Year: 2004
Review: Scrap.Edx – The Latitude Zero Project
SCRAP.EDX THE LATITUDE ZERO PROJECT DTA Records 5/5 No joke—the first time I put disc one of The Latitude Zero Project in my car stereo, I had to adjust the volume several times because I thought the vibrations and noises was my car begging me to put it out of its misery. “Multioutput pegged flanger
Review: Silver Sunshine – Self-Titled
SILVER SUNSHINE SILVER SUNSHINE Empyrean Records Silver Sunshine are a delightful little group of San Diego musicians that are clearly in love with psychedelic pop. They’re quite talented, have some good hooks here and there and capture the sound that the Stone Roses used on their Second Coming release, but in this case, you can’t
Review: Rachel Goswell – Waves are Universal
RACHEL GOSWELL WAVES ARE UNIVERSAL 4AD Rachel Goswell: You might not recognize the name, but I’d have a hard time believing that someone who has any interest in my column wouldn’t have heard her voice in either Slowdive or Mojave 3. Her solo debut is as stunning as Neil Halstead’s (also in both previously mentioned
Review: Reality Crisis – Who Is Your Messiah?
REALITY CRISIS WHO IS YOUR MESSIAH? Crust War This sounds a lot like Conflict when they used to write two-minute anthems instead of lengthy anarcho-epics. Of course, being a Crust War band, Reality Crisis turns the “crud” settings on their amps up to 11 and gouges eardrums with their Extreme Noise Terror-inspired screaming. Still, there’s
Review: Punto Omega – Self-Title
PUNTO OMEGA Self-Title Metropolis 3/5 The spread of industrial angst has reached Argentina and has brought with it Punto Omega (that translates to “Omega Point”). Viator and Pilgrim, the duo known as Punto Omega, only recently started this project in 2002. It took hardly any time for L’lame Immortelle’s Thomas Rainer to discover them and
Review: Physics – Viva L’Amore
PHYSICS “VIVA L’AMORE” Swing City From the Swedish production duo Physics (Torborn Olsson & Mikael Surdi), this Latin soulful gem has the tenacity to remain as one of the classics of our time. Featuring the vocals of Teresa Pozgaj and flute-playing of Sven Anderson, this joyful tune includes a spectrum of acoustic guitar, Rhodes piano,
Review: Peccatum – Lost In Reverie
Peccatum Lost in Reverie The End Records Norway’s Peccatum are back four years after their last album, Amor Fati, with Lost In Reverie. This album was written and performed by Ihsahn (Emperor) and Ihriel (Star Of Ash), with guest musicians providing additional drums, percussion and vocals on some of the tracks. This album covers everything
Review: Otep – House Of Secrets
Otep House Of Secrets Capitol Otep is back with House of Secrets, the follow-up to their major-label full-length debut, Sevas Tra. The music this band plays revolves around female singer Otep Shamaya’s self-loathing lyrics that tend to get a little stale after a song or two. During “Buried Alive,” Otep hates her life, during “Autopsy
Review: Panzer AG – This Is My Battlefield
PANZER AG THIS IS MY BATTLEFIELD Accession Records 4/5 Somewhere between Icon of Coil and Combichrist, Andy Laplegua finds time for another project, Panzer AG. This first release under the Panzer AG moniker is titled This is my Battlefield and fits comfortably among the sounds of his other two projects. Take the synth stylings of
Review: Nicki Jane – Of Pigeons and Other Curiosities
NICKI JANE OF PIGEONS AND OTHER CURIOSITIES Shaman Yes, it is comforting to know that there is still enough space in the world for a little dark cabaret. On Of Pigeons and Other Curiosities, Nicki Jane swings around her guitar or piano with a bitter assurance reminiscent of Nick Cave. Through restraint, she’s more subtle
Review: Nonpoint – Statement
Nonpoint Statement Lava Even from their first album, Struggle, in 1999, the band Nonpoint wasn’t a simple metalcore band. This band’s music has always had substance lyrically, vocally and musically. The band continued their hard-hitting approach on their major label (MCA) debut in 2000 with Statement. I lost touch with the band for a while
Review: NamelessNumberHeadman – Your Voice Repeating
NAMELESSNUMBERHEADMAN YOUR VOICE REPEATING The Record Machine Quite frankly this is an experiment that at any given moment threatens to go awry. A dose of the Flaming Lips’ bizarre atmospheric kookiness, occasional afternoon drinking binges with acoustic guitars and quiet pianos that from time to time explode into New Order’s rock-electronica before crashing into the
