Review: Royal Canoe – Today We’re Believers

Review: Royal Canoe – Today We’re Believers
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This album starts right off sounding a bit like a carnival: a spectacular explosion of energy and sound, music and noise. In line with some of the best in the experimental rock genre,  … read more

Review: Red Hare – Nites of Midnite

Review: Red Hare – Nites of Midnite
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“Don’t want to not fit in in the wrong way” sings Shawn Brown on Red Hare’s debut, kicking style over substance square in the balls. Nothing less should be expected of a punk veteran like Brown, or the rest of Red Hare. Although technically a debut, Red Hare is essentially Swiz/Sweetbelly Freakdown with a new drummer, the raging Joe Gorelick (Bluetip).  … read more

Review: Pure X – Crawling Up The Stairs

Review: Pure X – Crawling Up The Stairs
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Where Crawling up the Stairs doesn’t confront immediately with a sense of deep self-loathing, it seethes. Pure X is disarming in the way Nate Grace and Jesse Jenkin’s songs belie their distressed core by being quite pretty and non-confrontational. … read more

Review: Poeina Suddarth – Happy Whore

Review: Poeina Suddarth – Happy Whore
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Poeina Suddarth’s vocal range is insane. Her sharp-yet-sweet voice travels everywhere from upbeat skit-skat jazz on “Natural Disaster,” all the way to relaxed grass-plains country sounds on “Gasoline” and “White Mr. Beauty.” … read more

Review: Polly Scattergood – Arrows

Review: Polly Scattergood – Arrows
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What a refreshing and novel concept for an album in 2013: songs of heart break and loneliness without any cloying traces of hip-hop or rapping on them.  The very talented Scattergood bares her heart completely for her sophomore album and that young, … read more

Review: Paper Dragons – Die To Please

Review: Paper Dragons – Die To Please
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Some of the more snotty sounding vocals in the modern punk scene, Paper Dragons’ Die To Please is a fast and unforgiving album. While sticking close to punk cannon, this album (originally released in 2007) kicks out some aggressive jams—you can almost hear the sweat dripping through your headphones. … read more

Review: Nude Pop – Splintered Selves EP

Review: Nude Pop – Splintered Selves EP
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After listening to this album a few times, I was reminded of bands like The Killers. With its slower pacing and alternative edge, this band produces a smooth EP that accurately represents the sound of the Pacific Northwest by using classic rock instruments to create a laid-back and relaxing sound.  … read more

Review: Nikki Hill – Here’s Nikki Hill

Review: Nikki Hill – Here’s Nikki Hill
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Nikki and Matt Hill are proof positive that when two talented people marry and come together creatively good things are going to happen. Nikki has all the swagger of ‘50s and ‘60s R&B soul artists, and every bit of the power and punch of the male blues shouters of the same era.  … read more

Review: Neon Indian – Errata Anex EP

Review: Neon Indian – Errata Anex EP
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The first three tracks on ERRATA ANEX are clubbish-sounding. They all have the same idea, with similar tempos and distorted clips of Neon Indian over heavily remixed original instrumentals. … read more

Review: Morningbell – Boa Noite

Review: Morningbell – Boa Noite
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Portuguese for “good night,” Boa Noite takes on the theme of wishing someone goodnight, and translates that colloquialism into multiple layers throughout the album. Just as saying “goodnight” can hold multitudes of connotations, the girth of the orchestral arrangements present throughout Boa Noite that reaches across a wide range of emotions and genres. … read more