Saint Motel My Type EP Elektra Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: From the opening sax on “My Type,” California’s Saint Motel hook you with the latest infectious song of the summer. Pretty good for a track that has been around since 2013 but Saint Motel are proof that sometimes it takes time for music … Read more
Rocky Votolato & Chuck Ragan Kindred Spirit SideOneDummy Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Rocky Votolato and Chuck Ragan should be in your collection of singer/songwriters that you always find time for. Both have had previous success fronting bands; Votolato with Waxwing and Ragan with Hot Water Music. Both now have a much more rooted … Read more
Damaged Bug Cold Hot Plumbs Castle Face Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: I am not sure everyone knows this but Thee Oh Sees’ John Dwyer has a synthesizer-driven side project called Damaged Bug. Cold Hot Plumbs is actually his sophomore album under this moniker and once again it is a mixed bag of interesting … Read more
La Luz Weirdo Shrine Hardly Art Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Weirdo Shrine is a wave you should ride all the way in! Album Review: Back in the mid to late 90’s there was a surge in “surf” music that not only found people really digging classics like Dick Dale and The Ventures but new … Read more
Iron And Wine & Ben Bridwell Sing Into My Mouth Black Cricket Recording Co. [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Sing Into My Mouth is the second release on Sam Beam’s Black Cricket Recording Co., and though a collaborative covers record may seem like an odd departure for Iron & Wine, that’s only the case if … Read more
The Mynabirds Lovers Know Saddle Creek Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Mynabirds return with a dream-pop gem. Album Review: The current landscape in pop music is dominated by women; this is now extending to rock music as well. With acts like Speedy Ortiz, Sleater Kinney, Sharon Van Etten, and Jenny Lewis (to name a few), … Read more
Chris Staples Cheap Shades EP Barsuk Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Offered as a free download to concertgoers who attend shows on his tour in support of the excellent American Soft, Chris Staples’ Cheap Shades EP is a strong and surprisingly unified release. The two new tracks (“Cheap Shades” and “Cindy, Diana, Janet and … Read more
Eric Gaffney A Cassetterospective Joyful Noise Recordings [2015]
The Chemical Brothers Born In The Echoes Astralwerks [2015] Fire Note Says: The Brothers further toy with song structure when their best work is their most traditional. Album Review: There’s a lack of finesse in the loops, a want for direction in the pacing, but there’s a density and a weight to the way the … Read more
Of Monsters And Men Beneath The Skin Republic Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Of Monsters and Men return with their sophomore effort. Album Review: Of Monsters and Men is the Icelandic band who had a huge hit with 2011’s “Little Talks,” and is currently gaining traction with “Crystals.” “Crystals” is the lead single from their … Read more
Great Lake Swimmers A Forest Of Arms Nettwerk Music Group [2015] Fire Note Says: Great Lake Swimmers have a pleasant, peaceful sound. Album Review: Great Lake Swimmers know their lane and stay in it during their most recent LP, A Forest of Arms. That lane is aptly described by the album’s title; triumphant and scenic, … Read more
Elvis Depressedly New Alhambra Run For Cover Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Many times great indie rock lies on the fringes of the mainstream and most of the time it is discovered by accident. I feel that way about Elvis Depressedly, which is technically a side project of Mathew Lee Cothran’s Coma Cinema. With … Read more
Titus Andronicus The Most Lamentable Tragedy Merge Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Risking over-ambition and failure, The Most Lamentable Tragedy has it merits—just hope you’ve done your homework. Album Review: From a literary standpoint, Titus Andronicus could be considered William Shakespeare’s first tragedy, a gruesome tale of rape, violence, and revenge. While New Jersey’s Titus … Read more
Negative Scanner Negative Scanner Trouble In Mind Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Ahh -28 minutes of post-punk bliss is what you get here with the debut from Chicago’s Negative Scanner. Lead vocalist Rebecca Valeriano-Flores has a PJ Harvey meets Sleater-Kinney sound as her pulsing energy pushes and shoves you through the record without ever … Read more
White Reaper White Reaper Does It Again Polyvinyl Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Exciting debut album from hot new Louisville band! Album Review: I’m always looking for good new bands to champion. If you want to catch my ear and hold it, you better have guitars, hooks, attitude, and tunes. White Reaper has all of … Read more
Ricked Wicky King Heavy Metal Guided By Voices Inc. [2015] Fire Note Says: Pollard’s Ricked Wicky sparks your rock n roll juices! Album Review: The journey for Robert Pollard’s Ricked Wicky continues just five months after their debut with the sophomore album, King Heavy Metal. Sure, it is a quick turn-around but c’mon – what … Read more
Fine Points Hover Dine Alone Records[2015] Fire Note Says: Sleepy Sun side project deliver a sunny debut. Album Review: The dreaded side project. Often the product of ego (“My songs keep getting voted down”) or worse (“I always wanted to do a rap album”) they seldom come close to the quality of the music produced … Read more
Vetiver Complete Strangers Easy Sound Recording Co. [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Complete Strangers is an apt title for Vetiver’s sixth album, as it finds the band (led by songwriter Andy Cabic) moving away from their folk-rock roots. The album opens with “Stranger Still,” a mellow track that features bubbling keyboards, quiet sax additions, trip-hop … Read more
METZ II Sub Pop Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Sometimes more of the same is more than enough. Album Review: Toronto punk trio METZ exploded onto the scene with their blistering debut album in 2012 – the fact that they had honed their craft for almost half a decade before releasing that self-titled gem may … Read more
Nun Nun HoZac Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Nun are from Australia, and as I am sure many of you know, there has never been a bad band from Australia. They are never not good…period. Think I’m kidding, go ahead try and name one. Add Nun to the roll call of great Australian bands, … Read more
Shana Cleveland & The Sandcastles Oh Man, Cover The Ground Suicide Squeeze Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Shana Cleveland has been performing with a rotating batch of musicians tagged as The Sandcastles for over six years, and now, Oh Man, Cover The Ground is her first proper album. It is a much different record … Read more
Wilco Star Wars ANTI-/dBpm Records [2015] Fire Note Says: This is a free offering you should keep! Album Review: “Thank you and goodnight” is what you could hear after the opening track, “EKG,” on Wilco’s new surprise ninth record Star Wars. The disjointed instrumental affair is loose and free and would fit nicely into this … Read more
And So I Watch You From Afar Heirs Sargent House [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Heirs is the fourth album from Belfast natives And So I Watch You From Afar, and offers ten new tracks of their mostly-instrumental math rock/post rock sound. Fans of the genre will find plenty to love here, from the frenetic … Read more
Jason Isbell Something More Than Free Southeastern Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Isbell hits his stride on confident follow-up to his classic LP Southeastern. Album Review: After years of flirting with gaining a wider audience, Jason Isbell finally broke big on his excellent fourth album, 2013’s Southeastern. While that album was his most intimate affair … Read more
EZTV Calling Out Captured Tracks [2015] Fire Note Says: Soft guitar pop brewed with heartbreak. Album Review: Soft hook filled guitar pop has always had its place on the indie scene. Recently, other than maybe Real Estate, there does not seem to be many bands embracing this style until hearing the debut from Brooklyn’s EZTV. … Read more