Cloakroom Infinity Run For Cover Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Indiana’s Cloakroom plays it slow and steady on an impressive debut. Album Review: Having done a little bit of research before listening to Cloakroom’s debut EP/LP (it clocks in at around 29 minutes, so I’m not sure what this is!) I fully expected a pop-punk … Read more
Dinosaur Bones Shaky Dream Dine Alone Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Dinosaur Bones provides a soaring post-rock sophomore outing with Shaky Dream. Album Review: Toronto’s Dinosaur Bones are back with their sophomore record, Shaky Dream, that is filled with a catchy song style of brooding post-rock, memorable hooks and floating instrumental backdrops. All of this … Read more
Earth Dies Burning Songs From The Valley Of The Bored Teenager (1981-1984) Captured Tracks Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Bizarro synth punk from San Fernando bored teenagers. Album Review: When Earth Dies Burning was formed in 1981, the ages of the band members ranged from 10-14. That’s right, from 10-14. You know what I was … Read more
The Mother Hips Behind Beyond Mother Hips Records [2013] Fire Note Says: The Mother Hips return with another solid batch of California country-tinged melodies. Album Review: How old were you in 1993? I only ask because that would be the year The Mother Hips released their debut album, Back To The Grotto, on Rick Rubins … Read more
Bosnian Rainbows Bosnian Rainbows Sargent House Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Bosnian Rainbows are consistently interesting on their self-titled debut. Album Review: It’s a really funny thing to hear Mars Volta axe man/composer Omar Rodriguez Lopez talk about a less is more musical philosophy. During a recent Orange Amp promo video, Rodriguez Lopez gets down … Read more
Missing Monuments Missing Monuments Dirtnap Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Missing Monuments find an improved cohesion on self-titled sophomore record. Album Review: King Louie has a much bigger name than just being the guy behind the Missing Monuments. He has not only played in bands like Jack Oblivion and Jay Reatard but was in the … Read more
Coloured Clocks Nectarine Self-Released [2013] Fire Note Says: Coloured Clocks’ Nectarine sunny psychedelic sound is perfect for a lazy summer day. Album Review: Coloured Clocks is the project of James Wallace, who is from Melbourne. The style of music is described on their bandcamp page as psychedelic, ambient, and chillwave. Given that we have an … Read more
Hunx And His Punx Street Punk Hardly Art Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Believe the title as Hunx And His Punx bring the noise! Album Review: With an album title like Street Punk and an album cover with a tattooed bare-chested dude you better bring it when it comes to the music. Hunx And His … Read more
Elway Leavetaking Red Scare Industries [2013] Fire Note Says: Elway’s pop-punk stylings in Leavetaking are full throttle from start to finish. Album Review: Elway is definitely the best band ever named for a quarterback taken in the storied first round of the 1983 NFL draft. Sorry Laces Out Marino! (not a real band), Jim Kelly: … Read more
Deap Vally Sistrionix Island Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Deap Vally bring a familiar bolt of rock forward with their own style. Album Review: Rock n roll will never die and LA group Deap Vally are a good example why. The duo made up of guitarist and vocalist Lindsey Troy and drummer Julie Edwards create … Read more
Gauntlet Hair Stills Dead Oceans Records [2013] Fire Note Says: With their second album the electro-noise duo move closer to the mainstream – but only a little. Album Review: On their 2011 self-titled debut, Denver-via-Chicago duo Gauntlet Hair appeared to be one of many like-minded acts operating with a clear and obvious debt to Animal … Read more
Laura Stevenson Wheel Don Giovanni Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Laura Stevenson’s Wheel offers a variety of simple, organic Americana music. Album Review: Laura Stevenson gives the listener a lot with her third album, Wheel. It’s almost country, a little bit rock, and mostly Americana. With a league of instruments, lap steel, mandolin, banjo, trumpet, … Read more
