Album Review — Sound Kapital, Handsome Furs
Handsome Furs write songs about the Eastern Bloc that swerve aggressively across the violent border between fist-pump rock anthems and minor-key distress signals. The lyrics read almost like propaganda, rooted as they are in the cheerleading of nostalgic, confused teenagers who stumble along a similar fault line—the eerie divide between state communism and modern capitalism. … Read more
EP Review – Dread Head EP, PC Worship
Some of us had been daintily applying ChapStick before Brooklyn’s PC Worship played at the Villanova house in Davis, CA. I didn’t know which factor contributed the enjoyment, but I decided to buy their record anyway. At least it looked cool: the silk screened black reptilian Virgin on nacreous sleeve, seemingly burned into the paper, … Read more
The Body’s Corpus: Whitehorse Split, Anthology, All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood Lyrics
“Just, Wretched,” the song that The Body contributed to The Body / Whitehorse 7”, is much like the title says. The introductory phrase is reminiscent of black metal slowed down, which is unusual for The Body considering slow black metal is scores faster than the usual Body pace. The second phrase of the song brings … Read more
EP Review – Almost Xiu Xiu, Almost Deerhoof
As a rabid Xiu Xiu fan (but not quite a shwee) and knowing little about Deerhoof, I was intrigued when I heard Almost Xiu Xiu, Almost Deerhoof. According to the Xiu Xiu site, the concept behind the 7” was that Xiu Xiu would sing a Deerhoof song and Deerhoof would retaliate and do a Xiu Xiu … Read more
Mixtape Review – Death Grips, Exmilitary Mixtape
Death Grips’ Exmilitary Mixtape just came out and has more stripped down moments than previous peeks at the Zach Hill-backed, experimental hip hop project. Still, the production is impeccable and the experimental qualities persist. The usage of effects and samples create what many Zach Hill projects tend toward: a spastic, noisy, perpetually changing burst of … Read more
Album Review – EMA, Past Life Martyred Saints
Seeing the noise-folk band Gowns at the House of Nostromo, a dock warehouse in west Oakland, is imprinted in my memory. The place had uneven, large wooden boards for a floor and the residents built themselves rooms in each corner out of plywood. Against one warehouse wall, between two rooms, there was a small, dark … Read more
Album Review – Iceage, New Brigade
New Brigade starts with a 47 second noise intro and then the first song “White Rune” erupts with a marching bass drum and snare hits while reverberated and short-delayed guitars stutter away, giving rise to thundering tom hits. Fifty more seconds and out of the no-wave sludge a clean punk riff emerges, all the while … Read more
Mixtape Review – Stalley: Lincoln Way Nights (Intelligent Trunk Music)
Movement: it’s what compels listeners not only to indulge in the most complex, sometimes draining, prog-rock compositions (“you end up in a different place from where you started, man”), but also in the hard-hitting, 3 minute, hip-hop anthems, destined to narrate fleeting visions of storefronts and vague urban lights along a car ride. This seems … Read more
Album Review — Bass Drum of Death, GB City
Fell in love with a girl, fell in love once and almost completely. But this girl is nowhere to be found on Bass Drum of Death’s GB City. Also missing: the bass drum of death. Ironic band name, I get it. Anyway, not much places this album above the hordes of soup du jour bands … Read more
Album Review — Ducktails, Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics
Album Review: Ducktails — Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics By Brett Salinas Well, it’s that time of year again…spring is approaching. Sort of. In spite of the fact that most of the country is still getting hit with torrential rain storms and cold fronts, Ducktails is ushering us into the warm glow of a new season. … Read more
