Brian Shultz

Frontier(s) White Lights EP Frontier(s) came on the scene in 2010, creating some excitement with ex-members of Elliott and Mouthpiece writing pretty solid, Revelation Records-style rock on a single and ensuing full-length. Then, they more or less disappeared. Four years later, they've returned in strong form with the White Lights EP, a rousing comeback that […]

Floor Oblation Given the bevy of singles and endless on-again/off-again status of sludge/doom/stoner veterans Floor, Oblation is a pleasant full-length surprise. It's only their third overall, following the 2004 release of Dove (recorded in 1994) and 2002's self-titled, and very logically picks up where that 2002 album left off. But it's also hard to ignore […]

Fucked Up Year Of The Dragon EP The latest installment in Fucked Up's Chinese Zodiac series features another sprawling, lengthy title track that defies easy categorization, and adds bonus goodies to bring the whole thing back down to earth. “Year Of The Dragon” is, expectedly, a musically expansive 18-minute epic with all the pre-hardcore genre […]

Tiny Empires Weird Headspace Tiny Empires are, in many ways, a very logical progression from Fest favorite O Pioneers!!!, who vocalist/guitarist Eric Solomon fronted a few years back. They retain his old band's loose, throaty, shouted, melodic-punk vibe, but perhaps thanks to the involvement of other experienced players (members of New Bruises, Senders and others), they're […]

Hundredth Resist EP Hundredth have proven to be one of the better bands of their ilk since breaking out with 2011's Let Go, playing a stripped-down strain of melodic, mid-tempo, metallic hardcore that draws from forebears like Shai Hulud (albeit with far less technicality) and Strongarm (though certainly less heavy). The second of a pair of […]

Nightmares For A Week/Banquets Split The days of split full-lengths between melodic punk bands seem like a lost relic since BYO Records closed their excellent series with Alkaline Trio and One Man Army in 2004. This long-player that features five tracks apiece from Nightmares For A Week and Banquets might be good enough to revive it […]

Constant Lovers Experience Feelings Constant Lovers cull members from metallic noise rockers Helms Alee/Harkonen and Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive To Death, and also include a member of singer/songwriter Damien Jurado's band. They start their Matt Bayles-produced sophomore full-length with an awesome, metallic, towering riff that drives opener “Mush Teeth” with a magnanimous force, with […]

Creative Adult Psychic Mess Creative Adult are an actual post-hardcore band, including ex-members of defunct California acts Life Long Tragedy and All Teeth (both of whom toyed with the hardcore formula) playing something deviating noticeably from the style. After promising EPs in 2012 and 2013, the quintet have cultivated a sound for their first LP that […]

Miserable Halloween Dream EP Whirr have employed a number of female vocalists throughout their ever-changing catalog. One of the latest was Kristina Esfandiari, who appeared on Whirr's dissonant 2013 EP, Around. She's struck out on her own since and kept the tunes coming in rapid succession: Last year, she released a single with her band […]