It seems odd for a band to stream an album a month ahead of its release date, but New York based Self Defense Family have done just that (find it here). They’ve seen a space to fill and have released an album good enough to fill the days between now and its release on January… Read More Self Defense Family – Try Me (Review)
Come December everything seems to slow down musically, with fewer releases as end of year lists are composed and attentions turn to the next twelve months. That said, if the release is good enough late November can also be a good time to make a mark as a band and steal the spotlight for a… Read More Headroom – Headroom (Self-Titled) [Review]
Simple Plan were one of the first alternative bands I ever listened to, and no matter how much they’ve changed since I first heard ‘No Pads…’ their music will still ultimately mean something to me. Sure, they’re getting older and becoming much harder to take seriously as a result of their style not always changing… Read More Simple Plan – Get Your Heart On: The Second Coming (Review)
Following ‘Clash Battle Guilt Pride’ was always going to be difficult. That being said, you could say the same about following ‘Chasing Hamburg’ and ‘Sometimes Things Just Disappear’. On each occasion Polar Bear Club managed to release an album that saw them progress and up their game. It was a trend that was bound to… Read More Polar Bear Club – Death Chorus (Review)
As if Mikill Pane hasn’t already done enough this year, what with a number of EP’s and the eventual release of his debut album ‘Blame Miss Barclay’ a few months back. The initial ‘You Guest It EP’, released last year, is one of my favourite releases of the past few years so it goes without saying that… Read More Mikill Pane – You Guest It Too EP (Review)
In alternative music it’s rare that a musicians solo work garners as much attention and acclaim as their main projects. Anthony Green (of Circa Survive) was the recent exception to the rule, as his second full-length ‘Beautiful Things’ cracked the Billboard Top 30. 18 months later he’d be hoping for similar success and hopefully he… Read More Anthony Green – Young Legs (Review)
Count Your Lucky Stars definitely have a knack for signing artists capable of producing brilliant music in its most genuine form. Foxing are no different, and the their debut LP ‘The Albatross’ is another sure-fire success to be released by ‘the little label with a lot of love’. The St. Louis band have already caused… Read More Foxing – The Albatross (Review)
Departures and Moose Blood have been two of Fist In The Air Records’ most positive artists over the last year, and for good reason. The former released the excellent ‘Teenage Haze’ whilst Moose Blood established themselves as one of the UK’s hottest prospects with the equally excellent ‘Moving Home’, one of my favourite releases this… Read More Moose Blood / Departures – Split (Review)
The only real criticism of 2009’s appropriately named ‘Monolith’ was that it often lacked direction, occasionally meandering instead of constantly delivering across the albums hour long length. It will come as a relief to fans then that ‘Silver Door’ is a much more polished and driven collection of songs that still manage to sound huge.… Read More Sights and Sounds – Silver Door (Review)
The original Marshall Mathers LP is easily my favourite Eminem release, and one of my favourite albums of the early 21st century. Naming his eighth studio album after his third and most critically acclaimed one may seem a bold move but ‘The Marshall Mathers LP 2’ is a solid continuation of his best release, 13… Read More Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (Review)
Musicians getting together to help charity is an idea I can always get behind. I said as much when I reviewed a Big Footprint Records split earlier in the year, and the proceeds from that split went to The Boys And Girls Club of America. This time round, Soft Speak Records have compiled a 6… Read More Soft Speak Records – Fest Split (Review)
Couples releasing music together can go one of two ways, often being either incredibly cheesy and overbearing or adorable and endearing. When Perma (husband and wife duo Max Bemis and Sherri DuPree Bemis) released ‘Knockout’ earlier this year it was definitely the latter, and thankfully their debut album follows suit. I’ve been a fan of… Read More Perma – Two Of A Crime (Album Review)
AFI are one of those bands who’ve been around for a long time now, having formed in 1991, and they’re one of the even fewer bands to have never really released a bad album over that many years. ‘Burials’ marks their ninth studio album and it’s definitely darker than ‘Crash Love’ (an album I found… Read More AFI – Burials (Review)
Topshelf Records sure know how to pick ’em. They have a knack for churning out incredibly talented artists who release equally brilliant albums. A prime example would be Have Mercy and A Great Big Pile Of Leaves’ exceptional releases on the label earlier in the year, so I had high hopes for Jess Abbott’s latest… Read More Tancred – Tancred S/T (Review)
There’ve been a lot of good pop-punk albums to see daylight in 2013, and now you can add Seaway’s debut album to that list. It isn’t on a a level with say ‘The Greatest Generation’ or ‘The Finer Things’ but by no means is a bad album, and for a debut it’s full of promise… Read More Seaway – Hoser (Review)
I always struggle when reviewing dance / electronic music, hence why it’s a genre I rarely touch on, but I’ve been a fan of Feed Me for a few years now and wanted to give it a crack so please forgive any clumsiness, ignorance and general lack of knowledge on my part. It’s been a… Read More Feed Me – Calamari Tuesday (Review)
‘Pax Am Days’ seems to have come out of nowhere. I literally knew nothing about it until last week and finally listened to it yesterday. Turns out it’s pretty good and it’s definitely different. Following up a power-pop album that featured a duet with Elton John with a 14 minute, 8 song punk EP definitely… Read More Fall Out Boy – Pax Am Days (Review)
I have the utmost respect for A Day To Remember and their efforts to stick it to the man and wade through legal battles in order to release and play music the way they want to, but also because when they hit their stride they’re one of the best bands around. They hit this stride… Read More A Day To Remember – Common Courtesy (Review)
Mayday Parade were one of those bands who emerged in the late 00’s with ‘A Lesson In Romantics’, a few years after bands like Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy really broke through and set the bar for upbeat pop-punk with long song names. Sadly Mayday Parade’s second album was definitely a sophomore… Read More Mayday Parade – Monsters In The Closet (Review)
These days I’m finding it harder and harder to truly appreciate pop-punk as a genre. More and more often the music seems to be taking a backseat to the clichés it provokes. Fortunately, ‘The Finer Things’ by State Champs is all about the music and it was always going to take an album as brilliant… Read More State Champs – The Finer Things (Review)
Craig Reviews Music 