ERISY WATT NOT EITHER OR BUT EVERYTHING FIRST CITY ARTISTS As a singer songwriter in that late 60s, early 70s, there are two ways to go about creating your music. You can strictly stick to the ‘old’ cannons and stick to the form as [...]
I YA TOYAH DRAMA INDEPENDENT The new album from the industrial darkwave artist I Ya Toya is the aptly-named DRAMA. The drama is truly high in this 10-song collection, co-produced by I Ya Toyah (a.k.a. Ania Tarnowska) and Walter Flakus of [...]
PAUL SPRING KIND OF HEAVEN INDEPENDENT Queens, NY-based songwriter and guitarist Paul Spring recorded his latest album, Kind Of Heaven, live in two days, with only two guests to accompany him, quite a feat. With the help of drummer Jon Nellen [...]
THE CLEARWATER SWIMMERS THE CLEARWATER SWIMMERS NEW MARTIAN RECORDS How does a roots and slow core combination sound to you? Well, if it on first pitch sounds a bit incongruous, Portland/NYC band The Clearwater Swimmers escape the possible murky [...]
SISSY REMAINS SISSY REMAINS BROKEN SOUND TAPES Broken Sound Tapes is cranking up the nostalgia with a twist of rebellion, dropping cassettes that scream DIY or die. Their latest release is like a sonic riot, a clash of dance-punk energy and [...]
ALLT FROM THE NEW WORLD CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS The concept of the future often sheds glimmers of excitement about where our lives are headed while at the same time unveiling a sinister air of quiet tension and fear that lingers with what lies [...]
ALISON MOYET KEY COOKING VINYL Since Yazoo called it a day in 1983, following the release of two landmark and influential albums, Alison Moyet embarked on a solo career that would change everyone’s view of her. Although she was in a synth-pop [...]
BRUTAL JR SCAM VICTIM BROKEN SOUND TAPES Broken Sound Tapes is hitting the right notes with their latest release, and it’s no scam. Brutal Jr’s Scam Victim cassette is dropping three tracks sure to have synth-punk enthusiasts and DIY tape [...]
SEX BEAT LIVE AT THE BATCAVE AND OTHER DARK PLACES CLEOPATRA RECORDS London, UK-based Goth band, Sex Beat, managed to release only one single while they were together in the 1980s, the now classic “Pump”, which was all but ignored when it was [...]
BURTON CUMMINGS A FEW GOOD MOMENTS JOJO PRODUCTIONS Burton Cummings has been making music for a very long time. Cummings first went solo with his debut album, Burton Cummings, which proved to be a huge success, making top ten in Canada, and top [...]
HORACE ANDY AND JAH WOBBLE TIMELESS ROOTS CLEOPATRA RECORDS Jamaican-born Horace Andy is an icon and legend. Although he is known for his songwriting, he is equally known for his remarkable voice and interpretation of songs. One of his biggest [...]
MAXÏMO PARK STREAM OF LIFE LOWER THIRD/[PIAS] Perhaps the late 2000s greatest indie survivors, Maxïmo Park return with their eighth album, and if there are any lingering doubts about their remaining power, they dispel it pretty quickly with [...]
ADELINE HOTEL WHODUNNIT RUINATION RECORDS When artists pick up monikers, these may be telling signs, and yet, they may not be. Brooklyn’s Dan Knishkowy goes under one – Adeline Hotel, and based on his latest album Whodunnit, that [...]
BIG SHARE PRINTED PICTURES INDEPENDENT Some just might remember Bent By Elephants, a collaborative musical effort that produced some interesting music from 2009 to 2015. Part of that effort were Chesley Walsh & Luke Fowlie, the [...]
ALICE IN CHAINS BLACK GIVES WAY TO BLUE (15th ANNIVERSARY EDITION) CRAFT RECORDINGS Originally released in 2009, Black Gives Way To Blue stands as Alice In Chains’ seminal return following the passing of original vocalist Layne Staley in 2002. [...]
THE ASTEROID NO. 4 SEVERAL SHAPES OF SOLAR FLARES CLUB AC30/LITTLE CLOUD RECORDS As nostalgic as Several Shapes Of Solar Flares is, it’s difficult to create such music without the listener straying too far from the sounds and voices that placed [...]
FUR TRADER WHOSE DREAM IS THIS INDEPENDENT It has become a sort of a tradition for artists to pick more than one role in the creation of their art, and in this case, music. So, it might come as no surprise thar Los Angeles singer/songwriter [...]
VARIOUS ARTISTS WHY DON’T YOU SMILE NOW: LOU REED AT PICKWICK RECORDS 1964-65 LIGHT IN THE ATTIC RECORDS Back in the sixties Pickwick Records were supposed to be a budget version of the then-dominating songwriter powerhouse that was New [...]
BLITZ VEGA NORTHERN GENTLEMAN FUTURESONIC RECORDS/CEN/THE ORCHARD On May 19, 2023, the world lost Andy Rourke. He was a remarkably talented bass player and DJ. He was also working with KAV (Kav Sandu, the former guitarist for Happy Mondays) in a [...]
HALCYON PHASE CRITICAL MISUNDERSTANDINGS ON THE PRECIPICE INDEPENDENT Critical Misunderstandings On The Precipice the second full-length studio album from Halcyon Phase. It has been a while since we heard from Frank Smith and Phillip Victor [...]
THE SLACKERS WHAT WE GONNA DO NOW? / PICK AND CHOOSE PIRATES PRESS RECORDS It is often said that less is more, and in this case, The Slackers prove that they do not need a lengthy album to show off their talents, for they do so strictly in the [...]
KAT VON D MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN KAT VON D Stumbling across Kat Von D’s My Side of the Mountain, I was perplexed with what was on offer: “Kat Von D’s signature blend of disco goth, heavily influenced by synthwave, new wave, post-punk, and other [...]
CLINIC STARS ONLY HINTING KRANKY RECORDS There’s always a specific feel to artists releasing their music through Kranky Records, but also a very individual take on that specific feel. There’s no exception to that ‘rule’ [...]
SEETHER THE SURFACE SEEMS SO FAR FANTASY RECORDS With their newest album, The Surface Seems So Far, Seether proves that rock is not dead. It is hard rock at its finest and loudest. The Surface Seems So Far is one of, if not the heaviest, album [...]
