The rightful position when it comes to a disc like Jimi Hendrix‘s People, Hell and Angels (they used to call them “catalog releases,” but there’s probably a new word for it now because I’m old and there’s a new word for everything) is almost invariably one of disdain. As much albums as this, or Sony […]
After making a splash at Roadburn 2010 on the strength of their “Bring My Horses Home” single and after about a decade of writing material and playing shows, Sweden-based ’70S aficionados Troubled Horse have made their full-length debut in the form of Step Inside, on Rise Above/Metal Blade. The album has already met with a […]
Undeterred by the departure of bassist/vocalist Anders Steen after the release of their fifth album in 2009, Stockholm-based drone metallers Switchblade have pressed on as the duo of guitarist Johan Folkesson and drummer Tim Bertilsson, adopting the motto “less is more” and using the lack of a permanent third party to their advantage on the […]
The only thing really subtle about Kowloon Walled City‘s Container Ships is how subtle it is. The tiny bits of melody that makes their way into the guitars of Scott Evans and Jon Howell, or the surprising effect the record — their second behind 2009’s Gambling on the Richter Scale and label debut on Brutal Panda […]
Were it not for the fact that Golden Void are fronted by guitarist Isaiah Mitchell — also of Earthless, whose name already lingers with an underappreciated mystique despite the fact that they’re still touring — their self-titled Thrill Jockey debut (available on “baby poop yellow” vinyl) would probably just be another excellent showing of organic heavy […]
Usually you don’t think of Six Organs of Admittance — the syllabically and emotionally weighted psych/folk incarnation of Comets on Fire guitarist Ben Chasny — as music in which the listening experience is relative to volume. Go figure that after nigh on 15 years and more headphone-ready contemplations than I think anyone can reasonably be […]
Even if you went into listening to Drcarlsonalbion‘s La Strega and the Cunning Man in the Smoke with no idea that it was Dylan Carlson of Earth behind it, you’d probably be tipped off within 10 seconds of the opening title-track. The long-running drone forebear’s style is so distinct, his sleepy minimalism so recognizable as […]
Tweak Bird‘s Undercover Crops EP (Volcom) is about as modern as you get without actually being from the future. Like the L.A.-by-way-of-Illinois brotherly two-piece’s last outing — a 2010 self-titled full-length debut — Undercover Crops pairs fuzzed-out baritone guitar and percussive crash with classic pop harmonies, resulting in a friendly maelstrom much bolstered by the […]
