Genre: Psychedelic Rock/Garage Rock Format Reviewed: Spotify 320 kbps Rating: 7/10 Commentary: I have a weak spot for lo-fi psychedelic rock, and this is a great genre album. The strongest songs have a swampy- Iggy Pop/Exile-on-Main-Street vibe as well, which is hard to explain until you listen to it. Reviews have been mixed, but it… Read More »
Genre: Symphonic Metal Format Reviewed: Spotify 320 kbps Rating: 6.5/10 Commentary: This album represents a big change in line up for this bad, and I think the mix-up has worked really well. It delivers everything one expect’s from the genre: bombastic lyrics, backing string sections, harmonies, glockenspiel, big hair. This is a very cheesy, and… Read More »
Genre: Country Format Reviewed: Spotify 320 kbps Rating: 8.5/10 Commentary: Andrews’ last album was one if my favorite country albums of last year. This album is almost as good. It lacks the scrappy feel of the last album, with songs that are more polished and have more production. And some of the songs just take… Read More »
Genre: Folk/Pop Format Reviewed: Spotify 320 kbps Rating: 6.5/10 Commentary: This is a breathy, atmospheric pop-folk album by Gwenno Saunders, a musician with important political sensibilities. Her album before this one was mostly sung in Welsh, and this one is entirely in Cornish. What is great about this album, in addition to that, is that… Read More »
Genre: Death/Thrash Metal Format Reviewed: Spotify 320 kbps Rating: 9/10 Commentary: On Rebel Wizard’s Bandcamp site there is this tag line, “The new wave of negative metal.” That sounds about right to me. This album is just a perfect blend of references to obscure spiritual gurus, screaming, and groovy thrash metal guitar. So far, this… Read More »
Genre: Country Format Reviewed: Spotify 320 kbps Rating: 8/10 Commentary: This is just the greatest few months for country albums. HC McEntire’s first solo country album just grows and grows on you. “A Lamb, A Dove” and “Wild Dogs” are both remarkable. At times she seems like she’s channeling Emmylou, but mostly she’s out in… Read More »
Genre: Experimental Metal Format Reviewed: Spotify 320 kbps Rating: 7.5/10 Commentary:On this album, Portal works hard to deconstruct what we think metal songs (or, songs more generally) should sound like – and the result is a chaotic wall of sound which, surprisingly, works really well. From reading on line, this is apparently Portal’s most “approachable”… Read More »
Genre: Death Metal Format Reviewed: Spotify 320 kbps Rating: 6/10 Commentary:Great death metal album from Austin, which includes the drummer (but here playing bass) from Powertrip, who released my favorite metal album from last year. The guitar work is particularly great on this album. I’m not a fan of the vocal mixing thought, vocals are… Read More »
Genre: Thrash Metal Format Reviewed: FlAC Rating: 7/10 Commentary: This is a really special find. The first full length released by The Maximones, a thrash metal band, from San Pedro Sacatepéquez, with great genre form and thoughtful, political commentary (e.g., a song about Guatemalans infected by syphilis in an notorious experiment by US scientists). I’m… Read More »
Genre: Country Format Reviewed: Spotify 320 kbps Rating: 8.5/10 Commentary: I have been waiting for this album for 4 or 5 months now, after being teased by an EP that came out last year. Caitlyn Smith is a Nashville songwriter, apparently to the tune of hundreds of songs for other performs. This is her first… Read More »