Jeff Rosenstock WORRY. SideOneDummy Records [2016] Fire Drill Album Review: With some veteran names in the punk genre like Green Day, NOFX and Sum 41 just recently releasing records I would encourage you to look away from the masses for a second and find Jeff Rosenstock. Who? Well, he is best known for leading the … Read more
How To Dress Well Care Weird World/Domino Records [2016] Fire Note Says: How To Dress Well plays with new toys with mixed results. Album Review: Tom Krell is back for his fourth full-length album under the moniker How To Dress Well. So far, his first three albums have fit nicely into a specific theme: the … Read more
Bon Iver 22, A Million Jagjaguwar [2016] Fire Note Says: The constantly evolving Bon Iver! Album Review: I never thought that Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon would stay contained to one style, sound or genre but the turn he has taken on his third record 22, A Million was not expected, slightly perplexing and a musical … Read more
Against Me! Shape Shift With Me Total Treble Music [2016] Fire Note Says: Musically and artistically Against Me! deliver the goods. Album Review: In the bass heavy slow rocker “Delicate, Petite & Other Things I’ll Never Be,” singer/songwriter Laura Jane Grace sings with all piss and vinegar available to her: “I wanna be more real … Read more
The Brotherhood Of Lizards Lizardland: The Complete Works Captured Tracks [2016] Fire Note Says: Captured Tracks unearths another gem from Martin Newell of Cleaners from Venus. Album Review: I have to confess, I had no idea that The Brotherhood of Lizards was even a band, let alone a short-lived project featuring Martin Newell of Cleaners … Read more
Kishi Bashi Sonderlust Joyful Noise Recordings [2016] Fire Note Says: Kishi Bashi takes some chances and expands on his sound three albums in. Album Review: Kishi Bashi (Kaoru Ishibashi) has released his third full-length album and it’s quite a departure for the artist. Kishi Bashi’s first two albums have been hybrids of chamber pop and … Read more
King’s X (w/ King of Spades): Rockstar Pro Arena, Dayton, Ohio – September 29, 2016 On a cool and gloomy Fall night, about 300 people filled the Rockstar Pro Arena, just east of downtown Dayton, to hear the world-class hard rock trio and recording artists, King’s x offer up a 90+ minute show that spanned … Read more
Nothing like a three day music festival and 81 artists over 4 stages to totally enthrall a music lover. The 2016 lineup for Cincinnati’s Midpoint Music Festival was one of the best they have had in years and with some cooperative weather (although really hot at times) the overall experience will go down as a … Read more
Marriage + Cancer Demonstrations II EP Self-Released [2016] Fire Note Says: Marriage + Cancer have had a complete sound overhaul. Album Review: I have been a longtime follower of Robert Komets’ music. His Nucular Aminals’ albums and the earlier versions of Marriage + Cancer were some wonderfully off beat, sometimes goofy, sometimes dour, but always … Read more
Probably the best thing about music festivals, aside from gathering some bands you want to see into one place for a long day of music, or three days if you have the stamina and interest, is the times you stumble onto good bands you’ve not encountered previously. As I was new to the MidPoint Fest, … Read more
Thee Oh Sees A Weird Exits Castle Face Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Like a tentacle from the warp hole, The Oh Sees latest is a spacy, slimy decay that beckons from beyond. Album Review: Friends, I really apologize for the delay. It wasn‘t my intent to let this important album slip through my fingers, … Read more
Beach Slang A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings Polyvinyl Records [2016] Fire Drill Album Review: TFN has been all over Beach Slang’s Replacement style rock n roll since their pair of EP debuts back in 2014. This Philly band has quickly progressed and now with A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings, they have already released … Read more
The Head And The Heart Signs Of Light Warner Bros. [2016] Fire Drill Album Review: Are you in the market for a likeable rock album? The Head and the Heart may have something to interest you with their third LP, Signs of Light. The band has a knack for meticulous harmonies and soaring singalongs. Album … Read more
Local Natives Sunlit Youth Loma Vista Recordings [2016] Fire Note Says: Local Natives release an excitingly hifi new album. Album Review: How much you like the new Local Natives album, Sunlit Youth, depends on how much you’re a fan of music production. This is the third album that the California band has released, and has … Read more
Jack White Acoustic Recordings 1998-2016 Third Man/Columbia Records [2016] Fire Note Says: The softer side of Jack! Album Review: There are not that many times that you can say you saw an artist when but that is how I have always been with The White Stripes as I caught them opening for Sleater-Kinney in 2000 … Read more
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree Bad Seed LTD. [2016] Fire Note Says: Filled with pure, unbridled pain, Nick Cave once again exorcises his demons. Album Review: There may be nothing more painful to experience than pure unadulterated grief. Which is why many will choose to pass on the latest album from Australian … Read more
Glass Animals How To Be A Human Being Harvest Records [2016] Fire Note Says: A strong follow up record from Glass Animals. Album Review: Following that path of previous singles like “Black Mambo” and “Gooey,” Brit-pop quartet Glass Animals have dug deeper on the songs for their sophomore album, How to Be a Human Being, … Read more
Altadore Opal, Luna, And Hymn Randm Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Altadore’s David Katz confronts loss full on while channeling the sounds of Nilsson and 3rd Sister Lovers era Big Star. Album Review: Altadore is Portland, OR based artist David Katz, and his second album, Opal, Luna and Hymn deals with the dissolution of a … Read more
Frank Ocean Blonde Self-Released [2016] Fire Note Says: Frank Ocean fans are awaited for their patience. Album Review: It’s easy to automatically reject that which the Internet deems as being worthy of our time and attention. I had peripherally been made aware of Frank Ocean’s impending release and all of the buzz surrounding it. Appreciating … Read more
House Of Heroes Colors BC Music [2016] Fire Drill Album Review: House of Heroes have come a long way from their humble beginnings as a pop-punk outfit in the early 2000s. From the gritty, hook-laden songwriting of their self-titled second album to the epic scope and art-rock concepts of 2008’s The End Is Not The … Read more
Tim Easton American Fork Last Chance Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Another heartfelt delivery from singer/songwriter Tim Easton. Album Review: Tim Easton is the singer/songwriter that you just can’t stop from delivering a pure heartfelt record. His eleventh, yes eleventh, record American Fork feels and sounds like an artist at the top of his game … Read more
Angel Olsen My Woman Jagjaguwar [2016] Fire Drill Album Review: Angel Olsen’s third album makes a loud, brash entrance; My Woman’s first three tracks are top notch, including the remarkable “Shut Up Kiss Me.” That track will make you stop what you’re doing and take notice. It sounds like a Blondie song with its in-charge … Read more
Sleepies Natural Selection Mirror Universe Tapes [2016] Fire Note Says: Wake up people! Sleepies third album needs your attention. Natural Selection will more than likely end up my favorite album of 2016. Album Review: I would like to say third time is a charm for this wonderful Brooklyn based band, but honestly Sleepies has been … Read more
Wilco Schmilco ANTI-/dBpm Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Wilco toy with their sound, defy expectations and thrill us all at the same time. Album Review: There’s a funny thing about expectations. We the listener, what we expect out of our favorite band, we put expectations from them that we shouldn’t. Musicians are free to make … Read more
Thrice To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere Vagrant Records [2016] Fire Note Says: Thrice still bring an edgy melodic crunch. Album Review: Fresh from it’s hiatus of a few years, the alt rock/post-hardcore West Coast band Thrice is raging against the machine; with an apparent war on the horizon, they’re prepared to do battle. … Read more