As a die hard, lifelong fan of the compact disc, it breaks my heart that cassettes, not CDs, are the alternative retro format of choice for new bands these days. But I can forgive Massachusetts duo Broken Head for choosing to release their debut EP, ‘Sungazer’, on tape. Their fuzzy riffs and swirling melodies will sound perfectly at home slowly […]
Read moreGuys. We made it. The worst year ever is in the history books. I’m not necessarily expecting things to improve quickly just because we’ve all had to buy new calendars, but i’ll take slowly and steadily for sure. It can’t get any worse, right? Right!? This month’s mixtape is shorter than usual but still packed with killer jams. If you […]
Read moreIt’s been a tough year… No, that feels like an understatement. Worst year ever? Maybe. It’s somehow felt like the longest and the shortest 12 months in human history, a hurry-up-and-wait of terror and tension and “what the fuck is going on”. A calendar of unprecedented chaos. Like every shitty year before this one though, 2020 was somewhat saved by some superb […]
Read moreYou can always rely on Lakes. The Watford-based emo collective have produced consistently great music since their inception. Always slightly sweet, always a little melancholy, always a touch unique. New song, ‘Pine Barrens’ is no exception.
Read moreThis month’s mixtape is a doozy. November is traditionally a quiet month for new releases, the start of the music industry’s winter hibernation, but a ton of great stuff has come out this month, and it feels like there’s still more to come. Makes sense, this isn’t really a ‘traditional’ kind of year. I hope you find something to love. […]
Read moreIt had been so long. Ok, so nobody is calling Justin Broadrick a slacker. There is pioneering industrial, jarring post-punk, dense metal, council estate electronics, and time as a member of Napalm Death on his resumé, and he’s pretty much released something new every year since 1984. And he hadn’t even neglected Jesu really. Fresh mixes of old records keep […]
Read moreConsidering how Marc Richter has excelled at producing some of the most supernatural, least manmade-sounding music of the last 20 years, it was surprising, perhaps even mildly disappointing, to learn that this, his latest venture under the Black to Comm moniker, would be an exploration of the human voice. Sure, Richter has conjured up some ethereal wails before, but what […]
Read moreRejoice! After releasing one of the best albums of last year, post-metal powerhouses Cult of Luna have announced details of their next record. Entitled ‘The Raging River’, it’s due out February 5th 2021 via Metal Blade and the band’s own record label, Red Creek. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if a new song emerged tomorrow. There’s a bunch of different […]
Read moreQuite something, this. Each of the four tracks on ‘Cameo Blue Estate’ sounds better than the one before it. And that’s not because French four-piece Mascara start off on the wrong foot or anything. Opener ‘Concrete/Surface’ goes from a chunky, swirling riff to satisfying alt rock stomp with ease, and if it loses some momentum when the distorted guitars drop […]
Read moreEverything was going right for Crash the Calm. After forming at the end of 2014, the post-hardcore outfit practiced hard, toured often, and eventually landed a record deal. They released an atmospheric full length titled ‘How’ve You Been?’ and a split EP with fellow Long Islanders Staleworth, and they were planning for the future. But then, in 2018, three of […]
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