Review: Mark McGuire – Along the Way

Review: Mark McGuire – Along the Way
By

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
By

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
By

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
By

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
By

 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
By

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...
By

 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]
By

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

Review: Isaiah Rashad – Cilvia Demo

Review: Isaiah Rashad – Cilvia Demo
By

Rashad takes his father’s abandonment and turns it into a moral imperative—a move that could have been trite in hands of a lesser MC. This, however, is a daring labor of love by a very gifted young man. These strong but flawed songs creep into your soul without you even realizing it—the same way that forgiveness can. … read more

Review: Indian – From All Purity

Review: Indian – From All Purity
By

“Rhetoric of No” and “The Impetus Bleeds” seem to signal a return to the lively riffing of their previous albums, but then the band inevitably falls back into a yawn-inducing sound coma. Containing little substance to be admired, From All Purity marks the low point in Indian’s discography. … read more