Album Review: Boy Harsher ‘Careful’
“There’s no solace in the music of Boy Harsher, only a feeling that we are all facing the same fears and uncertainties. Yet, sometimes, that is solace enough.”
Album Review: Street Sects ‘The Kicking Mule’
“Street Sects is the kind of band that a lot of people would call ‘problematic,’ but they’re a much-needed smack in the face in a world that seems less compassionate with each passing day.”
Album Review: A Place to Bury Strangers ‘Pinned’
“With ‘Pinned,’ A Place to Bury Strangers shows that the band’s exploration of ‘one good idea’ continues to yield amazing results.”
Album Review: Bambara ‘Shadow on Everything’
“If David Lynch had set ‘Twin Peaks’ in rural Georgia, then Bambara could have composed the soundtrack.”
Album Review: The Soft Moon ‘Criminal’
“While The Soft Moon has always released music that could best be described as ‘none more bleak,’ with ‘Criminal,’ there seems to be something like acceptance. Maybe that’s the bleakest timeline of all.”
Album Review: Ty Segall ‘Freedom’s Goblin’
“These are songs that don’t feel like they’ve been corrupted by overthinking or compressed by studio gloss.”
Album Review: De Lux ‘More Disco Songs About Love’
“De Lux excels at provoking a ‘what did he just sing?’ curiosity while you’re moving back and forth to the beat.”
Album Review: WHIMM ‘A Stare Ajar’
“This is a trio dwelling on the sharp, atonal edge of post-punk”
Album Review: Melkbelly ‘Nothing Valley’
“Melkbelly is hard to pin down; their songs flaunt a flagrant disregard for what many would consider indie rock or punk or post-punk.”
Album Review: O.R.B. ‘Naturality’
“The first two songs on ‘Naturality’ prove O.R.B.’s members have clearly got the chops to do something different with their doom-inspired template.”
Album Review: Wand ‘Plum’
“Perhaps ‘Plum’ represents the incarnation of what Wand fans didn’t know they were looking for until they heard it.”
Album Review: Male Gaze ‘Miss Taken’
“Anyone who claims that most new music is terrible probably isn’t trying hard enough.”
Album Review: Dead Heavens ‘Whatever Witch You Are’
“It’s less macho than stoner rock, but more elegant than garage punk.”
Album Review: Animal Youth ‘Animal’
“There are few things more frustrating to a music critic than wanting desperately to love an album but never quite getting there.”
EP Review: Ultrviolence ‘Forty Knives’
“Throughout ‘Forty Knives,’ Jespersen’s voice betrays his emotions and listening to him sing often feels like sneaking peeks at his diary.”
Album Review: Jen Gloeckner ‘VINE’
“Even though Gloeckner recorded ‘VINE’ in her Dubuque, Iowa bedroom, there is nothing bare bones or lo-fi about it; her passion for her art is obvious and impressive.”
Album Review: Blood and Glass ‘Punk Shadows’
“While ‘Punk Shadows’ may not evoke the well-worn clichés of mohawks and safety pins, it does offer listeners a bracing dose of originality in the form of nine wildly eclectic tunes.”
Album Review: Sleaford Mods ‘English Tapas’
“They are the band Britain needs at this moment in time.”
Album Review: Temples ‘Volcano’
“‘Volcano’ is overflowing with lyrics that are evocative and often alluringly nonsensical.”
Album Review: Migos ‘Culture’
“‘Culture’ could already be described as a career-defining work, except Migos’ career is still being defined.”