The Mary Onnetes Portico: Labrador Records The Mary Onettes have strayed. The Swedish band’s self-titled debut doubled, seamlessly, as ‘80s jangle-pop. If you didn’t know it was new, you might have gone crate digging for some dollar vinyl. Think [...]
Doomsquad Kalaboogie Hand Drawn Dracula With several similarities between them, Doomsquad has been compared to the psychedelic-pop purveyors group Prince Rama. While both sibling groups have a habit for enhancing their narrative with everyday [...]
Teenage Kicks Spoils Of Youth Rezolute Music Canada If I said that this is what I have been waiting for, I might not be very far from right. Time will be the true judge of that, but for now I feel warmth inside of a void that I didn’t [...]
USS Advanced Basics Coalition Music Advanced Basics is the fourth studio release from USS, the Markham-Stouffville-bred strum n’ bass duo Ashley Buchholz and Jason “Human Kebab” Parsons. Buchholz, songwriter/mad scientist-in-the-psych-ward [...]
Noah Gundersen Ledges Dine Alone Records After nearly two years of endless recordings and dubbing, Noah Gundersen’s debut full-length album has finally come into fruition. Self-produced, raw and emotionally driven, Ledges is a wonderful [...]
The Pack A.D. Do Not Engage Nettwerk Music Group Look down, look away. I am not responding to that. Do not engage. We all know it. It’s that vibe you send out when you don’t want to engage in conversation in public, or respond to [...]
Mogwai Rave Tapes Sub Pop Records Since they first introduced Mogwai Young Team to the world, this band has made the listening experience in itself an art form. With droning synths, creepy crescendos, and heartbeat drum thumps, Mogwai’s eighth [...]
Bonobo Flashlight EP Ninja Tune With Bonobo’s latest release Flashlight EP, we are once again graced by the subtle groovy sounds that seem to be designed to alter your state of mind and get your feet moving. Scott Green, AKA Bonobo, is one of [...]
Hundred Waters The Moon Rang Like A Bell OWSLA Hundred Waters is known for its experimental sound, and is featured under genres such as electronic, alternative R ‘n’ B, and club music. The release of its second album, The Moon Rang Like a Bell, [...]
Mastodon Live At Brixton Warner Music Live At Brixton is a punishing set of pure metal mayhem that only Mastodon can deliver. Having previously seen these guys live, I’m not at all surprised by their technical perfection. Mastodon was destined [...]
Sparks New Music For Amnesiacs Li’l Beethoven/Universal Music Looking for a last-minute gift for the glam rock/new wave/adventurous music fan in your life? Check out New Music for Amnesiacs, the five-disc box set and accompanying hardcover book [...]
Twin Forks Twin Forks Dine Alone Records The Twin Forks is a good band, but their album post-production work hinders their listeners in appreciating their real talent. Perhaps it is unfair to mention Mumford & Sons or The Lumineers, but it [...]
Islands Ski Mask Manque Music This is by far the ugliest album cover in the vast canon of popular music. It requires serious sustained effort to avoid making contact with its putrid qualities. The songs themselves, however, show a semblance of [...]
Ministry From Beer to Eternity 13th Planet After a break-up lasting a few years, industrial metal band Ministry re-emerged with their latest album From Beer to Eternity, declaring itself the ultimate Ministry comeback. Front man Al Jourgensen’s [...]
The Dodos Carrier Polyvinyl Record Co. “What does a song hold? Was it love?” is the opening question posed on Carrier, the latest LP from San Francisco-based band The Dodos. This opening lyric sets the tone for the album –solemn, thoughtful and [...]
Primitive Man Scorn Throatruiner/Mordgrimm Records Primitive Man is a huge, heavy lumbering beast of the Doom / Crust Metal variety, but completely lack any type of direction. The tracks are very vast, heavy and spacious, but the compositions [...]
Ephemeros All Hail Corrosion Seventh Rule Recordings The Portland-based, doom metal band Ephemeros delivers All Hail Corrosion, a debut album marking the beginning of a descent into eternal madness. A short, three-track work of art including [...]
The Black Rainbows I Met This Chick… EP Independent This homegrown Toronto-trio have definitely got enough boisterous charm. With their debut EP release, The Black Rainbows have created a new way to scare teens away from intercourse. I Met This [...]
Beams Just Rivers Independent The debut disc Just Rivers from Toronto indie folk/country/rock (yes, they can be classed as all three) clan Beams, is like that cup of hot chocolate that you reach for when you are in the mood for a sweet treat. [...]
Various Artists Original Soundtrack Recording – West of Memphis: Voices for Justice Sony In 1994 three men from Arkansas were tried and convicted for the ritualistic murder of three young boys in 1993. Since ’94 a debate has raged whether [...]
Devourment Conceived In Sewage Relapse Records This album is a fucking crime scene. It’s a shitty room in a roach motel decorated with arterial spray, freshly sawn limbs and disemboweled intestines. Devourment’s Conceived In Sewage is rife [...]
Kingcrow In Crescendo Sensory Records Kingcrow is the sound of the God Particle creating matter. They are an absolutely incredible Progressive Metal band hailing from Italy who seamlessly combine rich flavorful atmospheres with brilliantly [...]
Nicole Atkins Slow Phaser Oh’Mercy! Records I have a half-baked theory that music occupies space in the world. The great music, the music that continuously rewards upon repeat listening and informs and deepens this crazy human existence of [...]
ronica Falls Waiting For Something to Happen Slumberland Records On their second full-length release, U.K. Goth-poppers Veronica Falls stay true to their “aimless twenty-something” existence and belt out a melodic Indie-rock soundtrack to [...]