Ariel Pink Pom Pom 4AD Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Pom Pom is an insanely infectious joyride that seems to take you on a different route each time you listen. Album Review: You probably haven’t heard anything like Pom Pom, the 17 track new album from Ariel Pink (minus his Haunted Graffiti) this year, and … Read more
Lace Curtains A Signed Piece Of Paper Female Fantasy Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Lace Curtains offers a smorgasbord of styles. Album Review: Lace Curtains is the moniker of Michael “Coomers” Coomer. His previous band, Harlem, was known for their catchy garage pop tracks and Lace Curtains debut, The Garden of Joy and the Well … Read more
Pissed Jeans Shallow Sub Pop Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Shallow shows where the wallow rock all started. Album Review: Sub Pop Records has had two important reissues this year with the releases of the Sleater Kinney box set Start Together and the pre-Shins band Flake Music’s When You Land Here, It’s Time To Return. … Read more
Cancers Fatten The Leeches Dead Broke Rekerds [2014] Fire Note Says: Everything is right with the throwback sound of Cancers. Album Review: Crunching guitars, soaring melodies, dreamy power pop girl vocals, and plenty of fuzz. That is really all you need to know about Athens, GA band Cancers. The duo of Ella Kaspar and Lenny … Read more
Cool Ghouls A Swirling Fire Burning Through The Rye Empty Cellar Records [2014] Fire Note Says: These garage-psych revivalists have done their homework! Album Review: Cool Ghouls is a four-piece based in San Francisco, and with their new album A Swirling Fire Burning Through The Rye, they’ve done the near-impossible: they’ve created a full-length LP … Read more
Buffalo Killers Fireball Of Sulk Sun Pedal Recordings [2014] Fire Note Says: Fireball of Sulk is the Buffalo Killers heaviest guitar release to date. Album Review: Cincinnati’s Buffalo Killers like to keep busy as Fireball of Sulk represents their second release this year. The six song record follows their Sun Pedal debut, Heavy Reverie, which … Read more
Pink Floyd The Endless River Columbia Records [2014] Fire Note Says: The Endless River provides a closing gesture for a band. Album Review: Depending on whom you’re talking to, The Endless River is the final album from experimental rock band Pink Floyd, ending a recording career spanning 47 years. Of course, for some Floyd fans … Read more
The Flaming Lips With A Little Help From My Fwends Warner Bros. Records [2014] Fire Note Says: The Flaming Lips and fwends are at it again, adding their special flavor of space bombast to a timeless classic. Album Review: “It’s in the realm of the gods,” says bandleader Wayne Coyne, in an interview with Arun … Read more
Lucinda Williams Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone Highway 20 Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Lucinda Williams has settled into a comfortable groove. Album Review: Two things come to mind with the mention of Lucinda Williams: that voice and those songs. That voice has found her singing on records by some of the best … Read more
Various Artists While No One Was Looking: Toasting 20 Years Of Bloodshot Records Bloodshot Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Happy Birthday Bloodshot Records! Album Review: Twenty years is definitely something to be proud of and for Chicago’s Bloodshot Records they get a standing ovation. Bloodshot has had an endless catalog of great artists that include … Read more
Exit Verse Exit Verse Ernest Jenning Record Co. [2014] Fire Note Says: Geoff Farina is back with a guitar driven band that finds all the right classic rock riffs. Album Review: Singer/guitarist Geoff Farina (Karate, Secret Stars, Glorytellers) teamed up with drummer John Dugan (Chisel, Edsel) and bassist Pete Croke (Brokeback, Tight Phantoms) to form … Read more
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard I’m In Your Mind Fuzz Castle Face Records [2014] Fire Note Says: King Gizzard will give you an entire new perspective. Album Review: Melbourne, Australia band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard grabbed me earlier this year with just their name but when I heard the double release of … Read more
OK Go Hungry Ghosts Paracadute/BMG Records [2014] Fire Note Says: OK Go’s Hungry Ghosts is fun and lively. Album Review: It’s tempting to start a review of an OK Go album by talking about treadmills or Nike+. That is to say, the band may be better known as a marketing concept rather than as creators … Read more
Foo Fighters Sonic Highways RCA Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters show their love for American music. Album Review: Sonic Highways is the Foo Fighters new studio record and HBO series that premiered last month. If you are not familiar with its premise it was described by Grohl as a … Read more
Gary Clark Jr. Live Warner Bros. Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Gary Clark Jr. Live is a solid and spirited performance. Album Review: Earlier this year, Eric Clapton was interviewed by David Fricke for Rolling Stone Magazine, as his tribute to JJ Cale, The Breeze, was hitting stores and talk of the guitar god’s retirement … Read more
Circus Devils Escape Happy Jack Rock Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Robert Pollard and the Tobias brothers shift into a calmer gear and create what might be the best Circus Devils album yet. Album Review: Circus Devils never make the same album twice. Whether it’s the claustrophobic horror-rock screeches of the debut, the twisted spaghetti … Read more
Ausmuteants Order Of Operation Goner Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Aussie synth-punks blast out a fun and catchy record. Album Review: Ausmuteants newest release is on par with their numerous past releases. They deliver a frenetic and essential punk album layered in a cool sheen of synth and humor. Australia has a rather booming punk … Read more
Nada Surf B-Sides Barsuk Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Nada Surf helps round out your collection. Album Review: One of the cooler concert experiences I have had in the past several years was checking out a show from Nada Surf. Their set was solid but it was what happened after the show that was truly … Read more
Deerhoof La Isla Bonita Polyvinyl Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Nobody does avant-garde pop music like the insanely catchy Deerhoof. Album Review: There are two kinds of people in this world, those that get Deerhoof and those that don’t. I feel sorry for those that don’t, because they have missed out on some of the … Read more
Rancid …Honor Is All We Know Hellcat/Epitaph Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Rancid work to rekindle their punk spirit. Album Review: I remember the days when anxiously waiting for a new Rancid record meant something. They clearly are now veterans of the second mainstream punk movement and were always a reminder of how The Clash … Read more
Bishop Allen Lights Out Dead Oceans [2014] Fire Note Says: Bishop Allen returns with a solid if unspectacular effort. Album Review: Bishop Allen had been on a five-year hiatus until the release of their fourth LP Lights Out in August 2014. The Boston band’s primary members are Justin Rice and Christian Rudder; this album showcases … Read more
Thurston Moore The Best Day Matador Records [2014] Fire Note Says: A thrilling, gorgeous record from an indie icon. Album Review: At this point in his career, which has spanned across the better part of 4 decades, Thurston Moore doesn’t have many surprises up his sleeve. He has done it all, from being in a … Read more
Tweedy Sukierae dBpm Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Sukierae paints a musical portrait of a talented family in a challenging transitional period. Album Review: It’s never been all that obvious that Jeff Tweedy, the creative center of the thriving indie alt/rock band Wilco, ever needed to step out and make a solo album. He was … Read more
Thom Yorke Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes Self-Released [2014] Fire Note Says: Thom Yorke surprises all with his second, new solo outing. Album Review: The word ‘surprises’ is often a part of the phrase ‘surprises and delights’. Why not here, you may ask? Well, if you consider yourself a fan of Thom Yorke then Tomorrows Modern Boxes … Read more
Neighborhood Brats Recovery Deranged Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Neighborhood Brats new album will have you holding onto your wallet and putting your fists in the air. Album Review: Back in February, we featured a 7-inch from front woman Jenny Angelillo and her tenacious lead in LA band Neighborhood Brats. Well the band is back … Read more