Category: Reviews

  • As you may or may not be aware, Robbie Williams was selling copies of every show of his Swings Both Ways Live tour, just as he did with every show of the Take the Crown tour. It’s not a brand new concept, but only a small number of other artists have ever actually done so…

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  • Swiss band Gotthard have been around 20 years and their new album BANG! follows an impressive total of 14 albums (studio and live)… That’s a catalog as extensive as Motley Crue’s! And yet it’s the first Gotthard album I’ve ever heard, largely due to the fact that most of their material hasn’t been released here…

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  • Brighton, England’s Royal Blood are here and they come with a question: who needs guitars anyway? You see, their sound simply consists of bass guitar and vocals, courtesy of Michael Kerr, and drums via Ben Thatcher. That’s right, just bass and drums. Yet their album packs more screeching riffs than anything The Strokes or The…

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  • Back in 2012 Kimbra seemed to become an overnight sensation thanks to her part in Gotye’s global hit “Somebody That I Used To Know.” So when her debut album Vows was released here in the States later that year I expected it to be a huge success. Unfortunately, all those downloads of “Somebody That I…

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  • There was a time, not so long ago, when any mention of “Youngblood Hawke” would have made me think of the book Youngblood Hawke by Herman Wouk.  To tell you the truth, I’ve never read it, but it’s on the list of books that I intend to read in the not so distant future, largely…

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  • OK GO’s new EP opens with the mid-tempo track “Turn Up the Radio,” a song about getting down to business with one’s significant other. The idea, I think, is to turn up the radio so your neighbors can’t hear you shagging. “I’ve got to lose myself tonight / So turn off the lights,’ sings Damian Kulash…

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  • Color us damn impressed. Totem’s latest track, “Chase Me,” is one truly gorgeous, mid-tempo electro-ballad. With its monster beats and haunting vocals, it’s like the dreaminess of Bastille meets the potency of Imagine Dragons. Seriously, it’s that good. And he’s giving it away for free. Unfortunately, it’s in flac format, so you won’t be able…

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  • By now you’ve probably realized that we think that LIGHTS can do no wrong. Well, this haunting, down-tempo tune is just further proof of her flawlessness. Lyrics, vocals, music — it’s beautiful and touching all around.

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  • Western Education were formed during spring 2011 on the east coast in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, birthplace and muse of Jack Kerouac, after vocalist Greg Alexandropoulos plastered the UMASS Lowell campus with flyers seeking some compatible musicians. His search discovered bassist Will Hunt and guitarist Georgio Broufas and the trio set about making some…

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  • Morgoth’s “God Is Evil” 7″ and digital single is their first studio recording since 1996’s “Feel Sorry For The Fanatic” and, holy fuck, was it worth the wait. From the second the song opens, they unleash a cavalcade of spiky, blood-spilling riffs, brutal drums and scathing vocals. It’s a massive onslaught of evil, every second…

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  • “You don’t love me like I love you,” sings Whinnie Williams, her voice dripping with melancholy during this lovely, retro-tastic number. If you hear shades of Lily Allen and Nicola Roberts here, well, that’s no coincidence. You see, the track is produced by Future Cut, who’s recently worked with Lily, meanwhile Whinnie has written songs…

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  • Listening to this debut track by Laura Doggett — in collaboration with Sohn — for something like the eighth time in a row. Mesmerized by it. Such a haunting, emotive electronica track, it’s like St. Vincent meets ’90’s Bjork. A very good thing indeed. -Michael

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  • This video (click read more) is very, very NOT SAFE FOR WORK. (So much so that we had to spell it out.) It also may be triggering (extreme sex). To listen without the video, play it on Soundcloud below: “Give me what I want / It’s not only the victim / Who wears the scars,”…

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  • As you probably know, I recently reviewed Youngblood Hawke’s August 6th, 2014 show at Brighton Music Hall in Boston.  My review was wholly positive and I feel the same way about their debut album, Wake Up, which is, in fact, crammed with plenty of gorgeous anthems to rouse you.  Each of its songs are stimulating…

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  • Dances are an indie rock band that began in New York in 2011 by singer/guitarist Trevor Vaz. Initially a solo songwriting project, it turned into a collaborative trio in 2013 upon the addition of bassist/vocalist Sam Stoltje and drummer David Su. “Summer in the shade,” Vaz sings during “Doc Youth” and that’s exactly what the…

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