Cymbals East Guitars: Lenses Alien September 30, 2011Something about the opening track on this album brings to mind screamo stalwarts Thursday’s “War All the Time.”...
Mary’s Danish: There Goes the Wondertruck September 24, 2011This was Riot Grrrrrl before anybody even knew what that was. To me it was the drawling punk...
Nick Diamonds: I Am an Attic September 13, 2011Welcome to the somber side of the formerly wacky lead singer of The Unicorns. Sounding like some sort...
Beirut: The Rip Tide September 12, 2011It seems Mr. Condon has gone out of his way here to cut through the nostalgia and make...
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks: Mirror Traffic September 12, 2011As an aging hipster, it is a moral imperative that I buy this album. Pavement is the ultimate touchpoint...
Handsome Furs: Sound Kapital August 25, 2011There was the cool 80s and then there was the lame 80s. Handsome Furs clearly aim for the...
Roc Marciano & Gangrene: Greneberg August 24, 2011This album starts quick out of the gate with the really nice throwback, horn inflected “Momma Told Me.”...
The Rosebuds: Loud Planes Fly Low August 23, 2011This is one nice sounding album. Yes, I know that’s not normally my thing, but all the pieces...
Art Brut: Brilliant! Tragic! August 23, 2011If you’ve heard one Art Brut album, you’ve kind of heard them all. And if you’re into what...
BOAT: Dress Like Your Idols August 11, 2011BOAT have always been your lo-fi, slightly screwy cousin. They make deliciously fun pop songs with a wacky,...
Shabazz Palaces: Black Up July 23, 2011Hip-hop is a tough slog sometimes. It’s about reinventing yourself or dying. Just ask 50 Cent or Coolio....
Brown Recluse: Evening Tapestry July 21, 2011What we need is more tambourine! More hand tambourine. More drum kit tambourine. Just more clangy metal sound!...
Gold-Bears: Are You Falling In Love? July 21, 2011It’s like a Pains of Being Pure at Heart / Los Campesinos! mash-up, which in essence means a...
Pinback: Pinback July 17, 2011This, their first album, is a meditation on calmness and kind of circling rhythms and melodies. It feels...
Dirt Bikes: This Shit’s For Sale July 15, 2011This ain’t no pussy Brooklyn shit. Yeah, sure, they’re a Brooklyn band, but they’re not your mamby pamby...
Refused: The Shape of Punk to Come July 11, 2011There’s nothing like starting a punk album with a seven-minute song — and one that starts with talking...
Rancid: …and Out Come the Wolves July 10, 2011I’m sure Rancid looks back at this album as their “sell out” album. I mean doesn’t every punk...
Hail Mary Mallon: Are You Gonna Eat That? July 7, 2011Aesop Rock is one of the more divisive rappers around. His delivery is dense, his meaning even denser....