Finch are no more. Again. In their place two new bands have emerged. Former frontman Nate Barcalow is in Private Lives, who have just fully funded their debut album on PledgeMusic, while Alex Linares, Alex Pappas and Daniel Wonacott have joined up with Buddy Nielsen of Senses Fail in Speak the Truth.
Read moreThe fact that ArcTanGent Festival has changed so little since its inception is a testament not only to the outstanding team of men and women who curate and create it every year but the people that attend it too. The festival has grown at a pretty steady rate over the last five years but one of its unique features remains […]
Read moreTo say that ‘Through the Mirror’, the second record from Japanese experimental collective Endon, is a challenge is something of an understatement. This a group that use self-hatred and homemade machines to create what they have referred to as “catastrophic noise metal” and perform it live with legendary intensity. You simply aren’t ready for this. There’s not a second to […]
Read moreOh man, should this be right up my street. Members of Thrice, Curl Up and Die and Kowloon Walled City writing gritty post-hardcore songs about loss and loathing isn’t far away from what would happen if someone told me to construct a new band, fantasy football style, from my record collection. ‘Strangled Light’ though, is such a stark and spidery […]
Read moreWhile unabashedly inspired by the spacier alternative rock sounds of the 90s (there’s even a Ken Andrews guest appearance), Mossbreaker do such a close impression of the genre on their debut full-length that it could almost be a parody. Almost. Instead, from the eerie beginning to the epic end of ‘Between the Noise and You’, there’s enough honesty, care, and […]
Read moreYou can just about make this out through the haze. A second record from the Wisconsin-based Sundra, ‘Crossings’ is well represented by its cover art and best-suited to sunny summer Sunday afternoon listening. ‘Whale Song’ features no whale song but vinyl crackles, dusty synths and long, languid guitar tones are all present and correct, ‘Chances’ layers subtle liquid bass under […]
Read moreAs an avid American football fan (Go Pats!), I’ve always been fond of Football, Etc.’s neat line in sport-specific song titles. Much more than that though, they’re the friendliest dudes around and their sweet, earnest emo has improved with every new release. On ‘Corner’, the Texan trio have apparently changed games (Come on Fulham!), but their music maintains that special […]
Read moreNothing about this is ordinary. It’s rare for an ambient album to make this kind of impact, it’s not normal for something so abstract to connect so quickly, and I think it’s singularly unique for an artist to shut a project down for almost two decades, as Wolfgang Voigt had done with GAS, only to come back better than ever. […]
Read moreShizune go to work. Since forming in 2012, the Italian screamo mob have recorded, played, and DIY-made at a restless, remarkable pace, including releasing new music on average every six months. All in three different languages too. It’s not quantity over quality either, every release has been better than the last, and ‘CHEAT DEATH…’ (this thing definitely earns the all-caps) […]
Read moreHe Is Legend have always been the odd band out. Even in their earliest days they were too weird for metal, too soft for hardcore, and too heavy for the emo scene that gained mainstream traction and exploded around them. I’m sure it used to grate on the band, that they never quite fit in, never quite blew up, but […]
Read more