Gaupa’s Fyr is a masterwork of an EP that aims impossibly high and yet achieves a stratospheric stature rare for a short-player. Now, that may seem antithetical that it’s more difficult to craft an EP, given that they tend to be about half as long as their counterparts. Authors face a similar conundrum: can anyone who avidly reads literature claim with a straight face that there are more perfect short stories than there are novels? Of course not, and any argument to the contrary is effectively a denial of an objective truth. Read my full review of Gaupa’s Fyr on Veil of Sound.
Archive for the Album Reviews Category
Gaupa’s ‘Fyr’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags GAUPA on 03/03/2026 by Kurt OrzeckMirah’s ‘Dedication’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Calvin Johnson, K, K Records, Microphones, Mirah, Phil Elverum on 03/03/2026 by Kurt OrzeckGently playful with a fire burning underneath, singer/songwriter Mirah’s first record in seven years signifies her devotion to the craft of making music, whether the light in her career is burning bright or dim. Read my full review on FLOOD.
Remember Sports’ ‘The Refrigerator’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Remember Sports on 03/02/2026 by Kurt OrzeckAstute listeners, after hearing the entirety of this Remember Sports album, will realize they just heard 12 songs with 12 choruses; and that they weren’t subjected to anger, fear or really any ill feeling on The Refrigerator—just joy, thoughtfulness, happiness and reflection. Read my full review via Treble.
Cat Power’s ‘Redux (The Greatest 20th Anniversary)’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Cat Power, Chan Marshall on 03/02/2026 by Kurt OrzeckCat Power is the real deal, and she’s achieved what every artist should aspire to: letting their work speak for itself. Of course, Cat Power (a.k.a. Chan Marshall) isn’t the only artist playing in a league of artists who eschew placating the masses in favor of staying true to themselves, but what makes Cat Power so irresistibly charming is her lyrics, musicianship, live performances, and the cleverness that she lets linger below the surface. Redux (The Greatest 20th Anniversary) proves that theory to be correct. Read my full review of the compilation courteously of Post-Trash.
Two Cent Review: Colossal Rains’ ‘Feral Sorrow’
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Colossal Rains on 02/11/2026 by Kurt OrzeckAn offshoot of Blacklisted, Colossal Rains’ debut album embraces the joy of hardcore while dipping into something doomier with haunting production that eschews bright and clean sounds. Go to FLOOD to read my full review of Feral Sorrow.
Two Cent Review: MØL’s ‘Dreamcrush’
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags MØL on 02/10/2026 by Kurt OrzeckDenmark’s MØL hones their tantalizing blend of shoegaze and black metal on their third album, balancing heartfelt passages suitable for airplay with all-out assaults. Read my full review on FLOOD.
Two Cent Review: Silversun Pickups’ ‘Tenterhooks’
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Silversun Pickups on 02/09/2026 by Kurt OrzeckLargely eschewing their initial distortion-doused approach of their early material, Silversun Pickups reach for the stars on their dreamy seventh LP,LA rockers’ seventh record is a cohesive body of work rather than a gumball machine for singles. Read my full review courtesy of FLOOD.
Two Cent Review: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s ‘Howl [20th Anniversary Edition]’
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Black Rebel Motorcycle Club on 02/06/2026 by Kurt OrzeckGarage-psych trio Black Rebel Motorcycle club are honored with a glorious reissue of their under-appreciated third album. Howl gets a second wind with a three-LP set featuring a photo album, handwritten lyrics and more goodies from the era. Read my review of the 20th anniversary reissue of Howl on FLOOD.
Fucked Up’s ‘Year of the Dog’ vs. ‘Grass Can Move Stones Part One: Year of the Goat’: An Analysis
Posted in Album Reviews, Essays, Reviews with tags Fucked Up on 02/05/2026 by Kurt OrzeckEven though Canadian hardcore-punk band Fucked Up had proven its punk prowess, capability and credibility by releasing two demo tapes, nearly 20 7-inches — yes, you read that right — and an EP in the five ensuing years since they formed in 2001, their ambitious plan for a long series of releases inspired by the Chinese Zodiac was still met with the typical, cynical guffawing. Was the criticism justified? Read my take in an essay published by The Line of Best Fit, to which I am now proudly contributing.
Two Cent Review: Sleaford Mods’ ‘The Demise of Planet X’
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Sleaford Mods on 02/05/2026 by Kurt OrzeckIn an era during which anger seems to be the most commonly felt emotion, Sleaford Mods are finally at the right place at the right time. Read my review of the band’s new record, The Demise of Planet X, on Treble.




















