Fine Points Hover Dine Alone Records[2015] Fire Note Says: Sleepy Sun side project deliver a sunny debut. Album Review: The dreaded side project. Often the product of ego (“My songs keep getting voted down”) or worse (“I always wanted to do a rap album”) they seldom come close to the quality of the music produced … Read more
Vetiver Complete Strangers Easy Sound Recording Co. [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Complete Strangers is an apt title for Vetiver’s sixth album, as it finds the band (led by songwriter Andy Cabic) moving away from their folk-rock roots. The album opens with “Stranger Still,” a mellow track that features bubbling keyboards, quiet sax additions, trip-hop … Read more
METZ II Sub Pop Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Sometimes more of the same is more than enough. Album Review: Toronto punk trio METZ exploded onto the scene with their blistering debut album in 2012 – the fact that they had honed their craft for almost half a decade before releasing that self-titled gem may … Read more
Nun Nun HoZac Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Nun are from Australia, and as I am sure many of you know, there has never been a bad band from Australia. They are never not good…period. Think I’m kidding, go ahead try and name one. Add Nun to the roll call of great Australian bands, … 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
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
Jason Isbell Something More Than Free Southeastern Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Isbell hits his stride on confident follow-up to his classic LP Southeastern. Album Review: After years of flirting with gaining a wider audience, Jason Isbell finally broke big on his excellent fourth album, 2013’s Southeastern. While that album was his most intimate affair … 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
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 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
You absolutely cannot keep me away from the type of indie infection that Gambier, Ohio’s SPORTS plays. “Saturday” is an explosive tune that reminds me of every great little song from bands that never received the proper exposure. The foot tapping number is a great introduction to the group’s sophomore record, All of Something, which … Read more
Yonatan Gat Director Joyful Noise Recordings [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: The follow-up to the Israeli-born guitarist’s promising 2014 record Iberian Passage, Yonatan Gat’s Director is largely more of the same—not that that’s a bad thing. Relying heavily on free improvisation and drawing influence from a variety of 60s and 70s acts (think Jimi Hendrix … Read more
Tame Impala Currents Interscope Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Frontman Kevin Parker returns from the void as Tame Impala sweeps us up in his Currents. Album Review: This could be one of the toughest reviews I’ve ever written. Tame Impala’s new album Currents makes it hard not to write Kevin Parker off as a traitor. … Read more
Linden Rest And Be Thankful Slumberland Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Linden is the new project from Joe McAlinden, formerly of the band Superstars. The Scotsman’s sophomore LP under the Linden moniker is a fine listen. Decidedly low-key but with layers of sound, McAlinden warmly invites you to enter his abode and feel at … Read more
Max Gowan Big People Self-Released [2015] Fire Note Says: Big People is a friendly, catchy blend of bedroom rock and pop hooks. Album Review: Despite the number of bands and artists who make it look easy, putting together a homemade record on your own is a harder task than it looks on the surface. Being … Read more
Pupppy Shit In The Apple Pie Father/Daughter Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Pupppy’s debut album, Shit in the Apple Pie, is exactly the kind of quirky pop album that the indie rock world would have tripped all over themselves giving accolades to in the late 90’s-early 2000’s. Cut from the same cloth as such … Read more
Flotation Toy Warning Bluffer’s Guide To The Flight Deck Talitres Records [2015]
Native Lights Native Lights Passive Recordings [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: The members of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Native Lights have been contributing their fair share of captivating sounds for 20+ years. Their self-titled debut is a huge win for fans of the dark ambient and shoegaze genres as they lift influences from titans My Bloody Valentine … Read more
Richard Thompson Still Fantasy Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Still works as a re-introduction of an artist that any serious music fan will want to hear for yourself. Album Review: Richard Thompson has been a music critics’ favorite since his early days in the premier British folk rock group of the late 60’s, Fairport Convention, … Read more
The Dear Hunter have just released the second track from their forthcoming album Act IV: Rebirth In Reprise, out September 4 on Cave & Canary Goods / Equal Vision Records. “Waves” is our Friday Fire Track this week and it showcases the magnitude of this record with its large lush arrangements. Acts I-III of this … Read more
No Joy More Faithful Mexican Summer [2015] Fire Note Says: When all the pieces lock into step, you’re in that ride through the wormhole that all the best shoegaze evokes. Album Review: The Kinks knew it. The Mats knew it. You know Pavement knew it. Work smarter, not harder. Find your lane, play to your … Read more
Dave Segedy Schrodego Old Flame/Jurassic Pop Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Dave Segedy, who just so happens to be a member of Bloomington, IN band Sleeping Bag, jumps out on his own with the ultra-catchy Schrodego. If Tony Molina’s Dissed and Dismissed pushed all of the right pleasure buttons for you, well then you … 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
Hop Along Painted Shut Saddle Creek Records [2015] Fire Drill Album Review: Frances Quinlan’s voice absolutely soars with her smooth growl on Hop Along’s sophomore record Painted Shut. Their indie music can be both quiet and loud on the same track as Hop Along brings big booming guitars as they tell their stories of desperation. … Read more