metal’s most overlooked heavy hitters. A band is sitting between old-school melodeath grit and European thrash aggression, building a reputation on intensity instead of trends. They debuted with Designed to Dislike in 2007, followed it with The Devilty in 2011 (which landed them spots at Copenhell and Download UK), … Read more