Music Reviews of Punk, Indie Rock, Emo, Ska
Band Spotlight
Chiodos
Perhaps no one can explain the sheer ferocity and timid quietness it is better than when vocalist Craig Owens says “we don’t want to let the kids down” when discussing the group’s intense vocals live at shows. Well they never let a single kid down with their vicious assault on the ears and grip on the jugular...
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Current Top Ten Chart
Skinny Puppy - Mythmaker
Converge - No Heroes
The Graduate - Anhedonia
Death By Stereo - Death Alive
Comeback Kid - Broadcasting
The Snake The Cross The Crown - Cotton Teeth
Dear and the Headlights - Small Steps, Heavy Hooves
The Geeks - Every Time We Fall
Limbeck - Limbeck
WinterKids - Memoirs
03.09.2007 by J-Sin
Music Reviews of Punk, Indie Rock, Emo, Ska
Gregor Samsa — Rest Buy it at Amazon
Perhaps one of the most memorable indie pop bands out there, Gregor Samsa composes mini-symphonies on their aptly titled third full-length “Rest”. The amazing thing was that it was written via e-mail by the various members who were in Boston, D.C., New York City, Chicago, and Richmond. The nine opuses that are as poignant and hauntingly original as anything Sigur Ros has done to date, were recorded utilizing piano instead of guitar on a rare Bosendorfer that was once owned by music legend Philip Glass. As usual the arrangements are lush with varied instruments including vibraphone, a Rhodes, celesta, mellotron, clarinet, various stringed instruments, synths, percussion, and a lot of vocal harmonies. “Rest” is easily one of the best albums of 2008 and will go down in Top 100 lists for quite some time. Did I mention, “GET THIS”?
- J-Sin
The Guns of Detroit — Monsterattake's Buy it at Amazon
Post-punk, New Wave, garage rock? All together now? In one fell swoop The Guns of Detroit does so much in current musical trends that I can’t stand, I feel as if I couldn’t crush this CD into enough small pieces. Barf city.
- J-Sin
Strangers Die Every Day — Aperture for Departure Buy it at Amazon
Indie rock outfit Strangers Die Every Day not only have a spooky yet honest band name, but deliver spooky yet honest instrumentals that could become a decade’s long haunting. Casting aside comparisons to Godspeed You! Black Emperor (though they’re well suited for that nod), the group pastes together amazing soundscapes with string instruments, percussion, and guitar. Imagine dark chamber pop that could blend in between Sonic Youth tracks as much as it could with Mogwai. In fact speaking of Sonic Youth, they’ve shared the stage or played alongside Thurston Moore as well as punk legend Jello Biafra, hip-hop poet Saul Williams, and underground emo/indie rock outfit the Appleseed Cast. One word would be, “wow”.
- J-Sin
Fuck Buttons — Street Horrrsing Buy it at Amazon
Overloaded noisy pop from Bristol, U.K., Fuck Buttons is just as brash and tactless as their name implies. But what’s intriguing is that underneath that guise of grime and smut are tasteful electro drone melodies that implore one to dance, be alive, and let everything out. So while there is a more than subtle range of destructive soundscapes whirling about in the mix, there are enough beautiful waves of delightful electronic euphoria that keeps it from drenching in the foul odors of nihilist trenches. You’ll be glad you got past their moniker and outer layer.
- J-Sin
Sarandon — Kill Twee Pop Buy it at Amazon
You know there’s something to be said about post-punk bands that intentionally write grating anti-melodic tunes that extol anti-hipness and shake a fist at conventions by being as unconventional as possible while oddly embracing what all the other bands that fit this mold are doing exactly to a t. That something is simple: next.
- J-Sin
Lifeguard Nights — M Buy it at Amazon
Recorded and written about a year ago, “M” is a personal album that Vincent Brue wants to share with audiences familiar and new to his unique style of songwriting. Quirky indie pop that has loads of character, Lifeguard Nights winds up with rockin’ verses that are lyrically stimulating though not overtly cerebral. Some of the heavy doses of distortion remind me of old My Bloody Valentine work and that’s always a good thing!
- J-Sin
Brass — Set & Drift Buy it at Amazon
Stubbornly complex, “Set & Drift” isn’t meant for who just want to listen and move on. Imagine a realm where Sunny Day Real Estate covered R.E.M. songs and made them sound indie again. Add a dash of lush instrumentals and catchy progressions. Mathematically precise, suspenseful and graceful harmonies, and maddeningly interesting, Brass can boast that they just completely overtook the indie scene with an artful swipe at the gold of debuts.
- J-Sin
Broadway Calls — Broadway Calls Buy it at Amazon
This is a bear hug of a CD. Ambitious, fun-filled, and stocked with loads of entertaining musical chops, Broadway Calls knocks on the big wooden door of pop-punk and staggers through with a drunken stupor spewed forth. This re-release of their self-titled debut by Adeline Records reminds us that pop-punk is here to stay and that it can survive all of the mall kids and mainstream genies. Revel in their nutty nature and amazing melodies with sweet harmonies that recall Dillinger Four and Saves the Day at times.
- J-Sin
A Caesar Holiday — A Caesar Holiday Buy it at Amazon
A Caesar Holiday’s self-titled debut is a mostly instrumental post-rock soundscape filled up to the gills with guitar, violin, bass, and sparse yet urgent drumming. Honest and intricate catchiness whistles its way through the minimal backdrop of ambience and woven textures. Music fans who have a strong palette for spacey post-rock, spastic off-kilter rhythms and progressive anti-anthems will fall in love with this majestic and glorious nod to Mogwai.
- J-Sin
Writer — Don't Wake the Sun 7" Buy it at Amazon
San Diego’s Writer employs clever songwriting with distorted amps and fuzzy guitars, all the while with magnificent vocal crooning. Completely catchy hooks that recall the Counting Crows dominate the title track while the b-side is a measured indie pop ballad that sounds like it was pulled from Jenny Lewis’s handbook. You’ll remember the latter from their massive opus “Cover Your Tracks”, revisited with Kelli Noftle (Miniature Soap) taking the microphone and honing in on the melancholy-driven melodies. I just simply am stunned that Writer could pack this much ‘awesome’ into two tracks.
- J-Sin
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