Year: 2013
Review: Pelvis Wrestlies – Make Up Face
Reno’s Pelvis Wrestlies take their sound from a casserole of punk, pop and garage, their logo from the 80s WWF and their name from the bastardized moniker of an American icon—a winning recipe! … read more
Review: Odessa Chen with the Invisible Stories Ensemble – The...
While it comes across like a Broadway soundtrack, the sincerity of the lyrics with the intoxicating quality of Chens’ voice makes the album approachable by even those who are not so theatrically inclined. … read more
Review: of Montreal – Lousy with Sylvianbriar
Lousy with Sylvianbriar takes elements of the Satanic Panic and Hissing Fauna–era that we know and love, and flips it into something totally new. Kevin Barnes intensifies the lyrical quality, making them more poetic, but thankfully not cryptic. … read more
Review: Orchestra Of Spheres – Vibration Animal Sex Brain Music
It’s clear by the title of the album that not even Orchestra Of Spheres know quite what to make of it. If you think that the electro-punk (another fitting definition for OOS) of LCD Soundsystem is too tame of a classification, then maybe this band is for you. … read more
Review: Ovlov – Am
Ovlov’s instrumental simplicity is reminiscent of indie-precursors like Pavement or Mclusky. The vocals have a bit of that post-punk whininess and the lyrics are, for the most part, indiscernible, but they do it well. … read more
Review: Panama – Always EP
It is hard to categorize this Sydney-based quartet, fronted by the talents of the classically trained Jarrah McCleary, and having now listened to the original—and fairly mellow—versions of three tracks comprising this, their sophomore EP, I would say: “disco-lite.” … read more
Review: Phantogram – Self-Titled EP
There’s no real pretense here: All four tracks have been plucked from the new full-length, with the main single, “Black Out Days,” being the standout with its infectious chorus and striking rhythm. … read more
Review: Orrin Campbell – Nocturnal
Orrin Campbell, an 18-year-old rapper from Brooklyn, recorded this debut album in his NYU dorm. It’s downtempo hip hop set to atmospheric spacey beats—call it minimal seapunk, if you like. … read more
Review: PEP – My Baby and Me
Not sure if this is parody or homage, as My Baby and Me is clearly indebted to girl pop groups like The Ronettes and The Shangri-Las, but it brings absolutely nothing new or modern to add anything fresh to what those groups started. … read more
Review: Neon Indian – ERRATA ANNEX EP
The first three tracks on ERRATA ANNEX are very dancy and clubbish-sounding. They all have the same idea, with similar tempos and distorted clips of Neon Indian over heavily remixed original instrumentals. If you aren’t paying attention during these first three, you won’t even notice a transition; they all sort of blend together into one long 15-minute mash-up. … read more