Cherubs - "Icing (2023 Remaster)" + "Heroin Man" | Album Review
These reissues demonstrate an implacable sound by a trio deserving of more attention. Icing and Heroin Man have aged well. Though more serious as their erstwhile benefactors, Butthole Surfers, Cherubs point to how the Texas post-hardcore/noise rock scene cannot be reduced to one band, as famous and indispensable as they might be.
Raisalka - "Auratone" | Album Review
Auratone, the debut LP from NY based quartet Raisalka - a band which consists of members of Baked, Anna Altman, Haybaby, and Rats Mouth - is a release full of swirling guitars, as well as haunting and sweet moments. Isabella Ronayne's vocals trill and often soar above the haze, crunching in astonishing fashion.
ALBUM OF THE WEEK: Tundrastomper - "Less More"
Less More shouldn’t be confused with the old adage of “less is more,” a saying that rarely applies to Tundrastomper’s nuanced compositions. The theme seems to be more of a contradictory nature, the push and pull between two sides of a spectrum, less vs. more. Whichever way you go, Tundrastomper offer a path.
Insane Urge - "My America" | Album Review
My America by Insane Urge is a terse, even flying and fleeting, record. The listener can never catch the band. It feels purely intended to be as such. Their commentary through music and lyrics relates to contemporary times and their punk predecessors. All done in a mad-dash pace, the album clocking in at just over ten minutes.
Patter - "Patter Theme 2" | Album Review
Patter Theme 2, the second EP by the titular Chicago indie rockers Patter, wastes very little time at just fourteen minutes. While much of the trio’s guitar textures, rhythmic shifts, and understated vocals are reminiscent of 90s post-rock acts like Tortoise or June of 44, the project’s pace is anything but.
Half Stack - "Sitting Pretty" | Album Review
Their second album Wings of Love (2020) already showed signs of an excellent individual sound, something that is in full force on their latest, Sitting Pretty. It is quite an apt title, as Peter Kegler, who was the leading songwriter on their previous efforts, now gives more limelight to Marley Lix-Jones, both with songwriting and vocals.
Truth Club - "Running From The Chase" | Album Review
Running from the Chase is the sophomore record from North Carolina’s Truth Club, expanding their garage punk sound into knotty and emotional textures that open up the soundscapes innumerably. Their debut album put the listening public on notice, whereas this release shows seasoning and a bit more patience and restraint.
C.O.F.F.I.N - "Australia Stops" | Album Review
C.O.F.F.I.N haven't so much reinvented the approach of truly vital punk but shown the world another path forward. In a world where everything feels so direct all the time, it's nice to see something truly playful. Not in that it makes drunken slam dancing easier, but rather it says something about this tendency for balance.
Winten - "Waving To My Girl" | Album Review
Winten, the Naarm/Melbourne based project of Bridgette Winten, uses songwriting more therapeutically than anything on her debut album Waving To My Girl. Writing mostly at night in her bedroom, Winten allows the thoughts that only come to us when we feel alone to map together a cohesive and beautiful journey of recovery.
Candy Claws - "Ceres & Calypso in the Deep Time (10th Year Anniversary Edition)" | Album Review
After dropping Ceres & Calypso in the Deep Time, the members of Candy Claws were ready to move on to other endeavors. However, online fanatics couldn’t seem to stay away. This third and final album from the group, while generally well received on release, has garnered cult-classic status throughout the past decade.
ALBUM OF THE WEEK: EXEK - "The Map And The Territory"
The Map and The Territory, EXEK’s latest album, never subsists on dread or tension, the sound is rarely claustrophobic, but the sense of mystery is palpable, we’re wandering the unknown. That seems to be by design, as the band worked to create an emphasis on pop structure, but the atmosphere remains vast and disorienting.
Puppy Problems - "Winter In Fruitland" | Album Review
Sprain - "The Lamb As Effigy or Three Hundred and Fifty XOXOXOS for a Spark Union With My Darling Divine" | Album Review
Vagabon - "Sorry I Haven't Called" | Album Review
Deady - "Deady" | Album Review
Deady brings a fresh sonic expression of throwing a middle finger to the system through their lyrics taunting ACAB on one of the more punk rock albums to be released this year. Deady unfolds into further exposure of greed and blindness while also being an album you enjoy simply because of the hex-girl whining and electrifying strings.
ALBUM OF THE WEEK: Bad History Month - "God Is Luck"
Paper Bee - "Thaw, Freeze, Thaw" | Album Review
There’s a clear constellation of influence with Adult Mom, but Paper Bee are more pastoral lyrically, often blurring between the body and the earth. Even the rhythm of the title, its looping and returning, is reflected in the sweeping structures of the songs, and feels like a mirror of the natural world.
Mitski - "The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We" | Album Review
Subsonic Eye - "All Around You" | Album Review
All Around You finds its roots in the exploration of how to find light in a world that can feel, at times, dark, senseless, and devoid of meaning. From the ashes emerges a hopeful record that encourages listeners to tune in to the beauty that is all around us - if we can only find the courage to look.