Tag Archives: album reviews

St. Lucia
Reviewed: St. Lucia’s “Matter” is sure to have you dancing

With Brooklyn-based synthpoppers St. Lucia churning out tunes, Phil Collins – you can stay retired. St. Lucia has perfected the tropical synths and heavy percussion sound that Collins became known for in the ‘90s after defecting from Genesis. It’s been two-and-a-half years since their debut album When the Night dropped. After seeing them a half-dozen […]

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Sandra B. Olinger |
Recommended: Fool’s Gold New Album “Flying Lessons” & Interview with Luke Top

Whittled down to a quartet, Los Angeles Afro-pop infused indie outfit Fool’s Gold, may have the least amount of band members than ever before but they are really getting down to the good stuff, the cream filling if you will, of their unique sound. Their third album, Flying Lessons (ORG Music), is scheduled for a limited release […]

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Will Butler
Recommended: Will Butler rises from Arcade Fire shadows with stellar solo debut ‘Policy’

Though he plays a complementary role in the massive success of his band the Arcade Fire, the younger Butler sibling steps out of the shadow of his older brother Win, to great things on his debut solo album Policy. While he plays keyboards and sometimes drummer for the world renowned band, he shows in his […]

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Sandra B. Olinger |
Tomas Pagan Motta album
Recommended: Tomás Pagán Motta shines on debut solo album

Often times, solo records from lead singers are problematic. Often losing the chemistry that made a band special is lost and often times, a vocalist free from compromise make self indulgent records that lose the things that made them great. For a few years now, Singer/songwriter Tomás Pagán Motta has been making professional but less than […]

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StepheSykes |
Sleater-Kinney-No-Cities-to-love
Fall in Love with Sleater-Kinney’s New Album “No Cities to Love”

Indie rock trio Sleater-Kinney last left listeners with the spectacularly dark, edgy and gut-wrenching album The Woods back in 2005, before they went on an indefinite hiatus the following year. Some of the band’s riot-grrl rooted previous releases like Dig Me Out and The Hot Rock had already been on the peripherals of my musical radar. […]

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Hot Band Alert: East LA’s The Bloodhounds dish up mouthwatering rock ‘n’ roll

If you had any fear that rock n’ roll was dead, don’t worry because all the things that you love about it are alive and kickin’ now that East Los Angeles four-piece The Bloodhounds have released their debut studio album, Let Loose!  via Alive NaturalSound Records. Power pop legend Arthur Alexander (Sorrows, The Poppees) produced this […]

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locas-band-photo
Hot Band Alert: L.A. based Locas are chock-full of balls to the wall garage punk

Photography: Ian Pohl San Fernando Valley duo, Locas may be a young 19 and 21 years old, but they are already getting the ball rolling with the release of their debut six-track EP Demonstration, available on Bandcamp and via cassette on White Raven Records. Formed in 2012 by Andy Locas (guitar/vocals) and Eddie Locas (drums), the band […]

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Hot Band Alert: Mexican Slang – Fierce punk transcending atmospheric psych

Sometimes an unexpected run-in of like-minded people can create a significant change in our lives. Sometimes it all comes down to fate. While they may not have won the lottery or anything, a little touch of fate is what made Toronto psych-punk, noise-pop trio Mexican Slang what they are today. Vocalist/guitarist Annabelle Lee started Mexican Slang […]

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Kitten Album Cover
Kitten’s debut record is full of impeccable sheen and relentless energy

L.A. based band Kitten formed in 2010 and have since released three EPs, Sunday School, Cut It Out and Like A Stranger. The band has come full circle in a short time and are set to release their self-titled, full-length debut on June 24th via Elektra Records. The new album traverses heavily and primarily through ’80s […]

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Hot New Band Alert: Hunterchild — this Indiana duo drips with soul and allure

Sometimes we feel the urge to get away from the daily grind, and escape into the arms of a lover. No lover handy? No worries. You can escape into the loving, musical arms of Hunterchilds‘ self-titled debut. The album dropped May 13 on Temporary Residence LTD and was fine-tuned by co-producer Kevin Ratterman (My Morning Jacket, Wax […]

