album review

The Griswolds High Times For Low Lives Promising alt-pop newcomers ROCKS LIKE: The Cab, (new) Set It Off, Against The Current WHAT’S DIFFERENT: After accumulating quite a bit of success at home in Australia, the Griswolds are just as charming as the famous movie family they’re named after on their second full-length High Times For Low […]

Avenged Sevenfold The Stage Straight up? Avenged Sevenfold’s new album is compelling because the SoCal quintet unashamedly continue to embrace their larger-than-life arena-rock ambitions, while genuflecting at the altars of the gods of hard rock and metal before them—on their own terms. While many bands that came up through “the scene” are now willing to […]

Sleep On It Lost Along The Way EP Pop-Punk Trailblazers ROCKS LIKE: Mayday Parade, Acceptance, Yellowcard WHAT’S DIFFERENT: Sleep On It added frontman Zech Pluister to their Chicago-based lineup in early 2016, making this EP both their Equal Vision debut and the introduction of their new vocalist. The band have also put a little more […]

Every Time I Die Low Teens It’s been 15 years since Every Time I Die dropped their debut full-length album, and a decade and a half later the heavy hitters haven’t lost an inkling of steam. Their eighth studio record, Low Teens, might not start off with guns blazing, but it does ring out as […]

Lower Than Atlantis Lower Than Atlantis: Black Edition What better way to celebrate a year since Lower Than Atlantis' biggest album than a re-release with bonus disc? The original dozen tracks stand the test of time, bold and assured: The band warned the world they were going for something new, and this re-release captures a […]

Shining International Blackjazz Society One of the many things we in the AP bunker admire about Norway’s Shining is how disparate elements combine so seamlessly—vocalist Jørgen Munkeby’s screeching saxophone, industrial-inspired textures and Tobias Ørnes Andersen’s tendency to ride his hi-hat like a ’70s disco superstar. Everything gets pureed by daring song structures that make their […]

Motion City Soundtrack Panic Stations As the distorted answer to 2012’s clean-guitar- filled Go, Panic Stations is Motion City Soundtrack’s most straightforward release, swapping the band’s trademark lyrical and sonic quirkiness with polished production and simple songwriting. “TKO” is a synth-heavy callback to the band’s earlier singles with infectious “whoas” thrown about. “Over It Now” is the total […]

blessthefall To Those Left Behind The basic formula for a middle-of-the-road metalcore outing is well-established by now, if not beaten into the ground: guttural verses supporting choruses ready-made for radio, rinse and repeat times 11. Luckily, blessthefall know exactly how to double down on each of those elements, crystallizing the dichotomy in a way that […]

Bring Me The Horizon That’s The Spirit If  you’re going to reinvent yourself, you may as well go all in. When Bring Me The Horizon added keyboard player and studio whiz Jordan Fish to their ranks in 2012, they abandoned deathcore for a more immediate, synth-based sound on 2013’s Sempiternal. It was the first step in a […]

The Wonder Years No Closer To Heaven Over the past four years—and the course of three beloved albums—the Wonder Years have rapidly risen through the pop-punk ranks on their way to cementing themselves as the genre’s leading force. If the band’s fifth album is any indication, they seem unlikely to give up the throne anytime […]

The Dear Hunter Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise Casey Crescenzo and the Dear Hunter have finally returned to their conceptual album series with its fourth installment, Act IV: Rebirth In Reprise. With some new explorations entwined, Act IV exhibits all facets of the band's alluring brand (extensive instrumentation, orchestral theatrics and experimental whimsy) in impressive form. Moreover, re-imagined segments […]

Joey Cape Stitch Puppy Joey Cape is best known as being the vocalist for punks Lagwagon, but he’s slowly built up a body of quieter work that lands just as hard as his day job. Stitch Puppy, his third (and best) album, hits right in the heart: The 10 songs show Cape at his most open and […]

Against Me! 23 Live Sex Acts As Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace points out in one of this disc’s song introductions, it’s been nearly 10 years since her band’s previous live album (Americans Abroad!!! Against Me!!! Live in London!!!) was released. 23 Live Sex Acts proves just how far the band have come since their early days. […]

The Devil Wears Prada Space EP Space has its fair share of strengths and excellent moments scattered throughout its brisk 20 minutes, and it will undoubtedly satisfy long-time fans of the Devil Wears Prada who enjoy everything up to and including 2013's 8:18. However, in terms of a concept record, it's difficult not to compare it—at least in some […]

The Sword ‘High Country’ The Sword have come a long way since making their name on Guitar Hero contributions. The Texan doomsters sought to bring back the power of the riff—originality be damned—and it worked extremely well on albums like 2010’s Warp Riders. Now on their fifth record, The Sword have sacrificed some of their downtuned Sabbathian crunch for more psychedelic vibes […]

Mac Demarco Another One There are a lot of people who have worn thin on Mac DeMarco’s schtick. He’s perpetually sardonic with a cigarette dangling from his grin; the reigning court jester of indie rock, his live shows are infamously vulgar. For his new release Another One, he hosted a barbecue listening party for fans —which he […]

Being As An Ocean Being As An Ocean You’ll never hear a bad record from Being As An Ocean. The band largely stick to tried-and-true dual-vocalist post-hardcore, yet the sound generally feels fresh thanks to a pair of unique voices. Those throaty bellows from Joel Quartuccio continue their viciousness from 2013’s How We Both Wondrously Perish, […]

Sharon Van Etten ‘I Don’t Want To Let You Down’ EP The album artwork for Sharon Van Etten’s last two records was saturated with chiaroscuro, be it Tramp’s tight close-up or Are We There ‘s shot of a driver leaning out the window, a suburban landscape in the background. Her new EP, I Don’t Want […]

Bad Cop/Bad Cop Not Sorry On their debut full-length, California's Bad Cop/Bad Cop lay down the law with an incredible authority: the tunes are concise and compact melodic punk blazers, filled with equal amounts of bite and sugar-sweet harmony. The opening track “Nightmare” was a smart choice to get things started with, showing both sides […]

mewithoutYou Pale Horses Everything’s come around full circle on Pale Horses, the sixth full-length from Philly’s beloved mewithoutYou.  Since their folk fascinations on 2009’s It’s All Crazy! It’s All False! It’s All A Dream! It’s Alright, the band have built their way back towards their heavier origins.  That’s not to say Pale Horses strictly returns […]