Matt And Kim New Glow Harvest Records [2015] Album Review: Matt and Kim’s fifth studio album, New Glow, serves up the expected energy-infused pop music that the duo has down to a tee. Known as a spectacularly frenetic live act, Matt and Kim lose some of that frenzy in the studio on this album. Minimalist … Read more
Sharon Van Etten I Don’t Want To Let You Down EP Jagjaguwar [2015] Album Review: Sharon Van Etten’s new 5-track EP, I Don’t Want To Let You Down, feels like a coda to last year’s standout LP Are We There. However, this release is lacking some of the humor and fire that had Are We … Read more
Matt Pond PA The State Of Gold Doghouse Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Pond’s 11th album is a workmanlike effort that evokes a more transcendent experience. Album Review: I thumb through old emails looking for the cell phone number of a guy I knew in college. We spent an afternoon with Green Fury on repeat. … Read more
Veruca Salt Ghost NotesEl Camino Media [2015] Having reunited with their original lineup in 2013, Veruca Salt have returned with their new LP, Ghost Notes. This album marks the first collaboration between Louise Post and Nina Gordon since 1997’s Eight Arms to Hold You. From a reviewer’s perspective, one might expect a lukewarm response to … Read more
Yonatan Gat Director Joyful Noise Recordings [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: The follow-up to the Israeli-born guitarist’s promising 2014 record Iberian Passage, Yonatan Gat’s Director is largely more of the same—not that that’s a bad thing. Relying heavily on free improvisation and drawing influence from a variety of 60s and 70s acts (think Jimi Hendrix … Read more
Tame Impala Currents Interscope Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Frontman Kevin Parker returns from the void as Tame Impala sweeps us up in his Currents. Album Review: This could be one of the toughest reviews I’ve ever written. Tame Impala’s new album Currents makes it hard not to write Kevin Parker off as a traitor. … Read more
Linden Rest And Be Thankful Slumberland Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Linden is the new project from Joe McAlinden, formerly of the band Superstars. The Scotsman’s sophomore LP under the Linden moniker is a fine listen. Decidedly low-key but with layers of sound, McAlinden warmly invites you to enter his abode and feel at … Read more
Max Gowan Big People Self-Released [2015] Fire Note Says: Big People is a friendly, catchy blend of bedroom rock and pop hooks. Album Review: Despite the number of bands and artists who make it look easy, putting together a homemade record on your own is a harder task than it looks on the surface. Being … Read more
Pupppy Shit In The Apple Pie Father/Daughter Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Pupppy’s debut album, Shit in the Apple Pie, is exactly the kind of quirky pop album that the indie rock world would have tripped all over themselves giving accolades to in the late 90’s-early 2000’s. Cut from the same cloth as such … Read more
Flotation Toy Warning Bluffer’s Guide To The Flight Deck Talitres Records [2015]
Native Lights Native Lights Passive Recordings [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: The members of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Native Lights have been contributing their fair share of captivating sounds for 20+ years. Their self-titled debut is a huge win for fans of the dark ambient and shoegaze genres as they lift influences from titans My Bloody Valentine … Read more
Richard Thompson Still Fantasy Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Still works as a re-introduction of an artist that any serious music fan will want to hear for yourself. Album Review: Richard Thompson has been a music critics’ favorite since his early days in the premier British folk rock group of the late 60’s, Fairport Convention, … Read more
No Joy More Faithful Mexican Summer [2015] Fire Note Says: When all the pieces lock into step, you’re in that ride through the wormhole that all the best shoegaze evokes. Album Review: The Kinks knew it. The Mats knew it. You know Pavement knew it. Work smarter, not harder. Find your lane, play to your … Read more
Dave Segedy Schrodego Old Flame/Jurassic Pop Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Dave Segedy, who just so happens to be a member of Bloomington, IN band Sleeping Bag, jumps out on his own with the ultra-catchy Schrodego. If Tony Molina’s Dissed and Dismissed pushed all of the right pleasure buttons for you, well then you … Read more
Failure The Heart Is A Monster Self-Released [2015] Fire Note Says: Failure return after 19 years with a sonic beast! Album Review: When you talk about the multitude of bands getting back together for a new album. there is none more exciting than Failure. With The Heart Is A Monster, their first new LP in … Read more
Hop Along Painted Shut Saddle Creek Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Frances Quinlan’s voice absolutely soars with her smooth growl on Hop Along’s sophomore record Painted Shut. Their indie music can be both quiet and loud on the same track as Hop Along brings big booming guitars as they tell their stories of desperation. … Read more
Male Gaze Gale Maze Castle Face Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Ripping through space and time, Male Gaze burns with their debut. Album Review: One of the most exciting labels today has to be John Dwyer‘s Castle Face Records. Scooping up artists from the underground and piping them into our ear holes, Dwyer‘s newest discovery … Read more
Juan Wauters Who Me? Captured Tracks [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: The Beets frontman Juan Wauters is back with his sophomore record, Who Me?. His simple acoustic approach is a very throwback folk-rock that thrived in the 70’s. Who Me? follows The Beets path of short songs as most hover around the 2 minute mark. … Read more
Wolf Alice My Love Is Cool RCA Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Wolf Alice’s debut is ambitious and, for the most part, delivers. Album Review: Buzz has been building around Wolf Alice for a few years now. With several singles and two EP’s already under their belt, the London band has put in a lot … Read more
Radioactivity Silent Kill Dirtnap Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Silent Kill breaks the mold of what “punk rock” is supposed to sound like! Album Review: Punk rock has been getting a bad rap over the last decade or so for not being creative, fresh or even fun. What once was a thriving genre, especially on … Read more
The National A Lot Of Sorrow (Box Set) 4AD Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: “Sorrow found me when I was young / Sorrow waited, sorrow won. / Sorrow that put me on the pills / It’s in my honey it’s in my milk / Don’t leave my hyper heart below.” Now repeat! That is … Read more
Rhett Miller The Traveler ATO Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: I have always been a fan of the Old 97’s so it typically is not that hard to enjoy frontman Rhett Miller’s solo work either. The Traveler is his seventh outing with just his name on the spine and I must say – it … Read more
Haynes Boys Haynes Boys Slab / Re-Vinyl Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Haynes Boys debut should be in your collection. Album Review: How about I introduce you to one of the best roots rock records you never took for a spin? An alt-country / Americana staple before the genre was really defined. That would be … Read more
The Stratford 4 Keep Your Crazy Head On Straight Magnetic Stare Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Do you remember The Stratford 4? The band released two solid albums on Jetset Records back in the early 2000’s. The group then was caught up in major label red tape and the Ric Ocasek produced Keep Your … Read more
Desaparecidos Payola Epitaph Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Desaparecidos create a memorable return! Album Review: Formed in 2001 in Omaha, Nebraska, Desaparecidos released one album, Read Music / Speak Spanish in 2002 on Saddle Creek Records. The band never broke up but the members went different directions including of course, Conor Oberst’s career with Bright … Read more