Heya junky,Man, ain't it nice when somebody sees ya workin' hardan' so jus' helps make yer job easier? Somethin' like'at happened ta me the otha day. Ther I was, truckin' through da interwebs an' swipin' everything I could find that wasn't nailed down, when somebody ova at spin sent me my fav'rit kinda care package: da kind I can flip ta youse. See, it's'at tima da year when CMJ is happenin' ova in Manhattan an' SPIN Magazine is givin' away...
Have you ever spoken with someone and just known that they were destined for great things at some point during that conversation? Speaking with Mo Kenney is like that. During Ground Control's conversation with the singer, it quickly became apparent that this young girl from Waverley, NS is the first in a new generation of singer-songwriters. She is soft-spoken but observant in the same way Neko Case was at the beginning of her career, and almost cavalier in her dismissals...
While 2012 has already proven to be another red letter year for punk and hardcore thanks to a series of excellent releases by NOFX, Gallows, METZ, OFF!, Pennywise and more, some young punks must have been hoping for an album which would come from a brand new band who didn't already have a history – that they could call their own – and make an impact so hard when it hit that it would at least loosen a few teeth...
Forgetting the fact that there's an inverted cross on the album's cover and the fact that the CD case is made of black pleather, something about listening to MellowHype's new album feels taboo. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Numbers feels like an achievement; with this album, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All and its stable of outlaw emcees and producers have proven they're capable of sustaining themselves beyond the flourish of hipster hype which...
Sometimes when a new band comes along, their music is just so affecting that it's like they grabbed you by the ears, slammed you face-first into the table at which you were sitting and then kissed you hard on the mouth while you were still trying to collect yourself and figure out what happened. The sensation is profound; it's shocking and fantastic and violent and inspiring and, when it happens, those who are stricken by it will find themselves just...
Has a record ever been able to blow a chill through you as you're listening to it? Such ideas get thrown around a lot in the press, but it rarely happens that a sound feels genuinely dangerous. It is rare to get the sort of excitement that comes from hearing something which feels forbidden or genuinely troubled, but those who crave it will find that feel on Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon. Murder By Death's seventh full-length album (first for Bloodshot...
It has often been said that change is inevitable in all things including music, but the first half of Coheed And Cambria's Afterman concept album proves that not all change is good. Now shockingly far from the mathy metal powerhouse that the band was when they released In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth (and now really only a shadow of the group who released Year Of The Black Rainbow too – and that was only in 2010), Coheed And Cambria...
As digital production techniques have proceeded to make it easier and easier to make larger, more luxurious and ambitious ideas come to life on an increasingly modest budget, the idea of simplicity has become missing in pop more and more. That so many artists have embraced the possibilities offered by digital production platforms is perfectly understandable – who wouldn't take the opportunity to make their dream album if they could? – but sometimes a simple sound can be more affecting...
It feels awkward to just blurt it out, but Mo Kenney has achieved a craft on the level with artists including Ani DiFranco, Stevie Nicks, Jolie Holland and Neko Case on her self-titled debut. Such a statement feels awkward because the album in question is her first; those other artists had to work for years to refine their talents and chops, but it's hard not to feel like you're bearing witness to the birth of a new star when you...
Hola junky!Y'see what I did there? I was speakin' Mexican – folks like it when you show a little worldly knowledge right? 'At's what'ey tell me, anyway. But who cares? Here we go again, an' here's me wit' anotha great bag o' SWAG fer youse ta peruse – i's a pretty good bag too. Firs' an' foremos' I scored two new tunes from'at band Crystal Castles that I know yer gonna like. You know dis group doncha? 'Ey're that Canuck...