Singer-songwriter Richard Swift spells out what you’re getting right in the name of his electronica act, though what he’s doing with these titular instruments of science and technology is questionable. In line with artists like Aphex Twin or Autechre, there’s a lot of repetition and weird, weird noises, suggesting Swift has recorded this album in [...]

Knowing in advance that The High Confessions were a super-group featuring Chris Connelly (Ministry), Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Sanford Parker (Minsk), and Jeremy Lemos (White/Light), my expectations for this album were high before even listening to it.  Sadly, the gold these musical alchemists created in their previous efforts was decidedly lacking from this album, which [...]

The story of Milwaukee’s Jaill sounds like it was ripped straight out of a screenplay for the indie hit of the year: Vincent Kircher and Austin Dutmer realize they’re getting older and decide to finally get serious about their part-time band they started seven years ago which had, until then, only amounted to losing bass [...]

The Artificial Sea is a duo of American artists who put together a blend of multi-instrumental wonder from the superbly talented Kevin C. Smith with Alina Simone delivering lyrics with a sound that carries a haunting reminiscence of Bjork with a head cold. Needless to say, the vocals are a bit of an acquired taste [...]

It’s been peeling away for a while, but at this point the tense, calculated, economic guitar blasts of Blonde Redhead have completely disappeared — as if swept under the doormat with the rest of the ‘90s. The Blonde Redhead of 2010 is a predominantly electronic affair, submerged in murky, downbeat synth-pop. The band’s latest effort, [...]

Within the limited confines of creativity that plagues the hardcore punk scene, where plenty of teenagers and twenty-somethings attempt to recycle the blindingly fast and ferocious riffs of Void, Koro, and early Black Flag, every now and then something incredibly original emerges that demands immediate absorption from anyone paying attention. While No Friends’ newest release [...]

Stornoway’s debut, Beachcomber’s Windowsill, starts off strong with “Zorbing,” a real thing (rolling down a hill in one of those giant inflatable, cushioned hamster balls). Brian Brigg’s vocals are strong from start to finish, and at their best sound a bit like Robin Pecknold’s lofty howl. On this first track, he’s joined by a low-E [...]

Mr. Wells is in the wrong business: he should have been a blues singer. On his homage to Louisville, Kentucky, he can’t live with your fears and worries, nor does he think its ever going to work out, and you will haunt him, how you will haunt him. His Daniel Johnston-style vocals showcase these both [...]

An exercise in genre-bending psychedelic madness, The Harvey Girls’ latest release, I’ve Been Watching A Lot of Horror Movies Lately, is the quintessential day-tripper’s soundtrack.  Filled with layers upon layers of miscellaneous instruments, African-inspired beats, and field recordings from the great outdoors of Portland, Oregon, The Harvey Girls cross the lines of shoe-gazing folk-rock, indie-pop, [...]

We Were Skeletons’ newest, a 32-minute record, is made for fast music fans, for ears tuned less to melody and more to sheer speed; all the catharsis and release not coming from a pinpoint note or melody, but a hard-edged, primal excretion of human energy — the tuning fork of the heart ringing at the [...]

I really want to love this album.  It’s got all the standard elements of a fun indie record: the moody harmonies, the gritty guitar riffs, the pulsing bass, and, of course, the synth.  Social Studies even hail from San Francisco, where indie bands spring up like big white turbines on a NorCal wind farm.  But [...]

After 15 years, five full length albums, and a rotating roster of musicians, the Mad Caddies are pulling out all the stops and are finally releasing a “best of” album. Consensual Selections features 22 cuts from the Caddies past plus two new tracks. For those unfamiliar to the the Caddies’ sound, their eclectic ska-punk sound [...]

Strange Weather, Isn’t It? is the fourth release from !!!, a Sacramento band formed from members of  Black Liqourice and Popesmashers after the bands toured together. The songs on the album are saved from being a complete digital mess by Nic Offer’s vocals. It also helps to break up some of the monotony that is [...]

This album is Ezurate’s third full-length release, and features a recording value just high enough to capture the technical mastery this band has of their instruments, while not losing the grit that is so important to the sound of black metal.  Ezurate plays a brand of face-pummeling black metal, opting for an all-out assault on [...]

This album is a rollercoaster ride.  Bear with me here –  I’m not talking “highs” and “lows,” but rather sheer noise.  The Dont’s succeed in producing the kind of noise that is less annoying and more exhilarating, like the overwhelming howl as you speed through the first drop and into the corkscrew.  And, of course, [...]