O Pioneers!!! – Neon Creeps
For whatever reason I think that I should probably really like the Texas trio O Pioneers!!! and their newest album Neon Creeps, but it’s really only just OK. I mean, the vocals are hella gruff and the music is a weird cross between folk-punk and what reminds me of Cap’n Jazz sounding emo rock but (Read more…)
Black Dice – Repo
I don’t think that there’s any question that the dudes in Black Dice are just trying to mess with us. I mean, their newest album Repo is filled with spastic electro-noise that whirrs, pulses, and screeches in an oddly organic way like it’s the soundtrack to a post-apocalyptic dance party. Just imagine an army of (Read more…)
Damion Suomi – Damion Suomi
The cool kids over at P Is For Panda recently released singer-songwriter Damion Suomi’s self-titled full-length and I’ve definitely been digging his easy Americana-pop ways. The album itself is actually pretty simple and is focused around Suomi’s vocals (which are oftentimes very Michael Stipe like) and his acoustic guitar more than anything else even when (Read more…)
Superchunk – Leaves In The Gutter EP
Dear Superchunk, I had friends in high school that were big fans but somehow I never managed to listen to any of your records with any sort of intent or (now) remembrance. I’m sure I heard a song or two back then but didn’t pay much attention. I’m here to formally apologize. If your new (Read more…)
Propagandhi – Supporting Caste
Winnipeg, Canada’s Propagandhi might frown on me for saying so, but I’m so glad that the NHL season is almost over. Even when the Blackhawks made it deep in the playoffs, I couldn’t get into it. Oh well, even if these guys love hockey, at least their latest album slays. Now, it had been awhile (Read more…)
Outclassed – This Might Be Coincidence…
The Pittsburgh, PA quintet Outclassed has delivered a beast of a 12” with their EP This Might Be Coincidence. It is full of bombastic and mathy (but somehow sorta straightforward) noisy hardcore that is seething with energy ready to be unleashed. Really, this shit is the real deal. In only five songs, Outclassed manages to (Read more…)
Attack In Black – Marriage
I really really loved Attack In Black’s last album, Marriage, and its warm and inviting rootsy post-hardcore and I was eager to hear more of it on the band’s follow-up, but their newest album, Years (By One Thousand Fingertips), is such a departure from that sound, that I wasn’t even sure it was the same (Read more…)
Bomb The Music Industry! – Scrambles
This new album from Jeff Rosenstock and Bomb The Music Industry! is called Scrambles and is full of more the crazy, spazzy goodness I’d expect from them. BTMI! combines elements of folk-punk, piano-based power-pop, ska, and noisy hardcore with crazy synthy electronic flourishes that make it sound like Rosenstock is forever on the verge of (Read more…)
Kid, You’ll Move Mountains – Loomings
Kid, You’ll Move Mountains is easily the best band from Chicago’s Western ‘burbs (my stomping grounds) that I’ve heard in quite some time but for whatever reason, I’ve been meaning to review Loomings (their most recent release) for, like, forever. Maybe the reason I haven’t is that the band makes comparisons difficult. I don’t usually (Read more…)
