Barbarossa Bloodlines Memphis Industries [2013] Fire Note Says: Barbarossa is Thom Yorke’s more soulful, less robotic cousin. Album Review: James Mathé, the man behind the Barbarossa moniker, is a London-based musician whose brand of soul-inflected, electronically augmented tunes run the gamut from sparse balladry to glitchy experimentalism to bluesy funk pop. A former member of … Read more
The Love Language Ruby Red Merge Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Every song on The Love Language’s Ruby Red is good – making you want to listen to the album again and again. Album Review: Ruby Red is the first I’ve heard of indie/rock band The Love Language. After listening to the album’s first track, … Read more
No Age An Object Sub Pop Records [2013] Fire Note Says: No Age continues to perfect their garage psychedelia sound with An Object. Album Review: Los Angelinos Randy Randall and Dean Allen Spunt (the two principals of No Age) return with their fourth long-player, An Object. The album title is an interesting statement – I … Read more
Tim Easton Not Cool Campfire Propaganda/Thirty Tigers [2013] Fire Note Says: Singer/songwriter Tim Easton has a new vibe on the entertaining Not Cool. Album Review: Guess what? Tim Easton has a new record titled Not Cool. Who is Tim Easton you say? He is just a native Ohio artist that is on his tenth studio … Read more
Medicine To The Happy Few Captured Tracks Records [2013] Fire Note Says: After an 18 year hiatus, the original line-up conjures up a dose of psychedelic excellence. Album Review: There have been reunions aplenty of late. From our beloved Guided By Voices to Archers Of Loaf, Dinosaur Jr. and The Dismemberment Plan, but none are … Read more
Pop. 1280 Imps Of Perversion Sacred Bones Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Pop. 1280 return with more noise rocking on sophomore record Imps Of Perversion. Album Review: Are you searching for a new record to get your blood pumping? Look no further than this sophomore effort from Brooklyn’s Pop. 1280 because Imps Of Perversion is … Read more
Subways On The Sun The Honeymoon Stagecoach Self-Released [2013] Fire Note Says: Well-produced, melodic debut gives plenty of nods to their Seattle forerunners. Album Review: Catchy hooks: check. Solid guitar riffs: check. Crystal-clear production: check. No, it’s not psych, garage, metal, or progressive, but Seattle-based Subways on the Sun have crafted an immaculately-arranged and satisfying … Read more
Long Lost Save Yourself, Start Again No Sleep Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Long Lost’s debut is a catchy collection with Save Yourself, Start Again. Album Review: Long Lost is the culmination of collaboration between Transit’s Joe Boynton and Vinny Comeau. The pair worked with Aviv Moritz (drums), Mat Morin (guitar), and Mike Moschetto (bass) … Read more
Barrence Whitfield & The Savages Dig Thy Savage Soul Bloodshot Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Barrence Whitfield is back to shake your soul! Album Review: Bloodshot Records has had an injection of “soul” lately with the recent release of JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound (TFN Review) and now Boston’s legendary Barrence Whitfield & The … Read more
Junior Astronomers Dead Nostalgia Broken Circles Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Junior Astronomers’ debut Dead Nostalgia is a punkish step towards greatness. Album Review: Junior Astronomers is a punk band from Charlotte, NC. They leave the Southern fried on the side and go full punk (with some mainstream influences) on their debut album Dead Nostalgia. … Read more
Hospital Ships Destruction In Yr Soul Graveface Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Hospital Ships third album aims for the back seats at an arena near you. Album Review: Call me a sentimentalist or an old fuddy-duddy, I don’t care. The thought of The Dismemberment Plan, Sebadoh and Superchunk all with albums on the horizon makes … Read more
Washed Out Paracosm Sub Pop Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Washed Out offers up a warm pop vibe on the likable Paracosm. Album Review: What do you do when your genre fades away? That is the question that Washed Out’s Ernest Greene had to answer as his debut full length, Within And Without, was a … Read more
