It’s a little cliche at this point to begin a review of a track on the Monstercat label with a general broad-brush description of the label – wildly hit-or-miss music (stemming, of course, from the fact that they release at least three original tracks a week), obscenely devoted fanbase which formulates one of the most impressive YouTube hiveminds around, yadda yadda yadda. To understand how Karma Fields’ newest LP, New Age | Dark Age, is one of the most interesting releases the label has put out in a very long time, though, it’s worth characterizing its reception within the confines of the label’s usual fans. “Stickup,” one of the album’s pre-release singles, was released on YouTube to one of the highest dislike-like ratios on any video from the label. Similar ratios exist for other songs from the album – the excellent “Greatness” (featuring the inimitable Talib Kweli on vocals) has about 1 dislike to every 10 likes as well. Suffice it to say, then, that Karma Fields is dividing the label’s core fanbase.
All this is to say that Karma Fields, in deviating from what many people involved in the community find comfortable, is actually doing really interesting things with their music. The currently-anonymous artist, at best, has dropped some of the most fun tuneless, staticky electro bangers around, picking…
There are a lot of different preferences and approaches when it comes to interviews, both when conducting the interview and when putting it all on paper. My approach is all about letting the artist speak their mind, and in as much detail as they wish. That’s also why my interviews tend to be on the long side, because I like to include as much original content as possible. And these long interviews, man are they fun to conduct (and a bitch to transcribe!). During the course of one, you can really connect with the person on the other side of the screen/phone, if that is your goal, and once you do, you get some really cool insights about a lot more than just the music, and that has always excited me personally – to learn more about the actual people behind the music that I like, because I can conceptualize the music itself on my own. Matt Harvey, the guitarist for Australian instrumental band We Lost The Sea, provided me exactly that. Not everything that Matt said here is of absolutely essential value when it comes to the band We Lost The Sea and their craft, and I’d wager he would agree with that statement, seeing as how we start out by discussing his memories of Tallinn and come full circle in the end as I get interested in the Australian party culture (note: it turns out that the most stereotypical Australian things according to the locals…
A little later than usual, here’s our Q4 mixtape for 2015, kicking off the new year with a pick of some of the best music released in the final three months of last year. Some of the below mentioned artists featured as part of our year-end staff and userfeatures, and the individual tracks can be heard below the track title or, if you’d prefer, most can be found on the Spotify playlist below. Featuring everything from the wandering post-punk of Cindy Lee to the proggy space jam of Yuri Gagarin to Reket at the forefront of Estonian rap, we hope you enjoy. –Dave
Cindy Lee – “Last Train’s Come And Gone” Act of Tenderness Listen if you like: Women, Viet Cong, Zola Jesus, Metal Machine Music
One of the great clichés in music criticism is to mark down a song by saying that it simply “doesn’t go anywhere”. Now, there is no apparent navigational sense to “Last Train’s Come and Gone”, one of the (many) standout tracks from former Women guitarist/singer Patrick Flegel’s eerie new album Act of Tenderness, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming one of the most profound songs I’ve heard this year. The number arrives subsumed within a thick syrupy murk, with Flegel casting off individual guitar notes that unfurl in the crushing gloom before slowly spinning off into the abyss; I’ve struggled to come up with a better description for it here but somehow the…
I’ve occasionally come across a particular notion in the music community that the more we listen to the more we build expectations, higher and higher until the bar’s raised unattainably high and we in turn forget what it’s like for that threshold to be met in the first place. I’ve never explicitly agreed with this thought because of how nonsensical it’s always come across – “shouldn’t we come to appreciate art more the more time we take to truly understand it?,” I usually feel, and yet it still can strike me subconsciously, at times. I sometimes catch myself thinking what Theodore, the central character of Spike Jonze’s 2013 film Her, once wondered to himself, if I’m “not gonna feel anything new. Just lesser versions of what I’ve already felt.” And that thought’s a scary one, because I never want to lose that ability to tear up to a song, to get lost in the rhythm of a good screamo song when I feel that desire.
