Teenage Fanclub
Teenage Fanclub Man-Made [3] Teenage Fanclub’s jangly melodies recall the ’60s, but on Man-Made, the Glasgow-based group heart the ’80s as well. Processed guitars come screaming for vengeance from that decade’s bloated corpse, as do curiously prominent electro-drums that make plaintive ballads feel like dance remixes. Each of the group’s songwriters contributes a sole standout...
Mice Parade
Mice Parade Bem-Vinda Vontade [2] Mice Parade originated as an instrumental act, and their vocalists still sing as if their input were unwanted. Songwriter Adam Pierce’s distorted conversational croon barely registers, and Kristin Anna Valtysdóttir’s contributions coast entirely on exhaled air. The equally unassertive backing tracks range from minimalist twinkling to frilly flamenco strumming, with...
The Life And Times
The Life And Times Suburban Hymns [4] Shiner used trigonometric rhythms and hazy hooks to cultivate their fanbase; and, on the first full-length from his latest project, The Life And Times, former Shiner frontman Allen Epley still values complex fills and celestial riffs, building stark passages out of those cornerstones. On “Thrill Ride,” the drums...
MxPx
MxPx Panic [4]As they did for their seminal album Life In General, MxPx had to head back into the studio twice to nail the right vibe for Panic, their first album since parting ways with A&M. However, Life was calmer and poppier compared to this more-in-your-face collection of tunes. As usual, MxPx are at their...
Boredoms
Boredoms Seadrum/House Of Sun [5]Since 1986, Japan’s Boredoms have morphed from chaotic splatter-punks to channelers of sacred psych-rock, chocolate-synthesizer and tribal-drum vibrations. The group’s strange odyssey culminated in 2001’s awesome cosmic-psych trance-athon, Vision Creation Newsun. This follow-up finds Boredoms deviating into exciting new territory. The ecstatic “Seadrum” is fueled by free-spirited, swooping piano runs, beats...
The Soviettes
The Soviettes LP III [5] Lesser bands have one album in them, and if the Soviettes would’ve repeated LP I or LP II this time around, we still would have loved it. At first, the formula seems familiar: Give the Go-Go’s bruised kneecaps; slide a dude into the mix; and then paste it all together...
Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys The Warrior's Code [4] Like your favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant, Dropkick Murphys serve up something warm, comforting and familiar with The Warrior’s Code: blaring bagpipes, joyous stadium-punk sing-a-longs and, this time out, a bit of glowing o’er their hometown heroes, the Boston Red Sox. Revamped Irish jigs like “Captain Kelly’s Kitchen” essentially serve as...
Bullet Train To Vegas
Bullet Train To Vegas We Put Scissors Where Our Mouths Are [4] Bullet Train To Vegas cram more action into a three-minute space on We Put Scissors Where Our Mouths Are than some bands do with an entire album. However, how successfully the results translate depends on which trick the band employ to turn their...
Amber Pacific
Amber Pacific The Possibility And The Promise [3] Seattle’s Amber Pacific craft music that reflects their hometown’s mood: maudlin, mercurial and cloudy, with occasional bursts of sunlight. The Possibility And The Promise is a fine enough debut album, full of girls-gone-mild lyrical swooning (sample lyric: “There’s a hope/there’s a light/and I see it in your...