A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the ; ) LP by The Shouldies. It’s uncommon enough an occurrence that one can never hope to count on it, but sometimes an album comes along at precisely the moment a listener needs to hear it. In my own case, I’ve been listening to a surprising amount of very moody, very texturally-centered music lately; things like The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode’s Ultra and Psalm 69 by Ministry...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Lies They Tell Our Children LP by Anti-Flag. After thirty-five years in circulation documented by twelve full-length albums, eleven EPs, a multitude of singles, videos, split releases and other releases in addition to innumerable miles logged on the road, it goes without saying that Anti-Flag has paid its dues – but Lies They Tell Our Children proves that, at least in their own eyes, the band still has something to prove...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the “Lost Boys Of Suburbia” b/w “One More Time” split 7” single by The Drowns & Plizzken. It doesn’t feel as though it happens very often, but some releases (and their contents) defy explanation. Like, how does a song appear on a single and nowhere else – particularly when the song in question features such a high quality level? It might not feel like it makes sense, but it happens – and...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into EmUrgency! by Amai Kuda et Les Bois. It’s not terribly common to come upon an album which sound simultaneously easy to qualify and quantify as well as in addition to coming off completely fresh and original, but that’s exactly what EmUrgency! does. As soon as stylus touches down, needle catches groove and “Which Way” opens the album...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Is This What It Feels Like To Feel Like This 12” EP by The Wombats. After having embarked on a career which has seen the band release six full-length albums, one compilation and nine EPs with startlingly minimal popular notice, there’s no way to deny that The Wombats are one of the most tragically underrated bands of all time. Someone, somewhere could go so far as to call the band’s ability...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the All Killer No Filler (1977 – 2001) 2LP by The Senders. It’s funny how, as perfectly well-exposed as a scene and its associated lore might be, there are always bits which are obscured by shadows. In the New York punk scene of the 1970s, for example, everybody knows many of the stories and associated minutiae for The Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie and many others – even The New York Dolls and...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into both the Black Skies EP and the Waiting EP by Bishop’s Green. Bishop’s Green Black Skies EP (Pirates Press Records) As cool as some album covers are (and the cover of the Black Skies EP is definitely very cool), the peril is often that the image on the cover of a record just doesn’t match the music. It could easily be argued that Black Skies falls hard into that trap; with crows...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Growin’ Up LP by Luke Combs. I confess that it took a few days of listening to Luke Combs’ third album, Growin’ Up, constantly in hopes of finding a lede into the music before I finally found one which explained why I liked it as much as I do. I mean, the lyrics about hometown kicks aren’t terribly new or unique, and the performances are about as orthodox as it’s possible...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Otherness LP by Alexisonfire. The cool thing that Alexisonfire has always done (and this is not a claim that many bands can make) is that they have always challenged their audience without making it look intentional. When the band’s first album appeared in 2002, for example, the idea that three bands (Condemning Salem, Helicon Blue and Plan 9) could converge and intermingle punk, metal and emo DNA into one unit and...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into The Flatliners’ New Ruin LP. In the twenty-year duration of The Flatliners’ career to date, it’s actually pretty remarkable to observe the turns that the band’s music has taken. After beginning with some respectable (if not terribly memorable) ska-core in 2005 and then taking a couple of years to develop (see how it works with 2007’s The Great Awake), The Flatliners really hit the big time hard with 2010’s classic Cavalcade and...