A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Wheeltappers and Shunters LP by Clinic. Speaking as a father, I can tell you that a lot of things can change in seven years – in fact, it’s entirely possible that the whole world will will look completely different from one side of that duration to the other. It’s for that reason Clinic reappearing after seven years with an album of new music – seemingly without warning (other than appearing with...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Serfs Up! LP by Fat White Family. While I can safely say that I did enjoy Fat White Family’s sophomore album (Songs For Our Mothers) when I reviewed it in 2016, it proved to be for the wrong reasons. I liked it, but I missed the point (or at least I think I did); it wasn’t until I sunk a stylus into Serfs Up! – the London-based band’s third album –...

While the novelty of The Ramoms’ existence is impossible to ignore (at first glance, the band looks like an obvious answer to the question of what happens when Riot Grrls reach the age when they become soccer moms), it’s also impossible to deny the inherent possibility of a group of women reimagining Ramones music with a fresh approach that isn’t too far off of the original, but is different enough that it feels fresh and exciting. Simply stated, the Problem...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Tasting The Sea LP by Vertacyn Arc Materializer. For some listeners, the nature of the Tasting The Sea LP will feel like a return to a different and remarkable time – in spite of the fact that it doesn’t much sound like anything that anyone has heard before. No, it’s the spirit of the record that feels familiar; from the moment a turntable’s stylus touches down on the A-side of the...

DK40 (3CD)(Manifesto Records)Every fan knows that punk rock has had a fantastic relationship and tradition with bootleg records, and that tradition has now broken into the mainstream as well. Now in the twenty-first century, bands like The Doors, the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Pearl Jam as well as artists like Jeff Tweedy, Neil Young and Lars Frederiksen have released a stream of great sounding like recordings under the “bootleg” moniker to the expressed joy and appreciation of fans, and have...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the A Broken Heart is an Open Heart LP/2CD set by Louise Lemon. As intellectually evasive as music genre names have the capacity to be (dig into music history, and you’ll realize how silly sub-genre names get – take post-hardcore or “screamo” for just two examples), there’s no question that Death Gospel (or Doom Gospel – depending upon the press release that one reads) chanteuse Louise Lemon has hit upon something truly...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the First Light LP by The Ratchets. Anyone who has followed my contributions to this column likely already knows and understands that, while my coverage of vinyl records is very format-focused, I do not believe that the format itself deserves much discussion. Simply said, I do a lot of vinyl coverage because I like the SOUND of vinyl records – the color of the vinyl into which the music is pressed is...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Constellate LP by Tensei.Over the last few years, The Flaming Lips have really come a long way from being the LSD-dipped and surrealist punk band that they were when they emerged from the wilds of Oklahoma in 1983. Since then, the hard left musical turns that they were perceived to have taken have become streamlined and the group has developed a greater sonic palette with which they’ve been able to compose...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Holger Danske LP by The Old Firm Casuals. After a solid amount of time up on blocks (the band’s debut album was released in 2014 and, while there have been a couple of splits and a couple of EPs, demands for something more substantial have gone unanswered), a recent reissue campaign renewed interest in The Old Firm Casuals (a.k.a. Singer/guitarist Lars Frederiksen’s “other” band, beyond Rancid) and so they’ve answered that...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the White Stuff LP by Royal Trux. Listening to White Stuff (Royal Trux’ first album of new material since 2000’s Pound For Pound), I simply could not stop thinking about and drawing comparisons between it and Danny Boyle’s film T2 Trainspotting. In the film, all of the characters who survived the events which played out in Trainspotting have found life after heroin addiction and discovered new fascinations – be it crime, working...