Review: Morbus Chron – Sweven

Review: Morbus Chron – Sweven
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The album, while retaining similarities of the band’s past, has moved the term “forward-thinking death metal” to new territory. The album, at its core, shuffles the straight-up death metal tag. … read more

Review: Michael Bloomfield – From His Head to His Heart to His Hands

Review: Michael Bloomfield – From His Head to His Heart...
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This three-disc set is a lot to wade through, and it is so eclectic, treading into jazz and rock regions, I can’t imagine any blues fan, guitar enthusiast or fan of the artists Bloomfield worked with not finding the trip worth it.  … read more

Review: Mark McGuire – Along the Way

Review: Mark McGuire – Along the Way
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Along the Way vibes off fluid instrumentation, sort of how “Aqueous Transmission” by Incubus creates a meditative, stoner track to get you in the zone. Once in this mystical environment of sound, the songs meld from these liquid tracks to sounds that are more similar to ’80s hair-metal, with an intense electric guitar dominating the melodies.  … read more

Review: Marissa Nadler – July

Review: Marissa Nadler – July
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While a bit cliché, Nadler’s voice is classic sounding, as if she could have come straight from a saloon in the 1920s with her loopy, sinister yet soothing soprano, making this an album I won’t dismiss. … read more

Review: Magik Markers – Surrender to the Fantasy

Review: Magik Markers – Surrender to the Fantasy
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It’s the introspective turn into a fantasy realm, even if, instead of his grungy stuffed animals, it’s the evocation of some barefoot, unheated ’60s hippie collective walkup, with all the demonism and beauty that implies. … read more

Review: Liars – Mess

Review: Liars – Mess
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The band is now adept in the electronic manipulation they flirted with in WIXIW. Mess moves beyond the yearning of WIXIW and offers an alternative—a cheerfully dark counter to tradition and the world at large. … read more

Review: Laibach – Spectre

Review: Laibach – Spectre
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 Although this release has some of the aggressive, cadence-type music that we are used to, it also has a variety of calmer music styles to it as well. It includes a touch of experimental, drum and bass, EBM and even dubstep on some tracks.  … read more

Review: Jupe Jupe – Crooked Kisses

Review: Jupe Jupe – Crooked Kisses
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This quartet from Seattle is somewhere between Metronomy and the more emotional side of Duran Duran. Jupe Jupe’s presence, overall, is a bit too mellow for me, but it’s hard not to appreciate such a well-crafted album. … read more

Review: JG Thirlwell – The Blue Eyes Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Review: JG Thirlwell – The Blue Eyes Original Motion Picture...
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 Those who may be unfamiliar with Thirlwell’s name have heard his work if they’ve ever watched The Venture Brothers. The Blue Eyes is a dark affair, heavy on noir swells, plucked strings, drawn noise, and bass whispers. It sets and maintains a mood. I haven’t seen the film, but enjoyed the score.  … read more

Review: Jensen – Zero One [Redux]

Review: Jensen – Zero One [Redux]
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I loved this album; it was raw, brutal and contained an explosion of angst and anger that turns this album into a must have for any fan of electronic industrial. … read more