Wire
Wire Read & Burn 3 EP [3/5]
Despite a combined age of something like 789, Wire are better than all of those dinosaur dust-farters on cash-grabbing reunion tours. What could be more punk than doing an about-face from the sophisticated menace of their previous disc (2003’s Send)? The third installment of the band’s well-regarded Read...
Time Again
Time Again Darker Days [2.5/5]
Punk rock forgives a lot. Limited instrumental skills and simplistic songwriting don’t have to hold you back if you mix a fierce enough concoction of energy, individuality and a heart that bleeds true. The problem with Time Again is they instinctively try to cop pretty much all of this stuff...
Jeffrey Lewis
Jeffrey Lewis 12 Crass Songs [3/5]
12 Crass Songs occasionally suffers from Dynamite Hack syndrome. Like that group’s country-club version of Eazy E’s “Boyz-N-The-Hood,” Jeffrey Lewis’ desultory folk-rock readings of Crass’ “End Result” and “Banned From The Roxy” convert stark, raw expressions of righteous fury into easy-listening fodder. Lewis intends homage rather than parody, but...
Every Avenue - Shh, Just Go With It
Every Avenue Shh, Just Go With It To be blunt, Every Avenue’s debut full-length sounds like another Fall Out Boy rip-off, but with less bitter lyrics. A few songs resurfaced from the band’s 2007 EP Ah!, and the new material is more of the same—songs about girls with catchy hooks and sing-along choruses. A perfect example...
Die! Die! Die!
Die! Die! Die! Promises Promises [3.5/5]
There’s something uneasy about New Zealand band Die! Die! Die!’s music; it’s almost as if their occasionally abrasive, always compelling songs could seizure off into any direction at any time. But while a jerky franticness often encompasses their sonic sensibilities, the band’s second album isn’t all unabashed and in-your-face....
Desoto Jones
Desoto Jones Aurora [4/5]
Everything about Desoto Jones is big: Big hooks, big harmonies, and an ability to put a big smile on your face during every song on Aurora. They waste no time getting started, either; the anthemic opener “Speed Bump” is simply booming, gorgeously layered vocals and an epic feel amid the crashing...
Carbonas
Carbonas Carbonas [4.5/5]
Talk about an anticipated album. This third release from Carbonas was first available this past September as a special bonus for those attending Gonerfest in Memphis, Tennessee. Copies of the limited-edition vinyl release sold out quickly, and an eBay search afterward would find buyers paying nearly $100 for one of the coveted...
Various Artists
Various Artists Post-Asiatic: Lost War Dream Music [3.5/5]
This double-disc collection features 25 avant-garde artists using musical elements of various Eastern and Asiatic cultures. Since there’s nothing on the double disc that would make you lose your lease, this compilation should be experienced uninterrupted to appreciate its scope. Of the more “famous” names, Amps For...
Gordon Withers
Gordon Withers Jawbox On Cello: A Benefit For Cal Robbins [3.5/5]
Barring cataclysmic variance in what’s deemed “alternative,” Yo-Yo Ma will never grace the cover of AP. But in a post-Apocalyptica landscape, when a cellist like Gordon Withers covers the collected works of a seminal post-hardcore outfit like Jawbox, we eagerly listen-especially when it’s a...