Album Reviews | The Bad Penny (beta)

Archive for the Album Reviews Category

Deafheaven’s ‘Lonely People in Power’: Two Cent Review for Knotfest’s Best LPs of 2025

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Deafheaven on 01/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Lonely People with Power delivers a punch that will leave listeners reeling deliriously. Deafheaven’s new record restores Clarke’s black-metal screeches—sometimes at their most ear-shattering yet—while also producing the punchiest hard-rock riffs proliferating the band’s arsenal. Read my new review at Knotfest.com–and also don’t miss my FLOOD interview with frontman George Clarke about Lonely People with Power, as well as my analysis of Deafheaven’s 2017 tour set lists and first-ever show in Boise.

Don’t miss these two other roundups either:

• Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their Top 10 Lists of 2025 Best Albums
• Boise Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their 2025 Top 10 Lists

Leave a comment »

Orbit Culture‘s ‘Death Above Life’: Two Cent Review for Knotfest’s Best LPs of 2025

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Orbit Culture on 01/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

After signing with Century Media, Orbit Culture lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Niklas Karlsson told me that the Swedish melodic death-metal band “now really have to show our worth”–despite having been around for a dozen years. But boy do they ever on Death Above Life. Read my review at Knotfest.com

Don’t miss these two other roundups either:

• Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their Top 10 Lists of 2025 Best Albums
• Boise Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their 2025 Top 10 Lists

Leave a comment »

Agriculture’s ‘Spiritual Sound’: Two Cent Review for Knotfest’s Best LPs of 2025

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Agriculture on 01/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

With nary a stinker among the Spiritual Sound‘s 10 tracks, Agriculture proved their decision was right to wipe the slate clean with this new chapter in the band’s career and be reborn with seemingly the most massive, loudest sound possible in all of heavy metal. Read my new review at Knotfest.com, another take on the record that I wrote for FLOOD and my review of one of the album tracks for Treble.

Don’t miss these two other roundups either:

• Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their Top 10 Lists of 2025 Best Albums
• Boise Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their 2025 Top 10 Lists

Leave a comment »

Mclusky’s ‘The World Is Still Here and So Are We’: Two Cent Review for Knotfest’s Best LPs of 2025

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Mclusky on 01/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Mclusky didn’t have a concept for The World Is Still Here and So Are We, but the message is clear, with Falco sending up British politicians and commoners in general for their corrupt and lazy approaches to governance and engagement, respectively. Read my new review at Knotfest.com, my original take on Mclusky’s The World Is Still Here and So Are We from earlier this year on Treble and my interview with Mclusky for FLOOD surrounding their album release.

Don’t miss these two other roundups either:

• Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their Top 10 Lists of 2025 Best Albums
• Boise Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their 2025 Top 10 Lists

Leave a comment »

Messa’s ‘Spin’: Two Cent Review for Knotfest’s Best LPs of 2025

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Messa on 01/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Messa hit the bullseye with fourth record and first studio effort in three years. The Italian quartet ditch their Pallbearer-esque slow, heavy, chunk guitar sound from their previous full-lengths. And the results are illuminating. Read my new review at Knotfest.com and my original take on Messa’s The Spin earlier this year on Treble.

Don’t miss these two other roundups either:

• Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their Top 10 Lists of 2025 Best Albums

• Boise Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their 2025 Top 10 Lists

Leave a comment »

Terror Corpse’s ‘Ash Eclipses Flesh’: Two Cent Review for Post-Trash’s Best 50 LPs of 2025

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Terror Corpse on 12/23/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Hide your children, lock the doors – and wear a helmet – because no is safe from these sadistic scoundrels. Go to Post-Trash to read my full review of Terror Corpse’s Ash Eclipses Flesh for the outlet’s “Year in Review: The Best of 2025” roundup.

Don’t miss these two other roundups either:

• Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their Top 10 Lists of 2025 Best Albums

• Boise Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their 2025 Top 10 Lists

Leave a comment »

Best 10 Psychedelic Albums of 2025 for Treble #10: BLKE’s ‘Living Without Expectations’ EP

Posted in Album Reviews, Lists, Reviews with tags BLKE on 12/23/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Psych-rock’s greatest challenge is to not wander off and lose the listener; BLKE don’t hold your hand, but you know from start to finish on their Living Without Expectations EP that you are in good hands. Read my full review as part of my 13 Floor’s 10 Best Psychedelic Albums of 2025 for Treble here.

Leave a comment »

Nyxy Nyx’s ‘Cult Classics Vol. I’: Two Cent Review for Post-Trash’s Best 50 LPs of 2025

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags a Sunny Day in Glasgow, Knifeplay, Midwife, Nyxy Nyx, Sun Organ on 12/22/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Members of Midwife, Knifeplay, a Sunny Day in Glasgow, Luna Honey and Sun Organ comprise to create an ensemble that warms the hearts of those partial to shoegazey folk-rock and whose band name makes Scrabble players drool. Go to Post-Trash to read my full review of Nyxy Nyx’s first studio effort, Cult Classics Vol. 1, for the outlet’s “Year in Review: The Best of 2025” roundup.

Don’t miss these two other roundups either:

• Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their Top 10 Lists of 2025 Best Albums

• Boise Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their 2025 Top 10 Lists

Leave a comment »

Magic Fig’s ‘Valerian Tea’: Two Cent Review for Post-Trash’s Best 50 LPs of 2025

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Magic Fig on 12/21/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

With their second record, Valerian Tea, Magic Fig incorporated mellotron, glockenspiel and percussion into a trippy affair, albeit one mitigated by thee band leaning and scratching deeper into the surfaces of soft rock and prog that they mostly traipsed over the last time around. Go to Post-Trash to read my full review of Valerian Tea for the outlet’s “Year in Review: The Best of 2025” roundup.

Don’t miss these two other roundups either:

• Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their Top 10 Lists of 2025 Best Albums

• Boise Friends of The Bad Penny Share Their 2025 Top 10 Lists

Leave a comment »

The Bad Penny’s Top 50 Best LPs of 2025, Pt. 4: Wode, Floating, Jason Isbell, Glare, Havukruunu

Posted in Album Reviews, Lists, Reviews with tags Chat Pile and Hayden Pedigo, Floating, Glare, Greet Death, Harakiri for the Sky, Havukruunu, Jason Isbell, Mors Principium Est, Saor, Wode on 12/20/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

A lot of fucked-up up shit happened in the U.S. this year. Way, way too much of it. For many of us Americans who actually carry values in our hearts instead of bloviating about them or slapping bumper stickers on our monster trucks, it was almost too much to bear.

Fortunately, 2025 also saw the release of a staggering number of stellar records, which made the year a little more … well, bearable. Hence, for the first time ever, The Bad Penny is deviating from its usual annual tradition of limiting out favorite listens to just 10 and breaking them into a five-part series containing 10 records per installment.

What follows is the fourth batch. (Go here for The Bad Penny‘s favorite albums, #21 through #30; here for The Bad Penny‘s favorite albums, #31 through #40; and here for The Bad Penny‘s favorite albums, #41 through #50.)

11. Wode – Uncrossing the Keys (20 Buck Spin)