The sheer fruit nose of the beer, Smuttynose’s latest Short Batch effort, makes for something that is eminently drinkable. The effort has just enough in the way of bitterness to make for a very distinctive and complex take on a Berliner Weisse. The inclusion of the sour Rhubarb (100 pounds) alongside the Strawberries (924 pounds) spins the beer off into a bold new direction. The problem with the Weisse format…
Yes the alkie/junkie-who’s-really-a-good-guy genre has been around for a long, long time. The fact that anyone would try and tread that ground after Charles Bukowski is simply mindboggling, but somehow Danny Bland takes the challenge and does remarkably well. In Case We Die, the first novel from Bland (best known as a musician for The Dwarves, Cat Butt and Best Kisser in the World) is dark, emotional and surprisingly funny.…
Mermaid opens up Altered Reality, and provides listeners with a brief introduction for where the band will ultimately go over the course of the album. While the driving instrumentation hurtles listeners quickly to the track’s conclusion, I feel that there is a very meaty and fulfilling sound that is whipped up here. Black Bones is a track that takes on hints of alternative, goth, and psychedelic rock. The interaction between…
Bittersweet is a timeless bit of alternative pop that contains some alluring instrumental arrangements and catchy vocals. While the initial track on Bittersweet is easy on the ears, Burning is a track that is sultry and soulful. The inclusion of funk and soul into the mix will appease fans of Pink and Christina Aguilera. Play It Down is a very dynamic track that has The SIdleys continue to speed…
Against The Darkness is very heavy and has the same grit and grim determination of Animalize-era KISS or Fear of the Dark-esque Iron Maiden. The guitars cut a bold path that is further trodden by authoritative drums and a set of vocals that are raw and utterly forward. Rip It adds hints of Anthrax and Judas Priest into the mix, speeding up the tempo while presenting a ropy…
Please Don’t Die begins with The Price Put on You, an introduction that provides a microcosm of the styles and approaches that Skeletons in the Piano will utilize on this album. Longpig is a track that has the instrumentation and the vocals struggle for dominance. It is the dynamic between these two elements that push the track into a completely different effort. The shambling, jangling approach taken by Skeletons…
Abomination is an intense track that stands at the juncture between punk, metal, and hard rock. Wiseguys ‘n Scallywags kick things into high gear early, linking together an absolutely brutal sound with an emotional florish. Better Off Undead is a track that touches upon The Early November and Brand New as much as they take up hints of AFI and early Avenged Sevenfold. The disc hits a new high…
Quietly Freaky is a warm and inviting introduction for The Dream Logic, while the narrative brought will ensure that listeners stick around. The dynamic achieved by each of the instruments during Quietly Freak showcases another strength; the bass, drums, and guitars create a dense and fulfilling arrangement. What People Say continues to expand The Dream Logic’s palette as the band takes on bold new arrangements and a panoply of…
Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You starts in a very soulful and singular fashion, allowing the band to continue gaining momentum and energy. It is this delightful addition of speed that makes Reckless in Vegas shine; the vocals will call forth individuals like Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20) while the guitars twinkle with all of the indie fury of Coldplay or The Black Keys. Reckless in Vegas tackles a…
It takes some balls to call out Tom Waits as a reference point in your band bio; Even more when your music fails to live up to even Waits’ weakest musical output. You can see where the D.C. based indie blues noise band The Torches were going with that comparison; frontman Stephen J. Perron Guidry boasts a purposely off kilter delivery, with a deep baritone matched by a banjo and…
If you’re don’t like the latest Willie Nelson record, just give it a couple of months, as there’s bound to be another one just about to come out. That’s actually not hyperbole, when you consider Willie has put out 68 albums to date, and that’s just counting studio releases, not live albums, compilations, box sets, etc. At 80, the legend (and yes, he has definitely earned that title at this…
Bob Dylan’s 1970 album Self-Portrait was welcomed by Rolling Stone magazine with the rather succinct review opener: “What is this shit?” Needless to say quite a few Dylan diehards had no idea how to take the troubadour’s tenth album; a double record set featuring mainly covers of old pop and folk hits. It was rightly maligned at the time with it’s puzzling selection of covers and sappy, cluttered string…
Chelsea Wolfe is an anomaly. She may be the only artist in history to cover songs by both Biggie Smalls and Rudimentary Peni. Her music is hauntingly tragic and the vocal accompaniment is often stunningly airy, a perfect soundtrack for the death and decay of fall. Last time Chelsea Wolfe was in town she did a minimal acoustic performance but on this evening the full band was brought along to…
Max Gomez certainly isn’t the first to bring together country, pop and folk influences, but he has done a noteworthy job of blending the three seemingly disparate genres for his debut. Like John Prine and Townes Van Zandt before him, Gomez succeeds where many others fail, by being able to turn out interesting lyrics. When you are backed by acoustic guitars and mellow drumming, you can’t hide a weak voice…
We are giving away tickets to each stop of the Heaven’s Basement / The Pretty Reckless tour, and we’ll sweeten the deal with a HB t-shirt and a bottle of Fire, Fire Sauce. Entering is easy – just check out the bottom of this post for more information. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS SWEEPSTAKES. A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY…
There are dark places in the mind of every person where feelings of bitterness and rage reside, whether acknowledged by their owner or not. For most, these are not enjoyable places to be, but for many, they are unavoidable. On the new ten track album Origins from English metal band Promethium, the dark corners of the mind are tapped into and stimulated, to the tune of a thirty-eight minute long…
Stone has decided to celebrate their 17th anniversary in a huge fashion, and have created their Götterdämmerung IPA to both provide a blast of hoppy goodness alongside a substantial alcohol bite. The beer pours clearly with a light copper color, providing imbibers with hints of flowers and grass. The initial sip ties together pilsner and IPA styles, allowing the immense drinkability of the pilsner style to be pushed into a…
Let Go is the initial track on I Made It Through, and it is catchy enough to immediately draw in listeners. The track soars on strong instrumentation and a similarly intense bit of vocal work from Owens. This album opening links together pop, hints of R&B, and a passion that is simply unparalleled in current music. Can’t Stop This Fire provides listeners with a sense of the depth of…
The North Shore EP is a rare example of a shorter album providing listeners with a complete capturing of an act’s facets; listeners will be provided with a wide array of genres, influences, and types of music. The Quiet Things blends equal parts human and electronic, weaving a narrative for each through the tracks. When Lyda’s vocals kick into high gear, this impassioned approach to music shines brightly; The…
Generation Iron is a tremendously powerful film. Narrated by Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), the film collects the experiences leading up the 2012 Mr. Olympia. The various personalities of world-class bodybuilders are probed; the film boasts appearances by Roelly Winklaar, Branch Warren, Dennis Wolf, Kai Greene, and Ronnie Coleman. Generation Iron provides a very intense look into the personal and training lives of each of the Olympia hopefuls. What was…