Royal Headache High What’s Your Rupture? Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: So many times bands really screw with their sound following up their debut record. Hence the sophomore slump is a real thing but a true life lesson is knowing that less is sometimes more. For Sydney’s Royal Headache – they get it. High … Read more
Last year, Polyvinyl Records had the cool idea to send around a Tascam 4-Track cassette recorder and capture some unique artists’ recordings with this simple setup. Polyvinyl then released the output as a monthly 7-inch series. Some of the highlights from the 2014 series included 7-inches from Cloud Nothings, Mikal Cronin and Thao & the … Read more
Blackheart Honeymoon Mountains Speak Self-Released [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: With a sound that goes back n forth between Band of Horses and New Pornographers, Seattle’s Blackheart Honeymoon hit a sonic sweet spot on their debut album Mountains Speak. From the more modern indie jangle found on “Bodies” and “Love It All” to the increased … Read more
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
Doubting Thomas Cruise Control Remember Me John Lydon Forever Fleeting Youth Records [2015] Fire Note Says: DTCC bring another flavor to the indie rock scene. Album Review: At some point, did you ever listen to a Pavement track and just think – what the hell were these guys thinking? It was a band that shouldn’t … Read more
Wild Raccoon Mount Break Howlin’ Banana Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: One-man garage pop from France?! Yes, you heard me right. From across the seas comes Wild Raccoon and his reverb filled mayhem of a record that aims to please. If you are a fan of early Ty Segall or King Khan, Mount Break … Read more
Sometimes all you need is a catchy band name and I am in before the music even starts playing. That was the case for Brooklyn’s Surf Rock Is Dead. The duo of Kevin Pariso and Joel Witenberg, hailing from Chicago and Melbourne, respectively, met in New York City. After just jamming for a bit the … Read more
Brother O’ Brother Show Pony Fonoflo Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Get your rock blues groove on with Brother O’ Brother. Album Review: This has been a year that finds many in the music critic world asking questions like; are there any new sounds out there?, is everything new really a rehash?, and is that … Read more
Strange Wilds Subjective Concepts Sub Pop Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Strange Wilds debut full length, Subjective Concepts, is one of the closest sounding records Sub Pop has released in years that embraces the label’s original Pacific Northwest/Olympia/Seattle sound from which they built their foundation. Is does not take long to hear the Bleach-ear … Read more
Saint Motel My Type EP Elektra Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: From the opening sax on “My Type,” California’s Saint Motel hook you with the latest infectious song of the summer. Pretty good for a track that has been around since 2013 but Saint Motel are proof that sometimes it takes time for music … Read more
Rocky Votolato & Chuck Ragan Kindred Spirit SideOneDummy Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Rocky Votolato and Chuck Ragan should be in your collection of singer/songwriters that you always find time for. Both have had previous success fronting bands; Votolato with Waxwing and Ragan with Hot Water Music. Both now have a much more rooted … Read more
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
La Luz Weirdo Shrine Hardly Art Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Weirdo Shrine is a wave you should ride all the way in! Album Review: Back in the mid to late 90’s there was a surge in “surf” music that not only found people really digging classics like Dick Dale and The Ventures but new … Read more
Eric Gaffney A Cassetterospective Joyful Noise Recordings [2015]
Let’s finish off July with 10 new artists you should check out. The July Bandcamp edition, features some shoegaze from Hong Kong, GBV vibes from Indiana, sweet meets smooth from LA, garage rock from Ohio, scuzz from Chicago, and some looping guitar lines from Jersey. As always – Discover, Support & Share! Perturbator Paris, France … Read more
Elvis Depressedly New Alhambra Run For Cover Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Many times great indie rock lies on the fringes of the mainstream and most of the time it is discovered by accident. I feel that way about Elvis Depressedly, which is technically a side project of Mathew Lee Cothran’s Coma Cinema. With … Read more
Titus Andronicus The Most Lamentable Tragedy Merge Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Risking over-ambition and failure, The Most Lamentable Tragedy has it merits—just hope you’ve done your homework. Album Review: From a literary standpoint, Titus Andronicus could be considered William Shakespeare’s first tragedy, a gruesome tale of rape, violence, and revenge. While New Jersey’s Titus … Read more
Negative Scanner Negative Scanner Trouble In Mind Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Ahh -28 minutes of post-punk bliss is what you get here with the debut from Chicago’s Negative Scanner. Lead vocalist Rebecca Valeriano-Flores has a PJ Harvey meets Sleater-Kinney sound as her pulsing energy pushes and shoves you through the record without ever … Read more
Shana Cleveland & The Sandcastles Oh Man, Cover The Ground Suicide Squeeze Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Shana Cleveland has been performing with a rotating batch of musicians tagged as The Sandcastles for over six years, and now, Oh Man, Cover The Ground is her first proper album. It is a much different record … Read more
Wilco Star Wars ANTI-/dBpm Records [2015] Fire Note Says: This is a free offering you should keep! Album Review: “Thank you and goodnight” is what you could hear after the opening track, “EKG,” on Wilco’s new surprise ninth record Star Wars. The disjointed instrumental affair is loose and free and would fit nicely into this … Read more
Connections keeps the material rolling as this end of the year EP followed three LPs released over the last two years. The Guided By Voices comparison is impossible not to notice as this Columbus, Ohio band embraces the lo-fi sound but you will also hear their very Replacement like rock that helps make each recording … Read more
EZTV Calling Out Captured Tracks [2015] Fire Note Says: Soft guitar pop brewed with heartbreak. Album Review: Soft hook filled guitar pop has always had its place on the indie scene. Recently, other than maybe Real Estate, there does not seem to be many bands embracing this style until hearing the debut from Brooklyn’s EZTV. … 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
Today’s premiere track is from +Aziz. The Kuwaiti singer/songwriter, now living in New Orleans, has a spiritual side to his music which may initially turn some listeners off but I encourage you to still check out “Halal” below. The song has such a pleasant flow to it that it will have you humming along in … 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