It's been a weird year for pop, but rather than waiting for Taylor Swift to come save the day, I've been looking forward to the Beaches' new album. This band's last album, "Blame My Ex" found them taking the number two spot in our Top 10 Pop Albums of 2023. They have raised the bar for themselves, and the opening track on this album finds them going in a more indie rock direction while trying to still dish out a comparable level of hooky choruses. The second song here is more of a pop stab that reflects back on what worked on the last album, though perhaps not as hard-hitting, but still highly effective.
"Sorry For Your Loss" is more indie rock, almost an 80s new wave edge to it. Jordan Miller's voice is more emotive this time around me, and she throws it around in a nuanced manner. At times it makes me think of if the Killers were girls. "Touch Myself" is not a Divinyls cover. The guitars follow a well-worn formula that they have used, where the guitars are mixed back to give the vocals room to create a more dynamic chorus. "Fine, Let's Get Married' is more effective at what they do with a tension that is like some of the Cure's poppier moments.
Lyrics are their strong suit, and some of the sharp wit regarding their self-loathing and dysfunction are more dialed back than the previous, though there are moments like "Takes One to Know One" that renew the shine. This is a more guitar-oriented album, which I like. This can be heard on "I Wore You Better" which finds a queer-baiting slant on the lyrics that they have been ambiguous about up til this point on the album, though one of the guitarist's sexuality is pretty out, which is fine, as no one is pressing anything here and it kind of comes off like it's all a part of the issues they are cataloging in the lyrics. "Dirty Laundry" dances and jangles, but it does hit me as strongly as the previous songs, though it might need to grow on me.
"Lesbian of the Year" almost seems like they are using the queer thing as a marketing angle. But it's a good song, so I am not going to complain that the lyrics are pretty clever. "Jocelyn" does not hit like "Blame Brett" but it's a really well-written indie pop song that keeps the guitars firmly in hand and does not apologize for being a guitar band. "Last Girls Girls at the Party" has grown on me since the first time I heard it. It is still not a "Blame Brett," but it works for what they are going for. I have heard it explained that they are entering their messy era. I think they are more of a rock band on this album. I will give it a 9.5, which means it holds up against the last album because they came at what they do from a different angle. Not as experimental as the HAIM album, but perhaps more consistent, and fewer ballads.
It feels like it's been a minute since I reviewed a black metal album, and with it no longer 100 degrees outside, it feels like a more appropriate soundtrack. In reality, it's been about a week since I reviewed the new Pantopticon, which is technically black metal, but it did not feel that dark to me. Then there was before that the new Blackbraid album, which did not do much for me either, making the last proper black metal I reviewed the new LVTHN back in July. This Swedish band is true to the genre, without just hitting you with blast beat and allowing some creepy atmosphere to leave the opening track breath in a few places, though they are still storming the gates when it comes to the overall tempo of the song. This works for this song, but hopefully they will expand the dynamics as the album progresses.
The term Orthodox black metal is used when it comes to these guys. I like to pretend the term is less about conforming to the expectations of the genre and take it to mean these guys are not just playing around with Satanism, but are committed to spreading darkness with their music. The second song works off the more conforming aspect of this, as it throbs under the buzz of tremolo guitar as the vocal cries out in torment. While this is effective for the first two songs by the time we get to " A New Temple," things begin to take on a more uniform song. The lyrics tend to get lost in the rapid-fire screams that are not articulated. The moments of allowing dark melodies to haunt the songs begin to decrease as the storm of guitar rages on.
There are a few passages of lower growled vocals, and the chords are at times allowed to ring out, but when weighed against the sonic raging, there seem to be fewer deliberate reflections on the darkness being exuded here as the undercurrent of blast rises to fuel the sweeping wave of guitar. Things modulate on "Into Darkness We Depart," but is not dynamic enough to warrant repeat listens regularly. There is a more Watain-like feel to " Angel of the Bottomless Pit". Though the speed finds them racing past in a blur.
"Hearts Ablaze" has a more purposeful pulse, as the vocals are more of a shouted declaration, which is a very Watain thing to do. But the problem is I already own all the Watain albums and would more than like just listen to them when I am in the mood for this sort of thing. The last songs finds the guitar trying to inject more of an ache to the melodies, but it ends up sounding more like Dissection. These guys give a good effort, and if you are not already worshipping Dissection, then you might be more into these guys. They seem earnest in what they are doing so I will give this album an 8. It drops Halloween on Iron Bonehead.
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The first song on this album is draped in reverb to create a thick atmosphere to drape a sound that blends the rough edges of industrial pulses with death-rock's elegant romance with depression turned outward. It's not the first time we have heard this kind of thing from Los Angeles, but they are good at what they are doing and bringing a more metal-minded aggression to it. The vocals go into an emotive scream rather than the harshness of a hardcore band. The deliberate pulse of " Nowhere to Turn" could be danced to, though the dense sonics might perplex your average 'goth nite' patron. This does, however, embrace many of the qualities we heard when death rock had its revival back in 2010, but most of those bands were ignored by the goth scene because they were not as dancey as Cold Cave, who they did embrace.
The beat to "Shivers Down the Spine" feels like something off the Cure's "Pornography" album, but the vocals are more confrontational. "Night Captivity" is less abrasive; the strummed guitar gives the vocals room to actually sing. "Dead Weight" is a weird turn into a more alternative rock feel, but it works, even if it breaks character. "Dark Fields" finds the pace picking up and being driven by the burly, overdriven bass, which brings more of a punk feel. "Death Embers" carries more of an industrial weight to the way it crashes down. Tfaint synth melody in the back of the mix tries to open up space for the vocal melody that cries out with equal parts longing and torment. The vocals break into screams.
The last song is an odd dip into shoe-gaze or at least it borrows the woozy guitar tone my popular by My Bloody Valentine, though the rest of the band has no intention of slowing down to submerse you in the atmosphere as the bass and drums keep pumping away which leads to the vocals being more frantic though singing rather than screaming, however it's an weird juxtasposition of sound, that might have to grow on me. You go into this album thinking it's going to be a straight-up revival of late 80s punk-infused goth, and it takes some wild turns. But I respect that more than if they were just trying to be a Specimen tribute band. I will give this a 9.5, as I like what they are going for even if it is produced in a somewhat abrasive manner.
