• Deafheaven – Infinite Granite

    September 1, 2021 - By 

    One could argue that Deafheaven are to so-called “blackgaze” music what the Sex Pistols were to punk rock: they weren’t the first on the scene, but the genre would be nothing without their influence. Black metal has incorporated atmospheric overtones since the early-to-mid-‘90s through the work of notorious acts like Mayhem and especially Burzum, and later groups such as Agalloch, Wolves in the Throne Room and Ireland’s own Altar of Plagues. Contemporary acts expanded upon the shoegaze Wall of Sound that tremolo picked guitars offered to include strings, synths and melodic passages, with Frenchman Neige being credited with providing the…

  • Post Punk Podge & The Technohippies – Euphoric Recall

    June 14, 2021 - By 

    Take one look at (and listen) to Post Punk Podge & The Technohippies and you might think at first that you’ve seen and heard it somewhere before.  Limerick accent? Check. Acerbic wit, social satire and commentary against outdated modes of masculinity? Check. Mask, self-made from a well-known local institution? Double-check. Be that as it may, that’s where the comparisons between Post Punk Podge and fellow artistic disruptors, The Rubberbandits, end. Post Punk Podge & The Technohippies are an entity unto themselves, and a true standout act in the Irish music scene. Their debut album, Euphoric Recall, is proof of that.…

  • Iceage – Seek Shelter

    May 21, 2021 - By 

    Iceage’s place in contemporary alternative rock is somewhat anomalous – not so much that of an outsider looking in, nor a casual observer. Rather, Iceage are nonchalant contrarians. While post-punk has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recognition with the advent of straight-up rockers (Fontaines D.C., The Murder Capital, Idles, Shame) and experimentalists (Black Midi, Black Country, New Road, Squid); the Danish quintet – their lineup now complete with the addition of guitarist Casper Morilla – have stood apart from this third wave, following their own course rather than casting their anchor as the rising tide lifted so many other…

  • For Those I Love – For Those I Love

    April 16, 2021 - By 

    For Those I Love was initially released in the summer of 2019 to very little fanfare. Uploaded by its creator, David Balfe, to Bandcamp and a few other places, the intention was to simply share it with his friends and put it out there. Through word of mouth, and a few spot articles here and there, it came to be highly regarded amongst those in the know until, in the industry equivalent of the blink of an eye, the project was taken offline. Then, on 23rd August 2020, a 47-minute mixtape entitled Into A World That Doesn’t Understand It, Unless…

  • Black Country, New Road – For the first time

    February 22, 2021 - By 

    Overnight success is so hot right now, and Black Country, New Road are the latest craze. The sextet formed in Cambridge in the summer of 2018 from the ashes of another project. A performance at London’s Brixton Windmill caught the attention of producer Dan Carey (Squid, Fontaines D.C., black midi), who swiftly ushered them into his studio in Streatham to record their debut single, ‘Athens, France’, released in January 2019. The track, which boasted the best Slint riff this side of Spiderland alongside some striking saxophone and shimmering keys, inspired the usual music press hyperbole; the latest outpouring of praise…

  • R.A.P. Ferreira – Bob’s Son: R.A.P. Ferreira in the Garden Level Café of the Scallops Hotel Bob’s Son

    February 11, 2021 - By 

    R.A.P. Ferreira in the Garden Level Café of the Scallops Hotel, the full title of the latest project from Rory Allen Philip Ferreira, aka R.A.P. Ferreira (aka Scallops Hotel, fka milo) is, according to the his Bandcamp “this album is an ode to the poet bob kaufman / the inventor of frink and beat / the progenitor of abomunism / the chief bomkoff / connoisseur of oatmeal cookies.” There are few rap artists as singular or prolific as Ferreira. The Chicago-born, Nashville-based rapper has released at least one project a year since his Greatest Hits Vol.1 debut mixtape (as Nom…

  • Bicep – Isles

    February 2, 2021 - By 

    To create a dance record during a pandemic must be a particularly daunting task. What’s the point of club music when there’s nowhere to dance? Nonetheless, Belfast-bred, London-based duo Bicep rose to take on this arduous task. The duo’s 2017 self-titled debut was lauded upon its release for its sleek, contemporary take on classic UK dance sounds. 2-step, garage and house music were all present, led by the euphoric ‘Glue’, itself now a go-to soundtrack for car advertisements and social media influencer story posts alike. Isles was pre-empted by the duo as a “home listening” version of what was really…

  • Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou – May Our Chambers Be Full

    November 25, 2020 - By 

    On paper, a collaborative album by a singer-songwriter and a sludge metal band seems unusual. To those in the know, however, it makes complete, perfect sense. Neither featured act on May Our Chambers Be Full are strangers to collaboration; Emma Ruth Rundle has been a member of experimental bands the Nocturnes, Red Sparowes and Marriages, and provided backing vocals on Thrice’s 2018 album Palms, while Thou have released a litany of split 7” and EPs with various peers, and in 2015 released You, Whom I Have Always Hated a collaborative full-length album with fellow doom merchants, The Body. More to the…

  • PUP – This Place Sucks Ass EP

    November 24, 2020 - By 

    At the beginning of 2020, Canadian pop-punks PUP were in the midst of a promotional tour for their breakthrough 2019 album,  Morbid Stuff. That album’s mix of hook-filled anthems and passionate torrents of self-deprecation made it one of the year’s best punk albums, being met with universal critical praise and a new legion of fans on both sides of the Atlantic. With the advent of COVID-19, the perennially on-the-road band no doubt found themselves at a loose end as the as the live entertainment industry came screeching to a halt. And thus, we get This Place Sucks Ass. Comprising one brand…

  • Deftones – Ohms

    September 30, 2020 - By 

    Starting their fourth decade together as a cohesive unit, the critical darlings of alternative metal, Deftones, have created one of their finest albums to date with Ohms.  Re-entering the studio with producer Terry Date (who was behind the desk for their first four studio releases, not to mention the shelved project Eros), the band come out with all guns blazing, rejuvenated, motivated, and at the top of their game. Their most accomplished release since 2000’s White Pony, Ohms offers much by way of depth. For the first time in a long time, the band focus on pure song writing as opposed to…