Category: Reviews
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This review was originally published on Otaku. I’m running it here because it was recently released here in the States. VAMPS — known as VAMPS (JPN) here in the States for Trademark reasons — is a Japanese hard rock/metal group formed in 2008 by vocalist/rhythm guitarist HYDE of L’Arc~en~Ciel fame and lead guitarist Kazuhito “K.A.Z”…
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I was pretty surprised when I heard that the electro duo Phantogram was releasing a new EP. I suppose it’s because their last release, 2011’s superb Nightlife, was also an EP, so I’d been hoping that they would be releasing a full-length album in the near future. To that end, I really do not know…
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If the name Tyler Ward sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’ve heard some of his covers. He’s a veritable Youtube sensation, having done spectacular covers of everything from Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” to Katy Perry’s “E.T.” to Jessie J’s “Price Tag.” To give you an idea of just how viral many of his covers…
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On November 29, 2013, Britney Spears will drop her eighth studio album, the highly anticipated Britney Jean. “Perfume” is the second single from the album, following September’s divisive single “Work Bitch,” which seemed to be hated more than it was loved (at least among people I know). Well, fans who thought “Work Bitch” was too…
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It’s not uncommon for critics — and fans — to disagree about an album, but I can’t remember the last time one was as divisive as ARTPOP. It seems to be the *love it or hate it* album of the year. Yes, even more so than Arcade Fire’s Reflektor, which has certainly generated an awful…
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Following the release of their much-loved eponymous debut, Cults’ vocalist Madeline Follin and multi-instrumentalist Brian Oblivion broke up, ending a four year relationship. Fortunately, they were grateful for their fans, and all of the accolades they had received from critics, and so they decided to continue making music together. Much like listening to The Civil…
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Recorded in their native Sweden, The Sounds fifth album, Weekend, was produced, engineered and mixed by Alex Newport (At the Drive-In, Mars Volta, Bloc Party, Death Cab For Cutie, City & Colour) and mastered by Howie Weinberg, who has previously mastered such iconic albums as Beastie Boys’ Licence to Ill and Nirvana’s Nevermind. It’s hard…
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Although they do collaborate with other artists on their albums, SPC ECO — pronounced space echo, dig? — are essentially a father-daughter duo consisting of singer/lyricist Rose Berlin and multi-instrumentalist/producer Dean Garcia, the latter of which spent quite a bit of time in the limelight back in the ’90’s as one half of the critically-acclaimed…
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“What a waste of time / Precious little time / I’ll waste some of yours, babe / If you waste some of mine,” Eliza sings over lovely piano as the first song on her sophomore album, In Your Hands, begins. While the piano continues throughout the track, the beat — produced by Paloma Faith hitmaker…
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Today is a big day for Sky Ferreira. After five years of handing in one album after another, only to have them all rejected, Capitol records has finally released her debut album, Night Time, My Time. But calling it a debut feels slightly wrong. Technically, yes, it is her first full-length release. But, according to…
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It’s highly possible that you’ve heard the music of Canadian singer/songwriter Michael Milosh without even realizing it. You see, Milosh is one half of the duo known as Rhye, who released an album called Woman earlier this year. Prior to releasing an album or chasing a record deal, Rhye posted some of their songs online…
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Kill Devil Hill really caught me by surprise. Especially since they’re on Century Media Records. You see, I honestly thought this type of melodic metal was dead. At least aside from Frontiers Records, who’ve ignored all of my E-mails requesting to be added to their press list, which is really a shame because I love…
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Most people reading this review will probably have no idea who Sam Sparro is. Perhaps you’re one of them. Well, Sam Sparro wrote a little song called “Black & Gold,” which appeared on his debut album, which was released in 2008, and it quickly became one of the biggest pop songs of all-time. Not so…
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I bought Skeletonwitch’s second album, Beyond The Permafrost, on a whim one day back in 2007 when I was browsing the metal section at Newbury Comics. I was intrigued by their logo, which looked like what a death metal band’s logo might look like if it was actually readable. Normally, most metal bands — and…
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Dead Letter Circus, who hail from Australia, are one of those bands who are impossible to categorize. In fact, when they first burst onto the scene in the land down under in 2007, people didn’t know what to make of them. Were they metal? Were they alt-rock? Prog rock? Nobody was certain and it was…