For the 420th post of the year, I had to go with a stoner metal band. This came out back in March, but it's essential to catch up with these guys, as they prove that more music comes out of Norway than just black metal. These guys are just as invested in music from the '60s as they are in more traditional metal. The first track alone carries a wide range of dynamics. They go from a metal gallop into a hazy mellow jam. The vocals are more Ian Gillan than Ozzy. Their guitarist rips, so I am impressed right off the bat.
"The Blade" boogies with riffs that remind me more of early Judas Priest or Thin Lizzy than Black Sabbath, and thus, the delineation is made between stoner metal and doom. Nothing is really dark or mournful, thus it does not move with the depressive lethargy that should possess doom. The title track is, in fact, oddly a fist-pumping party anthem of sorts. They do ebb down to a gloomier mood coming out of the more vibrant riff, but such is their way with dynamics. They also do not get carried away with long, jammy songs.
"You and I" is more along the lines of Queens of the Stoneage. It carries a similar attitude in its strut. "From Below" is the first song where they shift gears into more of a doom lumber, but then shift smoothly out of it into a more Mastodon-like riff. "Lost at Sea" has a similar feel with moodier chords ringing out to shift the tone a little. "The Gates" closes the album out. At 8 minutes along, it's the most sprawling song on the album. Marginally darker and more psychedelic than the previous song, there are still touches of Mastodon in how the vocals interplay with the music. These guys excelled at making the album they set out to make. I will give it a 9.5 and see how it grows on me.
German surf rock is the first part that does not compute in this equation, but here we are with a band claiming to be a surf rock death metal band. The first song finds them as a pretty typical modern death metal band until a minute in a half into the song when it breaks down to a more strummed guitar, but nothing a progressive death metal band would not do. It is well done, but not as adventurous as what I was expecting. The vocals are an incomprehensible grunt.
They remind me of a cross between Aborted and the Browning on the second song. What is going to happen is these guys are going to use one surf rock riff for a minute in one song and think that means they need to take their promo pictures on the beach. "Throne of Bones" starts off making you think they might have more groove before going into something that feels like the previous song. By the time we get to "Apex Predator," I am getting bored because I have already heard this kind of death metal. I want something new.
We get more strummed guitar, and I begin to think maybe I am right, and Germans do not know what surf rock is; they could have no clue about what was happening in California during the early '60s. However, "Baptized in Blood" is a little more interesting than the previous three songs. They end this with a strummed acoustic guitar, which must mean Opeth was surf rock. I would hope the song "Cult of the Green' would be about smoking pot, but you can't make out the pig squeals to under stand the lyrics anyway. The pace is more deliberate, so that brings groove to the table for a minute at least.
I just have to power through three more songs, and if there is not a single surf rock riff on this album I am rounding down two points. They execute the more brutal style of death metal well enough to be professionals, but there is nothing new here so far, and this deep into the album, I am giving up hope. The band's name alone should have clued me in; if there was going to be surf-rock, they would not be called Stillbirth, but Tiki Cannibals, Beach Blanket Bloodbath, or Nuclear Shark.
I made it all the way to the last song, which opens with more acoustic guitar. Yes, people play acoustic guitars at the beach on occasion, but that does not mean it is surf music. There are some rock-influenced riffs thrown in, but nothing remotely like Link Wray or, at this point, I'll accept the Beach Boys. Thanks to the false advertisement that drew me in and wasted my time, I will give this album a 5.
This album with a fragile yet dark and creepy vibe that waltzes in the shadows, as the tinkle of a piano is a candle in the looming darkness it eventually explodes into. Yet the circus waltz continues like something from a horror movie, as the twisted larny spews the vocals forth. I like what they are doing on the opening track, but I could not listen to an entire album of the chaos they are presenting, and I hope to hear them melodically expand upon it. There are a few black metal bands that dance in similar realms of madness. For the second song, they take things in a more circus direction that is more Sleepy Time Gorilla Museum than Mr.Bungle. A great deal of this rests on the tortured vocals being a primary mode of expression, with the sung vocals serving as the chorus behind them.
The guitar shifts to the twang of a funky groove going into "Offering" with a call and response between the two vocal stylings. There is more chaos and carnage in the almsot thrashing outburst the song races off into, than grandiose songwriting heard in the first two songs that I found more impressive. Not to say there are not melodic touches to this one, they jsut do not hold equal weight. "Ruffled" is more of an interlude, before things get moving with "Panache," when they go off into a jazzy big band strut not unlike the Cherry Poppin Daddies, but the metal begins to boil to the surface.
"Collywobbles" feels more like a black metal band playing a Danny Elfman-penned score for a Tim Burton movie. The pace accelerates to a rapid thrashing not unlike Sigh. They are just throwing everything at this song but hooks. The rapid cycling bipolar manner this is shot out is a lot to digest. "Splinter" finds its groove, which makes it feel like one of the album's more well-arranged songs. The harsher vocals take on a more rabid Gollum tone. The angular jerking to "Jim Jams " feels like another exercise in excess until they go into a groove that has a disco undercurrent that aligns the heavier sections."Kindling" might be the most Mr Bungle-like moment, but it is also the most infused with jumbled chaos. I will round this down to an 8.5, which is still pretty impressive. You have to be in the mood for chaotic symphonic metal. If you are, then it will be more than worth your time. This sonic carnival of carnage drops October 17th.
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This band from Atlanta is releasing its debut on Blues Funeral. They combine a brooding Alice In Chains-like vocals with big atmospheric sludge-tinged riffs that sometimes build in a more Mastodon-like manner on songs like "Mountain"; this bridges the big epic rock riffage with hypnotic pulses. Deceased drummer Amos Rikin puts enough gas in the songs to keep them moving with locomotive power. Harsher growls accent the punches left open by the more subtle baritone croon of the vocals.
There is a more abstract arrangement to the more swirling ambiance of "Snow and Ice" that might bring to mind the darker moments of Queens of the Stone Age or the lighter moments of Acid Bath. This song is more of a free-form jam out than the first two tracks. It does build into a harder grunge climax by the end. "Forest" is a trippy power ballad. At four and a half minutes, it's much more economical in its arrangement. There is more of a blues swagger to "Sea". This brings them back to Josh Homme's sonic zip code.
