Thank - "Thoughtless Cruelty" | Album Review
After having all of their loose material gathered on Thankology, we finally get Leeds’ best noise rock band Thank’s debut album, Thoughtless Cruelty. This is a record that is meant to be played as loud as possible, an album that is filled with clever lyrics, a clear nihilistic view of the world, and pounding instrumentals.
Pom Poko - "This Is Our House" | Album Review
Big Thief - "Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You" | Album Review
Big Thief are some of the only artists right now whose mission runs entirely counter to the world we live in. Their music leaves behind cities, machines, and rigid rhythms, where most of even our best music these days seems intent on replacing the sounds of human beings with a false mechanical magnificence.
Empath - "Visitor" | Album Review
Traps PS - "Prim Dicer" | Album Review
It Thing - "Syrup" | Album Review
The garage punk outfit brought their blistering live sound to the studio on their debut Syrup, released through Marthouse Records last year, their first release after a pair of singles in 2019. The nine-track EP is superbly delivered through fuzz-dripped power pop and cleverly tight post-punk that seep with the band's personality.
Open Head - "Joy, And Other Sufferings" | Album Review
Black Country, New Road - "Ants From Up There" | Album Review
Even from a cursory listen, it’s quite obvious that Ants From Up There is a different record than its predecessor. Much of the album was written in the studio, with each of the band’s seven members contributing ideas and democratically building the finished product. That difference in process is evident.
Mitski - "Laurel Hell" | Album Review
EXEK - "Advertise Here" | Album Review
Erin Rae - "Lighten Up" | Album Review
Rae’s songwriting covers practically the full spectrum of sophisticated pop genres. There’s the jazzed-up introduction of “Candy & Curry” and the soulful R&B oriented “True Love Face” to the seventies singer/songwriter west coast stylings of “Gonna Be Strange” and “Drift Away” to full on baroque pop of “Cosmic High”.
L'Orange & Namir Blade - "Imaginary Everything" | Album Review
We ultimately desire that unshakable foundation of truth we once knew amidst this mosaic of chaos that surrounds us - real recognizes real, as they say. Imaginary Everything, the collaborative effort from Namir Blade and producer L'Orange, offers this truth, one way or the other - it offers us a sanctuary from the greater storm of insincere pathos.
Artsick - "Fingers Crossed" | Album Review
Fingers Crossed is the first album by the new project of Christina Riley, formerly of Burnt Palms. The record is packed with jaunty and bouncing pop melodies full of heartache and reminiscences done with a deft hand. Riley truly has a way with harmonies that resonates, triggering memories of past artists while adding enough twists.
Julie Doiron - "I Thought Of You" | Album Review
Cloakroom - "Dissolution Wave" | Album Review
On Dissolution Wave, Cloakroom shows that they know the assignment and end up delivering the best album of their career. The band seems ready to reel in some of the riff-driven songwriting of their previous records and hone in more on atmosphere and soundscapes accompanying more bare boned songwriting from Doyle Martin.
ROCK - "ROCK" | Album Review
ROCK formed after MALK’s tweet and Chris Adams’ (Hood/Bracket) reply. The former was in search of a vocalist and the latter obliged. The proposed task: MALK was looking for autotune vocals on a “10 track Elliot Smith/Alex G album.” Adams said ‘done’ and does a proper good job and more on the duo’s excellent self-titled debut.
Reptaliens - "Multiverse" | Album Review
Reptaliens’ latest release Multiverse is a kaleidoscope, refracting the daily minutiae of lockdown life into a technicolor vision. You may recognize the band’s work from their sci-fi tinged catalog, which explores everything ranging from post-humanism to conspiracy theories to Philip K. Dick’s tales of techno-dystopia
Oruã - "Íngreme" | Album Review
Self-labeled as “a poor man’s jazz” and “working-class krautrock,” Oruã released their third record, Íngreme, on October 29, 2021. The krautrock influence is apparent, but you’ll hear more psychedelic rock than jazz. Regardless of labels, self-applied or otherwise, Íngreme is an eclectic mix of songs.