Ultimately I know this fear to be misguided, and don’t worry much about its implications either. I just mostly worry about the fact that this kind of pessimism, cynicism, what-have-you, is such an ingrained thought to me. When I find a new album I love, why am I so quick to worry about when those impressions will fade? I listened to Dream Sequins by Nmesh several nights back, and I was so taken by it – never had I heard an album that seemed to have such…
Can we start again, go back to what it meant back then? The intentions have never been lost, but in the case of Bane, we can’t go back. Instead, there are a few select chances left for both Europeans and North Americans to see the legendary Boston hardcore outfit, who will be drawing a line under their illustrious career in 2016. They did want to go out on their own terms though, and to capitalize on the chemistry and joy they felt onstage, nothing short of a global farewell tour wasn’t going to cut it. I caught the group on their Tallinn date and was assured in person, not through words but through presence, that this is a band who still wants to do what they’ve done for the past 20 years, and that the decision to hang up the mic wasn’t something that came overly easy. In fact, after this interview, I’m still not convinced that Bane actually want to quit, but all things must come to a close eventually, I guess. As Aaron Bedard, the vocalist for Bane and my interviewee, has always said, hardcore is a young man’s game. But what about a young soul in an old(er) body? I’ll just let Aaron explain everything.
This is your goodbye tour to Europe and it’s the first time you’ve come to Estonia, so I’d like to say a big thank you to you for finding the time to come over here. With…
Zardonic is one of the heaviest non-underground DJ-s out there right now, which is also why I was so interested in chatting him up. One of the main things that I look for in music is adrenaline, and Zardonic’s music has a lot of that. It’s not hard to see why either: Federico Agreda, the man behind the mask, is one passionate guy. Whether we were talking about the state of things in Venezuela, or just what wines are good, there was an aura of exuberance emitting from him. 2015 was the most fruitful year in Zardonic’s career, so what better time to see on which wavelength Federico is, than right now. Not one to shy away from sharing what he really feels, or dropping names who have inspired him, this metalhead-at-heart gave some real detailed answers about how one gets big in the US, what he thinks of trends, drugs, the Zardonic character, and everything in between. Check it out.
Because I too am into metal, let’s start from there. You have quite the metal background. Not necessarily as an artist, but as a fan. What can you tell about that?
Metal is my thing. It is the genre that contains every element I look for in music. It’s not about being heavy actually, it’s about intensity. It’s a very passionate music genre. You of course also have metal bands that sound like shit, but in general, at least…
As many of you will now know Daniel Davis, better known as paradox1216, tragically passed away recently after fighting a long battle with cancer. While I personally had very little interaction with Daniel, the passion that he had for music and life in general was something that was displayed so prominently through his writing and in his interactions with his fellow users.
Since this website’s formation many many moons ago, its success has always been dictated by its userbase. To the point where we have become an online community, able to express ourselves, laugh and get things off our chests with users that we have grown close with over the years. Regardless of your association with Daniel, a loss in the community is a devastating thing. Daniel had a presence that will sorely be missed, and if the comments in the wake of his passing are any indication, he was a user who touched the hearts and minds of everyone he encountered.
Rest in Peace Daniel
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of October 16th 2015. All dates are for physical U.S. releases unless otherwise noted. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
!!! – As If (Warp Records)
Alex Bleeker And The Freaks – Country Agenda (Omnian Music Group)
Børns – Dopamine (Interscope)
Chad Valley – Entirely New Blue (Indie Japan)
Chris Walla – Tapes Loops (Trans Records)
Coheed & Cambria – The Color Before…
Pilot Waves isn’t just Icarus the Owl’s third album- it’s also the innovative pop-punk group’s debut on Blue Swan Records, a label run by Dance Gavin Dance’s Will Swan. While the band’s singer Joey Rubenstein was generous enough to send me a copy of the release a few weeks ago, I regrettably haven’t been able to spend much time cracking the album. But Joey was able to share some thoughts and feelings with me about this release, reasons why Pilot Waves is a different kind of release for Icarus the Owl.