While it had to be advised that picking up acoustic guitars on "Desert" would only bring further comparison to 90s grunge, they followed their artistic vision, and the result was as predicted. However, I like all the bands that they draw comparisons to, so that plays to their favor. My only issue with this song is how the drums feel further back in the mix. A bigger drum sound could have given more of a back bone, instead it wanders a bit, until the dynamics build up from the drone. They shift into a more Screaming Trees-like mood on "Awakening". The guitars carry a more hypnotic simmer. It does build up into a hard-rocking climax as they seem to be prone to doing on this album. I will give this album a 9 and see how it grows on me. Sadly, their guitarist, Mike Morris, passed away after the recording of this album was complete, leaving this as a bittersweet celebration of sound. They have vowed to press on in his honor, and if you are a fan of the earlier, more experimental days of grunge before it took over the radio, then you will be a fan of these guys as well. Drops September 1st on Blues Funeral Recordings
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It's a strong year for Canada. This band continues the country's new tradition of musical exportation. Fans of death metal who are regular readers here will attest to the fact that I am picky when it comes to the genre. Just having a crushing guitar tone and brutal riffs is not enough for me. I need groove and dynamics. These guys bring it in a way some might think of as old school. But what you are really saying when you say old school is a time when bands cared about writing songs more than just unlocking a sound. These guys are obsessed with speed and cramming in as many solos as they can, so they let the riffs simmer for a bit.
Devin Swank guests on the second song, but his growl is mixed in a way that you can hear it, but it does not stand out, so we will jsut wait for his band to drop their album. The growls used by this band are employed like Frozen Soul, where they are very intentional and punch with purpose rather than being an obligatory afterthought. Perhaps not as articulated as Frozen Soul, as the lyrics do not pop out, unless I am looking at the song titles, I could not tell you what these songs are about. The chug themselves into a more expected fury for "Diminished to Ashes" that finds the drummer using less restraint and unleashing a hammering on your ears. In this way, they sometimes bring Deicide to mind.
"Sanctum of Bones" grinds into your head with more purpose even when the pace builds to a thrashing assault. The fact that the bass sits further up in the mix helps the overall sound, giving a heavier, denser feel. "Sentenced to Rot' finds a balance of intensity with hooky purpose, once they lock into the refrain. It took a couple of listens to really click with me. The tempo picks up more for "Feel the Blade." It's effective, but at this point in the album, they could stand to paint the songs with some different sonic colors, as the guitar tones are all starting to race together thanks to the rapid drummer. But on "Bloodlust Sacrifice," they do not relent in any regard until locking into a moshy groove midway in.
The last song also finds itself at the intersection of thrash and death metal, using the same sharp guitar tone to keep up their impressive chuggathon. Sonically, everything is painted in the same aggressive shade of red, but they do not go for a full frontal assault and use nuance to craft their riffs. They wisely place their punches for maximum impact and show they care about writing songs. I will give this album a 9 and see how it grows on me. Fans of hooky death metal should take note when this album drops on October 24th on Time to Kill Records.
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I'm not huge on live albums, but since I have never heard these guys before, it's all new to me. I have to write about this album for another publication, so I use my blog as a rough draft for those kinds of things. The first song is a jammed-out instrumental that lumbers over your typical stoner doom riffage. They bring a little more boogie to the table for "Valley of the Dolls". It's just before the song ends that I realize this is an instrumental band and no vocals are coming to save the day, so I can quit waiting for them. It is also odd that there are not a ton of guitar solos. If there were, then that would make them a jam band for metalheads.
Some people just like riff. I am trying to understand the thought process of not having vocals on this and the answers I am coming up with are not really helping. There is because it would make you sound like everyone, since a low-budget Ozzy imitator is the only one that would fit, or you just don't like dealing with singers, which is more understandable. "Unleash the Magic' takes a detour and jangles more than it chugs, which some of the most original sounds we have heard yet. The first notable guitar solo jam goes down here; we had to know it was coming.
There is a more reckless garage punk to the banging of "Full Tank." They identify as a stoner bike gang, which makes 'Too Fried to Ride" if there were words to describe their sentiments, but instead we get them banging away at some chords. "Cactus Thorns" feels like a variation of the previous song, where they decided to take the riff and jam it out with groove. "Ghost Town" is an interlude, as it's a cool riff; they did not have any other ideas for I am guessing. "Planet Terror" is one of the heavier songs. "Black Chopper" feels like a grittier take on a Motley Crue riff. I will give this album 8, as I appreciate the energy of the songs, but sans vocals, it is not really my thing. But if you like instrumental stoner jams, then this might be for you.
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This album is a weird and wonderful take on pop. I have never been a huge ABBA fan, but they come to mind in terms of vocal harmonies, although there is an equal measure of influence from Blondie. So the pseudo disco groove is in place, but to their credit, it seems like the pop trends of today have come to meet this band halfway; they just had to embrace the closeted disco influences. I can also hear strains of Olivia Newton-John, but let's get real with the fact that she was always just a product of the music industry, and this band is streamlining things to fit that mold.
Where they have not had to compromise is the clever nature of their lyrics, with the opening track setting the bar for this. It is challenging for songs that tread the middle of the road, like "Just Two Girls," to live up to this despite doing everything required of them here. They lean in a more fol country direction for "Leaning Against the Wall"."Passenger" seat finds them continuing to capture the 70s feel. They are less compelling on "Play it Out," which is a ballad that bores me.
There is a feeling that I think Burt Bacharach is owed credit that arose in the 70s, where songs had the feel of skipping through Central Park under a New York sun, Queen sometimes indulged in this for obvious reasons, and Wolf Alice is carrying on the tradition with " Bread Butter Tea Sugar". They are effective, but not as inspired on "Safe in the World". Leaving no corner of 70s pop music unexplored, they take a drive into Joni Mitchell's zipcode for "Midnight Song".
"White Horses" might have the sounds of the 70s dialed into the mix, but the song itself grooves more originally thanks to the vocal cadance, making it one of the album's strongest moments. Similar inspiration prevails for "the Sofa" that closes the album. Overall, this album works out thanks to the great vibes, credit to the excellent production that gives the vocals room to do their thing, and the clever vocal phrasing that pushes smart lyrics to the forefront, which pop music could use more of these days.
