Browsing Tag
experimental
8
Score
The Rockometer: m b v by My Bloody Valentine
My Bloody Valentine m b v I heard the jokes, too. On Saturday, February 2nd, the night Kevin Shields and My Bloody Valentine finally got around to releasing their forever delayed follow-up to their 1991 breakthrough album, Loveless, Twitter was buzzing with a mix of frustration and excitement from a fanbase growing increasingly impatient with an...READ MORE
The Rockometer: Centipede Hz by Animal Collective
Animal Collective Centipede Hz Domino One of my fondest Animal Collective memories comes not from the band, itself, but from Fucked Up's burly and gregarious frontman, Damian Abraham, who complemented the crowd at the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival during his band's set by saying, "You guys are a 9.9. You’re much better than that Animal Collective record which sounded like fish." Others, were quick to point out, he probably ...READ MORE
The Rockometer: Advaitic Songs by Om
Om Advaitic Songs Drag City Advaitic Songs is the second album by Om since Emil Amos replaced original drummer, Chris Haikus, and yet, the duo of Amos and Al Cisneros (bass/vocals) still sound like a band in transition. They lack both the thunderous simplicity and crushing rhythms of the original lineup and the expansive, cinematic qualities of Amos' other full time band, Grails. To the question of maxed out or minimalist, the a...READ MORE
The Rockometer: WIXIW by Liars
Liars WIXIW Mute Whenever an art-rock band, like Liars, ditches their guitars for minimal electronics, as they do on WIXIW, the Kid A comparisons will follow, fair or not. So, why fight it? Lead vocalist, Angus Andrew even mumbles like Radiohead's Thom Yorke through much of the album, a work of evocative moods and carefully planned atmospheres lacking in immediate hooks. It really does sound familiar, doesn't it? One keen ...READ MORE
The Rockometer: Money Store by Death Grips
Death Grips Money Store Epic Death Grips are angry. Even a cursory listen to Money Store, the Sacramento trio's first album for Epic Records, reveals an uncompromising sonic landscape of punk, hip-hop and noise steaming with rage and paranoia. Trying to determine where vocalist Stefan Burnett is directing all of that pent-up emotion, however, is another thing. The man spits militant lines, not necessarily rhymes, like his ...READ MORE
Moving Pictures: “Lurk Underneath” by Trouble Books
While it was never my intention to make April 4, 2012 Trouble Books Wednesday, I came across the video for "Lurk Underneath," literally seconds after I hit publish on the post for the new track, "Dead Bee in a Golden Bowl." Then I listened and I watched and I said to myself, "Why would you hold back something so good?" And... Welcome to Trouble Books Wednesday! Like the previously featured, "Dead Bee in a Golden Bowl," "Lur...READ MORE
Play Me: “Dead Bee in a Golden Bowl” by Trouble Books
There was a time when the music of the Trouble Books could be described with words like simple or quaint. The Akron duo of Keith Freund Linda Lejsovka are certainly two of the most unassuming artists you'll ever meet in Northeast, Ohio. Who can forget their in-store performance at Music Saves, which actually was outside the store, when Freund and Lejsovka relaxed themselves, seated and slouched against the building, recreating ...READ MORE
Two For Wednesday: New Jams by Torche and Death Grips
The Florida metal band Torche do a lot of things well, but one thing they do especially well is distilling the power of metal into concise two-to-three minute jams. Take "Kicking," the first single from their forthcoming album, Harmoniacraft, for example. It's got power. It's got flair. It's got a clean chorus. It's a real bruiser and it's over and done with before you know it. MP3: Torche - Kicking Mark down Apri...READ MORE
“Lazy Bones” by Wooden Shjips
Contrary to its name, "Lazy Bones," the first preview track from the Wooden Shjips forthcoming release, West, finds the San Fran quartet locked into a smoother, cleaner, and most noticeably, a faster groove than ever before. Now, don't mistake cleaner for clean or faster for thrash. The production work by Phil Manley (Trans Am) and mastering by Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3) may bring more clarity to the mix, but there's still loads of ...READ MORE
Top Jam: “Song for Reinier Lucassen’s Sphinx” by Trouble Books and Mark McGuire
Long considered by those in the know as the best band in Northeast, Ohio that no one outside of Northeast, Ohio has ever heard of, the husband and wife duo of Keith Freund and wife Linda Lejsovka are back with a new Trouble Books record and this time they invited a friend to the studio -- Mark McGuire of Emeralds. Will the presence of McGuire, whose solo work and work with Emeralds has seen a noticeable increase in visibility b...READ MORE
“Milkman” by EMA
"Milkman" has the unenviable task of following EMA's last single, the insane/incredible/intense/unpack and add-your-own-amazing-adjective "California." And while it's not likely to supplant it as the highlight of the forthcoming release, Past-Life Martyred Saints, it should erase any doubt that us critics have been talking out of our asses when it comes to building excitement over this release. Here, Erika Anderson frames h...READ MORE
