Seth Augustus: To The Pouring Rain [Album Review]
With a sly folk swagger and gravely chops to match the masters, Seth Augustus has created an album somewhere between… Read More »Seth Augustus: To The Pouring Rain [Album Review]
Home » Album Reviews »
Album Reviews
Cleemann: 45 Minutes Mostly About Caring [Album Review]
The great land of Copenhagen has a real DIY prodigy under its city lights. Gunnar Cleemann is one of the most well rounded musicians you will ever come across. He writes, plays, directs, breathes music. His lyrics are philosophical, but simple enough to refrain from being too pretentious (suck on that Oberst!) And we can’t forget his wonderful vocals, reminiscent of early solo Clapton. 45 Minutes Mostly About Caring is so much more than the title would insist. It is a triumphant display of one man conquering all aspects of the art of musicianship. Read More »Cleemann: 45 Minutes Mostly About Caring [Album Review]
Post Harbor: They Can’t Hurt You If You Don’t Believe In Them [Album Review]
With an album title like They Can’t Hurt You If You Don’t Believe In Them, Seattle’s Post Harbor is, in a way, exactly what you’d expect. Blending a modern post rock sound – that ever-loved epic fight between soft and loud – with the sensibilities of indie rock circa the mid- to late-90s, the album opens with instrumental “Ponaturi” before sneaking into a similar sound with “Cities Of The Interior”. It’s a surprise when, roughly two-minutes into the song, vocals chime in melodic and nonthreatening; you don’t expect it at first, but after a moment they greet you like an old friend. Then they’re gone, and wind-blown silence takes over before deafening guitars ring high as mountaintops. Read More »Post Harbor: They Can’t Hurt You If You Don’t Believe In Them [Album Review]
Vinca Minor: Isolation [Album Review]
In music, ambiance is often associated with minimalism and drone; elongated monotonous notes, thundering across the vast atmosphere, or hiding in the dark murky oceanic depths. Vinca Minor encompasses this space. And contrary to many artists that fit the description, this band mixes in quiet echoing vocals. Isolation begins with the picturesque “From Here, Eternity” and, after a solid 16 minutes, fades into drone-heavy “Ignition”, masked in a melodramatic darkness, yet with the occasional ray of major-chord hope. Read More »Vinca Minor: Isolation [Album Review]
Robin Grey: Strangers With Shoes [Album Review]
Robin Grey is working his way up from being a “hidden treasure of the European underground†with his breakthrough sophomore release, Strangers With Shoes. The wonder of Stoke Newington has compiled some beautiful and obviously poetic-based tracks for the troubadours and sun chasers of the world to use to feel whole again. Grey has always been a splendid storyteller, but he’s outdone even himself this time around. Read More »Robin Grey: Strangers With Shoes [Album Review]
Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More [Album Review]
We’ve all been to these deep dark places before, places that leave us speechless and unending. We cannot move for the twisting pull within and around us, finding ourselves suctioned to whatever frightening mystery is calling our haunting aches to light. In these moments, the past and the future are equally daunting; we feel ourselves wanting the grace to simply exist as we are. Mumford And Sons create music capable of expressing just such a circumstance. Read More »Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More [Album Review]
And Oh, So Slowly He Turned: By Some Godforsaken Lake Up North [Album Review]
Kristian Svensson crafts some pretty chill pop music, encompassing a space between the drone-heavy, space-friendly reverb and the upbeat-yet-emotional electronic. His latest work as And Oh, So Slowly He Turned is By Some Godforsaken Lake Up North. Packed with lovable lo-fi pop songs (easily recognizable as Swedish) and containing light hints of experimentation, the album opens with a light guitar riff and full-bodied (but mixed down) percussion in “Demensia”. The vocals, like the percussion, are eerie and soft — they fit in the background while the instrumentation takes a more dominating presence. Read More »And Oh, So Slowly He Turned: By Some Godforsaken Lake Up North [Album Review]
Castevet: Summer Fences [Album Review]
It’s been a while since a real intelligent art punk band has emerged from the sewers of the dying underground. With the up-and-coming return of pop punk hitting the mainstream (knocking cry baby bullshit emo bands out of the tear-filled water), it’s almost hard to understand why any artist in their right mind would want to try and handle such a quickly burning torch. Enter Castevet and their debut album Summer Fences. Now we’re talking. Break out the acoustic guitars, PBR, and lack of self respect. It’s time for a good scream. Read More »Castevet: Summer Fences [Album Review]
Westfold: Westfold EP [Album Review]
The boys of Westfold have outdone themselves yet again, this time on their third EP. In Westfold, the band takes the raw elements from their first release, No Frills Catalyst, and smash it against the proverbial high tower of obscurity that was their second release, Morning Commute. Portland’s rising stars had no reason to take unnecessary risks; instead they merely master their craft and up production value a bit on what can only be considered their finest work to date. Read More »Westfold: Westfold EP [Album Review]
Keith John Adams: Unclever [Album Review]
In the grunge music of the 90s we saw the mass standardization of the head-bang. For you young ones, that’s when you take your nasty, long, greasy, unwashed hair and whip it from back to front and front to back in rapid motions. The result, obviously, is brain damage. That’s what rock-n-roll will do for ya. Pop, on the other hand, takes that motion and reduces it to a quick nod. The good news is that you have more brain cells to kill with vices such as alcohol. The music of Keith John Adams may draw heavily from rock influences, but his music is so filled with pop that the music and your favorite local Stout or Lager will go hand-in-hand like two brand new teenage lovers. Read More »Keith John Adams: Unclever [Album Review]
