January 2014
Review: The Last Ten Seconds of Life – Invivo[Exvivo]
Looking at the cover is all you’ll need to decide whether you’re going to like these guys or not. You know what you’re getting into—throat-tearing screams, breakdowns and amateur lyrics. Taking cues, nods and riffs from the rest of their brethren, it’s not original, but it sounds great. … read more
Review: The Mast – Pleasure Island
For their debut album, this Brooklyn-based duo pleases the listener with a relaxing experimental electronic album that features beautifully harmonized female vocals paired with synthesized drumbeats, similar to the Garage Band style production favored by acts like Grimes. … read more
Review: The Pack A.D. – Do Not Engage
The follow-up to 2011’s Unpersons, Do Not Engage again finds The Pack deep inside the blues-rock universe with some sharp, tight guitar riffs and soulful, rough-spun vocals from Becky Black and driving rhythms from Maya Miller. … read more
Review: The Rebel Set – How To Make a Monster
The ultra-quick single-string picking that opens How To Make A Monster drowns in wet reverb the way The Ventures did it. … read more
Review: The Crystal Method – Self-Titled
For their fifth studio album, The Crystal Method created a refreshing twist on what most electronic artists are currently producing, using heavy synth and rock elements to blow the minds and speakers of its listeners. … read more
Review: The Devil Makes Three – I’m a Stranger Here
Few bands can capture the imagination like Devil Makes Three. They invoke deep-woods medicine shows, jumping blues juke joints and midnight hootenannies by moonlight. … read more
Review: Synkro – Lost Here EP
This EP reflects the softer, more experimental side of dubstep that got its start in the UK. Dreamy vocalist Robert Manos graces half of the EP and makes the album easy to listen to. … read more
Review: Take Berlin – Lionize EP
Nothing induces a hypnotic state of relaxation like pulses of the gentle, vibrato Wurlitzer notes that fill Lionize. In fact, the dreamlike Wurlitzer, along with a clean acoustic guitar, make up the majority of the album’s instrumentation. … read more
Review: Teengirl Fantasy – Nun EP
This duo, comprised of Logan Takahashi and Nicholas Weiss, make quite a cohesive pair. “Eric” stands out to me as the strongest track on this EP, launching into a heavy drum and bass breakdown. Nun EP is fairly mellow and more downbeat, which ends up working as either a perfect warm-up or cool-down to an evening. … read more
Review: Savage Deity – Amulet of Sin
Savage Deity, from Thailand of all places, have offered up an album of classic death metal satisfaction. Amulet of Sin has the properties to appease the folks who listen to death metal for the heavy feeling of it all, as well as the folks who like to dissect albums. … read more
Review: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – Give the People...
After a battle with cancer this past summer and the subsequent delayed release of the album, Sharon Jones returns with her Dap-Kings, more powerful than ever, with the appropriately titled Give the People What They Want—the follow-up to 2010’s I Learned the Hard Way. … read more
Review: Rosie Lowe – Right Thing EP
Fresh from her recent guest stint on Lil Silva’s “No Doubt,” UK vocalist Lowe’s debut EP showcases a new and striking talent. … read more