Friday, May 30, 2008
Pitchblend - The Lines of Unreason (2008)
Pitchblend have occupied a coveted position in the underground rock consciousness, grabbing accolades like “Best Unsigned Band of the Year” around the same time like-minded space-rockers/pseudo-shoegazers My Vitriol were tearing up the UK charts. Like that band, they have taken their sweet damn time in putting out new material. Whether due to label pressure, pressure to find a label, or something else, it has proved taxing even on the patience of diehard fans. The question remains: is it worth the wait?
Monday, September 3, 2007
Circa Survive - On Letting Go (2007)
This building smells so familiar…
Living Together
In The Morning And Amazing…
The Greatest Lie
The Difference Between Medicine And Poison Is In The Dose
Mandala
Travel Hymn
Semi Constructive Criticism
Kicking Your Crosses Down
On Letting Go
Carry Us Away
Close Your Eyes To See
Your Friends Are Gone
First they were “Holding Someone’s Hair Back,” now they’re “Living Together.” Between Juturna and “On Letting Go,” the [...]
Monday, August 27, 2007
Emanuel - Black Earth Tiger (2007)
Fang Shui
Whiteflag (intro)
Cottonmouth
Anathamatics
My Antapex
Scenotaph
Phobos
Abandonment Star
Let Them Die
Year of the Pig
Forever
Whiteflag (Reprise)
With a title variously described as sounding like a Mortal Kombat finishing move, a pose Jet Li might strike, or a post-apocalyptic robot terminator shaped like a feral cat, the press kit for “Black Earth Tiger” stresses one thing above all others: this ain’t your [...]
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Fair to Midland - Fables from a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True (2007)
Hailing from Sulphur Springs, TX, Fair to Midland’s ten year life as a band has seen them make the startling transformation from an ultra-alternative/experimental, bordering on “world music” jam band, into viciously melodic hard rockers with a healthy dose of every band member’s guilty pleasures, and a healthy appreciation for continued experimentation.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Rx Bandits - … And The Battle Begun (2006)
Get your war on
…and the Battle Begun
In Her Drawer
Only for the Night
On a Lonely Screen
1980
One Million Miles an Hour, Fast Asleep
Apparition
Mouth Full of Hollow Threats?
Epoxi-Lips
Tainted Wheat
To Our Unborn Daughters
Crushing Destroyer
Last century, the third wave of ska revival skanked up the airwaves somethin’ mighty boss for awhile before fading back into obscurity. Most people forgot, but [...]
Friday, October 6, 2006
The Static Age - Blank Screen (2006)
They’ll paint you a picture, they’ll sell you a scene
Blank Screens
Skyscrapers
Lights In The Attic
Trauma
Cherry Red
The Bluebird Room
Count The Dead
Marilyn
The Last Light In The West
For a blank screen, the cover of The Static Age’s new album, itself a play on a previous art motif, is rather striking: [...]
Friday, August 11, 2006
Amusement Parks on Fire - Out of the Angeles (2006)
Out of the basement, into the stereo
Out Of The Angeles
Star Is Born
At Last The Night
In Flight
To The Shade
So Mote It Be
Blackout
Await Lightning
No Lite No Sound
Cut To Future Shock
Their name is one that simultaneously conjures feelings of joy and sadness, but the ride doesn’t stop there. [...]
Thursday, August 3, 2006
Paris, Texas - Like You Like An Arsonist (2004)
Light up!
Bombs Away!
Action Fans Help Us
Like You Like An Arsonist
Rebel Radio
White Eyes
Your Death
Strike My Heart
One Hot Coma
Hip Replacement
Better Off For Being Worse
Gemini
“Like You Like An Arsonist” is like a Hollywood drama, full of one liners surrounded by explosions. Lines like the chorus of “One Hot [...]
The Static Age - Neon Nights, Electric Lives (2005)
Lovesick dirges with great arrangements
Vertigo
Amphibian
Armory
Ghosts
Saltsick
It Never Seems To Last
Canopy
Airplanes
Pakistan
How can a record so gothic have an album cover so white and pink? The music inside is liquid depression. Seven lovesick dirges anchored with a dripping, chorused bass guitar, synth string sections and a singer that at least [...]
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Twilight Singers - Powder Burns (2006)
Proof that music ain’t dead yet.
Toward the Waves
I’m Ready
There’s Been An Accident
Bonnie Brae
Forty Dollars
Candy Cane Crawl
Underneath the Waves
My Time (Has Come)
Dead to Rights
The Conversation
Powder Burns
I Wish I Was
There are people out there listening to the radio. They want to be rescued. Long since tired [...]
