And So I Watch You From Afar All Hail Bright Futures Sargent House Records [2013] Fire Note Says: ASIWYFA create melodic, engaging, (mostly) instrumental rock tunes. Album Review: Instrumental music, especially instrumental rock music, often walks a thin line between being something worthy of your full attention and merely pleasant background music. Thankfully for ASIWYFA, … 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 Ocean Blue Ultramarine Korda Records [2013] Fire Note Says: The Ocean Blue return with a batch of melodic pop that sounds like they never went away! Album Review: There have been plenty of bands coming back to the scene lately but I never thought that The Ocean Blue would be one of them. There … Read more
Purling Hiss Water On Mars Drag City Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Purling Hiss proves rock is alive in well on the streets of Philadelphia. Album Review: Purling Hiss is a Philadelphia band that melds together the aggressiveness of the Stooges and Comets on Fire, with the somewhat poppier side of J Mascis and Dinosaur … Read more
Fol Chen The False Alarms Asthmatic Kitty Records [2013] Fire Note Says: The False Alarms has a detached coolness to it that sounds beamed in from another planet. Album Review: Fol Chen is a synth pop band, formerly cloaked in secrecy, but now with the addition of vocalist Sinosa Loa, the band has a face … Read more
Phosphorescent Muchacho Dead Oceans Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Muchaco is a powerful listen about broken hearts and moving on from Phosphorescent. Album Review: I’m not sure exactly the best way to describe Muchacho, the new record from Phosphorescent. It’s not exactly Americana/folk (which is what I was expecting based on the last record, Here’s … Read more
Jack White And The Bricks Live On The Garden Bowl Lanes Third Man Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Jack White and The Bricks might just be another brick in the wall. Album Review: First things first – I love Third Man Records, I love Jack White, and I love vinyl. So when Third Man Records … Read more
Kait Lawson Until We Drown Madjack Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Planted firmly in southern roots, Kait Lawson’s debut album Until We Drown uses standout songwriting and mixed-genre sounds. Album Review: Rarely does a collection of songs capture the poetry of songwriting like Kait Lawson’s debut album, Until We Drown. The lyrics are unmatched, displaying … Read more
Colleen Green Sock It To Me Hardly Arts Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Colleen Green charms you with her lo-fi pop punk flare! Album Review: There is a lot to be said about no gimmicks rock n roll and the Hardly Art debut, Sock It To Me, from Colleen Green is another example of how … Read more
Daughter If You Leave 4AD Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Daughter’s debut album is a quiet, damaged, three hankie affair. Album Review: Some music conjures up a strong sense of color or hue – the dark black of Swans, the Technicolor of Animal Collective, the sepia cast sounds of Beach House or the bright neons … Read more
Billy Bragg Tooth & Nail Cooking Vinyl Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Billy Bragg walks the dusty road and gets more personal than political this time out. Album Review: Billy Bragg has never been an artist that America has ever really understood. Mostly because dating back into the early 80’s his anti-folk electric guitar songs … Read more
Marnie Stern The Chronicles Of Marnia Kill Rock Stars [2013] Fire Note Says: Marnie Stern loosens things up and lets her vocals soar! Album Review: I will fully admit that The Chronicles of Marnia was the record I have been somewhat expecting from the crafty guitar slinger Marnie Stern. It is album that pushes her … Read more
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Specter At The Feast Abstract Dragon/Vagrant Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club mourn the loss of a loved one on the emotional Specter At The Feast. Album Review: There comes a time in every band’s career where life overshadows the music and for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club that … Read more
Palma Violets 180 Rough Trade Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Absurdly hyped London-based band delivers a fine, if flawed, debut. Album Review: Every few years the British music press, led by NME, goes insane over some foursome of young lads with bad haircuts. The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, The Vaccines all come to mind. Like those … Read more
Low The Invisible Way Sub Pop Records [2013] Fire Note Says: Low return with plenty of new ideas on the engaging The Invisible Way. Album Review: The biggest story on Low’s tenth record, The Invisible Way, will be that Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy was sitting on the other side of the microphone and produced the thing. … Read more