Cosmic Suckerpunch have just released their Breathe EP, a collection of five tracks that provide listeners with a sense of the band, their influences, and where they may ultimately go in the years to come. That Voice is a straight-forward rock track that succeeds because it blends hints of alt-rock and psychedelic into the overall Ramones / Cure / Strokes vibe that is established. The Breathe EP succeeds because…
Strike Fire Fall is an absolutely perfect emo-rock that hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The style of tracks like “Stay Awake” mixes acts like Amber Pacific with The Starting Line to create something that is emotionally deep but still holding of a musical intensity that can never be quenched. Each of the tracks on “Still Life” are just perfect for video games, music videos, or radio; another track that really…
“To Live in Discontent” is a collection of Strike Anywhere’s out of print EP and other 7 inch work – when the disc starts off with “Asleep”, one can hear the intense sounds of the band even if the mastering and recording is not necessarily up to “Exit English”-standards. Something that is immediately recognizable is the cohesion of sound that Strike Anywhere has created over the course of their post-Inquisition…
Mix the Blue Man Group with The Avalanches and Kid Koala, and one will have a good idea of what the Street Drum Corps sound like. The disc starts off with “Wrecks”, a track that really does not need to be three and a half minutes. The use of sampling during the track gets a little repetitive by the two-two and a half minute mark, and is only saved…
Stone Beads & Silver begins with Muskingum River, an effort that will immediately draw listeners in. Carroll’s inimitable style may be built on the folk and rock genres, but the tested and focused effort that issues forth is something utterly unique. The Fool Disguised In Beggar’s Clothes is full of outward pomp and inward reflection, allowing Carroll to place eir emotions on the table. You Can Never Go Home…
Forget the Dropkick Murphies, the Street Dogs are where it is at. The new band from the Dropkick Murphies ex-lead singer, Mike McColgan, plays working-class punk-rock with a polish that is sadly lacking from too many releases of the type. Each song comes roaring out of the gate, and provides the listening audience with a sing-able chorus like some of the most memorable Murphies tracks. The title track, along…
The Stranger’s Six play a brand of rock that is not very well defined during the opening track with “A Date With Daylight”. TI mean, the band uses hints of acts like Alkaline Trio and Rise Against to craft their own sound, but the track does not give listeners anything that they have not heard before. The act needs to create something new, something exciting, so that they might…
Heaven & Earth is a band that looks to continue creating classic rock in a period where many bands from the seventies and eighties merely recreate old hits and rest on their laurels. What Dig does is showcase that this rock form still lives and can thrive if the band playing it is talented enough. Heaven & Earth is an act that was born from the ashes of Sweet,…
Jessie Ware has made an album in Devotion that blends equal parts pop, EDM, and an intimate singer-songwriter approach. While the album was released late last year in Europe, Devtion’s US release contains additional tracks and represents one of the locations of the incredible Wildest Moments remix (featuring ASAP Rocky). Sweet Talk has a retro, early-eighties feel (imagine Bananarama’s I Heard a Rumour or early Yazoo) that…
It’s been nearly two decades since JD Pinkus left the Butthole Surfers, but he sure as hell hasn’t faded away. A fixture on the Austin music scene, Pinkus put in 10 years with the Daddy Longhead before putting that band out to pasture; He also played with Skinny Leonard and Areola 51, but his latest project Honky (why has there never been a band by this name yet?) is one of…
My fiancé’s sister and I recently had a 20-minute conversation centered around a simple yet surprisingly difficult-to-answer question; what is your favorite song? It’s a question akin to the standard “what three items would you take if stranded on a desert island?”, except that the answer to this particular question felt much more substantial. I imagine that you can tell a lot about a person by what their favorite song…
Infestissumam is an album that ties together a disparate array of styles and musical approaches to make something hauntingly original. After an introductory effort (the 100 second titular track), Ghost B.C. gets to business with Per Aspera ad Inferi. The track twists and turns listeners through alluring vocals and thoughtful arrangements, with the overall sound of the band exceeding the act’s constituent parts. Infestissumam is a rare example of an…
It has been a while since we reviewed Intronaut (we last covered 2006’s Void); the band has made considerable strides and have evolved their sound since then. Killing Birds with Stones is the opening effort on Habitual Levitations, and it immediately throws listeners in the midst of something deep, dark, and heavy. There is a certain expansiveness that is present through the eight-plus minutes of this introductory salvo, a…
If it’s possible to revive the music from the 1970’s Laurel Cannon heyday, Detroit’s alt country band the Deadstring Brothers (I know, Detroit! Who knew?) are easily the best candidates to do so. You can almost see the pot smoke in the air when this one’s playing. Now calling Nashville home, the band’s latest, Cannery Row, is yet another solid release from these guys. Ten years, and a slew of lineup…
The first track on “Determination” is so ready for radio; couple symphonic rock with shrill guitars, multiple-vocals and an intensity that never quits, and Story of the Year has started back up where they left off on their last disc. This strong opening continues during “Take Me Back”, with lead vocalist Chris smoothly resting eir vocals above the intense and intricate guitar/drum dynamic during the track. Throw in a chunky…
“Comin’ Back Again” starts out with the very college rock-friendly track “Do You Feel High”, which mixes equal parts Joseph Arthur, Bon Jovi, Dave Matthews Band and OAR to make something that is wildly accessible. The White Stripes-like drumming of “Another Negotiation” really re-casts Jake’s band into something that is closer to Jet than anything, while Jake’s vocals themselves really tend to find themselves close to Toby Mac (DC Talk)…
It has been a while since I’ve heard anything that so successfully blends stoner rock with an absolutely brutal metal style. This is exactly what Stonegard does when they open up their “Arrows”, and the step-ladder approach to their guitars during the formative period of the disc will engage listeners for the entirety of tracks like “Hunter”. Much like a harder Monster Magnet or a more brutal Fireball Ministry, Stonegard…
The interesting thing about Stigers’ opening track on “No Vacancy” is that is sounds as if ey will break into a much harder chorus than what ultimately comes to bear during “Ruide With You”. In fact, what results in the chorus of “Ride With You” is something that closely parallels early Sammy Hagar or ZZ Top. The track still is fun to listen to, and could easily be on any…
“Lost in Time” has a shine that is unmistakably eighties, whether it is through the Cure-like guitars or the melodramatic vocals present on the track. The track is intense yet unmistakably depressing; the aforementioned guitar lines elicit sympathy and remorse for the lead male vocalist. Continuing the retro style of “Lost In Time”, the vocals move even more close to recreating those of Robert Smith during “Damn This Foolish…
ScienceNV has been around since 2005, and are releasing their third album, Last Album Before the End of Time, on April 30th. In the time since their debut effort, 2008’s Really Loud Noises, the act has evolved considerably. I feel that the tracks on Last Album… showcase a more pensive and thoughtful act than was heard on Really Loud Noises or 2010’s Pacific Circumstances. ScienceNV is a band that gets…