Explosions in the Sky’s lackluster, unimaginative new record finds them re-treading their veritable sound — but eschewing the chance to venture into any new sounds, studio trickery or lyrical territory. Read my review of the Austin-bred post-rock group’s new record, End, on FLOOD.
Now two decades deep into their career, Baroness have the shrapnel to show for it. Anyone with fleeting familiarity of the stoner-metal band knows of the horrific 2012 bus crash that injured four of its members and almost tolled the death knell for the band. But more than 10 years later, the incident appears to be—if not a distant memory—a road bump in the timeline of a band that’s never released a poorly received album. The frequent comparisons to fellow Georgians Mastodon that Baroness drew early in their career fell by the wayside, especially after the crash. The band led by John Baizley cemented its own status as a hard-hitting but redemptive and invigorating group that brought broad strokes of color and flair to a sludgy subgenre.
For my latest FLOOD feature, Baroness members Nick Jost and Sebastian Thomson walk us through the Savannah, Georgia–based metal group’s sixth full-length.
Read my FLOOD review of the just-released deluxe edition of Converge’s The Dusk in Us, and find out why picking it up will save completists some change.
Is Zach Hill the best rock drummer of all time? See if the case can be made in my FLOOD review of the reissue of Hella’s first record, dropping today.
Check out my recent FLOOD feature on dearly departed vocalist Riley Gale of Power Trip and what friends, family and fans learned about him after Gale tragically died three years ago. Riley’s father Brandon and board members of Dallas Hope Charities reflect on the late musician’s deep humanity and prolific social justice efforts.
San Diego rock group Lead Pony are gaining speed on the heels of their long-awaited debut album, which finally dropped last month after the band formed seven years ago. As you’ve probably already surmised, the psych- and blues-inflected indie group used to take a leisurely (or even lax) approach. But with Vultures, the musicians are saddled up and turning their trot into a gallop.
(Now, as the introverted Lead Pony become more commonly known, they face the daunting prospect of suffering through an endless stream of puns related to their band name. As a public service, The Bad Penny is incorporating many (too many) of those puns into what is also a fairly accurate summation of the band, in the hopes that no other writing about Lead Pony will ever include even a single pun.)
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Read my reflections on Sonic Youth’s legacy and whether it’s a fitting time for their concert document Live in Brooklyn 2011 (Silver Current) to be revisited.
