review

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Visuals LP by Mew. Without intending to come off as terribly cynical, it’s rare to be genuinely and truly surprised by by some new music recorded in this current age of formula and digital sameness now present in every quadrant of popular music. Often, it seems as though artists set the tone for what they plan to do on a new release within seconds of its beginning, and the success or...

A Load of Hooey by Bob Odenkirk Let me start this review, just like Bob Odenkirk starts his reviews in this book, by saying that I am a huge Bob Odenkirk fan. So of course someone like me is going to be absolutely ecstatic at the idea of Bob Odenkirk writing a book. Even more so one that it;s being put out by the fine folks at McSweeney’s. And lo and behold, I was quite pleased with the content of...

Deciding What’s True: The Rise of Political Fact-Checking in American Journalism by Lucas Graves, I can’t think of a time when we’ve been more aware of the facts we’ve been consuming. Of course that has a lot to do with our political climate, claims of what’s true and what’s fake news and what responsibility we have as news consumers to look at our diet more critically. Whatever your political leanings, we can all argue that we’d all prefer to read...

The Autopsy of Jane Doe   They say we live in a new golden age of television, and I think that might be true. But the same is the case for movies. Mostly because writers and directors have more freedom and, for once, independent TV and movies are being given the recognition they deserve. And nothing stands out from Hollywood schlock like a fresh story.   The Autopsy of Jane Doe has to be one of the best movies I’ve...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Record Store Day 2017-issued 2×7” set by Alice In Chains. Over the last few years in particular, Record Store Day has really seemed to cater to a “collectible” market over a market wherein fan interest is the focus. That has proven to be a little frustrating; because of it, record stores get glutted by people one day a yearhoping to score something they can resell – not necessarily something they can...

Round Eye Monster Vision (Sudden Death Records) Even on first examination of Monster Vision, it’s perfectly clear how poised to totally reinvigorate punk rock Round Eye really are now. The band’s 2015-issued debut album hit those who heard it like a force of nature and won converts to the band’s banner effortlessly, but their sophomore effort is something else; Monster Vision manages to retain the fury and mania of its predecessor, but also illustrates that the group isn’t just a...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Apostasy LP by Garbageface X Yung Gutted. Anyone who is already familiar with Karol “Garbageface” Orzechowski’s output knows the emcee has a pretty dark and potentially violent disposition (2016’s NØ FUTUR(E) 7” illustrated that really well), but he’s really stepped up his game on Apostasy with the help of NYC producer Yung Gutted. This time the movement is exponentially slower; in print, readers may assume the music is more methodical in...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the We Are Busy Bodies released, 2LP reissue of Make A Pest A Pet by Age Of Electric. First, it’s important to point out that this new reissue of Make A Pest A Pet – the third and final album by Age Of Electric before the band went on its first hiatus – marks the first occasion whereupon the album has been released on vinyl. Before now, MAPAP was available on CD,...

Mastodon Emperor Of Sand (Reprise/Warner) After having spent the last few years stretching stylistically in a few different directions (The “White Walker” single found a home as the lead track for a season of HBO’s Game Of Thrones, 2014’s Once More ‘Round The Sun say the band get leaner and almost blurring the lines between metal and punk rock a bit), there’s something refreshing and exciting about the fact that Mastodon has made a glorious return to the sort of...

The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee As a scientist, it’s hard for me to back up and realize that the general public’s understanding of DNA and genes in general is incomplete and vague. Lucky for us we have people like Siddhartha Mukherjee and his book The Gene which is truly one of the great science books aimed at the general public. An old mentor of mine once said that even as we advance in our career as scientists...