Review: Dale Cooper Quartet & the Dictaphones – Quatorze Pièces de Menace

Review: Dale Cooper Quartet & the Dictaphones – Quatorze Pièces...
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Quatorze Pièces de Menace starts with near perfect treatise explaining a term like “dark jazz” to the masses. This 20-plus minute opus tracks a slow-build progression from dark ambience to slow industrial clang, to Birth of the Cool–era Miles Davis cool jazz, to swells of post-rock guitars and swathes of noise. … read more

Review: Cults – Static

Review: Cults – Static
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Her high-toned vocals complement the sparkly ’50s-style guitar tunes they lay on, though on tracks like “Always Forever,” they remind me of an excited girl talking to a dog (“Hi, puppy!”).  … read more

Review: The Coathangers/Audacity – Split 7 in.

Review: The Coathangers/Audacity – Split 7 in.
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The Coathangers are vinyl addicts, releasing a series of 7″ splits every six months through Suicide Squeeze with a variety of punk peers the past couple years.  … read more

Review: Callow – Blue Spells

Review: Callow – Blue Spells
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The overly mesmerizing disposition of Blue Spells won’t sober up lovesick music listeners like garden-variety pop songs would, but serves more as a “hair-of-the-dog” cure and further inebriates them via beautiful minimalistic slowcore. … read more

Review: Cage the Elephant – Melophobia

Review: Cage the Elephant – Melophobia
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Drawing on more classic rock influences, CTE attempt to distance themselves from the Pixies-esque sound on their previous album, Thank You, Happy Birthday, instead opting for a much more refined sound. … read more

Review: Brief Lives – Whistleblower 7”

Review: Brief Lives – Whistleblower 7”
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I prefer the B-side, “No Voice.” This track captures the DC punk sound better by slightly upping the speed with a steady thumping beat and quick guitar creating the backing the vocals call for. … read more

Review: Blitzen Trapper – VII

Review: Blitzen Trapper – VII
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Blitzen Trapper = The Eagles + Pavement + Fleet Foxes … read more

Review: Blackout – We Are Here

Review: Blackout – We Are Here
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While this may sound like a formula for your garden-variety sludge, Blackout spare no opportunity to reimagine the genre. Oh yeah, and don’t forget your bong. … read more

Review: BL’AST! – BLOOD!

Review: BL’AST! – BLOOD!
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Dave Grohl. Is there anything he can’t do? He’s a well-known singer/songwriter, has “former Nirvana drummer” on his résumé, and now he’s resurrected the ’80s hardcore band BL’AST! by mixing a collection of unearthed tracks in their newly released album.  … read more