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I had to go back and give "We're Not Here to Be Loved" another listen before I realized there is a girl singer in this band, I though her voice was just harmonizing on a couple of songs and they had more of a Circa Surive thing going on at the time, Now that I realize Marisa Shirar is their lead vocalist, is something I am accepting as I move forward with this review. The mix of this album is more radio-friendly with the vocals out front, as the guitar swirls around them. Shirar's singing style is more rock-oriented on this album as she belts it out more with the guitar sitting back in the mix. I prefer "Jet Pack" over "Green Street," and the more atmospheric opener is my favorite. The shoegazing is certainly dialed back as the album progresses.
In some ways, the production of the guitars on this album reminds me of Far. "Last Escape" finds the pace picking up and the guitars going into more of a jangle. The chorus is lighter and poppier. While her voice sounds stronger on this album, I think it takes away from the more atmospheric side that makes them more unique, thrusting them to compete with the Paramores of the world. This pop-punk take on emo is more in your face this time around. "Be Your Best" has some more experimental elements in play, which is something this band needs to lean into more. The drummer from These Pianos Are Teeth plays on this album and makes some interesting choices in how the drums were recorded to give her the room to sit back and sing with more feeling but less forced intensity.
"Jerome Town" gets into a harder rocking with its staccato riffing. Anthony Dido's vocals lead off this song, and his relaxed approach is what the song needed. At the beginning of "Sundown" I thought I pressed play on Ethel Cain by mistake, then things kick in a little more to give a more 90s alternative feel. It's a good song, but it sounds nothing like the band that caught my attention with their previous album. "Raging Storm" follows a similar 90s formula, but has a more punk-infused drive. "Silverine" is more of an interlude than a song that stands on its own two feet. "Endless Sky" finds Anthony's vocals leading off. It finds a balance of heft bass lines providing a backbone, against 90s emo melodies. I will give this a 9, as some great songs just need to grow on me since I liked late 90s emo, which is the dominant sonic factor even more than the slight nods to nu-metal or shoegaze.
One of the most appealing things about this project is the ability to blend harsh electronic elements with organic instrumentation and find its unique groove. Mastermind Gautier Serre is experimenting on a broader scale with this album. He summarizes it well on the first track before more classical elements are introduced on "Headbutt," which finds a straightforward massive metallic chug taking over. Death metal is the primary mode of attack when things go in a more metal direction. Operatic vocals still soar to contrast the guttural vocals.
"Limbo" flows in the more classical direction, using the glitched-out out heavier parts as dynamic accents rather than being a focal point. "Blastbeat Falafel" has more Middle Eastern grooves that work best for these guys, making it one of the strongest songs so far. It builds into a more trashy attack as a dynamic shift. "ADHD" is a dub-steppy electronic groove. It does go into a more organic section briefly with a choir and harpsichord to contrast things. "Mustar Mucous" flips the script and is a heavier song that still carries an electronic groove amid the shifting spastic currents that are not something unheard of for this project.
"Infestis" is the first song that has a darker feel to it. It stomps with a more predictable metallic weight. Despite its swinging groove, this feels like a progressive death metal song. "Ancient Sun" has a more flowing groove to its slight trip-hop feel. "Pure Disproportionate Black and White Nihilism" starts off with a more classical feel before going into the heavier side of what they do, which comes with the glitched electronic beat. "Silemce" closes the album with a more solemn mood. It feels like the electronic elements deconstruct it as they add a harsher tone against the elegance. I will give this album a 9.5, as what they do is so impressive, and still very them, but it is streamlined into three distinct moods which are now expected rather than their previous work, which brought more of an unexpected feel.It drops September 19th on Metal Blade.
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Mat Mcnerney from Beastmilk is taking things in a more apocalyptic direction with this album. Joining him is the drummer from the Viagra Boys and Nate Newton from Converge on bass. "Will to Live" is hooky in the same way Killing Joke is. The guests keep coming as Big Paul Ferguson plays drums on 'She Wolf of London" as Creeper vocalist Will Gould lends his voice to the song. It is starker sonically than the previous songs, and might take a few more listens for me to digest. The guitar is almost abrasive. The hooky refrain of "Another Day Another Abyss" is on the dancier new wave end of post-punk and works really well.
"Wall to Wall" has a harder punk edge to it, but is balanced out by Mat's superior songwriting skills. They have captured a mood that is angry and ominous yet hooky in this bleak take on post-punk. The Killing Joke influence is very apparent here. The tense shadows of atmosphere that hang over this song feel very organic. "Slime of the Times" is more angular in its dissonant doomsday waltz. 'Silver Pigs" is driven by a more punk feeling that feels pretty natural.
"All Snakes, No Ladders" is the kind of vocal performance I prefer from Mat. This might be because it sounds the most like Beastmilk of all the songs on this album. All the songs on this album lock into a droning jam of their refrains that is an effective formula. The last song is more melodic and more melancholy as it ponders a post-apocalyptic outcome. I will round this up to a 10, as the elements that differ from what I am familiar with coming from him are due to the rough punk edges, which just need to grow on me.
The band's first full-length in over a decade finds them deviating from what you might expect from punk in 2025. Though it might make sense if you were asking what was in the mid-70s. There is still plenty of aggression in the vocals on "First Song on the Moon". Though layers of sung vocals chime in on the chorus. The guitars carry a frantic jangle rather than a hardcore chug. "There is a Telephone That Never Stops Ringing" finds a greater urgency in the mood that the song explodes with. It's organic chaos even in the more layered sounds that unfold, reminding me of the Stooges' "Funhouse" album.
"Empty Shoes" is more melodic. It is darker and sounds like how you might imagine a collaboration between Radiohead and Fugazi would turn out. "Jackie Oh No" strikes a balance between the more punk tension and the melodic brooding of the previous track by allowing it to build into an outburst by the end. "Johnny Gone" is back in a more frantic churning. There is a jagged tempo that recalls bands like Gang of Four, which empowers this song. There is more of a 90s post-hardcore mood to "Homecoming Queen."
