Double Dagger 333 Thrill Jockey Records [2013] Fire Note Says: An incredible swan song from Double Dagger! Album Review: Baltimore’s Double Dagger, broke up in late 2011, and their final record, 333, is now seeing the light of day. The trio has now gone their separate ways, playing with the likes of Roomrunner, Peals, and … Read more
Eddie Spaghetti The Value Of Nothing Bloodshot Records [2013] Fire Note Says: The Value of Nothing is the perfect mix of punk attitude and outlaw spirit! Album Review: What do you get when you mix garage punk, rockabilly, and the hell raising side of country music? The answer is Eddie Spaghetti’s new album, The Value … Read more
Jason Isbell Southeastern Southeastern Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Southeastern shows that Isbell is poised and ready to step into the limelight with the finest record of his career. Album Review: When Jason Isbell left Drive-By Truckers, I expected huge things from him, and he delivered right out of the gate with his first solo … Read more
The Veils Time Stays, We Go Rough Trade Records [2013] Fire Note Says: After a 4 year absence, The Veils return with yet another batch of elegant rock. Album Review: The Veils specialize in moody, sweeping, cinematic rock, and Time Stays, We Go, shows the band still mining familiar territory and creating yet another record … Read more
Black Sabbath 13 Universal Music Group [2013] Fire Note Says: Black Sabbath reclaim their rightful seat on the heavy metal throne! Album Review: The godfathers of heavy music are back! When it was announced that Black Sabbath was getting the original lineup back together for a new album and tour, the world was shocked and … Read more
Sonny & The Sunsets Antenna To The Afterworld Polyvinyl Records [2013] Fire Note Says: More psychedelic 60’s influenced pop weirdness from Sonny & The Sunsets! Album Review: Sonny & The Sunsets are back, and their latest effort, Antenna to the Afterworld, is their strongest effort to date. It is a record that deals with some … Read more
Saturday Looks Good To Me One Kiss Ends It All Polyvinyl Records [2013] Fire Note Says: One Kiss Ends It All draws heavily from the past to create pop for the present. Album Review: Saturday Looks Good to Me first came to my attention with their 2003 album All Your Summer Songs, which was about … Read more
Sundowners The Larger Half Of Wisdom Dirt Cult Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Sundowners throw down some old fashioned Minnesota punk! Album Review: It’s no big secret that some of the best punk and indie rock comes from Minnesota, heck it was practically born there with The Replacements and Hüsker Dü. The winters are long … Read more
The Baptist Generals Jackleg Devotional To The Heart Sub Pop Records [2013] Fire Note Says: The Baptist Generals follow up their No Silver/No Gold lp 10 years after the fact, and it is worth the wait! Album Review: The term Jackleg has several meanings (I know because I looked it up), but it’s most common … Read more
Roomrunner Ideal Cities Fan Death Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Roll down the car windows, and blast the debut lp from Baltimore’s Roomrunner. Album Review: I hate to follow the same old story line when it comes to Baltimore’s Roomrunner, so I am going to get it out of the way early. Yes, as a … Read more
Come 11:11 Deluxe 20th Anniversary Edition Matador Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Excellent reissue of the long out print debut album from influential noise rockers, Come! Album Review: Come came roaring out of Boston in the early nineties sounding like an unholy alliance between The Rolling Stones, Soundgarden, and Sonic Youth. Lead vocalist Thalia Zedek, … Read more
Daft Punk Random Access Memories Columbia Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Daft Punk take one giant artistic leap for mankind on Random Access Memories. Album Review: I find it interesting that the first track on the new Daft Punk album is called “Give Life Back to Music” particularly since their last album was the coolly … Read more
Beaches She Beats Chapter Music [2013] Fire Note Says: She Beats is an intoxicating blend of shoegaze, psychedelia, and krautrock! Album Review: Beaches is five piece band from Australia, who happen to be the finest purveyors of a style of music that mixes shoegaze, psychedelic music and krautrock and come up with a unique sound … Read more
The Orange Peels Sun Moon Minty Fresh Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Sun Moon will sneak up on you and set its hooks deep in you brain. Album Review: The Orange Peels are back with their 5th album, and no surprise, it is chock full of indie power pop goodness that is going to put … Read more
Deep Purple Now What?! Eagle Rock Entertainment [2013] Fire Note Says: Now What?! is an album that sounds every bit as classic as the band who recorded it. Album Review: One of the original titans of British Hard Rock from the 70s, Deep Purple, is back with a new album, and it is well worth … Read more
Victory Victory Is Music Reserva Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Catchy, if slightly unoriginal, bedroom rock from LA based band, Victory. Album Review: Victory is the project of Robert Fleming, a Los Angeles resident who has clearly studied his Spoon records. So much so, that for the first two listens, all I could think of … Read more
Iggy And The Stooges Ready To Die Fat Possum Records [2013] Fire Note Says: The album may be called Ready to Die, but the band is nowhere near death! Album Review: Let me start this review by saying that I am one of the only people I know who really enjoyed The Stooges 2007 album, … Read more
Mikal Cronin MCII Merge Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Don’t miss out on this Album of the Year contender! Album Review: Despite the excellence of his debut self titled solo album released late in 2011, Mikal Cronin is best known as the bass player for the Ty Segall band. His collaboration 2009 with Segall, Reverse … Read more
Father President Fake It Like You Mean It Light Rail Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Father President crank up the melody and the guitars on Fake It Like You Mean It. Album Review: San Francisco’s Father President is another one of those great new guitar bands that have come from out of nowhere to become … Read more
Big Star Nothing Can Hurt Me Omnivore Recordings [2013] Fire Note Says: Nothing Can Hurt Me is a treasure trove of alternate mixes of classic Big Star tracks. Album Review: I think it’s fairly safe to assume that most readers of The Fire Note, are well acquainted with Big Star. Their discography isn’t vast, only … Read more
Alex Calder Time Captured Tracks Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Ex Mac DeMarco band mate steps forward with a great lo-fi record of his own. Album Review: Alex Calder has the unenviable task of being a songwriter who was previously in a band, Makeout Videotape, with Mac DeMarco. DeMarco casts a long shadow, and if … Read more
William Tyler Impossible Truth Merge Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Tyler takes you on an acoustic psychedelic trip on Impossible Truth. Album Review: This is a tough one to review, not because it’s a bad record, in fact it’s damn good. It’s tough because it’s an instrumental guitar record, and I am about as fluent … Read more
The Knife Shaking The Habitual Mute Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Shaking the Habitual is a jaw dropping psychedelic record dressed up in electronic clothing! Album Review: The Knife, the Swedish duo comprised of brother and sister Olof Dreijer and Karin Dreijer Andersson, have taken a long time to release a follow up their 2006 … Read more
British Sea Power Machineries Of Joy Rough Trade Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Machineries of Joy pleases with its maturity and artistic growth. Album Review: The biggest critique of the 80% of the recorded work of British Sea Power, is that it doesn’t sound like the first album, The Decline of British Sea Power. Well, … Read more
White Fence Cyclops Reap Castle Face Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Cyclops Reap is the best White Fence record to date! Album Review: Tim Presley, the main man behind White Fence, had a banner year in 2012. Not only did he release two stellar records as White Fence, Family Perfume Vol 1 & 2, but … Read more