Hoops Routines Fat Possum Records [2017] Who: Hoops is a Bloomington, Indiana four-piece and Routines is their debut full length. Hoops was born in frontman Drew Auscherman’s teenage bedroom as a solo ambient and beat-driven project but with growth Hoops gained memomentum after releasing three cassette tapes and last year’s self-titled debut EP. Sound: Hoops … Read more
David Payne Cheaper Than Therapy EP Self-Released [2017] Fire Note Says: New Old Fashioned frontman David Payne goes back to basics with this strong 6-song EP. Album Review: Sometimes when inspiration hits and the songs start pouring out of you, the urge to get them out into the world becomes too much to bear. That’s … Read more
Haim Something To Tell You Columbia Records [2017] Who: Trio of sisters from Los Angeles. Sound: Guitar-heavy pop music. TFN Final Take: There’s no doubt that Haim can construct an earworm; they have the talent to tap into the brain chemistry that creates pleasing sensations. This is most evident on the song “Kept Me Crying,” … Read more
The War On Drugs A Deeper Understanding Atlantic Records [2017] Fire Note Says: The War on Drugs creates an accessible yet sophisticated album. Album Review: A Deeper Understanding is the War on Drugs fourth full-length album, and it is also their most accessible album. On previous efforts, Adam Granduciel’s vocals were a make or break … Read more
Neil Young Hitchhiker Reprise Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Neil Young releases a ten song acoustic studio recording from an early, highly productive period in his artistic development. Album Review: In the mid to late 70s, Neil Young had a particularly productive period in his songwriting, it was shortly after the release of the grief-ridden … Read more
The National Sleep Well Beast 4AD Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Sleep Well Beast is one of the most expansive sounding albums The National has released. Album Review: The National are back with their seventh studio album, Sleep Well Beast, which marks their first release in four years. Right out of the gate, I will … Read more
Deerhoof Mountain Moves Joyful Noise Recordings [2017] Fire Note Says: The more things change the more Deerhoof stay kind of the same. Album Review: The headline above should in no way be read as a slight against the seminal noise-pop pioneers. In the twenty years since their first album, Deerhoof has been one of the … Read more
PLAX Clean Feeling Super Secret Records [2017] Who: Austin-based quasi-punk band comprised of members of Spray Paint, OBN IIIs, Skeleton and Sweet Talk. Sound: Clean Feeling may be the best indie-punk album of 2017. Twitchy and heavy in perfect doses. TFN Final Take: Last year I fell head over heels in love with Austin’s Spray … Read more
The Alarm: Music Box Supper Club; Cleveland, Ohio – August 27, 2017 The Alarm, led by original member Mike Peters, returned to the US for a tour that included a number of dates on Vans Warped tour, and a series of stand alone dates in cities that had befriended the Welsh band in its 80s … Read more
Leah Senior Pretty Faces Flightless Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Leah Senior carries on the folk singer tradition of Joan Baez and the early work of Joni Mitchell. Album Review: Australian singer/songwriter Leah Senior’s second album finds the artist traveling the quiet path of the folk song troubadour’s of years past. Recorded for the most … Read more
Offa Rex The Queen Of Hearts Nonesuch Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Olivia Chaney is a true gem on this new collaboration with The Decemberists. Album Review: Anyone who’s followed Portland, Oregon’s The Decemberists over the last decade or more has likely suspected that an album like this collaboration with British folk … Read more
Jack Cooper Sandgrown Trouble In My Mind [2017] Who: Sandgrown is the debut solo album from Ultimate Painting’s Jack Cooper. He also was in the band Mazes. Sound: Jack Cooper has a super smooth voice that is in the same tone of Dean Wareham (Luna) or Stuart Lee Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian). His delivery is … Read more