They return to their punk roots for "You Look Like the Morning Explosion," which is an outburst that is under a minute, energy that is better expended on "In the Shadow of Ingredion," which has a Motorhead-like rock n roll undercurrent. "Bloodsport" is also a legit dive in punk. It also plays it too close to the definition of punk, but it works well enough. This fades into the weird instrumental piece "Kid Hard Dub" that finds a sax taking the spotlight. It almost sounds like a drunk duck. I appreciate any form of experimentation on a punk record.
"Over the Road" is darker, with the vocals yelling from a distance. But it feels more like an intro for the last song, which has the album's best riff. It's pretty impressive, despite an odd mix that finds the drums sitting further back than what we heard on the more punk moments. Overall, I really like their sense of adventure and refusing to conform to the expectations of punk, which is what punk is about, so I will give this one a 9.5. Drops September 5th on Death Wish Inc.
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I learned about this artist from Chelsea Wolfe, so I decided to check out her new album. It's a very emotionally fragile take on indie folk. The opening track is very compelling and inspires me to stick around for more. Not as dark as Chelsea Wolfe, but you can hear where their sonic common ground is. There is a very natural feeling of atmosphere that the second song uses in a more expansive post-rock manner. Thematically, this is a prequel to her album "The Preacher's Daughter".
"Fuck Me Eyes" is the second single that was released. It makes sense as it flows really well, and the melody is poppier than the first song. I would not call it dark, but introspective, and to be a concept album of sorts, there is an honesty to the narrative that is tangible. The electronic elements gather up to take the song away. Lyrically, is paints a wonderful picture. "Nettles" is the first single from the album, but it's just a wandering modern folk song and not as catchy as "Fuck Me Eyes," which is a better song, but it works for what it does, but what it does is not mind-blowing. Almost feels like a Phoebe Bridgers B-side.
The sprawling seven and a half minute interludes are an interesting touch. They are long enough to count as songs, but for the purpose of this review, I am not going to, as it's clear to hear what her actual songs are. "Dust Bowl" does have a touch of the experimental ambiance to it, as she creates an ambient backdrop for the otherwise breathy introspection that ponders her early glimpses into sexuality. There is a lethargy to the way this song flows that creates a rainy-day melancholy. I love the effects on her voice and how the dynamic builds in this song. The post-rock creeping into things is a wonderful touch.
"A Knock at the Door" has a hushed urgency to the pastoral manner it floats out. Though the vocals could carry more of the weight, rather than the sparse arrangement captured here. The album does lean heavily into the ambiance so much that some of the storytelling gets obscured by it. The instrumental interlude "Radio Towers" runs right into "Tempest," which finds her more ethereal vocals hovering into place. It rides a beautiful hypnotic drone that almost feels like it's from the '90s. I had to give the closing song "Waco, Texas" another listen, as it carries a similar ambiance that sprawls out with minimal percussion carrying the wave of fragile vocal speculation. I will give this album a 9.5 and see how it grows on me. Excellent songwriting when she commits to it, but it is more about the mood, which works here as a powerful mood conveyed.
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What sets this blackened death metal band from London apart from all the others? There is a more emotional intensity that translates well in the black metal sections. It is not just blast beats. They do deliver some rapid-fire moments. There is also space for the opening track to simmer. The first song alone is not enough to weigh in on judgment yet, but I have found over the years that if I can make it through the first song, it's a better omen. There are tons of bands in my in-box, with whom I did not make it that far with and felt my time would be better spent elsewhere.
It seems all too often blackened death metal bands add the wrong parts of the two genres. These guys seem to get the atmosphere and aggression combo before going into a more winding technical riff for the second song. The vocals are produced to give the growls the biggest roar for your buck. "Aether" chugs along at a very deliberate pace that finds even the vocals finding more purpose. The use of a present bass in the mix is effective and creates a darker backbone for songs like "Mire" to be built upon. It is a largely blunt hammering affair that continues to build momentum as the song progresses, ebbing back down into ambiance briefly before becoming more punishing.
When you are five songs deep into an album that has hit you with high-velocity damage to your ears, you would think it would be time to switch it up so the listener does not become numb to it. This does not happen. By not relenting, things begin to become a blur of buzzing riffs. They are effective at what they are doing, but what they are doing needs to be paced in order for it to achieve maximum impact. I like the effects they use on the vocals for "Beeseech"; it sort of creates a new vocal color, though the song itself seems to be intent on ending in guitar solos.
"Vestige" roars with a more death metal fury, as its aggression is over and larger than life. I can hear how comparisons to a band like Behemoth might be warranted, given the massive scope of sound they hit you with. I think death metal fans would embrace them more than the wider scope of listeners Behemoth has acquired. The album closes with "Seethe." They allow some breathing room as the intro melodically simmers. It ebbs wisely back and forth from the more spacious, majestic sound to the darker, snarling that dominates this album. I will give this album a 9, as they have taken extreme sounds and molded them into songs worth listening to while not compromising a ton on sheer heaviness.
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I became obsessed with this band's album 'With Love From a Padded Room" to the point that it not only was the number one post-punk album of 2024, but also took fourth place, in the overall best of list, behind 3 of my favorite artists the Cure, Glassing and Taylor Swift, putting them in the top tier of songwriters. This means expectations are high. Rather than conform to expectations on their new album, the band has taken a left turn. It still sounds like them, but rather than the smoky blues noir that set the tone of the last album, there are more synths at the forefront. This is not blindsiding you as they did similar on songs like "Lipstick With No Lips" on the last album; it just takes things a step further in that direction, so I am going to break this album down into a song by song review to fully grasp what is happening here. Before we begin, this is a concept album of sorts about Bella Pink, an online sex worker, who descends into madness.
"Mr. Sentimental"
This song took a second listen to click with me. It's sonically heavy with a dense, shimmering atmosphere. It's sonically heavy, and the intensity is not as brooding. Tony Castrati's voice is just as commanding as it was on the last album, though the more melodic vocals sit back into the wall of sound.
"Saran Wrapped Cash"
Hookier than the first song, the vocals are well-layered. The vocals find a more gripping melody even though they sit back in the reverb of a dark hallway, but it allows the mood to organically flow, and an emotional heaviness to drift in. It's also darker than the first song, which appeals to me. The synths are really well done, creating a nightmarish haze.
