Month: December 2013
Local Review: Anthems – Bridges
Immediately opening with the aggressive “Bridge Burner,” which uses the imagery of a burning bridge to announce secession from a certain corrupt nation, Bridges is a five-song anthem against political hypocrisy and our national apathy. … read more
Local Review: Anthropology – Anthology
This type of Midwestern math-pop made by and for music eggheads often goes unexplored by musicians shoehorned into bands who don’t have the same penchant for shredding in some perversely weird time signature or really appreciate near–blast beat double kick drum or two-handed tapping in a pop format. … read more
Local Review: Andrew Goldring – Forgotten Harvest EP
A lot of this album has the casual buzz that was prominent in the early ’90s, though Goldring uses it wisely, favoring more refined production and carefully composed layers instead of the loud, experimental noise you might find in earlier alternative acts (looking at you, Sonic Youth). … read more
Local Review – Max Pain and The Groovies – Self-Titled
Max Pain and the Groovies certainly have an affinity for the Texas psych scene, and this EP sounds more focused than anything I’ve heard from them before. … read more
Local Review: A Lily Gray – Waiting Room
Polished, local alt-rock group A Lily Gray returns with another teaser of an EP that will get you salivating for a full album from this quintet. … read more
Review: George Glass – Welcome Home
There’s a smoothness about this straight-ahead pop stuff that some lo-fi aficionados might distrust, but put that down to their living in L.A. In that town full of phoniness, George Glass (who isn’t a person, BTW, just the band name) somehow seems genuine. … read more
Review: Gary Numan – Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)
Numan’s latest album, Splinter (Songs For A Broken Mind), the 19th full-length released under his own name, has expanded his exploration of heavy industrial pop music, the sound he’s embraced since the early ’90s. … read more
Review: Fuzz – Self-Titled
It is definitely closer to early conventional heavy metal than any of the previous releases—you’re going to hear a ton of people compare it to Black Sabbath. … read more
Review: Gap Dream – Shine Your Light
Psychedelic music tends to be bent on creating a feeling rather than giving a message. Nothing says the music needs to be either, but on Shine Your Light, Gap Dream provides the latter. They’ve traded in a previously raw and dark sound for synthesized guitars and an often-seductive vibe from front man Gabe Fulvimar, whose message is simple: “Love is not allowed to those that run.” … read more
Review: Espectrostatic – Self-Titled
Garage rock impresario Alex Cuervo (Hex Dispensers, Feast of Snakes) has faithfully captured the intensity and driving repetition of classic horror movie soundtracks on his newest synth project, Espectrostatic. … read more