Be Calm Honcho is SoCal cool with its first full length, Honcho Dreams. The quartet hails from the Bay Area, the San Fernando Valley, and Lafayette, L.A.—a fact that vocalist Shannon Harney, drummer Mikey Carrera, and multi-instrumentalists Jacob Landry and Alex Weston seem to be very proud of. The Crossbill Records release is a hodge-podge of […]
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Something not terrible is happening on Long Island and it’s called Crow Bait. Their full-length debut, Sliding Through The Halls of Fate, is part classic Long Island punk and part Replacements, all with a little ’90s alt-rock flair. Since 2011, Chris Arena (Sister Kisser, American Hellfire Club), Mike Bruno (Iron Chic, Wax Phantom), and Sal Fiteni (Sister […]
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Hold off on puns about sandwiches in the shadows when mentioning Reuben and the Dark’s masterful debut album, Funeral Sky. The folk record is a striking collection of anthems and dirges fueled by the indelible chemistry of frontman Reuben Bullock and his brother and percussionist, Distance Bullock. The Calgary four-and-sometimes-five piece—multi-instrumentalists Shea Alain and Scott […]
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The opening track, “I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore,” says it all. The Menzingers are another year older and another year wiser with their fourth album, Rented World. The record is a solid follow-up to the much-lauded On the Impossible Past. It’s crisp, thrashing, and a little melodramatic, but hey, quarter-life crises are tough. […]
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Known for their often anthemic shoegaze, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s latest full-length may raise a few eyebrows. Days of Abandon through Yebo Music is a deviation from Pains’ soaring sound and lacks the power of Belong and their self-titled album. Pains, often described as indie and noise pop, isn’t using effects pedals […]
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It seems like the boys of Cloud Nothings are all grown up with their newest release, Here and Nowhere Else. Produced and mixed by John Congleton (Modest Mouse, the Walkmen) and released by Carpark Records, Cloud Nothings’ third studio album hasn’t lost any steam. Singer-songwriter and guitarist Dylan Baldi, bassist TJ Duke, and drummer Jayson Gerycz are […]
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Want to get to know rock ’n’ roll in the Biblical sense? Look no further than Pink Mountaintops’ latest record with Jagjaguwar, Get Back. Stephen McBean probably didn’t intend to make “The Great Rock ‘N’ Roll Primer” in creating this album, but he unwittingly assembled a smattering of songs that takes on rock in its […]
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“You see, my problem is self-control,” isn’t so much a lyric from “Hooked” as it is a confession on Denney and the Jets’ debut LP, Mexican Coke. Chris Denney, vocalist and guitarist, touts the persona of musicians of old, the class of stars burdened by the trifecta of drugs, recklessness, and talent. Along with his Jets—Joey […]
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“Your sweetness is killing me/Mean, mean/I want you to be mean/I want you to be mean to me,” shouts Bridget Battle, frontwoman of trash-pop trio Tweens. “Be Mean” is from the Cincinnati threesome’s precocious debut album with Frenchkiss Records. The self-titled full-length touts a collection of party jams oozing with teen melodrama and a whiney […]
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The louder stuff is more fun to play live, but…
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Saitnseneca brings simultaneously novel and familiar songs on its newest release, Dark Arc. Channeling everything from Neutral Milk Hotel, to Bob Dylan, to the Violent Femmes, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Zac Little, along with Maryn Jones, Steve Ciolek, and Jon Maedo, crafts both a sad and blissful album largely about loneliness. Dark Arc defines the space between light […]
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Jordan Gatesmith croons, “I don’t want to be rich, or famous no more,” in “Here’s The Itch That Creeps Through My Skull.” The Smiths-inspired ditty hails from Howler’s second studio album, World of Joy with Rough Trade Records. The indie-rock group from Minneapolis, Minn. is composed of Gatesmith on lead guitar and vocals, Ian Nygaard on guitar, […]
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