Slow Crush present the noisiest and more mature version of themselves yet on Thirst, which arrives today. The Belgian shoegazers’ third record takes the form of a hopeful manifesto that the human race still has the opportunity to reinvent itself. Read my full review on FLOOD.
Cory Hanson, now four albums deep into his career with Drag City Records, is one of the label’s alt-rock/folk/psyche/psychedelic rock artists du jour. He’s performing selections from his recently released full-length I Love People with the same grace as if they had been in his oeuvre since the very start of his career. He never appears like he’s trying to sell his new material to the audience or convince them to stay watching instead of getting a refill at the bar. Read my full review of his recent gig in Boise via Music Connection.
Archival Led Zeppelin material almost always boils down to semantics, and this collection of four songs is the ultimate case in point. Read my full review on Music Connection.
Slake’s Centrifugal force Mary Claire proves on their debut that they are an outlier. The musician also makes the very convincing points that the power of love is much, much stronger than statistical data; far more precious than the way we carelessly bandy about the word in our degraded and thus devalued lexicon. Read my full review at Post-Trash.
Mawiza, an indigenous metal/folk group born and bred in sacred Mapuche Nation lands in Chile, is more than just a band, despite their compelling and unique sound. In fact, the posse even have a mission statement: “to preserve ancestral roots, rescue indigenous moral values and to promote biodiversity conservation, guided by the indigenous worldview and struggle.” Perhaps that’s a mouthful, but it’s fitting for a band whose deafening groove metal is an earful. And with their third record, ÜL, the quartet are on the right track, drawing recognition and even popularity at a rapid clip.
Read my full ÜL review on Treble, Mawiza’s harrowing account of the heinous human rights abuses that the Chilean government wrought upon the Mapuche Nation, and the band’s exclusive comments to The Bad Penny about their recent collaboration with Gojira on a song about the environmental crisis that far too many of us continue to ignore.
Wand frontman Cory Hanson’s fourth solo outing confronts American grift culture with hope and a communal spirit, as his backing players seem to prevent him from turning inward and catastrophizing. Read my full review at FLOOD.
The club-ready breakbeats and unrelenting experimentation on Nuclear Daisies’ second LP, First Taste of Heaven, serve as a deafening clarion call for humanity to get its act together before it’s too late. Read my FLOOD review.
Because I said so. Order never subject to change.
1. “The Grudge”
2. “Invincible”
3. “The Patient”
4. “Sober”
With the release of Dozer’s meaty collection of singles and obscure tracks, the heavy-go-lucky band of sweet Swedes give those who’ve slept on the band – this writer not included – a chance to redeem themselves. Hop over to Veil of Sound for my review of an album that acrobatically appeals to Dozer diehards and those getting a whiff of their sound (and pot smoke) for the first time.
The Armed’s sixth album is a consistent, melodic post-hardcore assault, maintaining a relentless pummeling in defiance to the system as much as it is to their recent pop streak. Read my full review of the Detroit punks’ new record on FLOOD.
The Bad Penny (beta) 