Music
Review: Dot Wiggin Band – Ready! Get! Go!
Without this kind of stuff by the original outsider band, you wonder if someone like Daniel Johnston would’ve been possible, and it’s fitting that this is on the label of Jello Biafra, who discovered Wesley Willis. … read more
Review: The Crystal Method – Self-Titled
For their fifth studio album, The Crystal Method created a refreshing twist on what most electronic artists are currently producing, using heavy synth and rock elements to blow the minds and speakers of its listeners. … read more
Review: Haim – Days Are Gone
The simple kick drum and offsetting claps will keep this track stuck in your head for days. But “My Song 5” is a bit darker and slower. Choppy and squelchy, this track possesses aspects of a grimy club track, which made it my favorite Haim piece to date. … read more
Review: Various Artists – SMM: Opiate [Ghostly International Comp.]
A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Noveller, Celer, Black Swan and Pjusk (plus many more) breathe life into their structured explorations of softened noise and white, foamy swells of feedback and elongated tones. Concentrated as this compilation is, there is a surprising amount of variety running through the curated contributors. … read more
Review: Xiu Xiu – Nina
This is obviously a work of love. This homage to the late, great soulstress Nina Simone is beautiful and stark. … read more
Review: VNV Nation – Transnational
Remaining true to their sound, VNV Nation have stuck with their trendy, almost mainstream, future pop style that created their popularity. … read more
Review: Synkro – Lost Here EP
This EP reflects the softer, more experimental side of dubstep that got its start in the UK. Dreamy vocalist Robert Manos graces half of the EP and makes the album easy to listen to. … read more
Review: Gary Numan – Splinter (Songs From A Broken Mind)
Numan’s latest album, Splinter (Songs For A Broken Mind), the 19th full-length released under his own name, has expanded his exploration of heavy industrial pop music, the sound he’s embraced since the early ’90s. … read more
Review: Aloa Input – Anysome
The styles the trio of Aloa Input (Cico Beck, Florian Kreier and Marcus Grassl) play with are multifaceted in their variations, but despite such a wide variety between the songs, the common thread throughout Anysome remains positively tropical. … read more
Review: Strike to Survive – Yesterday’s News
Drums and guitar high in the mix with jagged vocals buried a little beneath makes for a compelling listen, sort of similar to Drive Like Jehu or maybe even the first Bronx album (check the Refused-via-Stooges riffing on the title track). … read more