The Pretty Reckless : "Dear God"

 

Their last album 'Other Worlds' did not live up to the height they hit with their songwriting on "Death By Rock N Roll," which ight be why there is less fanfare with the release of this album. The opening track "For I Am Death," however, delivers pretty solidly with Taylor Momsen dialed in where she needs to be to carry this band. "When I Wake Up" might not be as hooky, but it works when it comes to straight-up rock n roll. There is a pretty heartfelt performance to "Love Me".The song s is pretty dynamic even if it brushes against some common tropes. 

The strum of "Dragonfire" has a more rootsy blues-based sound.  It opens things up for her to belt it out more easily, as the band is allowed to stretch out a bit. The title track is the darkest so far and has a bit of Alice Cooper influence in the guitar playing, so it is not surprising that it is my favorite song so far. The album is broken up by interludes called "Life Evermore". "About You" is more of a punk-influenced ditty that works for what it is. "Spell On You" is not the Screaming Jay Hawkins song, but it's an angsty grunge banger. They use the 90s production style but do not feel the need to check off the grunge boxes for"Rollercoaster of Life." While this works for the verses, the chorus is not the strongest as it's too happy. 

Taylor is at her best with some brooding introspection in the equation, which finds its balance on " Eye of the Storm". She tackles the introspective part from another angle on "Devil in Disguise."  This shows another side of her voice with its folky feel. She doesn't always have to rock out to keep me happy. I was not expecting what they do on "Dark Days," so that gets points for not following the most obvious paths and spreading things out dynamically.. I think this album is better than her last and touches on the kind of magic that worked so well on "Death By Rock n Roll," so I will give it a 9.5, out on Fearless Records.

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Dead Pony : "Eat My Dust"

 I really liked the nu-metal-tinged pop of "Ignore You"; it earned a 9 here. But this trip into the studio, they have refined what they were doing there and made it heavier; there is less pop-punk in the mix. Though some of the emphasis is still on hooky, infectious vocals, after hearing the first few singles, I was looking forward to this album. Anna Shields has more emphasis placed on her.. She is a strong front woman and should be front and center for more reasons than what might seem to the two that are most in your face. The first track is more of an intro, building into the title track here. There are more electronic elements driving things, but her vocal lines are airtight. You hear this song and can't imagine why they are not already on bigger stages. 

"Freak Like Me" is more dynamic, and there is a sexual element not only in the lyrics but in the groove, and is seems perhaps in showing more skin in their promo materials, she has grown into her own skin, and this is displayed in a more confident vocal performance. This defines girl power to me , as its not something that should prudishly repress the sex image and empower objectification. The lyrics might also be alluding to this. While many women trying to pull this off simply make videos that are better to watch with the sound muted, this is a well-balanced presentation, as the songs here matter.

"Fury" finds the chug of guitars laying down the foundation for her vocals to dance over. She is not trying to be Katy Perry, but the pop melding with metal hee works organically and benefits from stellar production. It makes sense that this is an ep as these songs were given meticulous attention to detail in the mix and a whole album of this might have pushed this back to a 2027 release. It also ensures that there is no filler. There are some interesting sounds on "Boom: that carries a more 90s alternative feel. It makes me think of bands I used to love, like the Guano Apes. The last song might be the msot melodic, and while it might not be as hooky as some of the earlier songs, it still works. I think they nailed what they do and presented a perfect sonic picture as who they are as a band, so I will give this one a 10.

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Rezn- " Cycles in the Infinite Dream"

 

They are dialing more into the progressive side of what they do here, with the guitars taking on more of a riffy feel. The vocals are coming forward in the mix and not just being atmospheric elements that coast in the dream-like haze as things get more defined n the opening track. With this comes some heavier chug that holds more weight than what we are used to hearing from these guys. The sax returns to drive the prog point home, even in the face of harder-rocking riffs surfacing. Even though they have gone further into prog, only the last song goes over the five-and-a-half-minute mark. 

