Has the shoegaze craze got you down? Try Sunflower Bean on for size. With a soft and fuzzy post-stoner-rock sound that can’t be resisted, the New York trio makes magic on their fourth record—and makes it sound oh-so-easy to pull it off. Read my FLOOD review of their new LP, Mortal Primetime.
As if staying true to their (non-matrimonial) vow as a band that reliably delivers tranquil, escapist music, Tennis calmly issue forth their always whimsical yet never overly precious musical blend of psych-tinged pop on their final record, Face Down in the Garden. Read my full review on FLOOD.
For all the creative genius and artistic adrenaline that TV on the Radio injected into their finely crafted records, what Tunde Adebimpe reveals on his solo debut, Thee Black Boltz, is that his abilities are similarly magnificent when fully realized on his own terms. Read my full, lengthy review on Treble.
How Greet Death’s shimmering new song “Country Girl” couldn’t resonate with every person who hears it is beyond this writer’s imagination. Read my short review on Treble.
On their new single “Deadstick,” the six, surely attention deficit-afflicted Aussie oddballs known as King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard abandon all pretense of psych, garage and progressive rock, instead giving a big, warm hug to soul music. Read my short review on Treble.
As DragonForce blazed the trail for power-metal geeks who like video games, so have TEKE::TEKE embarked upon coaching fans of psych-rock to embrace game-inspired music. Heavy use of pentatonic scales create a whimsical ambiance from start to finish—apt for a video game—and TEKE::TEKE lend a narrative quality that plays out in a similar way to that of a cinematic role-playing adventure. In other words, non-gamers shouldn’t fear being alienated by this unusual project. Read my FLOOD review here.
Portland’s Blackwater Holylight stay true to their gloomy outlook on this EP, but the listening experience is far more pleasant thanks to a crisper, cleaner sound. Read my short review on Treble.
Impressively, it took just two records for what began as a two-person project to achieve its potential as a towering ensemble. Read my brief review of Tribunal’s In Penitence and Ruin on Treble.
After a 10-year gap between full-lengths, Pennsylvania rock band Superheaven improved their talents so greatly that their new self-titled record stands as a masterstroke. Read my short review on Treble.
“As a woman who was raised in Nampa, Idaho, I know what the politics there can look like, and it’s usually pretty bleak,” Built to Spill’s Melanie Radford told New Noise. “But (Monday’s event) was a ray of hope.”
The Bad Penny (beta) 