Kevin Poindexter Scott Walker Bish Bosch 4AD Records [2012] Fire Note Says: With Bish Bosch, Scott Walker gives listeners another sonic puzzle to solve! Album Review: After talking eleven years to follow up 1984’s Climate of the Hunter with 1995’s Tilt, and talking eleven more years to follow-up Tilt with 2006’s The Drift, Scott Walker has picked … Read more
Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit Live In Alabama Lightning Rod Records (2012) Fire Note Says: This hot live set from Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit hits on Isbell’s solo career as well as his DBT classics! Album Review: It’s hard to believe that Jason Isbell has been a solo act for almost as … Read more
Dinosaur Jr. Chocomel Daze (Live 1987) Merge Records [2012] Fire Note Says: Celebrate 25 years of You’re Living All Over Me with Chocomel Daze, a rare live show from that era! Album Review: Merge is releasing Chocomel Daze to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Dinosaur Jr’s landmark release, You’re Living All Over Me. Recorded in … Read more
Naomi Punk The Feeling Captured Tracks Records [2012] Fire Note Says: Naomi Punk is at the forefront of shoegrunge on their debut lp! Album Review: If you have ever wondered what you would get if you crossed shoegaze with grunge, take a seat, I have a band for you to check out. Their name is … Read more
Don Caballaro Gang Banged With A Headache, And Live Joyful Noise Recordings [2012] Fire Note Says: The new Don Cab is intense, brutal, and also a great introduction to the Math Rock pioneers! Album Review: Gang Banged With A Headache, And Live, is an ‘authorized bootleg” from Math/Instrumental Rock dynamos, Don Caballaro. This is one … Read more
Dirty Projectors About To Die EP Domino Records [2012] Fire Note Says: About To Die serves as a nice coda to the Swing Lo Magellan lp and puts a nice bow on the year for their fans. Album Review: By all accounts there were close to 40 songs worked on during sessions for this year’s … Read more
Jason Collett Reckon Arts & Crafts Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Reckon is a dark and angry record, wrapped in a pretty folk package. Album Review: Reckon, the 6th solo lp from Broken Social Scene’s Jason Collett, is a protest album, but you might not get that from it on first listen, because Collett has … Read more
Clinic Free Reign Domino Records [2012] Fire Note Says: Free Reign finds Clinic doing what they do best, and continuing to add new ingredients to their psychedelic sonic stew! Album Review: There was a point in the early 2000’s where I, like a lot of music fans, were riding hard on the Clinic bandwagon. What … Read more
The Who Live At Hull 1970 Geffen/UMG [2012] Fire Note Says: See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Release Me. Album Review: Originally released as part of the Deluxe Edition of Live at Leeds in 2010, The Who-Live at Hull 1970, has finally been given its own standalone release! Recorded the night after Leeds, February 15th … Read more
Helvetia Nothing In Rambling Joyful Noise Recordings [2012] Fire Note Says: Helvetia mix Olivia Tremor Control and My Bloody Valentine in a blender and come up with Nothing in Rambling! Album Review: Hevetia (pronounced hel-vee-shuh) play a brand of experimental psychedelic indie rock that calls to mind bands like Deerhunter and classic Elephant 6 bands … Read more
Neil Young and Crazy Horse Psychedelic Pill Reprise/Warner Bros. Records [2012] Fire Note Says: Neil Young saddles up the Horse for a long psychedelic journey through the past! Album Review: Until this spring, it had been nearly a decade since Neil Young had saddled up his longtime backing band Crazy Horse and recorded with them. … Read more
Times New Viking Over & Over EP Siltbreeze Records [2012] Fire Note Says: Times New Viking make a triumphant return to Siltbreeze with their new EP! Album Review: You Can Never Go Home Again is the name of a posthumous book by Thomas Wolfe, in which he famously stated that once you have left your … Read more
Godspeed You! Black Emperor Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! Constellation Records [2012] Fire Note Says: This is more than a comeback record, it’s a landmark! Album Review: Here’s the thing about instrumental post rock, you almost always know what you are going to get before you put the record on. It’s going to be dramatic, it’s … Read more
Ty Segall Twins Drag City Records [2012] Fire Note Says: Segall saves his best of three albums in 2012 for last! Album Review: Ty Segall is walking in rarified air these days. There aren’t many artists who can put out three excellent albums in a year. Ryan Adams tried it with his trilogy of Cold … Read more
WoodsBend BeyondWoodsist Records [2012] A new Woods lp is quickly becoming a reason to celebrate each year. Woods are now seven albums into their career, and by my count, the last three have all been bona fide classics. Now with Bend Beyond, you can add one more classic to that total. Bend Beyond finds Woods … Read more
Dirty Projectors Swing Lo Magellan Domino Records [2012] Fire Note Says: Dirty Projectors give us a beautiful summertime headphone record! Album Review: Is it possible for a record to be both avant garde and accessible at the same time,to be both simple and complex? If the record is Swing Lo Magellan, the new album from … Read more
Twin Shadow Confess 4AD Records [2012] Fire Note Says: Twin Shadow explores the darker side of pop music with his second lp, Confess. Album Review: Does anybody remember when Prince was the real King of Pop, and each album was an event to be studied and broken down into little pieces to be studied? I … Read more