Huntsmen expand their sound in such tantalizing fashion that their previous two full-lengths seem so small in comparison. But The Dry Land still misses the mark. Read my full album review via New Noise.
Archive for the Reviews Category
Huntsmen’s ‘Dry Land’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews on 07/11/2024 by Kurt OrzeckPerchta’s ‘D’Muata’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Perchta on 07/10/2024 by Kurt Orzeck
Alcest’s ‘Les chants de l’aurore’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Alcest on 07/09/2024 by Kurt Orzeck
DIIV’s ‘Frog In Boiling Water’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags DIIV on 06/19/2024 by Kurt Orzeck
After laying the smacketh down at a killer show in Boise last week, DIIV will continue supporting their latest album, Frog in Boiling Water, with more tour dates through the rest of the year. And for good reason: Post-rock doesn’t get much better than their latest material. Read my full review on FLOOD.
Babe Report’s ‘Did You Get Better’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Babe Report on 06/18/2024 by Kurt Orzeck
More punk in spirit than in sound, Chicago group Babe Report’s lo-fi debut, Did You Get Better (Exploding in Sound), is endearing if also a bit impatient as they keep things loud, fast, and heavily distorted. Read my full review on FLOOD.
Dusk’s ‘Industrie’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Dusk on 06/18/2024 by Kurt Orzeck
Dusk, an atmospheric black-metal project from Costa Rica, expect the world to end. But rather than trying to pretend what they believe will happen actually won’t, Dusk seem to have decided to challenge and entertain themselves during the time we all have left. Read my review of their new album, Industrie, courtesy of New Noise.
French Cassettes’ ‘Benzene’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags French Cassettes on 06/13/2024 by Kurt OrzeckThe San Francisco quartet hits the perfect balance of intimacy and exhibitionism on their short-but-sweet third album of harmony-based indie pop.
One can imagine that, when French Cassettes listened to the final result of their third album, Benzene, the band members quickly realized they were onto something special.
Check out my full review of French Cassettes’ brand-new record, Benzene, on FLOOD.
Shellac’s ‘To All Trains’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Shellac, Steve Albini on 05/18/2024 by Kurt Orzeck
Check out my FLOOD review of To All Trains, which is presumably the final studio album by indispensable, iconoclastic noise-rock outfit Shellac. The analysis also includes some my reflections on the band’s guitarist/vocalist and one of rock’s most singular engineers ever, Steve Albini. (His song “Bad Penny,” created with his previous outfit Big Black, inspired the name of this website.)
Days before Albini suffered a fatal heart attack at his own Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, the underground legend agreed to talk with me about To All Trains (Touch and Go), 26 years after our first and only other conversation. A transcription of that first interview will surface online soon; sadly—but not a smidgen as sad as his passing—the second rendezvous never transpired.
Camera Obscura’s ‘Look To The East, Look To The West’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Camera Obscura on 05/16/2024 by Kurt Orzeck
The Glaswegian chamber-pop quartet’s comeback record finds the group nestling back into its comfort zone, soothing the soul like the band used to. Read my full review on FLOOD‘s website.
METZ’s ‘Up on Gravity Hill’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags metz, Sub Pop on 05/11/2024 by Kurt Orzeck
The Toronto noise-punks’ fifth LP sees their familiarly angular guitars working through melodies that range from ear-sweetening to atonal, furthering the mystery that is the Sub Pop band METZ. Read more on FLOOD.
The Bad Penny (beta) 