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Recommended New Album: Wye Oak — Shriek

Baltimore duo, Wye Oak, aka Jenn Wasner (vocals, bass) and Andy Stack (keys, percussion) are set to release their fourth full-length album, Shriek, on Tuesday, April 29th via Merge Records.  After a heavy touring schedule in support of their 2011 buzzworthy record, Civilian, they found themselves living in opposite ends of the country.  Despite being physically […]

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Ghost of a saber tooth tiger band photo
Recommended New Album: Ghost of A Saber Tooth Tiger — Midnight Sun

Before I even began listening to The Ghost of A Saber-Toothed Tiger’s (GOASTT) new album, Midnight Sun, I was unsure about exactly what I was getting myself into. The name itself intrigued me, and I refused to let the members behind the band influence my taste in their music. I couldn’t sit through the album without […]

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Brissa Sanchez |
Recommended: The Coathangers — “Suck My Shirt” grabs you by your (proverbial) balls

Atlanta’s all female garage-punk trio The Coathangers just released their new album Suck My Shirt on Suicide Squeeze Records on Tuesday, March 18.  In true punk fashion, The Coathangers started a band before they knew how to play instruments and seven years later they’ve put out a solid, punk rock n’ roll jammer. Suck My Shirt is […]

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Hot Band Alert: Jean Jacket

Spearheaded by front-man/composer Harlowe G., Miami’s Jean Jacket is a downtempo, indie electronic music project that is in no rush to simply get the party started, like countless others in the electronic music genre. Jean Jacket takes their time, takes the beats, and creates an atmosphere where the listener can slow down and process their […]

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September Girls photos
Hot Band Alert: September Girls — a sweet Irish treat to the noise pop genre

Deriving their band name from The Bangles’ popular single, the noise pop quintet, September Girls, will be debuting their album in U.S. music stores on Tuesday, March 11 (that’s today). Emerging from Dublin, these girls formed in — you guessed correctly — September 2011, performing their first show just two months later. The band is […]

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Hot Band Alert: The Good Night Son — a soulful collection of blues

Shortly after Aaron Silverstein aka The Good Night Son (and one half of the L.A. based duo Herculion) injured his knee, and subsequently had to have ACL surgery, the guitarist/vocalist started to write new songs. He was unable to stand long enough to play a live set with Herculion and in his words: “Although it may […]

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Emily Saex |
Recommended New Album: AJ Davila — Terror Amor

Rock isn’t dead and neither is punk en Espanol. AJ Davila, lead singer of San Juan, Puerto Rico’s garage-punk party animals Davila 666, has wasted no time in assembling a new side project/album Terror Amor which is quickly proving to be just as rockin’, if not more than Davila 666 who have slid into hiatus […]

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Recommended New Album: Angel Olsen — Burn Your Fire For No Witness

We all know there are times in which we prefer to enjoy our own company, and whether the activities that follow include taking a stroll at our local park, reading a book, or thinking of intellectual philosophies — Angel Olsen is there to guide us through. The Chicago based singer-songwriter stated in a previous interview, […]

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Brissa Sanchez |
Sun Kil Moon photos
Recommended Album Review: Sun-Kil Moon — Benji

Sometimes, when in the process of listening to a Mark Kozelek album, you begin to think he would’ve been a great novelist. There might not be a songwriter out there today that is able to wax as elegantly as Kozelek about both the profound and the mundane, usually within just a few lines of each […]

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Sandra B. Olinger |
cymbals band photo
Recommended New Album: Cymbals — The Age of Fracture

No doubt about it, this album will make you move and groove with its sonic electronic dance beats accented with the European sophistication of the end-of-the-century French house. Similar to the sounds of New Order, classic Factory Records, and Hot Chip — watch out, Cymbals just might become your new favorite band from the UK. Since […]

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Brissa Sanchez |