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
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
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Hypnotic Eye Warner Bros. Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Hypnotic Eye finds Petty & the Heartbreakers continuing to stretch, grow, and inspire. Album Review: For nearly four decades, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers embodied a truly singular American rock band sound (perhaps second on that front only to Bruce Springsteen … Read more
Jeff the Brotherhood Dig The Classics Warner Bros. Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Jeff the Brotherhood drop a killer EP of essential covers with a thick layer of heavy garage rock fuzz and scuzz. Album Review: Nashville natives, brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall, make up the two-piece rock outfit that is Jeff the Brotherhood. The … Read more
Iceage Plowing Into The Field Of Love Matador Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Iceage continue to offer something unique. Album Review: Three albums in and Copenhagen’s Iceage continue to evolve and push the limits of their sound. Their debut of DIY post-punk rock took people by storm and last year’s sophomore effort, You’re Nothing, found … Read more
Ex Hex Rips Merge Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Ex Hex debut backs up its album title! Album Review: Ex Hex has quickly become one of the best female power trios on the music scene today. The band is lead by Mary Timony, which through the mid 90′s she fronted the Matador Records band Helium, … Read more
The Wytches Annabel Dream Reader Partisan Records [2014] Fire Note Says: The Wytches first LP is a heavy and spooky debut tailor-made for the Halloween season. Album Review: The Wytches’ debut album, Annabel Dream Reader, is something else. If I had not heard Passenger Peru’s debut earlier this year, it would be the best debut … Read more
Wand Ganglion Reef GOD?/Drag City Records [2014] Fire Note Says: With one wave of Wand, originality and individuality immediately become apparent. Album Review: We live in a world where many artists try to reshape psychedelic music, and a lot of those who try fail. When trying to capturing lightning in a bottle for that crucial … Read more
Ty Segall Manipulator Drag City Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Segall has crafted his first bona fide masterpiece with this shape shifting epic! Album Review: Ty Segall has been riding an incredible wave of creativity that seemed to hit a peak in 2012 with the release of the triple entente of rock, Slaughterhouse, Hair, and … Read more
People 3xaWoman Telegraph Harp Records [2014] Fire Note Says: People’s 3xaWoman is a weird and wonderful clash of musical styles. Album Review: From the opening notes on People’s LP 3xaWoman, you know something strange is afoot and you are in for something that does not stay on the path of convention. Experimental avant-garde jazz guitarist, … Read more
Jenny Lewis The Voyager Warner Bros. Records [2014] Fire Note Says: After six years in the wilderness, The Voyager heralds the resurrection of all things Jenny Lewis. Album Review: Since 2002’s masterful The Execution of All Things – an album which should be handed to girls as they turn thirteen, just as all boys should … Read more
Kahoots Take To The Fields Telegraph Harp Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Kahoots 12th LP is a great record that rewards listeners with repeated listens. Album Review: I have been listening to Massachusetts-based Kahoots’ new LP, Take to the Fields for about a month now and I think it is just now sinking into skull … Read more
Spoon They Want My Soul Loma Vista/Republic Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Spoon’s They Want My Soul is a near-perfect return to form. Album Review: Thank God for Spoon. There were many signs pointing to the demise of the rock band that truly owned the first decade of the new millennium with albums like Girls … Read more
Blank Pages Blank Pages Dirt Cult Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Catchy garage rock that is guaranteed to blow your hair back and make you raise a rock fist in the air! Album Review: This self-titled record from Germany’s Blank Pages reminds me of the time ol Marty McFly plugged the guitar into Doc Brown’s … Read more
Antemasque Antemasque Nadie Sound [2014] Fire Note Says: Mars Volta members renounce their prog pretensions and team up with Flea on their self-titled debut. Album Review: With as many lineup changes as the band went through over the course of their six-album run, combined with Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s frenetic working pace (rivaling Robert Pollard in sheer … Read more
White Fence For The Recently Found Innocent Drag City Records [2014] Fire Note Says: White Fence breaks through to the next level and fulfills all expectations on their new album. Album Review: Tim Presley first came onto my radar as a member of Darker My Love, a band that really knocked me out with their … Read more
Unicycle Loves You The Dead Age Mecca Lecca Recording Co. [2014] Fire Note Says: Unicycle Loves You is a wonderful blend of shoegaze, 60’s psychedelic pop, and noise/fuzz rock. Album Review: Unicycle Loves You are a Brooklyn-based trio. The Dead Age is their fourth studio LP, but this is the first one I have heard. … Read more
Street Eaters Blood//Muscles//Bones Nervous Intent Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Street Eaters newest LP is a buzz/fuzz rock veritable smorgasbord of sound and attitude. Album Review: I had not heard of Street Eaters until a few weeks ago when I received Blood//Muscles//Bones for a review. I have to say I am pleasantly surprised and impressed … Read more
How To Dress Well What Is This Heart? Weird World Recording Co. [2014] Fire Note Says: How To Dress Well strikes again with another soulful release. Album Review: The cover of How To Dress Well’s sophomore LP, What Is This Heart?, is simply a close-up photo portrait of Tom Krell, the man behind How To … Read more
Parquet Courts Sunbathing Animal What’s Your Rupture? / Mom & Pop Music [2014] Fire Note Says: Parquet Courts are the current New York City sound. Album Review: Sometimes it is hard to explain why an album puts up a roadblock but that is exactly what happened to me on the third record from breakout band … Read more
Greys If Anything Carpark Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Greys’ debut LP bridges a gap between genres and offers a refreshing blend of heavy noise rock with pop sensibility. Album Review: Last years’ Greys 7” Drift was one of my favorite 7” releases for 2013. A really heavy noise rocker. I enjoyed it so much; … Read more
Priests Bodies and Control and Money and Power Don Giovanni Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Priests give indie punk rock a shot in the arm and then they pummel the injection site. Album Review: Almost 10 months ago, I ran across a Priests video on YouTube. Cannot remember how I stumbled onto it, but it … Read more
Curtis Harding Soul Power Burger Records [2014] Fire Note Says: Curtis Harding is an emerging artist that you should get to know now. Album Review: The retro soul movement keeps inching toward the forefront of the indie scene and leading the way is Atlanta’s Curtis Harding. You may already know the name as he was … Read more
Tame Impala Live Versions Modular Recordings [2014] Fire Note Says: Tame Impala‘s Live Versions offers small twists on some old favorites. Album Review: It‘s a real challenge for bands to become important in their genre. For Australia’s Tame Impala that seems to be no problem. It‘s also an impressive feat because your could consider Tame … Read more