Music Reviews
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Balam Acab Wander/Wonder
The debut album from the impenetrably named Balam Acab (the brilliantly/irritatingly precocious Alec Koone), with its moody sleeve and his witch house links, promised to be a dark, ominous listen. So the fact that it sounds like it was recorded at the bottom of a helium-filled well was a bit of a surprise.
Mark Davison doesn't know whether to laugh or cry... -
Bush The Sea of Memories
We could only hope for The Sea of Memories to actually be a sea of memories from better days, but Bush delivered a pond of mediocre modern rock. Again.
Luredo Marbery reviews... -
The Kooks Junk of the Heart
The Brighton foursome overcomes any downward friction caused by unstable lineup changes with a positively-charged pop record that tries a bit too hard to synthesize their Britrock conventions.
Juan Edgardo Rodríguez cuts them some slack... -
Mister Heavenly Out Of Love
Mister Heavenly will make you want to start rolling up your pack of cigs in the sleeve of your shirt. Welcome to Doom Wop.
Randi Dietiker reviews... -
Red Hot Chili Peppers I'm With You
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have made some good music. They've also made mediocre music and completely awful music. Where will a new guitarist and a long hiatus take them? Not into the great unknown, that's for sure.
Andrew Baer loved this band when he was 15... -
Shimmering Stars Violent Hearts
Any delight taken with the nice use of melody and the playful guitar work on Violent Hearts is quickly thrust aside as oppressive reverb builds.
Matt Montgomery is still cleaning the reverb from his ears... -
MellowHype BlackenedWhite
OFWGKTA members Hodgy Beats and Left Brain, otherwise known as Mellowhype, reissues the follow-up to their 2010 release YelloWhite.
Craig Stevens is feeling the hype... -
Equals Equals
For their debut release, Texan act Equals attempt to mix together post-rock and dance-punk and, surprisingly, it makes for a rather pleasant combination. Perhaps a bit too pleasant...
Mark Davison wishes that they'd turn it up a bit... -
Handsome Furs Sound Kapital
After a disappointing release from Dan Boeckner's former Wolf Parade bandmate Spencer Krug, can Handsome Furs salvage the post-Wolf Parade legacy with Sound Kapital?
David Hogg reviews... -
Peter Wolf Crier Garden of Arms
Peter Wolf Crier seem to have replaced vocal melody with vocal reverb, and it leads to some moments that seem promising initially but quickly fade into that same boring funk.
Matt Montgomery reviews...
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