Torture The Artist - Torture The Artist
Torture The Artist Featuring Mass Giorgini on bass and Dan Lumley on drums, Torture The Artist are able to bill themselves as ex-Screeching Weasel, Squirtgun and Common Ride–enough to catch any self-respecting pop-punk fan’s eye. But it’s actually vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Jorge Orillac that makes Torture The Artist such an interesting proposition. Exploring his cultural roots, he’s...
Beat Strings - Fang In Rain
Fang In Rain Does Adam Bolts expect us not to talk about how much he sounds like Robert Smith? Because we can't. Beat Strings' Fang In Rain is like a tribute to the Cure only no one bothered learning any Cure songs. The weird thing is, it kind of works-in part because the songs are really good,...
BrakesBrakesBrakes - Touchdown
Touchdown Brakesbrakesbrakes are as eclectic (musically) and clever (lyrically) as ever on their third album, Touchdown. The British four-piece kick things off with the superb "Two Shocks," a restrained rocker with icy, new-wave vocals that gradually builds to a breathtakingly grandiose finale. The album then delves into alt-country ("Eternal Return"), folk ("Leaving England"), devastating, angular hardcore...
Druglords Of The Avenues - Sing Songs
Druglords Of The Avenues – Sing Songs More than six years removed from the last Swingin' Utters studio effort, frontman Johnny Bonnel fills the void with a 12-track blast from the same old-school–punk past. Formed in 2004 as a side project, Druglords Of The Avenues took a backseat to Bonnel's other side project, the folk-punk Filthy Thieving...
Joe Coffee - When The Fabric Don't Fit The Frame
When The Fabric Don’t Fit The Frame It might be difficult to imagine a NYHC tough-guy take on the kind of throwback pop-punk perfected by bands like One Man Army or Dillinger Four, but Joe Coffee did it. Anointing themselves "thug pop," these New York natives have crafted an equally tough and touching album with When...
So Many Dynamos - The Loud Wars
The Loud Wars "Creative music" has become a bit exhausting as of late. Artists either pile up so many epic cadences that they are robbed of value, or they ape lo-fi recordings in ways that seem more calculated than honest. So thank the fucking lord for So Many Dynamos, who just may bring us back...
Tongues - Tongues
Tongues The Chicago post-punk family tree has a new branch from which to prune, and Tongues might be its ripest growth in years. The conglomerate (featuring members of Apocalypse Hoboken, Joan Of Arc and Ghosts & Vodka) stitches together a quilt with unapologetic cock-rock, sludgy guitar interplay and enveloping drums, matched in outlandishness only by...
Yesterday's Ring - Diamonds In The Ditch
Diamonds In The Ditch Country music is generally a genre that people develop an appreciation for as they get older, more heartbroken and jaded. Yesterday's Ring are just that: several members of seasoned French-Canadian punk band the Sainte Catherines, who tell their story with a little a extra twang. Diamonds In The Ditch plays out like a...
Art Brut - Art Brut Vs. Satan
Art Brut Vs. Satan Art Brut Vs. Satan is compelling for three crucial reasons. First, Black Francis–a guy who knows something about charging guitar rock-produced the sessions. Second: The guitar subterfuge of Jasper Future and Ian Catskilkin (the only good components to 2008's rather dismal It's A Bit Complicated, drive home these songs with a renewed enthusiasm....