Month: June 2013
Review: TesseracT – Altered State
After going through the heinous task of finding a new lead singer, the djent-prog outfit have returned with a massively infectious new record that is a definite achievement. … read more
Review: Telekinesis – Dormarion
Michael Lerner has harnessed the ability to merge synths and guitar fuzz to create an effective blend of indie psych-garage. He’s a jack-of-all-trades with everything from an acoustic ballad to new wave on “Ever True,” which sounds like a new-generation Yaz song. … read more
Review: Ten Kens – Namesake
The album begins with a “Death In The Family,” and the moody seven-plus minute song certainly sets the tone for this concept album. It’s a journey through experiences and emotions, and just like life, the sound goes up and comes down, dragging your psyche along for the ride. … read more
Review: Team Ghost – Rituals
It’s hard not to make comparisons of Team Ghost to M83, which Nicolas Fromageau left in 2009. Rituals sounds almost just like his former project with Anthony Gonzalez, but with darker, more industrial elements. “Things are sometimes tragic” captured my attention with some cool, mystical and spacey sounds, feeling airy and simultaneously grounded, with instrumentation akin to Four Tet. … read more
Review: The Besnard Lakes – Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO
This album would pair best with a morphine drip. This shoegaze sonata is lush and minimalistic all at once. The chorus for “The Specter” sounds like it came straight from from Veckatimest. … read more
Review: The Black Angels – Indigo Meadow
I don’t really understand Salt Lake City’s love for The Black Angels. Phosphene Dream was decent at best and people here were going nuts for it. With Indigo Meadow we see The Black Angels moving away from Psych-rock and toward garage rock. … read more
Review: Small Black – Limits of Desire
In the supposedly genre-less world we live in, being pigeonholed into a nascent musical genre is probably the biggest challenge a 20-something Brooklynite will ever face. Enter Small Black. … read more
Review: Small Multiples – Self Titled
No songs on this EP, put out by Craig Hartley and Eli Friedmann, sound like they belong on the same album together. … read more
Review: Starkill – Fires of Life
The debut album promises a big and bright future for this Chicago-based band. Blending elements from several different subgenres, including power and melodic death metal, this is an album full of blood and fire and battle (which I now dub “warrior metal”), free of clean singing, arranged with occasional symphonic and piano elements that really bring out cinematic properties in the sound. … read more
Review: Streetlight Manifesto – The Hands That Thieve
Their fifth album in the last ten years, The Hands That Thieve is a catchy and encouraging sign that ska has gas left in the tank. Like with all ska reviews, if you’re not a fan, just quit reading right now and kindly fuck off, we don’t care. … read more