"Cloudfall" kicks the door in to tell you they are not fucking around with any shoegazing and came to rock. The chords that ring out here remind me of solo Ozzy.. They lean back into something more akin to what they once did on "Aerial Birth," while it's consistent with what they used to do, it dials the dynamics down to a much lower-energy place than where they have taken you for the bulk of the album so far. After a brief instrumental interlude, they come back heavier for " The Vessel. "The main verse riff is pretty hooky and reminds me a little of Matodon. The strummed guitar feels more Smashing Pumpkins in this contet.

Some of the album's most interesting guitar work goes down on "Escher". Here, they prove that bringing the vocals to the forefront can be an asset for them. "Primal Thread' falls along the line of your average atmospheric rock in 2026. The last song drifts more toward their more familiar shoegazing sound; it does not grip me like some of the other songs do. As a whole, I would say while this album rocks harder, it is not as dark and holds less drugged-out melancholy than their previous work , but the songwriting has been sharpened to a more accessible point, which often works in their favor. I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it grows on me.Out on Sargent House. 

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Psycroptic : "The Pulse of Annihilation"

 

These Tasmanian devils play a blistering form of death metal that carries technical finesse as well as scowling fury. There is a rock n roll swagger to the more progressive side of what they do. It is my first time digging into these guys, so surprised that there is not a harsh blast of time signatures that flash before my eyes before i can form thoughts about them. 'Gathering a Venomous Herd" finds them picking up some speed, as the snarl of the vocals makes more of a declaration. There has not been a barrage of guitar solos, so that is impressive. It finds them going in an almsot more of a thrash direction. 

"A Sword of Me" features some tight, airtight picking.. The vocals are layered with perhaps a more death metal sound buried somewhre in the mix. The focus is on the form and function, rather than on hooks.. The harsher vocals are spit out with rapid-fire intent.  "No Time For the Week" tries to give things more space, but they are picking at such a hyper fast spped it is not attainable. To their credit, the drums are locked in almost as snuggly has what Meshuggah does. Just fewer time signature changes. The more melodic intro is needed to "Pillars Fall" as everything had begun to run together. They don't linger when the build comes and throw themselves back into the high-speed chugging. But the breather helped and reframed what they are doing. 

Until they speed off there is a bit of a hook in the main riff of "Annihilation Pulse". It is better than what the album descends to when they start doing palm-muted chugging on "No Blade of Grass," which becomes almost indistinguishable from what they do on "Embrace the Curse" that follows. This puts a great deal of pressure on the last song, "Forging the Crown," to do something different, but this is not really what happens. There is a guitar melody in the background, but the emphasis is on the racing riff. The most interesting parts feel more like thrash than death metal. For my tastes, this is too busy and not dark enough, but if yo uare into more technical metal but want it to not jerk you around with time signature changes, then you might already be a fan of this band. If not, give them a shot. I will give this album an 8; it's being released on Metal Blade. 

 

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Emptiness : "Nowhere Speaks"

If there is one thing I like in my music, it is darkness, and this band from Belgium continues to scratch that itch. Over the years, they have done it in different ways on 2014's "Nothing but the Whore" that took a more blackened approach, then went goth in 2017 with "Not For Music," and now here we are, splitting the difference between the two with something that carries a hazy throb..The heavily affected vocals sound like the devil commonly does in horror movies. The icy guitar buzzing in the title track finds them in a more black metal space. It can capture melody or jsut hold the creepy tension; either works well. 

They are discordant and angular but still flow like syrupy shadows. Heavily atmospheric, they take a more unsettling approach to being heavy. More of 207's goth grooves bubble up in places. The vocals are more whispers than screams or growled/. There are a few ambient interludes which might have worked better just as intros to songs. Granted "Words to Wind" is already almsot eight and a half minutes long, so maybe that is where they were trying to trim the fat.

 For a metal drummer, there is a great deal of restraint in place, as it patters around more like jazz than looking for something to blast into. It moves through the murk with jazzy grace. Then midway itno the songs, thigns threaten to come to a boil but instead just fade into heavy breathing. It feels like this is where the song would have ended, but no there are still three minutes for them to fade in and slowly build things up. 