Winter Makes Sailors Moving On Anyway Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Columbus, Ohio band delivers an intoxicating pop album. Album Review: Sean Gardner is the main man behind Winter Makes Sailors. If you live in Ohio, you have more than likely seen him in one of the many bands he has played in, Denovo, Kopaz, … Read more
Organs Headin’ For The Door Killer Diller Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Organs debut LP is an energized weaponization of the blues—and all in under 23 minutes. Album Review: The NYC three-piece Organs is a band that rocks the question “When I rock ‘jump,’ you rock ‘how high?’” Their debut through Killer Diller Records, Headin’ … Read more
The Moondoggies Adiós I’m A Ghost Hardly Art Records [2013] Fire Note Says: The Moondoggies return with the memorable and confident Adiós I’m A Ghost. Album Review: By the time a band gets to their third album they typically have reached some sort of crossroad. For Seattle’s Moondoggies, their third album Adiós I’m A Ghost … Read more
Minks Tides End Captured Tracks Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Minks update their old bedroom pop sound with their new synth pop record. Album Review: Tides End, the second lp from Minks, finds the band working with producer/engineer Mark Verbos and ditching the bedroom pop sound of their first lp, By the Hedge, and adopting … Read more
Wiretree Get Up Cobalt Works Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Any of Get Up’s ten tracks could be a hit single, and they only get better with time. Album Review: “How have I not heard of this band?” This was the question I asked myself as I listened to Wiretree’s fourth LP, Get Up. Hailing … Read more
Scott & Charlene’s Wedding Any Port In A Storm Fire Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Songs of pain and isolation cleverly disguised in a jangle pop package. Album Review: The new record from Scott & Charlene’s Wedding, Any Port In A Storm, has come from out of nowhere to completely blow me away. Like some … Read more
Dennis Callaci & Simon Joyner New Secrets Shrimper Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Dennis Callaci & Simon Joyner’s second album blends high-quality lyrics with mixes of folk, rock, indie, and emo. Album Review: New Secrets is the first I’ve heard of Dennis Callaci and Simon Joyner. After the album’s first spin, I guessed the duo … Read more
Vacation Candy Waves Don Giovanni Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Vacation’s sophomore record takes you on a punk fueled trip! Album Review: Cincinnati’s Vacation comes at you with their style of loud rowdy rock on their sophomore record Candy Waves that immediately will get you going. The album has a raw flare and venom of … Read more
The Whiles Somber Honey Anyway Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Somber Honey plucks its sweetness from multiple eras of pop and rock. Album Review: The 60s is probably the most musically borrowed-from decade, especially amongst many of the artists we feature on The Fire Note. The experimentation, creativity, and downright cool factor make it an … Read more
Beach Day Trip Trap Attack Kanine Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Beach Day’s debut sounds exactly as you would expect – only much better. Album Review: Hollywood, Florida is about the last place I would look if searching for a really cool indie band. Home to a mass a retirees and French-Canadian “snowbirds” (yes, your … Read more
Dumb Numbers Dumb Numbers Joyful Noise Recordings [2013] Fire Note Says: Dumb Numbers is an indie supergroup on paper and succeeds as a band on record! Album Review: So I am thinking if I started a band today and asked some of my friends to play in it – who would join? OK – I … Read more
Cloakroom Infinity Run For Cover Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Indiana’s Cloakroom plays it slow and steady on an impressive debut. Album Review: Having done a little bit of research before listening to Cloakroom’s debut EP/LP (it clocks in at around 29 minutes, so I’m not sure what this is!) I fully expected a pop-punk … Read more
Dinosaur Bones Shaky Dream Dine Alone Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Dinosaur Bones provides a soaring post-rock sophomore outing with Shaky Dream. Album Review: Toronto’s Dinosaur Bones are back with their sophomore record, Shaky Dream, that is filled with a catchy song style of brooding post-rock, memorable hooks and floating instrumental backdrops. All of this … Read more