Category: Rock
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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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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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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…
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You all know the back story by now: several years ago guitarist Derek Miller was shredding in a hardcore band while vocalist Alexis Krauss was singing in a teen pop group of all things. But they came together in Brooklyn in 2009 and quickly proceeded to make a noisey, raw and aggressive album called Treats,…
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Unvarnished is Joan Jett and The Blackhearts’ first studio album in over seven years, but it was more than worth the lengthy wait. In fact, I’d go so far as to call it a career high point, each of its 10 studio tracks being raw, uncut diamonds. In other words, these songs might be rough…
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When Panic! At The Disco first arrived with their immensely impressive debut album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, many of their song titles were even longer than the title of this album. My favorite tunes from that record were “The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage” and “Lying Is The Most…
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Of Montreal mastermind Kevin Barnes is not one to make the same album twice. Roughly a decade ago he shifted from doing indie rock/trippy twee to electro-centric albums that often felt like twisted — but always fascinating — experiments. The first three albums from this second period of his career were especially experimental; Satanic Panic…
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The award for the most highly-anticipated debut album this year probably goes to Lorde for her album Pure Heroine. But second place easily goes to HAIM, the group made up of sisters Este (born March 14, 1986), Danielle (born February 16, 1989) and Alana Haim (born December 15, 1991), along with drummer Dash Hutton. As…
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“Can you imagine a love that is so proud / It never has to question why or how?” asks Placebo vocalist Brian Molko over glittery guitars during “Loud Like Love,” the upbeat opening and title track from the band’s new and seventh album. “We are loud like love / We are loud like love,” he…
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American Sharks’ debut album was just released on the 17th of this month and the band is about to embark on an extensive tour with The Sword, which is fitting for a couple of reasons. First of all, American Sharks’ music is a delicious blend of stoner rock, sludge metal and punk that’s like The…
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Given that this release is on Prosthetic Records, I was naturally expecting some loud and blazing — if not downright brutal — metal when I first listened to it. Surprisingly, much of the instrumental album by this guitar prodigy isn’t metal at all. Songs like “Viroliano Tries Metal” and “Triangle Tune” are definitely in that…
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I caught Butch Walker live at The Sinclair in Cambridge, Massachusetts on the 11th of this month. It was my fourth time seeing him and he was, in a word, brilliant. Which came as no surprise. He’s been impressing me with his knack for super emotive songwriting ever since he was in a little-known hair…
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Four years ago Glasgow art rockers Franz Ferdinand released their third album, which was called Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, and it did not fare very well in most countries. Not with critics and not with fans. It was produced by the renowned Brian Higgins of Xenomania, who’s worked with everyone from Pet Shop Boys to Kylie…
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There was a time when I thought Bloc Party could do no wrong. Their first two albums — Silent Alarm (2005) and A Weekend In The City (2007) — were brilliant in my opinion. And, considering the critical acclaim and awards they received, it would seem the world agreed. The B-sides from those albums were…