Queen Moo Mean Well Topshelf Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Mean Well is one of the biggest, baddest rock ‘n’ roll records so far this year. Album Review: Clocking in at just under thirty minutes, Mean Well, the second full-length release from Connecticut band Queen Moo, reinvents rock ‘n’ roll in ways you didn’t know … Read more
Oh Sees Orc Castle Face Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Orc holds no limits and sounds as free as anything the Oh Sees have released. Album Review: What’s in a name? For John Dwyer, it doesn’t seem to matter much as his OCS/The Oh Sees/Thee Oh Sees/Oh Sees project continues to morph its 20 year … Read more
Broken Social Scene Hug Of Thunder Arts & Crafts [2017] Fire Note Says: All killer, no filler. Album Review: For a band with as many members as Broken Social Scene (15 to be exact), an album can go one of two ways. It could be a messy cacophony that never manages to have a unified … Read more
Green Day: Riverbend Music Center; Cincinnati, Ohio – Sunday, August 20, 2017 Over 20 years ago, as Green Day began dominating alternative rock radio with singles like “Basket Case” and “Longview,” which required a few words to get the censor “bleep” treatment, that we’d be talking about a multi-platinum selling, Rock & Roll Hall of … Read more
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Sketches Of Brunswick East ATO/Flightless Records [2017] Who: Ever since our first review of 2014’s I’m In Your Mind Fuzz, The Fire Note has been big fans. Psychedelic Aussies King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is an expansive band that doesn’t shy away from musical challenge and experimentation. Sound: … Read more
Brand New Science Fiction Procrastinate! Music Traitors [2017] Fire Note Says: Out of nowhere, Brand New returns with a moody, somber final record that will satisfy longtime fans and initiate legions of new ones. Album Review: For fans of the cagey Long Island emo band Brand New, the past eight years have been a painful … Read more
The Murlocs Old Locomotive Flightless Records [2017] Who: The Murlocs hail from Australia and Old Locomotive is the band’s third LP. Sound: The Murlocs are part of the current wave of Australian psychedelia that keeps rolling in. The group has that 60’s swag of the 13th Floor Elevators and the bounce of the nice guys … Read more
BIRDS Everything All At Once Greenway Records [2017] Who: Brooklyn band BIRDS is the quartet of Duane Lauginiger (guitar, vocals), Jessica Reynoza (bass, vocals), Jess Rees (guitar), and Tim Plunkett (drums). Everything All At Once is the bands debut record. Sound: BIRDS offer a very organic free flowing fuzzed-out mix of psychedelic rock that sways … Read more
Needles//Pins Good Night, Tomorrow Mint/Dirt Cult Records [2017] Who: Vancouver power trio Needles//Pins began in 2009 and now have released their third LP with Good Night, Tomorrow. Sound: The band belts out gruff punk rock melodies that can send you back to the sound of The Buzzcocks, while hitting the sweet spot of 90’s punk … Read more
Finn’s Motel Jupiter Rex Victory Over Gravity Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Jupiter Rex. Thebeau has found his own voice, still connecting with those great early 80s influences, but not stuck there. Album Review: When you’ve been writing and recording music in relative obscurity for close to 30 years, as has Joe Thebeau, you reach … Read more
Perfume Genius No Shape Matador Records [2017] Fire Note Says: Perfume Genius is perfectly realized on their latest. Album Review: Mike Hadreas, who performs as Perfume Genius, is a star that continues to burn brighter and brighter. No Shape, his fourth full-length album, sees the artist perform and compose with confidence and experience. Hadreas excels … Read more
MIND MELD MIND MELD Permanent Records [2017] Who: Los Angeles, MIND MELD has been creating a buzz since 2015. The trio have several singles under their rock belt and now a self-titled full-length debut. Sound: MIND MELD plays a heavy psychedelic garage rock that has modern flare like Thee Oh Sees and Ty Segall but … Read more
Guided By Voices How Do You Spell Heaven GBV, Inc. [2017] Fire Note Says: The revamped Guided By Voices continue their hot streak with an instant classic. Album Review: You can be forgiven for missing some of Robert Pollard’s output – the discography is indeed deep and daunting. That said, let me put this right … Read more