Everyone should be listening to Fucked Up. That’s a fact. Unfortunately, hardly anyone does. That’s a sad fact. I mean this in the sense that this band should be much much bigger than they actually are. For one thing, they play glam punk, fuzzy and complex, and layered. They release a plethora of vinyl and take it all on tour with them. And, finally, their latest release David Comes to Life is such a fantastic concept album (a punk opera)...

I can’t really say what it is that I found so catchy about Tegan and Sara when I first heard them. It must be that their songs, in essence, are pop (punk) songs about girls. Chalk that up to my affinity for Lookout!/Fat Wreck albums released in the Nineties (hey, their songs are often only two minutes long too). The problem, however, with most Tegan and Sara albums is that they are so infused with cuteness that they can turn...

After a decade of sporadic (at best) activity, it can only be assumed that most of the expectations those fans left in the Transplants' camp might have had were gone. Like, sure – the band's debut was awesome, but that was due in part to the fact that there was no template for the band to follow or listeners to make comparisons to; there was Tim Armstrong doing a cool kind of Rancid-esque thing on the mic and his guitar,...

As perfectly rich and varied as the musical spectrum has proven to be thus far in the twenty-first century, albums like Nation II Nation still stand out because they're completely unlike everything else on the pop music spectrum. If you doubt it – if you really think you've heard everything music (and especially hip hop) has to offer – then you haven't heard A Tribe Called Red. As over-developed and refined as hip hop has become over the last couple...

If the early twenty-first century has been characterized by anything thus far, it has been instant gratification and, tonight, Washingtone D.C. emcee Wale will show fans what the term really means. Tonight (that's right tonight), Wale will beat the excitement generated by the release of his new album, The Gifted, to the punch by doing a free live streaming show at Event Live. The Gifted (Wale's third full-length album) has only grown more hotly anticipated as details have slowly been...

It's incredible how, in spite of the fact that nothing has really changed about the band's circumstances, Mixtapes sound like they're primed to explode and take over the world on Ordinary Silence. That the band is giving off that kind of energy might simply be because they worked hard and, after a series of successes (including the release of a well-received LP and five great EPs between 2010 and 2012 as well as really good tours with Masked Intruder, The...

At this point in music history, multi-artist compilations and soundtracks (which are, most often, the same beast) are probably some of the hardest sells on any record store's new release rack. Why? Well, most often, such CDs only really have two or three good songs on them, which makes it far more cost effective to just buy those few songs on iTunes; after that, the discs just take up space in their owner's collection. Such a statement isn't intended to...

An unconventional album deserves an unconventional review. The views of the world on Yeezus are split like so: The big people love the album, and the small people are hating on it. I guess I’ll end up being the one small person who gives it love. If you want the cliff notes of this, it’s this: Yeezus is the child of the My Dark Twisted Fantasy and 808 & Heartbreaks, you assume that both of those albums are baby boomers...

I like to get excited about music. I mean, really excited; like “tell everyone else about it, can't wait for the show, want, no, need the new record right now,” kind of excited. Whether it's the Beatles, Bowie or Iggy Pop; punk rock or bar bands; the Rolling Stones in a football stadium, Elvis Costello in a theater or the Dead Boys at CBGBs, I've usually been able to find something to be thrilled about. But lately, it's been getting...

The first, most obvious thing that both Mixhell and its debut album prove beyond the shadow of a doubt is that life can be full of surprises. Don't think so? Well, who could have expected that former Sepultura drummer Iggor Cavalera would just spontaneously decide to quit the band one day? Not only that, who would have seen it coming that whatever he did next would be an electronica outfit? For a lot of metalheads (and – let's be honest...