Sweet John Bloom Weird Player Tiny Engines [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Cambridge, MA’s Sweet John Bloom play quick and fast post-punk rock that will keep your feet tapping. Clocking 15 songs in 35 minutes is harder to do than you might think, especially when they cram all of their high energy guitar and lyrics … Read more
Crocodiles Boys Zoo Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Crocodiles have a strong bite on Boys. Album Review: San Diego’s Crocodiles is a power pop band with a dark twist. Their previous work has been filled with themes of the sinister and the vapid; these themes are ever present on their newest album, Boys. Band members … Read more
Jonathan Boulet Gubba Popfrenzy Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Jonathan Boulet’s Gubba is a tightly wound biker/punk rock LP. Album Review: Sydney based Jonathan Boulet pulls the ripcord on a briskly paced, rocker. Gubba sounds like a 50’s era biker gang learned to play crunch heavy punk music. There is a layer of nostalgic rockabilly … Read more
Surfin’ Mutants Pizza Party The Death Of Cool Fleeting Youth Records [2015] Fire Note Says: This is one party you don’t want to miss! Album Review: Surfin’ Mutants Pizza Party is the one-man bedroom project of 21 year old Julien Maltais. You might think that the bedroom genre is tired and worn out and probably … Read more
Evan Phillips Silhouettes Self-Released [2015] Fire Note Says: Silhouettes is Phillips at his best! Album Review: Anchorage, Alaska is not really a hotbed for new music but it should never simply be dismissed based on its map coordinates. I say this because when you hear singer songwriter Evan Phillips fourth solo record, Silhouettes, you may … Read more
Rose Windows Rose Windows Sub Pop Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Rose Windows return for their sophomore and final album. Album Review: For a band that will only put out two albums, the Rose Windows will always have a special place in my heart. Not only was their debut album, The Sun Dogs, one hell … Read more
Annabel Having It All Tiny Engines [2015] Fire Note Says: Time to reconnect with your emo feelings! Album Review: At some point do you ever feel like you are too old for a genre of music? I have had those thoughts over the years about emo but always remind myself how I will still turn … Read more
Heartless Bastards Restless Ones Partisan Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Erika Wennerstrom’s power surged vocals are hard to resist. Album Review: The Cincinnati now Austin based Heartless Bastards return with their fifth full length album, Restless Ones, that will once again dazzle fans with its soulful approach. The band has always been centrally driven from … Read more
Shamir Ratchet XL Recordings [2015] Fire Note Says: Portrait of an artist as a young man. Album Review: There was some story last year about a high school senior who was said to have made millions on the stock market. I don’t know if the reporter got it wrong or the kid misspoke, but the … Read more
Destruction Unit Live In San Francisco Castle Face Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Exhilarating psychedelic freak-outs from Arizona noise rockers. Album Review: Count me as a huge fan of the Live in San Francisco live series brought to us by John Dwyer and Castle Face Records. The whole series has been remarkable and well worth … Read more
Magic Pie King For A Day Karisma Records[2015] Fire Note Says: So good you’ll want more than just one slice. Album Review: Magic Pie are a Norwegian band that has been around for about a decade now and have been releasing some really solid music mixing seventies indebted classic and progressive rock with a modern … Read more
Thee Oh Sees Mutilator Defeated At Last Castle Face Records [2015] Fire Note Says: After Drop, Thee Oh Sees return to form. Album Review: Thee Oh Sees have always been an interesting band. While—in my humble opinion—2014’s Drop wasn’t a huge success, it wasn’t a total failure either. Drop provided some killer tracks, which is … Read more
Jamie xx In Colour XL Recordings [2015] Fire Note Says: A relaxed build to some truly devastating xx moments, but nothing here rivals the snap of We’re New Here, which feels like a missed opportunity. Album Review: The xx are fun to watch live. Oliver’s big, stage-chewing gait, Romy’s stony confidence. In lesser hands, their … Read more
Muse Drones Warner Bros. Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Muse create another stadium rocker. Album Review: I remember when Muse released their debut, Showbiz (1999), and they were considered a muscular Radiohead. The band quickly separated themselves with their sophomore effort, Origin of Symmetry (2001), and has never looked back. Over their last several releases, … Read more
Unknown Mortal Orchestra Multi-Love Jagjaguwar [2015] Fire Note Says: UMO redefine what you thought you knew. Album Review: If you would have told me this time last year that I‘d be shaking my ass to a Unknown Mortal Orchestra album, I‘d have called you crazy. Having sprung out of New Zealand in 2011 with their … Read more
Lost Boy? Canned Papercup Music [2015] Fire Note Says: Lost Boy? are a dream come true for 90’s indie rock fans. Bits and pieces of your favorite bands pasted together in a catchy and fun album. Album Review: I have been listening to Davey Jones’ project, Lost Boy? for the last year or so. They … Read more
The Vaccines English Graffiti Columbia Records [2015] Fire Note Says: The Vaccines’ third album has highs and lows. Album Review: The Vaccines are of a proud lineage – the next great rock band from the UK that never quite has the world-beating success that seemed predestined when it hit the scene. The Vaccines have toured … Read more
Warm Soda Symbolic Dream Castle Face Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Symbolic Dream is a refreshing power pop gem! Album Review: I didn’t love Warm Soda’s last album, Young Reckless Hearts. I felt like it was a pretty big letdown from their wonderful debut album, Someone For You, which ended up being one of my … Read more
Yes Progeny: Seven From Seventy-Two Atlantic Records [2015] Fire Note Says: 7 complete concerts from 1972 recently unearthed, cleaned up and presented warts and all. Yes! Album Review: 1972 was a very good year for Yes. They had just released Close To The Edge and it was hailed as their masterpiece. After more than forty … Read more
Brandon Flowers The Desired Effect Island Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Brandon Flowers’ second album is for the masses. Album Review: The voice of the commoner has been taken on by Brandon Flowers. This was hinted at in the The Killers’ (Flowers is the lead singer of the band) previous album, the coming-of-age Battle Born, … Read more
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin The High Country Polyvinyl Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Missouri’s finest band returns with gusto. Album Review: Way, way back in 2006 and the dawn of the mp3 blog era there seemed to be so many bands popping up from every corner of the universe and the only hope … Read more
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Quarters Castle Face Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Quarters is an intriguing and rewarding long player. Album Review: So here is a crazy idea. How about make a record with only 4 tracks that each runs a total time of 10 minutes and 10 seconds and then name it … Read more
Kopecky Drug For The Modern Age ATO Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Kopecky streamlines both their name and their style. Album Review: I became aware of the Kopecky Family Band’s 2012 debut album, Kids Raising Kids, last year and was immediately enchanted. The Nashville band’s mix of pop with Americana twists was fresh and lively, … Read more
Jack Name Weird Moons Castle Face Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Jack Name returns with an ever-eccentric brand of far-out space pop. Album Review: The first time that I heard Jack Name’s debut album, Light Show, it was easy to place him in the hall of pop eccentrics. Name wasn’t afraid to add concept to … Read more
The Helio Sequence The Helio Sequence Sub Pop Records [2015] Fire Note Says: The Helio Sequence’s latest is long on atmosphere but short on surprises. Album Review: Over the course of five LP’s since forming in 1996, Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel have carved out a little niche in the Indie Rock scene by combining … Read more