If you ever wonderer what it would be like if Tom Waits made a goth album well, "When the Whole Arrives' is a pretty good guess. Double bass drums to come in and try to anchor the song, but it's abstact arragnement has already soared off. The guitar is more defined on "The Clash of Forces"". It carries more drive and conforms more to metal expectations. Then it ebbs down to less tangible concepts for 'the Next in Line." It takes over half the song to build it up into something with movement.. It's almost shoegaze, but with much darker shoes being gazed upon.

There is a more bubbling chaos for "All For Nthing". Some of the issue is the mix as the guitar are getting a little song, unless they are given the space to ring out.. By the three minute makr it builds to blast beat pattering under it all. Reveb heavy sung vocals also join in to flaot off with them into the storm clouds. I will give this album an 8, it captures a nice mood, but could be more song-focused

Out July 17th on Season of Mist. 

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Anatomy of Habit : "Paired Sentinels"

 

This is the third album I've reviewed by this band, and with each one, they seem to be getting it a little more dialed in. The album has four songs, two of which are over thirteen minutes. The second and last song, respectively.The seven and a half minutes. opening track to this one finds them taking the post-industrial throb and jamming it out with a hypnotic drone that adds layers of sound to build it dynamically. Not complex arrangements, really just taking the theme and running with it. The baritone vocals calling out amid it all. It works in this context, but not sure I would want an entire album of this. 

The second song, "Conditions of Freedom," finds the bass line opening things up, and strummed guitars adding texture. The vocals are less ominous and sound like Interpol trying to pay tribute to Swans, as they are more of a chant than a verse-chorus arrangement. The Swans' influence is much more present here than on the first song, but not as obvious to the common ear as on their last album. Midway into the second song, they ease the build down and add more dynamics. It also gets moodier. before bringing it back in with a pound that recalls Swan's earlier angrier days. 

"The Importance of Risk" is more rooted in their own identity. The bass line grooves more. The vocals shift away from the Michael Gira influence and toward more of a stoned speculation. There is a bit of a hypnotic drone even here, which is just this band's thing. The vocals are a narrative, but not adding a great dealaside a human element. There is a little brighter, more hopeful mood to the title track that closes the album. The guitar melody that comes in brings a more melancholic edge. This might be the album's melodic moment that also brings a tinge of Pink Floyd to things for this reason.They also get closest to their momst metal moment on this album with the riff it all builds up into .  I will give this album a 9, as I think they continue to grow as a band. 

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Lockstep : "I Know What I Saw"

 

This Nashville-based band nails the shoegaze sound, which is apparent from all the key elements being in place. The reverb warble of guitars and the breathy coo of the vocals, but just dialing in a sound is no feat, so how are their songs? This is the question that really matters. The first two songs show they are not afraid of their distortion pedals, but it's the indie rock groover mixed with a narcotic pulse on "Tilt of the World" that sells me on what they are doing. This album does sound great through headphones, so they have taken great care in capturing these songs in the studio. 

They back off into a dreamier haze with "Soft Gauze of Time," and they bring in a dynamic shift and very deliberately chug up some power chords to contrast how the song opened. The guitar players have a decent sense of melody and carry the weight when the vocals get lost in the mix. I think the whispery vocals will get old for me before the guitar tones. They are smart to keep the songs all under the four and a half minute mark, rather than sprawling everything out into a drone. 

"Dog in the House of Plenty' is nap-inducing even with the sonic heft of the bass and the guitars' more feed back biting tones. For fans of shoegaze, we have to not just settle for what we have heard done before, as this is what separates quality from quantity. Thankfully, they give things more space with the bass line to "Half Measures". It is a little darker and does not rely on drifting in the same clouds. There is a slight angular swagger in the verse riff. 

They are going in a heavier direction with "Solvent Sound", it is a subtle shift, but it works, as the drums give more of a punch in their accents. The syncopation the bass line creates works well and gives the guitar more room.. They jam out the fade-out ending of this one. The last song, "Return" is the first one that actually legit rocks out. By rock out, it's in a doomy way. I will give this album a 9, as they carve their own place out in this genre that is becoming overcrowded in 2026, but they earn a spot. Dropping July 24th on Profound Lore. 

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