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Reviews by Loren

700 total search results — Page 26 of 35

Biznaga – Gran Pantalla

Review — August 31, 2020

Gran Pantalla is the third LP from Spain’s Biznaga. It’s predecessor, Sentido Del Espectáculo, was quite successful in Spain and numero tres comes with the lofty promise in the press material as “If Joe Strummer were actually from Granada, The Clash would have sounded something like this.” It’s also the …

Quaker Wedding – In Transit

Review — September 14, 2020

Sometimes when you take a test drive, you know right away that it’s the car for you.Quaker Wedding, if they were a car (sorry, but I’m going to drive this metaphor as far as I can), would be the 150,000+ mile American economy vehicle I drove for a decade …

Shellshag – FUTQ

Review — September 21, 2020

Shellshag, a duo from Brooklyn, play a unique style of fuzzy stoner punk. Live, Shell and Shag play drums and guitar, standing face-to-face and sharing a Y-shaped microphone stand (pictured on the album cover). It’s personal -- just look at the name – and feels alternately intimate, yet communal -- …

Pity Party – Concrete

Review — September 28, 2020

Hello 1990s. Pity Party, from Oakland, play fuzzed out drudgy punk. While most press I read about calls the band pop-punk and even emo, I’d put them a less crisp category. DIY indie-punk, maybe? But with some harsher sounds that parlay a little more anger and anguish. Grunge doesn’t feel …

Alien Nosejob – Once Again The Present Becomes The Past

Review — October 5, 2020

Alien Nosejob is a one-person project by Jake Robertson. On Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud, released in January, it was heavily influenced by melodic garage-punk. This time around the word was that Once Again The Present Becomes The Past is a hardcore record.So of course it starts …

Felt – Felt 4 U

Review — October 12, 2020

I’ll admit I haven’t listened to much Atmosphere in recent years. But what I’ve heard of the new stuff, it’s more introspective and chill, as if Slug is content to ride in the passenger seat and look out the window instead of driving the car. It has a little less …

William Elliott Whitmore – I'm With You

Review — October 12, 2020

When William Elliott Whitmore signed to Bloodshot, I thought it was a natural fit. I like Whitmore; I like the label. Win/win. But I also wondered how an artist I think of as more on the folk/bluegrass side fit with a label I think of as Americana/alt-country. Similar, for sure, …

Quintron and Miss Pussycat – Goblin Alert

Review — October 19, 2020

Quintron & Miss Pussycat is a project like no other. They call it “Swamp-Tech,” from New Orleans, and it’s dance rock with otherworldly, high energy vibes and puppets. With 16 full-lengths, most of the instrumentation up ‘til now has been on organ and homemade synthesizer.It pretty much has to …

DFMK – DFMK

Review — October 26, 2020

DFMK formed 10 years ago but didn’t release their first full-length until now. The band has been active –- with five EPs to their name and many, many live shows and tours –- but no long-players. At 15 tracks, DFMK shows they took this release seriously.I’m happy to say …

Huraña – Brujas, Cholas e Inventadas

Review — November 3, 2020

Brujas, Cholas e Inventadas is a fast-paced 7” with 7 songs in maybe 10 minutes. It’s concise but probably the right dose for this style of lo-fi punk by Huraña, a four-piece from Chiapas, Mexico.With Spanish lyrics and muddy production, the EP is all heart and energy. It’s fierce …

Kid You Not – Thanks, I Hate It

Review — November 3, 2020

I was tempted to start this review with a “for fans of” reference, but that’s both lazy and mean. Kid You Not aren’t reinventing the punk rock wheel here but, c’mon -- if you’re listening to punk that’s not what you should expect in the first place. It’s a derivative …

Dave Hause – Paddy EP

Review — November 9, 2020

There’s a lot to unpack in this new Dave Hause EP, released in conjunction with the Patty EP. While there’s a lot in these five songs, it’s also somewhat on the surface: Hause has released two new covers EP paying tribute to songwriters he admires. Paddy contains five songs written …

Silent Era – Rotate the Mirror

Review — November 16, 2020

What did I know about Silent Era coming into this review?Nothing.So I’m speaking based on first impressions and a lot of repeated listens instead of preconceived ideas from a previous release or live show. My general description of Rotate the Mirror is that the band plays driving DIY …

Dave Hause – Patty EP

Review — November 16, 2020

I reviewed Hause’s Paddy EP before this. The two came out the same day and, as name implies, somewhat work together. The concept for each is similar: highlighting the work of some of his favorite songwriters, albeit from different directions.I’m also coming at the Patty EP from a …

The Cavemen – Euthanise Me

Review — November 23, 2020

The Cavemen are a garage band from New Zealand with a ton of releases to their name. You know the style: it’s abrasive, it’s risqué, and full o’ swagger. But it’s also catchy, highly energetic and upbeat -- perversely positive, if you will.This 4-song EP runs at about 10 …

Aesop Rock – Spirit World Field Guide

Review — November 30, 2020

Spirit World Field Guide is Aesop Rock’s first full-length in a few years. He’s been busy in the meantime, working on Malibu Ken and other projects, but Spirit World Field Guide has been a slow-building project. And it’s just that: a project.At 21 tracks in total, this is a …

Attic Salt – Get Wise

Review — December 7, 2020

A big part of why I do this is to discover new music. Attic Salt are a new band to me, and I decided to pick up Get Wise after checking out the first couple singles.The band, based in Springfield, IL, play peppy pop-punk. While that subgenre seems to …

Houseghost – Houseghost

Review — December 15, 2020

2020 is the year of a lot of things -- and a lot of concept records.But not a lot of ghost-themed concept records.Houseghost is an Ohio trio that shares vocals between a sister-brother team. The songs are about, well, having a ghost in the house and all the …

Night Jobs – The Shape of Bummers To Come

Review — December 29, 2020

The world needs more 5-song EPs. Why? Because this is a record, not a single with a b-side. The Shape of Bummers To Come has a united vibe from start to finish and it gives a real feeling of seeing a band instead of feeling like an appetizer.Sticking with …

The Lippies – Pop 'n' Lockdown EP

Review — January 5, 2021

I have to admit that I’ve heard a few songs by The Lippies in the past, but never sat down with their 2016 debut and absorbed it in any sense. This EP is kind of my introduction beyond a passing song here and there. And I enjoy it, though I …