Neon Indian: VEGA INTL. Night School [Album Review]

Neon Indian VEGA INTL. Night School Mom + Pop Music [2015] Fire Note Says: Neon Indian floats – will you follow? Album Review: Full disclosure: I was assigned this review months ago. And I listened to it at the time, I really did. I just couldn’t hear it. So indebted to tape hiss and AM … Read more

Foo Fighters: Saint Cecilia EP [Album Review]

Foo Fighters Saint Cecilia EP RCA Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Surprise, gratitude and free sum up the Foo Fighters latest EP Saint Cecilia. As a thank you to the fans and without warning, the Foo’s released this free download EP last week (with a pay vinyl option) to their continually growing fan base. … Read more

The Mantles: All Odds End [Album Review]

The Mantles All Odds End Slumberland Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Bay area band tighten up their sound – just a bit – on their third LP. Album Review: If treading water made a sound (and I’m quite sure that it does) The Mantles may have nailed it on their third proper full-length, All Odds … Read more

Coheed And Cambria: The Color Before The Sun [Album Review]

Coheed And Cambria The Color Before The Sun 300 Entertainment [2015] Fire Note Says: Eighth album proves Coheed have a few more small wonders left in the tank. Album Review: “No conceptual framework, no galaxy of characters, no seven-minute epics.” the presser promises. Still, a handful of tracks soundly best six minutes and only two … Read more

Slow And Steady: In Time We Belong [Album Review]

Slow And Steady In Time We Belong Broken Circles [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: In Time We Belong is a conflicted record in many ways—from the way its arrangements feel like they’re being stretched to encompass both modern-day guitar rock and early 2000s emo clichés, to the contrast between lyrical abstractions and generalized platitudes like … Read more

The Dear Hunter: Act IV – Rebirth In Reprise [Album Review]

The Dear Hunter Act IV: Rebirth In Reprise Cave & Canary Goods/Equal Vision Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Casey Crescenzo continues the Dear Hunter story – with diminishing returns. Album Review: Since we last checked in with the titular character in The Dear Hunter series, mastermind Casey Crescenzo has tasted the sweet flavor of artistic … Read more

Pavement: The Secret History, Vol. 1 [Album Review]

Pavement The Secret History, Vol. 1 Matador Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: I am assuming that if you clicked on this review you are already a Pavement fan. This first in the series of Pavement extras is great if you base it on the music alone. The B-sides are necessities for fans and the … Read more

HEALTH: Death Magic [Album Reivew]

HEALTH Death Magic Loma Vista Recordings [2015] Fire Note Says: The interstitial moments on Death Magic are the weapons this band has been sharpening for a decade. Album Review: HEALTH is a slow drive downtown after dark. A stretch of sodium lights, a rotting out office building, a peek down the riot alley in Mouth … Read more

Terrible Terrible: Get The New Computer [Album Review]

Terrible Terrible Get The New Computer Self-Released [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Terrible Terrible is a great band name as it sets up low expectations. Of course, that is not the case with this New Jersey quintet which received some positive praise on their 2014 EP, Fail Better. The group’s new four track offering, Get … Read more

Damaged Bug: Cold Hot Plumbs [Album Review]

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

The Chemical Brothers: Born In The Echoes [Album Review]

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

And So I Watch You From Afar: Heirs [Album Review]

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

Matt And Kim: New Glow [Album Review]

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

Matt Pond PA: The State Of Gold [Album Review]

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

Juan Wauters: Who Me? [Album Review]

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

Shamir: Ratchet [Album Review]

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

IZZ: Everlasting Instant [Album Review]

IZZ Everlasting Instant Self-Released [2015] Fire Note Says: IZZ continue making progressive dinner party music. Album Review: I imagine the place settings and flatware laid out just so. Fleshly cut flowers in crystal adorn the dining room table. The guests, carefully selected, have arrived and look splendid. They drove here in BMW’s and Audi’s. The … Read more

Death Cab For Cutie: Kintsugi [Album Review]

Death Cab For Cutie Kintsugi Atlantic Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Kintsugi is a break up record that doesn’t hit all of its marks. Album Review: Death Cab for Cutie hit it in a big way, over a decade ago along with a host of other young bands, like Dashboard Confessional, labeled as emo for … Read more

Modest Mouse: Strangers To Ourselves [Album Review]

Modest Mouse Strangers To Ourselves Epic Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Modest Mouse returns and it was almost worth the wait. Album Review: A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work. Which is to say that even if this were the least impressive album of Modest Mouse’s career (which it is) … Read more

The Juliana Hatfield Three: Whatever, My Love [Album Review]

The Juliana Hatfield Three Whatever, My Love American Laundromat Records [2015] Fire Note Says: The Juliana Hatfield Three return to the indie scene after 22 years. Album Review: “There is history in this place” is the first line from Sebadoh’s “Skull” which is a track from the same era when The Juliana Hatfield Three were … Read more

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds: Chasing Yesterday [Album Review]

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Chasing Yesterday Sour Mash Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Noel moves forward on his sophomore High Flying Birds record Chasing Yesterday. Album Review: No matter what either Gallagher brother says, Oasis for sure made a mark. I also understand the dynamic of solo careers and in this case, Noel Gallagher … Read more

Axis: Sova: Early Surf [Album Review]

Axis: Sova Early Surf God? Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Early Surf puts the depth and nuance at your control. Album Review: Wand’s Ganglion Reef was one of my favorite albums of last year—our favorite garage rock prodigy, Ty Segall, hand-picked the band’s album for release (with help from Drag City Records) on his God? … Read more

Dream Police: Hypnotized [Album Review]

Dream Police Hypnotized Sacred Bones Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Mark Perro and Nick Chiericozzi of The Men debut new side project Dream Police. Album Review: I hate to admit it, but I’ve never heard an album by The Men. I am quite familiar with label Sacred Bones catalogue, though: Moon Duo, Psychic Ills, Amen … Read more

Christian Bland & The Revelators: The Unseen Green Obscene [Album Review]

Christian Bland & The Revelators The Unseen Green Obscene The Reverberation Appreciation Society [2014] Fire Note Says: Christian Bland and the Revelators third album is an homage to past heroes. Album Review: The Black Angels’ Passover just so happens to be considered a modern day psychedelic classic. With its dark titles, imagery, and piercing sounds … Read more

Prince: Art Official Age [Album Review]

Prince Art Official Age Warner Bros. Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Prince has arisen from cold storage hibernation to rock a new generation. Album Review: While Prince’s self-released albums of the last decade or so have been strong enough to satisfy long-time fans, there has been real excitement about his return to a relationship with … Read more