"LADIES NIGHT"
Here Tony's baritone muttering sounds like he jsut woke up in a dance club with a hangover that is making his depression worse, but the disco urges are beginning to overcome him. Almost Cure-like guitar haunts the song, before things get confrontational.
"Pay Pigs"
At this point, the theme of the album has unfolded. Things gather a creepy menace as Tony rants in a more abstract manner as the storm builds. A bigger, more cavernous sound overtakes this song, which is heavier than the previous album.
"bedrot"
This song is full of self-loathing and blends the synth ambiance that is shifting in prominence with the album with the kind of scathing yet catchy songwriting that makes this band so endearing to me. The synths shift the mood from the more post-punk feel of the last album to the more romanticized scorn of goth.
"MONET"
I like the tension this song grooves with. The vocals are more venomous. Yet, they still allow themselves room for the ebb and flow of dynamics. Even more goth in the picture of sound it paints than the previous song.
"Pretty In Pink"
The vocals to this one are almost pop hooky, but also sit back into a wall of reverb, which makes them more of a texture.The drummer is really stepping it up on this album, and you gotta give Castrati credit for switching things up, and not replicating his previous performances. There is almost a shoe-gazing feel to the atmosphere built here.
"Pliers"
He drops down into a raspy whisper, going into this one, as the music bubbles up around him. Once again, they seem to be able to take you into progressively darker back alleys of their mind. Things float off into an abstract jam. Luxury Skin's Juliet Gordon lends her voice to this song, and there are other layers of female vocals cropping up that I am going to assume are hers as I have not seen any credit to suggest otherwise yet.
"screentime"
This is more like an atmospheric interlude than a song
"I Have a Key to Your House"
There is a more traditional rock structure to this one, though it is filtered through their dark and depressing perspective, but an explosive chorus. I would expect this to be the lead single if they are trying to reach a broader audience, but such things are mundane concerns to these guys.
"Camgirl"
The title track opens in a confrontational manner and ebbs down into a more electronic pulse a minute and a half in. Imagine if the National took too many drugs and lost their minds, the results might be similar if they fell into the darkest corners of their psychotic musings. They are reaching the point of experimentation here that brings them to a place not unlike Swans or Xiu Xiu. It's not the catchiest song, but the range of dynamics it shifts from compensates for this.
"Sweet Talk"
This one builds up from a deep subterranean sound into an outpouring of passionate anger.
"TARAVISTA"
The album's simplest but most melodically powerful songs with the grace that flows so beautifully.
"Mary Kate and Ashley"
This song wraps up all the element that makes this band who they are and delivers them in a way that honors this new direction and what you loved about them in the past. The chilling, clean guitar tones are darker and more powerful. Things get pretty intense on this one.
"despair"
The last song pulls things together in a very convincing manner; they drone on the sing-song melody that Tony is prone to conjure and soar off into the night with it.
I will give this album a 10 as it powerfully pulls together darkness with an often lighter atmosphere, but blends it into an alluring album that delivers what you want from these guys.
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This trio plays an interesting flavor of indie rock. They are introspective and melodic while their songwriting churns through odd yet organic shifts. There is more surf rock than punk in the opening track of their debut album. "Shoes Today" is a weird take on pop if we are talking about pop from the '60s Phil Spector era. There is a garage vibe to the guitars of " Life's An Adventure". The lyrics are as oddly phrased as the music jangling around it.
Things begin to ring and drone into one another once we get to "Sleepless Lullabye". The vocals are sparse, but harmonize well when they do appear. "Spellcheck" is an interlude that drifts by like muzak you might hear in a hotel lounge. "Direction' is certainly a shift as it brings in electronic sounds, though the guitar tone anchors in the more retro mood that haunts the bulk of the album. The vocals help pull this one together. The vocal cadence brings a darker mood to things. It shifts back to a more light-hearted affair on " Time is Right." There is a jazzy nuance to this song. The vocals are not meant as a hook but as a texture. It wanders in an almost proggy fashion. Live, this would feel kind of jammy. The chorus is oddly tacked on as a refrain at the end of the song.
The guitar to 'Wanda' finds it ringing out like an indie rock ballad from the '90s before the vocals come in to smooth things out. The vocals bring an almost country feel. The title track is under two minutes and feels almost more like an outro. I will give this one a 9.5, it was weird and different enough to set itself apart, and make me want to listen, will see how it grows on me, but it's indie rock with a retro feel that works well.
I wrote something for Ghost Cult Magazine that really summed up my feelings best, but it feels wrong to not write something here since this is my personal blog, where I give you my raw thoughts on life and music. I've written a lot of these, but it hits a little different when it's somebody who slept on your futon, somebody you played music with, somebody who gave you a big grin when he saw you walking around in Little Five Points, and yelled, "What's up, Bench Press."
We never talked about Mastodon; we talked about adventures out on the road, but when I lived in Atlanta, he had enough hangers-on when his band blew up, and watching it happen in real time was surreal. We are always a few doors down from each other in seperate practice spaces, He encouraged a lot of bad ideas, like a roller skating Kiss tribute band. Even though he thought the music was silly, he compared it to a live version of the Electric Mayhem band from The Muppet Show.
We bonded over artists we loved. The only two metal bands we really talked about were Iron Maiden ( he preferred the first two albums) and Neurosis. I think he enjoyed being able to talk to me about music that wasn't metal or punk, since that's what we were surrounded by in Little Five Points, the conformity or non-conformity, another frequent topic. But we talked about Waylon Jennings, George Jones Frank Zappa. Dire Straits, Chet Atkins, Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart, Nick Cave, Swans, Sonic Youth, and Die Kruzen come to mind.
He loved music, he loved life, he understood when I said that you can judge a person by their taste in music, because if it vibes with them, then that is what resonates with them, it's how they are made up, and a good indicator of how much depth they are going to have. There was a good deal of music we did not always agree with. The band's I like that he didn't, he would say, were what made me a big kid, and we agreed that if you forget the things that made you happy as a child, you would be a miserable adult.
He said it was amazing to him that I got sober and took care of my mental health the way that I did, and he wished it were that easy for him, but everybody has their own path. That is what I love the most about him he was a man who was on his own path and even in the face of the bullshit that comes along with the music business he did it on he own terms, and did not change much for better or for worse in the process, and he was one of a kind, glad we got to call each other friends my world is a little smaller without him in it now.