Frank Turner Tape Deck Heart Interscope Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Frank Turner’s most recent release is fresh, combining indie and British rock, punk, emo, and folk. Album Review: Those new to Frank Turner’s music might be surprised that his most recent release, Tape Deck Heart, is his fifth full-length album. The songs are indie … Read more
Secret Colours Peach Self-Released [2013] Fire Note Says: Secret Colours check all the boxes when it comes to psychedelia. Album Review: Leave it to a band like Chicago’s Secret Colours to right my wrongs and relieve my muddled mind. Debating review scores, struggling for references, and more times than not writing myself into a corner, … Read more
Spectrals Sob Story Slumberland Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Spectrals’ Sob Story successfully skirts sophomore slump! Album Review: Diversity is one of those prized musical qualities that many artists strive for; if you can pull it off, having a wide-ranging, eclectic sound is a major plus—it’s why we all love the Beatles so much. But … Read more
Belgrade Belgrade Self-Released [2013] Fire Note Says: Belgrade creates a nuanced, easy-to-miss alternative rock album. Album Review: Belgrade is an indie rock band from Philadelphia that specializes in straightforward alternative that harken back to the late 90s and early 2000s. At first I wondered when Ed Roland from Collective Soul became the lead singer for … Read more
New Politics A Bad Girl In Harlem RCA Records [2013] Fire Note Says: With their sophomore album, New Politics breaks away from their gritty, indie roots, trading it in for a pop rock, punk sound. Album Review: A Bad Girl in Harlem, the sophomore album from New Politics, takes a short walk away from the … Read more
Future Bible Heroes Partygoing Merge Records [2013] Fire Note Says: After an eleven year hiatus Stephin Merritt revives the Future Bible Heroes brand. And it was worth the wait. Album Review: Stephin Merritt is a titan. The Mount Rushmore of indie is almost certainly carved with his face on it (along with Pollard, Malkmus and … Read more
Owen L’ami Du Peuple Polyvinyl Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Chicago’s Owen delivers thoughtfully constructed indie rock. Album Review: I have to admit that when I first heard this album I was very skeptical. I started asking questions: “Can someone be too indie for their own good?” and “Why does it sound like Owen’s emulating … Read more
Teenage Guitar Force Fields At Home Guided By Voices Inc. [2013] Fire Note Says: Teenage Guitar gives Robert Pollard an entire new canvas for his creativity and art! Album Review: “In Bob We Trust” is a motto that is used quite frequently around TFN headquarters and is especially utilized when a more challenging record from … Read more
Boards Of Canada Tomorrow’s Harvest Warp Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Tomorrow’s Harvest may not quite live up to the hype, but is a warm, moody listen all the same. Album Review: Part of me thinks that a big portion of the mystique surrounding Boards of Canada and their latest album, Tomorrow’s Harvest, is just … Read more
The Mantles Long Enough To Leave Slumberland Records [2013] Fire Note Says: The Mantles wear their influences on their sleeves but don’t call this a revival. Album Review: The San Francisco garage scene is alive and well. Yes indeed. With The Fresh & Onlys, Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, White Fence, etc. there seems to … Read more
ASG Blood Drive Relapse Records [2013] Fire Note Says: ASG’s Blood Drive delivers a satisfying metal experience. Album Review: The metal genre today is literally saturated with thousands of bands and hundreds of genres and sub-genres. Mastodon, The Sword, Torche, Between The Buried and Me, Sleep, Electric Wizard, Baroness, Black Tusk, Helmet, High On Fire; … Read more
Light Heat Light Heat Ribbon Music [2013] Fire Note Says: Mazarin frontman Quentin Stolzfus returns to the scene after seven years with Light Heat debut. Album Review: I actually would be impressed if many of our readers remembered the early 2000 psych-pop band Mazarin. The group had three full length albums with the sophomore effort … Read more
Perhapst Revise Your Maps Jealous Butcher Records [2013] Fire Note Says: A fulfilling dose of Byrdsian folk rock and lush sophisticated pop from Perhapst. Album Review: John Moen is one helluva talented musician. He’s obviously best known as the drummer for The Decemberists, but he has also drummed for a who’s who of indie rock … Read more