Hinds Leave Me Alone Mom + Pop Music [2016] Fire Note Says: Hinds debut is full of new band synergy. Album Review: Madrid’s Hinds have had plenty of underground hype since they released their demos back in 2014. Fast-forward to present day and the scene is even more saturated with the Hinds type of fuzzy … Read more
Bruce Springsteen The Ties That Bind: The River Collection Columbia Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Springsteen revisits The River in this majestic box set. Album Review: In 1980, Bruce Springsteen released the only double album of his career, “The River.” While the New Jersey-based singer/songwriter had already been on the covers of Time and Newsweek … Read more
Neon Indian VEGA INTL. Night School Mom + Pop Music [2015] Fire Note Says: Neon Indian floats – will you follow? Album Review: Full disclosure: I was assigned this review months ago. And I listened to it at the time, I really did. I just couldn’t hear it. So indebted to tape hiss and AM … Read more
Joseph Airport Recording Lake Superior Tsunami Patrol Music [2015] Fire Note Says: Joseph Airport keep things eclectic while upping the consistency. Album Review: Joseph Airport released their first album just about 15 months ago, and in the time since then they’ve kept themselves busy. Several live shows (including an appearance at Heedfest) and the fantastic … Read more
Wolf Alice with Radkey: Madison Live, Covington, Kentucky – December 16, 2015 Let’s get this out of the way: If you get the chance to see Wolf Alice in concert, you need to do it. The sooner the better. Why? The British four-piece has been on the brink for the past year and justified the … Read more
Baroness Purple Abraxan Hymns [2015] Fire Note Says: Baroness is back stronger than ever! Album Review: You can talk about indie genres and bands all you want but when it comes down to it, all of us love a really good rock record from a bona fide rock band. Baroness is exactly that kind of … Read more
TRAAMS Modern Dancing FatCat Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: On their second full-length LP, UK band, TRAAMS have created post-punk, krautrock inspired perfection. Modern Dancing’s 11 tracks move along at a brisk and urgent pace. Each track has something to offer the listener; zero filler. It is a rare thing for me to hear … Read more
Girlpool Before The World Was Big Wichita Recordings [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: It always amazes me when simple wins. Take Philadelphia based Girlpool as an example. The two piece, made up of Cleo Tucker (Guitar) and Harmony Tividad (Bass), never move beyond playing several chords and barely turn up the tempo or volume at … Read more
Father John Misty Live At Rough Trade Rough Trade Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Back in February, Josh Tillman, aka Father John Misty, came out to promote the recent release of his excellent I Love You, Honeybear with just his voice and guitar. Rough Trade smartly recorded the event as FJM played eight stripped … Read more
Addie Pray Screentime Father/Daughter Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Addie Pray’s new record, Screentime, is a super easy album to just sit down and listen to. Songwriter/vocalist Carmen Perry of SPORTS (which released the Headphone Approved All Of Something a month ago) has a drawl to her voice that is inviting, honest and just … Read more
Dave Segedy Layup Old Flame/Jurassic Pop Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Dave Segedy has been staying busy as Layup is his second release this year following his March debut Schrodego. With all this he is also prepping to start recording again with his Bloomington, IN band Sleeping Bag. I like when the drummer can … Read more
Paul Orwell Blowing Your Mind Away Heavy Soul! Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Plug in the organ and dust off the tambourine as Paul Orwell’s debut hits you fantastically in the face ’60s style! Album Review: “This Music Should Be Played Loud” is the bold statement you will first see on the back jacket of … Read more
Faith Healer Cosmic Troubles Mint Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Canada’s Faith Healer is the name under which Jessica Jalbert performs. Cosmic Troubles is the debut album for Faith Healer, although Jalbert has been kicking around the indie scene for a while now. The album is full of dream pop nuggets that are perfect … Read more
Blondi’s Salvation Wisdom Whisper Howlin’ Banana Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: You may not know much about the French music scene but they have quietly been churning out some great new music with the help of Howlin’ Banana Records. Psych-folk group Blondi’s Salvation’s sophomore album Wisdom Whisper, is the labels latest release and it … Read more
Chelsea Wolfe Abyss Sargent House [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Chelsea Wolfe brings a lot of her native California’s sunniness to her work…well, maybe not. Wolfe has a knack for the dark and brooding. I enjoyed her haunting vocals on label-mates Russian Circles’ album Memorial. However, the synth-heavy approach of Abyss lacked the depth of … Read more
Ty Segall Ty Rex Goner Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Wow – I will just say it. I fucking love Ty Segall! I am not even sure what it is exactly but everything he touches, plays on, produces or talks about turns out great. He is raw, rough, focused and sometimes simply all out … Read more
Foo Fighters Saint Cecilia EP RCA Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Surprise, gratitude and free sum up the Foo Fighters latest EP Saint Cecilia. As a thank you to the fans and without warning, the Foo’s released this free download EP last week (with a pay vinyl option) to their continually growing fan base. … Read more
Glen Hansard: Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, Ohio – October 24, 2015 Even though Glen Hansard has an impressive resume, it still seems people are unaware of the talent he brings to the musical world. The Irish singer/songwriter/actor is most known for his Academy Award winning Best Song “Falling Slowly” that appeared in the film ONCE (2006). … Read more
The Jam Fire And Skill: The Jam Live UMC/Polydor Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: It always mystifies me a bit when I hear the younger generation discussing early era British punk rock and rightfully so, groups like The Clash, Buzzcocks and the Sex Pistols are blurted out quickly but I hardly ever hear anyone … Read more
W-X W-X Castle Face Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Tim Presley’s second side project of the year, W-X, follows closely on the heels of his DRINKS project from a few months ago. And much like DRINKS, W-X has its moments, but overall left me feeling disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high, but after … Read more
Trust Fund Seems Unfair Turnstile Music [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: UK based Trust Fund is led by Bristol songwriter Ellis Jones which has typically built his records by a friend committee of musicians. You might think this could disturb the production but Seems Unfair is Jones’ second release this year as their debut No … Read more
The Blind Shake Live In San Francisco Castle Face Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: The seventh entry in Castle Face’s Live in San Francisco series features Minneapolis trio The Blind Shake, who specialize in their own unique style of “take no prisoners” sonic fury. Equal parts garage and noise, with some surf elements thrown … Read more
Guided By Voices Suitcase Four: Captain Kangaroo Won The War GBV Inc. [2015] Fire Note Says: Suitcase 4 packs 100 songs into a nice 3 hours 31-minute sitting but was too big for just one of our GBV fan writers to tackle so we split it up – 4 Discs; 4 Writers; 4 Perspectives – … Read more
Wimps Suitcase Kill Rock Stars [2015] Fire Note Says: Wimps slacker post-punk is sharp from beginning to end! Album Review: The slack rock from Seattle’s Wimps is a take back to simpler times when talking about your wretched living quarters, being the older and wiser one at a party or the temperature in the basement … Read more
S.M. Wolf Neon Debris In Store Recordings/Jurassic Pop Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: There is nothing better than when you stumble across an artist that was only supposed to be a one-time recording project but releases material that quickly changes things. That is exactly what we have here with Indianapolis’ S.M. Wolf after a … Read more