Saturday Looks Good To Me One Kiss Ends It All Polyvinyl Records [2013] Fire Note Says: One Kiss Ends It All draws heavily from the past to create pop for the present. Album Review: Saturday Looks Good to Me first came to my attention with their 2003 album All Your Summer Songs, which was about … Read more
Jonny Fritz Dad Country ATO Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Jonny Fritz finds a more serious side on his ATO debut Dad Country. Album Review: Jonny Fritz (formerly Jonny Corndawg) plays a very straightforward and honest “country” music on his third album, Dad Country, and first for ATO Records. Fritz states that his songs are … Read more
Jonathan Rado is a songwriter, a staid performer, an evangelical producer – the 23-year-old California native’s solo project, fashioned on brief sabbatical from his main project, Foxygen, is a deliciously self-conscious piece of esoteric apocrypha. Like character games, or symphonies of nonsense imitation-language, his records are cathartic, designed only to liberate the body and break … Read more
North Carolina’s ASG are back with their fourth full length and Relapse debut ‘Blood Drive’. Sun soaked groove heavy riffs that reference equal parts Torche and Queens of the Stone Age ‘Blood Drive’ is nice and heavy rock. ‘Blood Drive’ sounds like a record that will take ASG to the level of other well known … Read more
Alex Bleeker And The Freaks How Far Away Woodsist Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Alex Bleeker’s sophomore album will take you back to a different era of Americana. Album Review: Alex Bleeker is the bassist for Real Estate but his solo musical outlet with The Freaks has continued on to the more realized sophomore record … Read more
Noah And The Whale Heart Of Nowhere Mercury Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Noah and the Whale’s fourth LP sputters after a strong start. Album Review: Noah and the Whale returns with their fourth LP Heart of Nowhere. Not being too familiar with the band prior to this album, their pop/folk stylings were a nice … Read more
David Byrne & St. Vincent Brass Tactics EP 4AD Records [2013] Fire Note Says: A free EP from David Byrne & St. Vincent – sure, why not? Album Review: St Vincent and David Byrne, sentimentally speaking, hold a few memories for me. First off, Byrne’s Taking Heads were a big part of my childhood. As … Read more
Secret EP is just that: an EP released in secret. The band quietly posted these 5 tracks on their Bandcamp page late last year. Joyful Noise is now giving the Secret EP a proper release, available on digital, 10″ black vinyl, and limited edition 10″ green marble vinyl (hand-numbered out of just 300 copies). The … Read more
The Boxer Rebellion Promises Universal Music Group [2013] Fire Note Says: The Boxer Rebellion perfects their knockout punch on their fourth LP Promises. Album Review: Sometimes an album grabs you for no good reason – all the analysis and critical thought can’t begin to explain the why’s or how’s. This is what happened to me … Read more
Sundowners The Larger Half Of Wisdom Dirt Cult Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Sundowners throw down some old fashioned Minnesota punk! Album Review: It’s no big secret that some of the best punk and indie rock comes from Minnesota, heck it was practically born there with The Replacements and Hüsker Dü. The winters are long … Read more
Morningbell is one of the more prolific, inventive, and fiercely independent bands in the country. With six albums and four EPs over nine years (including an album released only on custom-made USB cards, a choose-your-own-adventure album, and 2009’s universally lauded Sincerely, Severely), Morningbell has gone more places with their music than most bands do in … Read more
Cian Nugent And The Cosmos Hire Purchase 7″ Matador Records [2013] Cian Nugent is a guitar player and composer from Dublin, Ireland who has a multitude of influences. His music boasts an orchestrated and fully instrumented sound that is smooth, playful and even eerie at times. Over the last several years Nugent has toured with … Read more
The Baptist Generals Jackleg Devotional To The Heart Sub Pop Records [2013] Fire Note Says: The Baptist Generals follow up their No Silver/No Gold lp 10 years after the fact, and it is worth the wait! Album Review: The term Jackleg has several meanings (I know because I looked it up), but it’s most common … Read more
The Hussy Pagan Hiss Southpaw Records[2013] Fire Note Says: Frenetic Madison, Wisconsin duo stir up quite a ruckus on their third album. Album Review: She (Heather Hussy) plays drums; he (Bobby Hussy) plays guitar. They both contribute on the vocal end of things so the White Stripes comparisons don’t fly. Besides, they share little of … Read more
The Maine Forever Halloween Eighty One Twenty Three [2013] Fire Note Says: The Maine utilize Brendan Benson’s board skills for a catchy fourth LP. Album Review: If someone ever asked me if there is criteria on reviewing a record I would just answer sure. Of course they will ask for more detail and I will … Read more
Badman Recording Co. just released a new splatter pattern for My Morning Jacket’s classic 40 minute “EP” Chocolate and Ice. These are limited to 1,000 copies and look nice! They incorporate transparent purple and blue mixed with opaque purple and blue over milky clear (not considered clear vinyl, so the quality is higher) vinyl. You … Read more
Vampire Weekend has put forth the official video for “Diane Young.” The video comes in fast on the heels of their newest album, Modern Vampires of the City, which debuted at #1 on Billboard 200. You can find our *Headphone Approved* review HERE. Directed by Primo Kahn, “Diane Young” is a veritable who’s-who of indie … Read more
Camera Obscura Desire Lines 4AD Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Camera Obscura keep their sound familiar and fresh on their fifth LP. Album Review: Camera Obscura have been making music for the past 15 years; their newest release Desire Lines is instantly identifiable with the sound they have created over that time period. The Scottish … Read more
Dead Gaze Dead Gaze Fat Cat Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Dead Gaze’s debut full-length is a lo-fi diamond in the rough. Album Review: Northern Mississippi is hardly known as a hotbed of indie music but perhaps that is about to change thanks to something called the Cats Purring Collective outside Oxford, a college town … Read more
Fresh off a tour with Green Day, Best Coast remain one of the busiest rock bands around as they prepare to embark on their own headlining tour. The upcoming dates will be the first chance to hear brand new songs from their newly recorded EP, release date coming soon. TOUR DATES 5/25 – EL PASO, … Read more
Sob Story sees Spectrals back and better than ever, brimming with confidence and the best songs of the Jones brothers’ careers so far. It’s an album that begs to be played again as soon as it finishes and one that will also create excitement at what is to come next from this band, whether Louis … Read more
San Francisco/Oakland’s The Mantles have been charting a unique path through the Bay Area’s storied garage/pop scene since 2007. The early shows were loose & loud Velvets/Nuggets-bashing, always with weirdly catchy songs & oddball chord changes. Their first singles saw them honing their sound, building towards their excellent 2009 self-titled debut album (on Siltbreeze) and … Read more
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Queens Of The Stone Age …Like Clockwork Matador Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Queens of the Stone Age …Like Clockwork, hits right on time. Album Review: Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme is—to put it bluntly—the man. He’s accrued many a famous friend, having rocked out with the best from John Paul … Read more
Roomrunner Ideal Cities Fan Death Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Roll down the car windows, and blast the debut lp from Baltimore’s Roomrunner. Album Review: I hate to follow the same old story line when it comes to Baltimore’s Roomrunner, so I am going to get it out of the way early. Yes, as a … Read more