BeansBoots N CatsFuzz Club Records [2024] Album Overview: At last, Beans has returned! Boots N Cats marks their third album, the follow-up to 2020’s All Together Now. Frontman Matt Blach, who also plays drums for the Murlocs, thought their third album should have a different approach to making music. Boots N Cats is an album … Read more
Pissed JeansHalf DivorcedSub Pop Records [2024] Album Overview: Half Divorced is the 6th LP from Pissed Jeans and the follow-up to 2017’s Why Love Now. In the description for the album, lead vocalist Matt Korvette says, “Pissed Jeans is truly like an art project for us, which is what makes it so fun.” This … Read more
OmniSouvenirSub Pop Records [2024] Album Overview: Omni has been a band since 2016, but it wasn’t until 2019’s Networker that they really caught my attention. Today, guitarist Frankie Broyles, singer/bassist Philip Frobos, and now full-time drummer Chris Yonker return with the follow-up, Souvenir. According to Sub Pop, this album comes after the band’s longest … Read more
The SmileWall Of EyesXL Recordings [2024] Album Overview: While their first album, A Light For Attracting Attention, could have been a one-and-done, The Smile returns! Thom Yorke, Johnny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner have assembled once more with the follow-up, Wall of Eyes. Wall of Eyes takes a different approach with longer, more dynamic song setups … Read more
At The Fire Note, our writers are the heart and soul of what we do. We want to give a big shout-out to these amazing folks (past and present) who pour their knowledge and love for music into every piece they write. The time and effort they put in consistently doesn’t go unnoticed by us … Read more
The NationalLaugh Track4AD [2023] I never thought that The National would embrace the concept of a surprise album, but here we are. That night at their 2023 Homecoming festival, the band tore through one of their greatest accomplishments in full: High Violet. Among other songs, they played the self-stated, Walkmen-inspired “Available,” and then followed that … Read more
Frankie And The Witch FingersData DoomThe Reverberation Appreciation Society / Greenway Records [2023] First of all, let me start with a disclaimer: Frankie and the Witch Fingers are embarking on a tour in support of their latest album, Data Doom. If you have the opportunity to attend their concert, I highly recommend it. The last … Read more
Queens Of The Stone AgeIn Times New Roman…Matador Records [2023] To say that Josh Homme has been an influential presence in rock music since the mid-’80s is an undeniable truth. Placed somewhere between a V8 Hemi and the undead Elvis, Homme has stumbled, fuzzed, buzzed, strutted, and grooved through all of his endeavors, gaining notoriety … Read more
shameFood For WormsDead Oceans [2023] When we first heard shame return on 2021’s Drunk Tank Pink, it blew our ears off! To quote Christopher Anthony, “This is a record that now has me supporting the early hype and turning this record up every time I hear it!” It’s a brash and ragged piece of post-punk … Read more
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs PigsLand Of SleeperRocket Recordings/Missing Piece Group Records [2023] Disciples of the riff fall to your knees and raise your hands to the heavens shouting, “we’re not worthy!” Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs is here to crush your skull with the solar mass of multiple black holes. Hailing … Read more
PileAll FictionExploding In Sound Records [2023] Take a moment to remember everything that you know about Boston’s Pile. Ok, perfect, now forget all that. Pile has been making music solo since 2006 and as a band since 2009. Pile first caught our ear with 2013’s incredible Dripping (which was just remastered and re-released btw). Since … Read more
ElderInnate PassageArmageddon Shop [2022] When Elder’s previous album Omens was released in 2020 it was my number three album of the year for good reason. Elder constructed a muscular tower of doom metal, prog rock, and psychedelics with nods to groups such as Rush, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, and Yes. Omens showed the group even more … Read more
DrugdealerHiding In Plain SightMexican Summer [2022] Michael Collins has always been an interesting character in music since the early 2010’s. After a legal battle over the name Run DMT he emerged in 2013 under the moniker Salvia Plath with the 60’s psych bent of The Bardo Story. Well, with band names like that why don’t … Read more
The Black AngelsWilderness Of MirrorsPartisan Records [2022] The psychedelic sounds of The Black Angels have been darkening our ears ever since their excellent first album Passover released in 2006. I would have been 20 years old at that point and while I was familiar with classic psychedelic sounds, I’d never heard a band go that … Read more
OseesA Foul FormCastle Face Records [2022] John Dwyer has never been one to take something lying down. Just in case you needed a reminder, their latest album A Foul Form should be all the reminder you need. This self-described brain cracker not only decimates the stem, but rips through the listener’s entire senses. This rudimentary … Read more
Telekinetic YetiPrimordialTee Pee Records [2022] Unearthed and thawed from an ice shelf in Dubuque, IA, Telekinetic Yeti LIVES! The duo composed of Alex Baumann (Guitar/Vocals) and new member Rockwel Heim (Drums) takes on their second outing, Primordial. With one album, Abominable, released in 2017, Telekinetic Yeti only had room for growth and that’s exactly what … Read more
The SmileA Light For Attracting AttentionXL Recordings [2022] Thom Yorke will never tire of writing music. He might get “bored” of focusing on a single project for a while but, he just finds somewhere else to focus his creative output. Cue Glastonbury 2021 and the debut of Thom Yorke, Johnny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner (Sons … Read more
Psychedelic Porn CrumpetsNight GnomesMarathon Artists [2022] From the outside looking in, the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets have been a band that I’ve always had interest in but have never pursued. Today that changes with the release of their 5th album Night Gnomes. Hailing from Australia (which has become an incredible psychedelic hotspot over the years) the … Read more
El Camino AcidSunset MotelSelf-Released [2022] When I hear the name Conor Stratton I think about a couple of things, Yellow Springs’ Spring Fest and Crooked Spines. Now, I can add one more name to that list, El Camino Acid. Composed of members from Caamp, Blond, Crooked Spines, and Smizmar, El Camino Acid returns with their … Read more
Aperture Opening by Frankie Sunswept No matter where you are, whatever the weather, this little ditty is sure to cheer you up! If you’d have told me that Frankie’s former outfit was the beachy blues of Crushed Out, I might not have believed you. First, “Aperture Opening” shows no signs of guitar and has Frankie … Read more
CloakroomDissolution WaveRelapse Records [2022] Picture a world “in which an act of theoretical physics — the dissolution wave — wipes out all of humanity’s existing art and abstract thought. In order to keep the world spinning on its axis, songsmiths must fill the ether with their compositions. Meanwhile, the Spire and Ward of Song act … Read more
RadioheadKid A MnesiaXL Recordings [2021] Radiohead has never been a band to rest on their laurels-or really even care. Yes, they defined what a guitar could do in the early 90’s with their albums Pablo Honey and The Bends. They then redefined what a band could do in 97 with their masterpiece OK Computer. But, … Read more
Mild High ClubGoing Going GoneStones Throw Records [2021] When we last saw the moniker Mild High Club it was paired with none other than King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. There was once a time, way back in 2017, where Gizzard released 5 albums in one year. One of those was their collaboration Sketches of … Read more
King Gizzard & The Lizard WizardButterfly 3000KGLW [2021] If you have been with the Fire Note for a while, I feel like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is a band that needs no introduction. Ever since 2014’s I’m In Your Mind Fuzz we here have been huge fans. One of the most prolific bands … Read more
black midiCavalcadeRough Trade Records [2021] When taking a look at UK’s black midi, they earn the admiration of music fans. How do they do this? To break music rules like they do, you have to be a quick study. Geordie Greep (vocals, guitar), Cameron Picton (vocals, bass, synths, samples), Morgan Simpson (drums), Seth Evans (keyboard, … Read more