Members of Hierarchies formed this band to dig into the doomier aspects of death metal. Not sure why there seems to be another surge of death doom bands, but that is where we are at. These guys are going to need to find a good reason to convince me why they needed a 13-minute opening track. It does not go in the direction you expect, but rather these guys take what is a pretty catchy riff and jam on it, riding the riff for all its worth for the duration of the song, with the drums clocking the intensity levels. They apply this to the second song as wellbut it feels like the bass line is more of the core of this jam, and the guitar is creating layers of chaotic atmosphere around. I think this still works and makes for an interesting enough listen.
After the interlude, things change to a more standard metal formula, and that is where this album begins to lose some of its charm, as plunging into blackened tremolo-picked guitar parts and focusing on the sharp edge of the heavy sword is something I get tired of after hearing it all the time. Not sure if this was done to prove to themselves that they could do it, or to prove to the other bands they play with, or an appeal to the lowest common denominator of an audience? The changes on this song are more subtle, and the layers are pretty dense thanks to how this was recorded. They do still have a core riff running through the jam, but the sound is collected to make it sound like every other band I hear doing this sort of thing. If you are a heavy band, the more experimentation the better.
"The Altar' is more deliberate, but another thing about this band is the fact that the low, gurgled growl of the vocals is merely an obligatory layer, with no real purpose. You can not convince me there are even lyrics written for this. This takes away from any attempt at songwriting and feels like a gallery of riffage. This leaves dark and heavy as the sole selling points, rather than anything that makes me want to listen to this album again. On the last song, things race back into the more feral side of death metal, and death metal is what his album is at its core. A cool guitar melody does emerge from the fray, but not sure if it can support an entire ten and a half minute song. I give this album an 8 as I appreciate its more organic jammed aspect, but personally prefer death metal that has more purpose when it comes to the vocals. This is being released on Halloween by Transcending Obscurity.
Sometimes there is an album that goes unnoticed when released, and it takes some time before it gathers the buzz needed to come to your attention. This is the case with Canadian band Truck Violence, who released this album back in July of 2024, and just now entered my trajectory. It flew under the radar and gathered a deserved buzz as it came to my attention. They incorporate punk vocals with an undercurrent of blast and odd, angular reverb reverb-heavy guitars that clang about; it feels like Iceage jamming with Cult of Youth at times.
"Lecture" finds its vocalist mumbling to himself in a rather musing manner as the music broods in a 90s indie rock manner. When it explodes out, it is not done in as abrasive a manner as we first hear from them, showing they have levels of dynamics they are mature enough to shift from. Their first foray into folk is on the song "Gung buried in the front yard". This is being said with a dash of irony, but maybe they are sincere. "The gash" has more of a hardcore feel, though it's dark and reflective. The return to the more folk sounds but with a more depressive feel for "He ended the bender hanging". The darker subject matter makes me take this one more seriously, and it builds into a more angular noise rock clamour.
There is another folk ditty that feels more bluegrass emo. Not as serious as the previous song, but not done from a place of irony either. The last song feels more like noise rock, as it is not a feral explosion of anger, but a reflective unfolding of it. I will round this one up to a 10 it might be the best punk album from last year that you never heard.
Five years is the longest gap between Detones' albums, and here we are, after the band sorted through some shit and wrote new music. The first song, "my mind is a mountain", which is the lead single from this album, Everyone was stoked to hear big loud guitars again, but let's be real, and clarify the fact that the chug of guitar here is different than the chug of guitar from "Around the Fur". It's understandable since it's been 30 years since "Adrenaline" came out, even Iron Maiden became a different band 30 years into their career. What has worked in this band's favor is their fan base grew with them, which kept these guys relevant over the years, instead of getting lumped in with the other nu-metal bands. "locked club" finds big, deliberate guitar not unlike what we heard on the previous song, as they kind play around the throb of the song with some intersting drums keeping things moving.
"ecdysis" has a little more groove, more comparable to the direction they went on "White Pony." The bass feels like it is generally lower in the mix, which factors into why it might not sound as heavy. really low in the mix. To Chno's credit, is is singing with a little more balls in his voice. Granted, around here, where I am reviewing bands like Harms Way and Nails, the bar is high for aggressive vocalization. "infinite source" has a more defined rif than what we have heard from them in a while. Chino goes back to the vocalizations we have come to expect from him post--"White Pony".
"souvenir" is a middle-of-the-road balance of what they do these days; there is atmosphere, but with a more Hum-like drive to it. "cXz" has a little more gas in the tank, but the swirl of guitar sounds also takes them in a more shoegaze direction, nothing new in that regard either. When you play this album loud through headphones, it sounds best and brings out the effects on the vocals and some of the electronic sounds bubbling under. "i think about you" is a shoegazing song that does find them stomping on the distortion, to cause a dynamic shift, but it is not the album's most exciting song. They rock out more on "milk of the madonna" which has a grooving bounce to it that is a step back in the direction of the nu-metal their original fan band fell in love with.
"cut hands" is a step even further toward nu-metal as Chino takes on a more aggressive almsot rapped vocal for the song. It's pretty "Angel Dust" era Faith No More influenced, but also one of the best songs on the album. "metal dream" also features more rapped vocals. But rather than going into explosive screaming, it soars off into a shoegaze riff. "departing the body" starts with a lower vocal and a more strummed ballad feel before building into their more expected sound. While this is heavier than most of their post-"White Pony" material, it's not metal, nor have they wanted to be metal in decades, so that is fine. The important thing is that the songwriting feels more inspired and less dialed in. There are only two songs that did not work for me on my initial listen, or at least did not feel they were at the level of the other songs on this album, so I will give this one a 9.5, as they delivered the goods. It's not a perfect album, but it will likely grow on me.
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This dark death doom band features members of Power Trip, Mammoth Grinder, Iron Lung, and a litany of underground metal acts. They have mastered a dark and oppressive sound, but once I am in the second song, I find myself faced with the question, Can these guys write a song. Just because they are from bands with a name, does that mean they were the songwriters for that band, or did they just show up and play their parts as required? There is no answer found in the second song, as they are trying to solidify a depressive mood.