Pilot Waves exists as a balance of light and dark. We pulled our sound in opposite directions- meaning that we wrote the heaviest and lightest songs we’ve ever written. I was going through a tumultuous time while writing the album, and I think the ups and downs in both the music and lyrics are a reflection of that. Some days I would have a very manic headspace, and I’d write a really heavy song. Other days, I would feel serene and write something more uplifting. We talk a lot about waves on this album and it fits perfectly with how the album sounds. Pilot Waves peaks and valleys much like the oscillation of a wave.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of October 9th 2015. All dates are for physical U.S. releases unless otherwise noted. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
Alex G – Beach Music (Domino Recording Co.)
Chris Hadfield – Space Sessions: Songs From A Tin Can (Warner Music Canada)
City And Colour – If I Should Go Before You (Dine Alone Music)
Corb Lund – Things That Can’t Be Undone (New West Records)
Dirty Ghosts – Let It Pretend (Last Gang Records)
Duncan Sheik – Legerdemain (+180 Records)
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – In No Particular Order: 2009-2014 (Community Music)
The Game – The Documentary 2 (Entertainment One Music)
Glenn Mercer – Incidental Hum (Bar/None Records)
Jake Shimabukuro – Travels (Entertainment One Music)
John Grant – Grey Tickles, Black Pressure (Partisan)
Kelela – Hallucinogen (Cheery Coffee Music)
Mayday Parade – Black Lines (Fearless Records)
Nicole Dollanganger – Natural Born Losers (Eerie Orgainzation)
Personable – New Lines(Peak Oil)
Protomartyr – The Agent Intellect (Hardly Art)
Rudimental – We The Generation (Atlantic)
Saintseneca – Such Things (Anti/Epitaph)
Selena Gomez – Revival (Interscope)
St. Germain – St. Germain (Nonesuch)
Toby Keith – 35 MPH Town (Show Dog Universal Music)
W.A.S.P. – Golgotha (Napalm Records)
The Zombies – Still Got That Hunger (The End Records)
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of October 2nd 2015. All dates are for physical U.S. releases unless otherwise noted. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
Avicii – Stories (Island)
Autre Ne Veut – Age Of Transparency (Downtown)
Blitzen Trapper – All Across This Land (Vagrant)
Born Ruffians – Ruff (Yep Roc Records)
Childbirth – Women’s Rights (Suicide Squeeze Records)
Children Of Bodom – I Worship Chaos (Nuclear Blast)
Collective Soul – See What You Started By Continuing (Vanguard)
Darkstar – Foam Island (Warp Records)
Des Ark – Everything Dies (Graveface) Deafheaven – New Bermuda (Anti/Epitaph)
Eagles Of Death Metal – Zipper Down (T-Boy Records/UMe)
Editors – In Dream (Pias)
Emily Kinney – This Is War (Independent Label Services Inc.)
Fit For An Autopsy – Absolute Hope, Absolute Hell (Entertainment One Music)
Girls Names – Arms Around A Vision (Tough Love)
Great Collapse – Holy War (LOTB Inc.)
Indian Handcrafts – Creeps (Sargent Records)
Janet Jackson – Unbreakable (Rhythm Nation/BMG)
Kylesa – Exhausting Fire (Season Of Mist)
Loma Prieta – Self Portrait (Deathwish Inc.)
