Yes: Rose Music Center, Dayton, Ohio – August 14, 2015 With the untimely passing of co-founder and bass player extraordinaire Chris Squire from a rare form of leukemia, witnessing a Yes show threatened to be more like a wake than a concert event. Ultimately, it was more a celebration of his life and artistry. His … Read more
Dumb Numbers is back with a triple 10″ box set and they brought friends. The split series features new music from Dumb Numbers along with David Lynch, Melvins, and David Yow (Jesus Lizard). The release is limited to a one-time pressing of 975 hand-numbered copies, packaged within a custom wooden box set, with screen-printed art … Read more
Blackheart Honeymoon Mountains Speak Self-Released [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: With a sound that goes back n forth between Band of Horses and New Pornographers, Seattle’s Blackheart Honeymoon hit a sonic sweet spot on their debut album Mountains Speak. From the more modern indie jangle found on “Bodies” and “Love It All” to the increased … Read more
Ash Kablammo! earMUSIC [2015] Fire Note Says: Irish rockers make a big return with their first new album in 8 years. Album Review: Be honest, how long has it been since you thought about Ash? It’s been quite some time for me as well, but when you think back, wow they had a really nice … Read more
Terrible Terrible Get The New Computer Self-Released [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Terrible Terrible is a great band name as it sets up low expectations. Of course, that is not the case with this New Jersey quintet which received some positive praise on their 2014 EP, Fail Better. The group’s new four track offering, Get … Read more
Doubting Thomas Cruise Control Remember Me John Lydon Forever Fleeting Youth Records [2015] Fire Note Says: DTCC bring another flavor to the indie rock scene. Album Review: At some point, did you ever listen to a Pavement track and just think – what the hell were these guys thinking? It was a band that shouldn’t … Read more
POW! Fight Fire Castle Face Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Yes, there is definitely something in the water in the San Francisco area that is causing most of the finest garage rock in the world to be produced there. POW! however, is not your typical San Francisco garage rock band, they spin it off … Read more
Our favorite psych troubadours King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have a new album coming out still this year! Paper Mâché Dream Balloon hits the streets on November 13th and there are several vinyl options that you can decide on – but make it quick as their limited offerings do not last long. At their … Read more
Mac DeMarco Another One Captured Tracks [2015] Fire Note Says: Grab a cup of coffee with Mac and enjoy his latest record! Album Review: It’s always a big deal around The Fire Note Headquarters when Mac DeMarco releases a new record, since the release of Rock and Roll Night Club back in 2012, we have … Read more
Wild Raccoon Mount Break Howlin’ Banana Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: One-man garage pop from France?! Yes, you heard me right. From across the seas comes Wild Raccoon and his reverb filled mayhem of a record that aims to please. If you are a fan of early Ty Segall or King Khan, Mount Break … Read more
Bully Feels Like StarTime Intl./Columbia Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Bully’s debut makes you wish the nineties never ended. Album Review: Alicia Bognanno has an itch to scratch. Although born the same year Nevermind was released, this particular itch seems to only be scratched effectively by emulating the music being made while still in elementary … Read more
Sometimes all you need is a catchy band name and I am in before the music even starts playing. That was the case for Brooklyn’s Surf Rock Is Dead. The duo of Kevin Pariso and Joel Witenberg, hailing from Chicago and Melbourne, respectively, met in New York City. After just jamming for a bit the … Read more
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds have several limited releases now available at his online store. The fourth single “Lock All the Doors” is due out on August 28th on limited yellow vinyl. It includes the B-side “Here’s A Candle (For Your Birthday Cake).” You can order a copy HERE. Where the City Meets the Sky: … Read more
Here is the new music video from Dan Auerbach’s The Arcs for “Put a Flower in Your Pocket.” The video was directed by El Oms, who also created the album’s artwork and described the characters below in the video which are Rosie, the boxer, and the gangster. “Rosie and the boxer are in their 20s … Read more
Brother O’ Brother Show Pony Fonoflo Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Get your rock blues groove on with Brother O’ Brother. Album Review: This has been a year that finds many in the music critic world asking questions like; are there any new sounds out there?, is everything new really a rehash?, and is that … Read more
Strange Wilds Subjective Concepts Sub Pop Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Strange Wilds debut full length, Subjective Concepts, is one of the closest sounding records Sub Pop has released in years that embraces the label’s original Pacific Northwest/Olympia/Seattle sound from which they built their foundation. Is does not take long to hear the Bleach-ear … Read more
Saint Motel My Type EP Elektra Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: From the opening sax on “My Type,” California’s Saint Motel hook you with the latest infectious song of the summer. Pretty good for a track that has been around since 2013 but Saint Motel are proof that sometimes it takes time for music … Read more
Rocky Votolato & Chuck Ragan Kindred Spirit SideOneDummy Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Rocky Votolato and Chuck Ragan should be in your collection of singer/songwriters that you always find time for. Both have had previous success fronting bands; Votolato with Waxwing and Ragan with Hot Water Music. Both now have a much more rooted … Read more
Damaged Bug Cold Hot Plumbs Castle Face Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: I am not sure everyone knows this but Thee Oh Sees’ John Dwyer has a synthesizer-driven side project called Damaged Bug. Cold Hot Plumbs is actually his sophomore album under this moniker and once again it is a mixed bag of interesting … Read more
La Luz Weirdo Shrine Hardly Art Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Weirdo Shrine is a wave you should ride all the way in! Album Review: Back in the mid to late 90’s there was a surge in “surf” music that not only found people really digging classics like Dick Dale and The Ventures but new … Read more
Iron And Wine & Ben Bridwell Sing Into My Mouth Black Cricket Recording Co. [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Sing Into My Mouth is the second release on Sam Beam’s Black Cricket Recording Co., and though a collaborative covers record may seem like an odd departure for Iron & Wine, that’s only the case if … Read more
“Moving” marks the return of Lou Barlow to the solo album world as his new LP, Brace The Wave, will be his first in six years. Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh have kept him busy on the indie rock side of things so if you are familiar with his earlier solo efforts, the mid-tempo pace and … Read more
The Mynabirds Lovers Know Saddle Creek Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Mynabirds return with a dream-pop gem. Album Review: The current landscape in pop music is dominated by women; this is now extending to rock music as well. With acts like Speedy Ortiz, Sleater Kinney, Sharon Van Etten, and Jenny Lewis (to name a few), … Read more
One major positive about the growing interest in vinyl is that many favorites are finding a new pressing. I am not talking about all the major label and Record Store Day releases that are clogging the production plants but albums like these three new announcements which are harder to find or not been pressed before. … Read more
This is one we have been waiting for patiently! Following two great EPs, Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken? and Cheap Thrills On A Dead End Street Beach Slang’s official debut LP, The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us, is out October 30, via Polyvinyl Records. The album will be … Read more