Scot Lade 
Glass Hammer The Breaking Of The World Sound Resources [2015] Fire Note Says: American Prog stalwarts use their increased exposure well. Album Review: Back in 2012 when Yes announced they had a new lead singer, Jon Davison from Chattanooga band Glass Hammer, few outside the tiny Prog community had heard of either him or the … Read more
Waxahatchee Ivy Tripp Merge Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Indie stardom hasn’t diminished Katie Crutchfield’s songwriting flame. Album Review: It’s a tricky thing – working on the follow-up to your breakout LP. Many musicians have wilted under the pressure of increased critical scrutiny and fan expectations. Do you return with more of the same or … Read more
Godspeed You! Black Emperor Asunder, Sweet And Other Distresses Constellation Records [2015] Fire Note Says: The noisy Canadians are back. Better run for the hills. Album Review: If ever there was a band in a perpetual bad mood it would have to be these Montreal freaks. Although their targets are mostly well-worn demons: Capitalism, Globalization, … Read more
Modest Mouse Strangers To Ourselves Epic Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Modest Mouse returns and it was almost worth the wait. Album Review: A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work. Which is to say that even if this were the least impressive album of Modest Mouse’s career (which it is) … Read more
No Spill Blood Heavy Electricity Sargent House Records [2015] Fire Note Says: No Spill Blood’s debut album is a shot of pure adrenaline for your ears. Album Review: Some bands like to impress you with their vast knowledge of various and sundry musical genres in a culmination of years and years of crate digging self-gratification. … Read more
of Montreal Aureate Gloom Polyvinyl Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Kevin Barnes version of the break-up record is as schizo as you’d imagine. Album Review: After eleven years Kevin Barnes and wife Nina Grottland called it quits and we, the indie music consumer, are the ultimate beneficiaries. All the typical Of Montreal signifiers are there … Read more
Steven Wilson Hand. Cannot. Erase. Kscope Music [2015] Fire Note Says: Porcupine Tree frontman offers an inspired and introspective solo effort. Album Review: Steven Wilson is a busy guy. Besides working on his own music he has been on a crusade to remix some of the best-known and most beloved records from the classic era … Read more
Dan Deacon Gliss Riffer Domino Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Dan Deacon streamlines his signature sound with mixed results. Album Review: Listening to Dan Deacon’s records is a different kind of experience. Precious few artists in the field of electronica have such a penchant for pop or a relish for rock that Deacon has. It … Read more
Dave Kerzner New World (Deluxe Edition) eSoundz [2015] Fire Note Says: Dave Kezner’s rolodex is way better than yours and he proves it! Album Review: I became aware of Dave Kerzner through his association with Phil Collins’ son, Simon, and their short-lived band Sound Of Contact. That band released one terrific album, Dimensionaut, and then … Read more
The Neal Morse Band The Grand Experiment Radiant Records[2015] Fire Note Says: Ex-Spock’s Beard frontman puts the Christian themes on the back-burner to create a near masterpiece. Album Review: After six albums with the LA-based retro-prog stalwarts Spock’s Beard, Neal Morse underwent a conversion to Christianity and quit not only that band but supergroup Transatlantic … Read more
Beardfish +4626-Comfortzone Inside Out Music [2015] Fire Note Says: Eclectic Swedes take listeners on a strange and diverse journey. Album Review: Beardfish is, as their name might imply, one strange band. Through eight albums since their formation in 2001 they have never locked into one sound nor have they become beholden to any particular set … Read more
Yes Heaven And Earth Frontiers Records[2014] Fire Note Says: Legendary prog masters keep it simple on their 21st album. Album Review: Yes has survived so many personnel changes that it almost seems incredulous that, for many, the thought of the band continuing without singer and co-founder Jon Anderson is sacrilege. But that is, sadly, what … Read more