Malevolent Creation – Dead Man’s Path (Century Media)
Mercury Rev – The Light In You (Pias)
Nicolas Godin – Contrepoint (Because Music) Night Birds – Mutiny At Muscle Beach (Fat Wreck Chords)
Queensrÿche – Condition Human (Century Media)
Sevendust – Kill The Flaw (7Bros. Records)
The Sheepdogs – Future Nostalgia (Dine Alone Music)
Shopping – Why Choose?…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of September 25th 2015. All dates are for physical U.S. releases unless otherwise noted. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
Alix Perez – Recall & Reflect (Exit Records)
Apollo Brown – Grandeur (Mello Music)
Black Breath – Slaves Beyond Death (Southern Lord)
Boysetsfire – Boysetsfire (End Hits Records)
CHVRCHES – Every Open Eye (Glassnote)
The Dead Weather – Dodge & Burn (Third Man Records)
The Dears – Times Infinity Vol. 1 (Dangerbird)
De Profundis – Kingdom Of The Blind (Wickerman Recordings)
Disclosure – Caracal (Capitol)
Doe Paoro – After (Anti/Epitaph)
Don Henley – Cass County (Capitol)
Dungen – Allas Sak (Mexican Summer) Exxasens – Back To Earth (Aloud Music) – Raul Stanciu
Fetty Wap – Fetty Wap (300 Entertainment)
Girl Band – Holding Hands With Jamie (Rough Trade)
Grace & Tony – Phantasmagoric (Self-released)
Huntress – Static (Napalm Records)
JR JR. – JR JR. (Warner Bros.)
Julia Holter – Have You In My Wilderness (Domino Recording Co.)
Kaskade – Automatic (Warner Bros.)
Kurt Vile – B’lieve I’m Goin Down (Matador Records)
Kwabs – Love + War (Atlantic)
Los Lobos – Gates Of Gold (429 Records)
Lucero – All A Man Should Do (ATO Records)
Matthew Good – Chaotic Neutral (Warner Music Canada)
Monogold – Good Heavens (Self-released)
New Order – Music Complete (Mute)
No Devotion – Permanence (Collect Records)
Parkway Drive – Ire (Epitaph)
Patty Griffin –…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of September 18th 2015. All dates are for physical U.S. releases unless otherwise noted. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
Alabama – Southern Drawl (BMG Recorded Music)
Angel Haze – Back To The Woods (Self released)
Annihilator – Suicide Society (UDR)
Atreyu – Long Live (Spinefarm)
Baio – The Names (Glassnote)
Battles – La Di Da Di (Warp Records)
Blackalicious – Imani, Vol. 1 (Black Mines)
The Black Dahlia Murder – Abysmal (Metal Blade)
Blessthefall – To Those Left Behind (Fearless Records)
Bob Moses – Days Gone By (Domino Recording Co.)
Chris Cornell – Higher Truth (UMe)
CocoRosie – Heartache City (Self released)
Crossfaith – Xeno (Razor & Tie)
Darlene Love – Introducing Darlene Love (Columbia)
Darwin Deez – Double Down (Lucky Number Records)
Dave & Phil Alvin – Lost Time (Yep Roc Records)
Dave Rawlings Machine – Nashville Obsolete (Acony Records)
David Gilmour – Rattle That Lock (Columbia)
Destruction Unit – Negative Feedback Resistor (Sacred Bones Records)
Diät – Positive Energy (Iron Lung Records)
Farao – Till It’s All Forgotten (Arts & Crafts)
The Front Bottoms – Back On Top (Fueled By Ramen)
Glen Hansard – Didn’t He Ramble (Anti/Epitaph) Golden Void – Berkana (Thrill Jockey) – Raul Stanciu
Hecta – The Diet (Merge Records)
Helios – Yume (Unseen Music)
Idjut Boys – Versions (Smalltown Supersound)
Keith Richards – Crosseyed Heart (Republic)
The Kickback – Sorry…
There’s less than 24 hours left until God Is An Astronaut go live at my hometown Tallinn, and I couldn’t be more pumped. GIAA is one of those bands that constantly brings it, every night, every year, any time of the day (though dark is duly recommended). I remember their last year’s show like it was literally yesterday, because it was that memorable. And indeed, why shouldn’t it have been, because as GIAA guitarist Torsten Kinsella puts it, they really focus on bringing their world to the audience and immersing them in it. They’re one of those rare bands who can draw hundreds, if not thousands of people, from all walks of life, into the same room, and give them something truly uniting. No one will leave that room feeling indifferent tomorrow, I can guarantee it beforehand. Even though the timing could have been better, I was lucky enough to get Torsten (big thanks go out to Roman Demchenko from Urban Culture Entertainment here for being the mediator) to give this interview on the fly, while traveling towards Estonia, to share some of his feelings regarding the new album, the 21st century, where God Is An Astronaut is as a band, and what music means to him, among other things. Read on, and if you live in Europe, then don’t forget to catch GIAA on the road this fall, as they’re actively promoting their new album Helios | Erebus, which came out on June 21.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of September 11th 2015. All dates are for physical U.S. releases unless otherwise noted. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
Beirut – No No No (4AD)
Ben Folds – So There (New West Records)
Better Off – Milk (Equal Vision Records)
Brett Eldredge – Illinois (Atlantic Nashville) Bring Me The Horizon – That’s The Spirit (Columbia)
Craig Finn – Faith In The Future (PTKF)
Duran Duran – Paper Gods (Warner Bros.)
