Check out my review of nature morte, the new album by Big|Brave, courtesy of FLOOD Magazine.
Archive for the Reviews Category
Big|Brave’s ‘Nature Morte’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Big|Brave on 02/27/2023 by Kurt OrzeckToro y Moi, Chai, Liz Phair, Acid King Rock Treefort Music Fest ’19
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Acid King, American Football, Black Mountain, Built to Spill, Chai, Ealdor Bealu, Liz Phair, Mandolin Orange, Rituals of Mine, Sonic Titan, Toro y Moi, Treefort, Weeed on 02/21/2023 by Kurt OrzeckWith just 30 days until Boise’s Treefort Music Fest kicks off — and shortly before the Bad Penny rolls out an exciting interview series surrounding it — here’s a look back in photos (and some words) at 2019’s installment.
(Originally published by Music Connection.)
Scratch Acid, Big Black, Man … Or Astro-Man? Give Chicago Hope At Touch And Go Bash
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Big Black, Calexico, David Yow, Didjits, Enon, Killdozer, Man ... or Astro-man?, Monorchid, Negative Approach, New Year, Pinback, Rob Crow, Scratch Acid, Shellac, Steve Albini, Supersystem, Ted Leo, Touch and Go on 02/20/2023 by Kurt Orzeck
… And here’s my review of the Touch and Go Records’ three-day anniversary concert from September 2006.
CHICAGO — Touch and Go’s three-day anniversary bash wasn’t just a lesson in the history of the seminal record label. It was a Cliff’s Notes-like recap of the last 25 years of indie rock itself.
Underground granddaddies Big Black, Scratch Acid and Killdozer spit forth a lethal dose of abrasive, confrontational brutality, while !!!, Ted Leo and Enon courted the crowd with dance-rock appeal. And therein lied the clear distinction between the challenging approach taken by yesterday’s bands and the sheer accessibility of their successors.
Continue readingLooking Back: Steve Albini, David Yow, Rob Crow Chat About Touch and Go’s 25th Anniversary
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Big Black, Calexico, David Yow, Man ... or Astro-man?, Monorchid, Pinback, Rob Crow, Scratch Acid, Steve Albini, the Jesus Lizard, Touch and Go, Yeah Yeah Yeahs on 02/20/2023 by Kurt Orzeck
Now here’s a blast from the past. A blast from the past from the past, actually.
Touch and Go Records 4 eva.
Before Fall Out Boy, before the Academy Is … — hell, even before the Smashing Pumpkins — there was Touch and Go Records. Like those bands, the trailblazing record label’s reach has extended far beyond its Chicago base of operations, but come September, it’ll be enshrining its 25 years of influence with a massive anniversary gala designed to dazzle indie rock’s shrewdest scholars.
Scratch Acid, Big Black, Man … or Astro-man?, Killdozer — while they’re not exactly household names, the underground goons that shattered eardrums and tore punk rock a new one decades ago will be wreaking havoc once again in commemoration of the label that sustained them. Think of it as “A Mighty Wind” for the indie-rock masses.
Continue readingLive Review: Lucy & La Mer at LA Vegan Beer and Food Festival
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Lucy & La Mer on 02/17/2023 by Kurt OrzeckDug up this October 2015 article for Music Connection in which I reviewed Lucy & La Mer playing at — of all places — a vegan beer and food festival in Los Angeles. Click on the photo or title below, and you’ll be directed to Music Connection, which houses the entire review. The group’s most recent release was “Don’t It Feel Good,” a single issued in June.
In Flames’ Foregone: 2-Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags In Flames on 02/03/2023 by Kurt Orzeck
The end of the world is coming if the status quo continues. We all know that. But is there still a sliver of hope? That’s the question everyone is returning to — ironically, as we try to shake off the collective stupor that the global pandemic inflicted upon us.
It’s also the overarching theme of Foregone, the brilliantly crafted 14th album by Swedish melodic-metal masters In Flames. That’s right: metal. Whereas many of the band’s previous recent records fell under the umbrella of heavy rock, this 12-song tour de force delivers a punishing blow befitting the dire topic at hand.
Continue readingWe Saw Spirit Mother Play Live — And So Should You, Motherfuckers
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Spirit Mother on 11/08/2022 by Kurt Orzeck
It’s not clear what Boise did to deserve two heart-pounding performances in one year by Spirit Mother. They are one of the best new psych-rock bands on the West Coast — which is saying a lot, given that it’s currently the favored strain of indie music from Seattle to San Diego.
The Bad Penny had the honor of speaking with frontman Armand Lance before Spirit Mother headlined a gig at Neurolux on June 9. And last night, we had the equally great opportunity to finally watch them do what they do best: cause the jaws of dozens of music fans to collectively drop.
Continue readingAmon Amarth, Liminal Shroud: Best New Releases
Posted in Album Reviews, New Releases, Reviews with tags Amon Amarth, Fearsore, Liminal Shroud on 08/05/2022 by Kurt Orzeck
Hop over to New Noise to check out our inaugural roundup of new releases that drop today.
Memento: A Spellbinding Set List From Bewitcher
Posted in Concert Reviews, Features, Mementos, Reviews with tags Bewitcher, Brain Tourniquet, Cloak, Infernal Magus of Nocturnal Alchemy, Shredder, Unholy Weaver of Shadows & Incantations on 07/04/2022 by Kurt Orzeck
Bewitcher, Portland’s most scintillating speed-metal band since Toxic Holocaust, blew the garage doors off the Shredder in Boise once again on Friday night. It was an exhilarating set played by the band that played the same venue with Nile in mid-April, and with Exhumed and Creeping Death in November 2021.
The 50-or-so attendees danced and rubbed knocked elbows during each song, before and after which Bewitcher’s gracious frontman — who goes by the tough-to-memorize moniker Unholy Weaver of Shadows & Incantations — frequently expressed his appreciation for the crowd.
Brain Tourniquet Turn Minds Into Mush at 1st PacWest Gig
Posted in Concert Reviews, Reviews with tags Brain Tourniquet, Shredder on 07/01/2022 by Kurt Orzeck
The phrase “time is of the essence” originated during the construction of the first Transcontinental Railroad that connected rail networks in the eastern U.S. with the western half of the country. Time is also the essence of live performances by Brain Tourniquet, a D.C. band that is powerfully violent to the hardest of cores.
On Friday night, the trio played their first gig in the Pacific Northwest at Boise’s haven for hard and heavy music, the Shredder. In the spirit of Brain Tourniquet’s speedy set — during which they played about 20 songs in 20 minutes — what follows is a rapid-fire attempt to communicate what it’s like seeing them live.
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