Popstrangers Fortuna Carpark Records[2014] Fire Note Says: Follow-up to last year’s excellent debut does not disappoint. Album Review: In the run-up to Popstrangers’ sophomore album there has been a lot made of the band’s recent move from Aukland, New Zealand to the musical epicenter of the world – London. Subsequently, attempts have been made to … Read more
Shy Boys Shy Boys High Dive Records[2014] Fire Note Says: Debut album from Kansas City trio quietly satisfies. Album Review: Sometimes the name a band chooses for themselves is a dead give-away. And then other times a name can serve as subterfuge. In the case of Kansas City’s Shy Boys it may be a bit … Read more
Doug Tuttle Doug Tuttle Trouble In Mind Records[2014] Fire Note Says: Former MMOSS guitarist takes off on a solo trip back to the psychedelic sixties. Album Review: New Hampshire band MMOSS put out two albums and called it quits. About that same time Tuttle and girlfriend (and fellow MMOSS member) Rachel Neveu also broke up. … Read more
together PANGEA Badillac Harvest Records [2014] Fire Note Says: LA trio does garage punk the way it’s supposed to be done. Album Review: I’ll be perfectly honest: I hadn’t heard of these guys until Badillac started getting some positive reviews in the music press. Although this is their third long player, it is their first … Read more
Liars Mess Mute Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Liars confound and amaze with each release – and Mess is no exception. Album Review: Liars just might be the most confusing band in the world, not that they exhibit any signs of being confused themselves. It’s the feeling one gets that these guys could be, should … Read more
The Fleshtones Wheel Of Talent Yep Roc Records[2014] Fire Note Says: America’s garage rock band prove they’ve still got it on album number 22. Album Review: The history of The Fleshtones is seriously unlike any other. Formed in Queens in 1976, they played their first gigs at CBGB and Max’s Kansas City. They were also … Read more
Pillar Point Pillar Point Polyvinyl Records [2014] Fire Note Says: An unexpected electro-pop debut from Scott Reitherman’s new name plate. Album Review: When Scott Reitherman formed Throw Me The Statue in 2005 the indie music landscape was still awash with guitar-driven acts. The internet promised that any aspiring artist with a good sound and a … Read more
Sport Bon Voyage Good Post Day Records[2014] Fire Note Says: French emo band pay tribute to classic pop-punk and a host of dead athletes. Album Review: I get lazier and lazier with each passing year. Try as I might, it gets harder and harder to dedicate the requisite time to really critique an album. Especially … Read more
The Men Tomorrow’s Hits Sacred Bones Records [2014] Fire Note Says: The Men continue to slash and burn with their chaotic fifth album. Album Review: And here I was about to give up on The Men. Last year’s New Moon left me cold. It was just too rustic and countrified for my liking. Then they … Read more
San Francisco’s Sleepy Sun brought their strong brand of neo-psych rock to Columbus last Friday night (2/28/14) in support of their terrific fourth album, Maui Tears (see TFN review here.) The Rumba Café near the Ohio State campus was filled to capacity and the night also featured New York newbies KDH and Cincinnati stalwarts, Buffalo … Read more
Quilt Held In Splendor Mexican Summer Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Boston psych folk trio offer up a breezy, groovy winner. Album Review: Quilt’s self-titled first album was recorded piecemeal across three years and numerous home studios – and it sounded like it. Not that it was terrible or anything, quite the contrary. It was … Read more
Yellow Ostrich Cosmos Barsuk Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Yellow Ostrich reach for the stars and release a truly stellar album. Album Review: Every great album has to have a great back story or at least something to enliven the press release. The story of Cosmos, Yellow Ostrich’s fifth album and third for Barsuk, goes … Read more
Augustines Augustines Caroline International [2014] Fire Note Says: The band formerly known as We Are Augustines strip down more than just their name. Album Review: Let me put this out there: the first album from (We Are) Augustines, Rise Ye Sunken Ships, was one of favorite records of 2011. That Dave Newfeld produced album got … Read more