Empress Of – Me (XL Recordings)
Gary Clark Jr. – The Story Of Sonny Boy Slim (Warner Bros.)
Grey Lands – Right Arm (Paper Bag)
Guilty Simpson – Detroit’s Son (Stone’s Throw)
Hollywood Vampires – Hollywood Vampires (UMe)
Jason Heath And The Greedy Souls – A Season Undone (Industrial Amusement)
Jess Glynne – I Cry When I Laugh (Atlantic)
Jewel – Picking Up The Pieces (Sugar Hill)
Leona Lewis – I Am (Def Jam)
The Libertines – Anthems For Doomed Youth (Harvest)
Low – Ones & Sixes (Sub Pop Records)
Michachu & The Shapes – Good Sad Happy Bad (Rough Trade)
Petite Noir – La Vie Est Belle/Life Is Beautiful (Domino Recording Company)
Shannon & The Clams – Gone By The Dawn (Hardly Art)
Slayer – Repentless (Nuclear Blast)
Stereophonics – Keep The Village Alive (Ignition Records)
The View – Ropewalk (Slimstyle)
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of September 4th 2015. All dates are for physical U.S. releases unless otherwise noted. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
Against Me! – 23 Live Sex Acts (Total Treble)
Amorphis – Under The Red Cloud (Nuclear Blast)
Animal Collective – Live At 9:30 (Domino Recording Company)
The Arcs – Yours, Dreamily (Nonesuch)
Cruciamentum – Charnel Passages (Profound Lore)
Dâm-Funk – Invite The Light (Stones Throw)
The Dear Hunter – Act IV: Rebirth In Reprise (Equal Vision Records)
Diane Coffee – Everybody’s A Good Dog (Western Vinyl)
FIDLAR – Too (Mom & Pop Music)
Five Finger Death Punch – Got Your Six (Prospect Park Records)
Helen – Original Faces (Kranky)
Iron Maiden – Book Of Souls (BMG Recorded Music)
Jerusalem In My Heart – If He Dies, If If If If If If (Constellation)
Joey Cape – Stitch Puppy (Fat Wreck Chords)
K-os – Can’t Fly Without Gravity (Dine Alone Music)
Lou Barlow – Brace The Wave (Joyful Noise Recordings) Master Musicians Of Bukkake – Further West Quad Cult (Important Records) – Raul Stanciu
The Money Pit – The Money Pit (BC Music)
Motives – This World, Not Dead, Merely Sleeping (InVogue Records)
Mueller_Roedelius – Imagori (Groenland)
Painted Palms – Horizons (Polyvinyl Records)
Prince – HITNRUN (Tidal Digital Exclusive)
Public Image Ltd. – What The World Needs Now… (PiL Official)
Rob Moir – Adventure Handbook (Underground Operations)
The…
