Welcome on to the City of Ships. Or, no, wait- welcome into the City of Ships? Whatever. Just know that the third full-length from this two-city three-piece is their most accessible yet, made to ensnare you, shouting “join us”. That means ‘Ultraliminal’ is almost completely devoid of the darkest, most Neurosisian elements found on the band’s debut, and instead filled with the […]
Read moreRolo Tomassi have been building to this. I mean, Rolo Tomassi are always building- the Sheffield crew have consistently evolved since their very earliest days. But their fourth album finds them condensing, purifying, and almost perfecting everything that’s come before. Given the band’s propensity for precision and technicality, that might all sound a bit calculated, but ‘Grievances’ feels totally organic. […]
Read moreWorriedaboutsatan looked like they had run out of steam. Oh, everything they recorded was great, and from post-rock beginnings to IDM-influenced debut album, their evolution was steady and satisfying. But all was not well in the world of Gavin Miller and Tom Ragsdale. Just as Pitchfork said they had arrived, the Manchester-based duo put their project to bed. And when they […]
Read moreThe general vibe seems to be that this is no good. Words like lazy, grey and dull have been kicked around. And maybe you couldn’t blame 36 Crazyfists for going through the motions here, after 20 years together, after everything that’s happened to them lately. But it simply isn’t true. The Alaskan metallers have turned tragedy into triumph and album […]
Read moreDoom at high speeds, this is rock’n’roll for fans of Torche, latter-day Cave In and early Baroness. He Whose Ox Is Gored’s third EP in three years, ‘Rumors’ is more streamlined and melodic than the Seattle quartet have been before and it’s the best they’ve ever sounded. They shift gears between the thick grunge of their home state, serpentine riffing, […]
Read more‘The Cliff’ is not an easy sell. While any new Pelican release is cause for some celebration, this EP is made up of three different versions of a deep cut from the Chicago band’s 2013 album, ‘Forever Becoming’, and a song left off that record due to time constraints. It takes about 20 seconds to realise why it’s worth an […]
Read moreWhat Ben Sharp does should be studied in music colleges all over the world. Hell, it probably is. As Cloudkicker, he continues to work alone, he continues to write and record at an incredible rate, and he continues to do it while maintaining a near-peerless quality level. He doesn’t sit still either, pushing and pulling his sound in a bunch […]
Read moreDarkness falls. Ok, so North Carolina quartet Barrow weren’t exactly a light-hearted bunch before but it sounds like the weight of the world has descended on them for album number two. Like Funeral Diner or Envy before them, Barrow tap into a grey vein of noisy, ugly honesty and raw emotion here and shy away from nothing. ‘Though I’m Alone’ […]
Read moreEvery Time I Die’s last album was… intense. Ok, so the boys from Buffalo aren’t exactly known for taking things easy but ‘Ex Lives’ was tense and dense and in desperate need of someone telling the band to take a deep breath every once in a while. It broke exciting new ground with a couple of grungy numbers but was […]
Read moreI did not see this coming. I mean, I guess no one did. ‘Romantic Works’ is something of a surprise, see. A surprise, in that celebrated singer-songwriter Keaton Henson released it last week without warning or fanfare. And a surprise, in that it doesn’t actually feature any singing, or traditional songwriting. Instead, Henson has combined patient piano, solemn strings, found […]
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