Various Artists - Joan Of Arc Presents: Don't Mind Control
Joan Of Arc Presents: Don’t Mind Control Arguably among the most fearless of modern indie bands, Chicago's long-running Joan Of Arc refuse to follow traditional paths or formats. Paths and formats ineluctably lead to mediocrity or worse, and this is a group who'd rather risk failure than be boring. Don't Mind Control is not a...
Helen Earth Band - Our Own Ghost City
Our Own Ghost City When former Finch drummer Marc Allen decided not to include himself in that band's 2007 reunion, it wasn't because he wanted to put his feet up. Rather, he teamed up with his brother and fellow ex-Counterfit member Adam (vocals/guitar) in Helen Earth Band. Taking the term "do-it-yourself" seriously, the band (completed...
The Status - Let's Be Honest... EP
Lets Be Honest… EP Atlanta quartet the Status aren't going to make the girls swoon with their moody impatience, volatile nature or billy-goat face scruff. They're not rebels. They're more the clean-shaven, earnest-type pitching big chords and choruses that resolutely reside on the right-half of the punk-pop spectrum. The music swells from the verse to...
Black Dice - REPO
Repo Black Dice's track record could be distracting. A group that used to incorporate noise into their hardcore lost their song structure when they lost their rhythm section. Playing like dub music channeled through SETI transmissions, REPO is seemingly devoid of any organic instruments. Or rhythms. Or melodies. Instead, Black Dice present a wide array of ambient...
Blacklisted - No One Deserves To Be Here More Than Me
No One Deserves To Be Here More Than Me Though Philadelphia's Blacklisted are certainly a hardcore band, their brand of sonic abuse refuses to play by the rules of the genre, dragging anyone too close to the speakers on a hellish journey into ominous sonic territory. Their previous releases have been uniformly stunning, and on No...