Issues: Issue 299 - November 2013
Review: Peelander-Z – Metalander-Z
I never know if Peelander-Z is fucking with us, or if they’re serious. For a Japanese band peddling its own brand of action comic punk, the reality is they’re both serious AND they’re fucking with us. … read more
Review: Pelvis Wrestlies – Make Up Face
Reno’s Pelvis Wrestlies take their sound from a casserole of punk, pop and garage, their logo from the 80s WWF and their name from the bastardized moniker of an American icon—a winning recipe! … read more
Review: Neighbours – Prime Numbers
Neighbours really suckle the teat of Motown and 70s soul. From the opening bass-lines of “Tell the Truth,” Neighbours give you danceability. … read more
Review: Night Birds – Born To Die In Suburbia
Night Birds, however, seem like the kind of band that could turn on you at any second—a snotty, fast-paced brand of punk that, yes, is reminiscent of ’80s-era bands, but they do so much more than just ape a certain period of hardcore punk. … read more
Review: Nine Inch Nails – Hesitation Marks
The first few times listening through Hesitation Marks, all I could focus on were the poppy, electronic-ish elements that must have rubbed off on Trent Reznor from spending so much time in How to Destroy Angels. It just didn’t feel like a NIN album. … read more
Review: Nobunny – Secret Songs: Reflections from the Ear Mirror
Hearkening back to the ramshackle electric lo-fi of 2008’s Love Visions, Secret Songs: Reflections from the Ear Mirror is a deranged mix-tape of Justin Champlin’s dingy, tattered, bunny-mask-clad garage punk interpretations of classic rock n’ roll styles. … read more
Review: Ludovico Technique – We Came to Wreck Everything
Aesthetic Perfection took “Dead Inside” and helped it transcend from industrial to synth-pop, leaving me in audio bliss. E-Craft let the vocals shine through in “Heal My Scars” and mixed in their own style of futuristic synth sound and a simplistic beat. … read more
Review: Makoto – Primitive EP
As soon as I played the first song on this album, I was presented with a drum instrumental that was, well, primitive (which only seems fitting since the name of the track was “Primitive”). … read more
Review: Loves It – All We Are
“Western Swing Murder” is a jaunty little tune about a murder that masterfully pays homage to the genre referenced in the song’s title. “Rocket ship” is a quick rocker that showcases Walters’ Springsteen-like charisma. … read more
Review: Man Man – On Oni Pond
Man Man is one of those bands that nobody “kinda likes”—you either love it or hate it. We recognize the band for their ability to carve inexplicably aesthetic rhythms with a dynamic of makeshift percussive instruments condensed with frontman Honus Honus’ cathartic squawking. … read more