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
Male Gaze Gale Maze Castle Face Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Ripping through space and time, Male Gaze burns with their debut. Album Review: One of the most exciting labels today has to be John Dwyer‘s Castle Face Records. Scooping up artists from the underground and piping them into our ear holes, Dwyer‘s newest discovery … Read more
Föllakzoid III Sacred Bones Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Föllakzoid successfully recreate the sound of 1970s German rock via modern-day Chile. Album Review: I’ve been on something of a “krautrock” (more properly called “Kosmische Musik” or “German Space Rock”) kick lately, and the new album from Chilean outfit Föllakzoid fits into my recent listening habits … Read more
The Sonics This Is The Sonics Revox Records [2015] Fire Note Says: The Sonics return after more than forty years to show modern garage rockers how it’s done. Album Review: When it comes to garage rock bands, you’d be hard-pressed to find a group more legendary than Tacoma, WA’s The Sonics. Formed in 1960, the … Read more
Van Dale Van Dale Fleeting Youth Records [2015] Fire Note Says: Van Dale screams 90′s indie rock with its unkempt vibe but that is the appealing part. Album Review: Columbus, Ohio’s Van Dale have a very indie back-to-basics sound and that is exactly why you won’t want to put the record down. The band’s self-titled … Read more
The Apartments The Evening Visits…and Stays For Years Captured Tracks [2015] Fire Note Says: An often overlooked 80’s classic is given the deluxe reissue treatment. Album Review: The Evening Visits…and Stays for Years is a dark and brooding indie pop album from the 80’s, led by a former (brief) member of The Go-Betweens. Peter Milton … Read more
Glass Hammer The Breaking Of The World Sound Resources [2015] Fire Note Says: American Prog stalwarts use their increased exposure well. Album Review: Back in 2012 when Yes announced they had a new lead singer, Jon Davison from Chattanooga band Glass Hammer, few outside the tiny Prog community had heard of either him or the … Read more
Godspeed You! Black Emperor Asunder, Sweet And Other Distresses Constellation Records [2015] Fire Note Says: The noisy Canadians are back. Better run for the hills. Album Review: If ever there was a band in a perpetual bad mood it would have to be these Montreal freaks. Although their targets are mostly well-worn demons: Capitalism, Globalization, … Read more