A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Penumbra//Antumbra 12” single by Garbageface. If history has taught us anything about Karol “Garbageface” Orzechowsky, it has taught us that the artist takes a lot of joy in turning expectations that fans may have of him on their collective head – and the emcee’s newest 12” single, Penumbra//Antumbra, upholds that practice with focused intensity. The single effortlessly upends expectations; where convention demands a consistent structure through a song – there needs...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Patient Number 9 2LP by Ozzy Osbourne. With the last good Ozzy Osbourne album having been released over twenty years ago now (2001’s Down To Earth was respectable – 2010’s Scream was both an earnest and mawkish expression of Ozzy’s strengths as it tried to update its styling for a new, digital generation which fell flat and 2020’s Ordinary Man saw the singer shaking off a lot of rust but still...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the I Love You and I’m Sorry LP by Jacob Brodovsky. I started trying to write a review of Jacob Brodovky’s debut album, I Love You and I’m Sorry, six times before finally electing to do what the album does and just opening with a bit of candor: on my first play through the album, I was absolutely blown away. I knew I liked it, all I had to do was find...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Dumb & In Luv LP by Suzi Moon. After having released two EPs in the last sixteen months, it’s unlikely that fans expected a full-length album to be forthcoming from Suzi Moon – but the even greater surprise is just how incredibly good Dumb & In Luv is. Where the EPs hinted at some solid gutter-rock power, Dumb & In Luv goes a couple of steps further and reveals Moon’s potential...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the A Set of Steak Knives LP by Man’s Body. It’s funny how names and images have the power to be completely irrelevant, when it comes to music. Really think about it, reader; on first sight, a name like Man’s Body feels like it might be a little prog-gy or even a little metallic in intention, somehow. In the same way, “A Set of Steak Knives” feels like it may be sharp...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the LP+CD reissue of Live! by The Dils. While plenty of punk bands have been well exposed since the public became interested in learning about the early days of the L.A. punk scene (X’s catalogue has been reissued by Fat Possum Records, Porterhouse reissued (MIA) by The Germs and other labels have reissued titles by The Avengers, The Bags and The Runaways too), the truth is that giving all of the talent...
Pearl JamNo Codephoto: turntablelab.com Few albums were as impactful in my formative years as Pearl Jam’s No Code. I was just getting into music and had very little for a starting off point. It was Rage Against the Machine’s Evil Empire, Bush’s Razorblade Suitcase, and Pearl Jam’s No Code. I saw music, and particularly rock music, as a vehicle to coolness. Rock music was edgy and if you liked the right bands it made you cool. Unfortunately, for me No...
DuneOriginal Motion Picture Soundtrackby Hans Zimmer Can you believe they made a Dune movie AGAIN? And that it turned out THIS good? Jodowosky’s Dune opened my world to the mythos surrounding the book and to Jodorowksy himself. My cultural world was changed after watching that documentary, so of course, after seeing David Lynch’s movie, the idea of a new Dune movie is a loaded proposition to me. What was a good sign was that Denis Villeneuve would be directing. The...
The ClashCombat Rock + The People’s Hall40th Anniversary Edition Let’s add something more what has already been said about a 40 year old album by one of the most important bands in history. If you’re a punk, you’re already familiar with the Clash’s Combat Rock. If you’ve never heard the Clash and are curious to get into them, and want to understand them in true “album form,” Combat Rock offers the perfect starting point. It’s an incredibly ambitious album that...
Pearl JamLive on Two LegsRecord Store Day Exclusive Everything critical that can be said about Pearl Jam has already been said. What’s left now are just end stories and personal experiences. The validity of “grunge” as a music genre can be debated (and it should be since it’s complete limited to the bands that came out of a certain part of the earth in a certain point of the 90s), but what is a fact is that Pearl Jam was...