"Blotted Inside" finds that even after slowing down, they are a death metal band at heart. The low, heavily affected guttural nature of the vocals works at either tempo, though it feels more resonant in the more depressive drone they lock into. Melodic guitar lines flow around the steady pulse of darkness. "Dissonant Drift" is truth in advertising as the gurgle of the vocals bubbles under the atmosphere of trudge of doom. The pace is picking up into a more deliberate stomp by the end. Then they hammer back at you, going into " Ressentiment," it is punctuated by atmospheric fills of guitar, but largely moves like death metal until the guitar solo takes over.
By "Overwhelming Subjection," things are starting to run together as the uniform sounds collide. Guitar melodies can help to differentiate things if you are giving a close neough listen. This can be heard as 'Pain Effulgence." Everything sounds heavy and the guitar tone is as miserable as you want it to be, but it do get mired into a sound where the best moments of a band like My Dying Bride, who pulls this sort of mood off with more grace, or even a funeral band like Voken might be a fairer comparison., has more layers, these guys are just playing guitar well with little story to tell. For that reason I am going to give this album an 8, excellent execution with not much to say, but for some fans of this genre, that is what they are looking for.Out on Porfound Lore
This industrial rock duo hails from Canada, a country that has been exporting some pretty decent music lately. Vocalist Zee Jaber, uses her voice in a more rock manner, rather than a blunt instrument like so many industrial bands do. Though a couple of songs into things, she does employ a harsher metal snarl. "Crystal Jellyfish" starts the formula of giving the vocals room during the verse before doing the '90s build-up on the chorus. When the pace picks up for " Lost in Between," there is more of a Fear Factory feel.
There is a cool electronic pulse to "Perodic Dance" that is a sound they should lean into more. When they bust into the heavier dynamic, there is a better dynamic contrast in place. "Fox n Crow" finds a more radio rock middle ground. The syncopation of the guitar is more of a nu-metal waltz. There is more of a Nine Inch Nails-like synth throb to "Dream Watcher." It proves to be effective, as it is familiar but retains its identity. To be titled "Dead," it's more high-energy than not. A 90s-infused beat drives the song. In terms of heaviness, it feels more middle of the road, which, given where music stands in 2025, could be said of most bands like this. Even a band like Spiritbox, which blends poppier electronic elements in the metal core sound they started with.
"One Step" has a more 80s feel to the pulse of its synth bass. I think going in a darker direction might also help this project, as feeling darker adds to the sense of heaviness, and even on the more menacing verses of "Love Virus," there is a lighter element that feels like it is due to how this was mixed. Or the other option is what they display on "Them" switch it up and go in a more sensual electronic direction. This almsot feels more true to who they are. The last track is more of an ambient outro than a song. I will give this album an 8.5, they care about songs, and bring interesting ideas to the table while reminding you of a nostalgic era typical of the genre, but they got the assignment right.
What a time to be a death metal band in Ukraine, you have all the inspiration you could ever ask for. These guys go from angular riffing into highly hooky crunches. There is some great guitar playing, the drums are a little buried in the background, but I will throw some headphones on for the second song and see if that helps. The second song is murkier and less deliberate, with the guitars weaving around one another in a chaotic manner. It takes about a minute and a half before things slow down enough for the song to get its footing. When they speed up, they just sound like every other death metal band. I like how the vocals are recorded; this creates the feel of the low growl as more of a spectral rasp.
"Gnosis" has more of a grinding, mechanical Morbid Angel feel, rather than the more epic chug of Bolt Thrower. They have riffs coming out of their ass. This creates a thrashing labyrinth they sometimes wrestle against, making it hard for the vocals to find their place. The drums thunder more to the forefront as the album progresses. They still have a cavernous sound, but this album was likely recorded in a bunker. Most of the songs are around the four-minute mark so they do not waste any time when it comes to compositions. "Arammu" has more groove to its riffing. This works better for my ears. The verse is very deliberate despite the trippy phasing effects on the guitars. The pitch harmonics have a early '90s squeal to them.
The title track has even more Morbid Angel flowing in the opening riff. They do switch things up into a darker, more brooding verse to give themselves more of a defined personality rather than being the sum of their influences. There is a hooky rallying cry that this song invokes, and I like how they thrash out of this into darker moods. The bass picks up the slack as needed in these transitions. The solos echo off into the reverbed distance, rather than jsut being shred fests. The last song starts off with an almost rock n roll guitar melody. It descends into a dense battle of guitars. This is another case of where they pile all of the riffs they have been hoarding into this five-minute outburst. I will give this one a 9, it's a solid effort, who knows how much of a future their homeland has, much less as a band, but this is a fitting testament to the times they made this in,Out September 12th on Redefining Darkness.
This project is based in Louisiana and is the work of Bug Gigabyte. The first track is a dystopian soundscape that transcends his swampy roots. "Caught in the Grip of the City" is more deliberate in its downtempo thump, with a tense vocal narrative that is broken up by samples. With electronic music, the challenge for artists can be to not get carried away by cool beats and sound, but to tell a story. This is typically forsaken by dance music altogether. This project is geared to the dance floor, though it would take a great deal of Absinthe to get moving to the narcotic throb invoked here. The vocals have purpose when applied, so songwriting is the focus more than booty shaking. I can see psy-trance fans being into some of the dark vibes going down here.
"Idealogical Subversion" makes the most of the samples it uses. I like that while there is a political theme, it looks at the bigger picture, outside of the fihbowl being very aware of the puppet show in motion rather than aligning itself with one team or the other, with a wink in the direction that this is all a game. This is the first song where I hear a trip-hop influence. Perhaps not as dark as say Tricky, but slinky in its midnight grooves. The sampled vocals work well and get the job done without conforming to mainstream songwriting.
The last song "Life Hack' is a head bobber, it's short and sweet. There sounds like there are some organic qualities like a guitar on it, but it could just be tones sampled into a digital audio workstation. It is more about the beats than the storytelling, though the samples do have a narrative they are unfolding. I will give this album a 9. I have high expectations when it comes to electronic music, as I hold all music to the same standards, no matter if your drums are coming from a laptop or a kit, and this project excedes those expectations making it one of the better electronic album's I've heard this year, granted it's industrial adjacent enough to give my dark tastes what they need.
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