Doug Hoekstra “Waiting” (Paste Records) Ensconced in his home “waiting” the birth of his child, Doug Hoekstra turned to home recording and basically alone, with some help from George Marinelli (Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Hornsby, James Taylor), recorded this album. The…
Allegiance “Hymns of Blod” (WWIII) Allegiance plays Viking war metal or so says their bio and this at least is true if “Viking” is a synonym for “crappy” and “war” is also synonymous with “crappy.” If both cases are true…
Big Baby Satan “Self-Titled” (BBS Music) At first this album comes across as a wretchedly dull, unbelievably lo-fi, stoner metal band. Once the ears adjust to the production, rendering it non-distracting, it’s clear that this is indeed within the stoner…
Cage “Darker Than Black” (Fugitive Records) Finally! A fucking American metal group with the old school heavy metal balls to give the Europeans a run for their money. The first thing you’ll notice about the album are the strong, forceful…
Anthony B. “Street Knowledge” (VP Records) For those not familiar with Anthony B., he has been mashing up the Jamaican dancehalls for a hot minute now. Numerous 45’s can be heard at any given Reggae dance at multiple times in…
Baby Woodrose “Money for Soul” (Bad Afro) This power soul trio has a psychedelic rock style with vocals out front and crystalline clearly delivered in a blue-eyed R&B style. The Danish band performs with two guitars and no bass. The…
Downway / Belvedere “Split: Hometown Advantage” (Sessions / Union Group) Ah, Canadians. What would the world be without them? Well, probably pretty much the same as it is now, save for these two exceptional punk bands. The first five tracks…
Betty Blowtorch “Last Call” (Foodchain Records) While this is nominally a Betty Blowtorch album it really is a celebration of bassist vocalist Bianca Butthole through rarities and live recordings made with Betty Blowtorch and Butt Trumpet. (Bianca passed away in…
Big Midnight “Everything for the First Time” (Alive) Big Midnight captures that extremely triumphant, potent feeling imparted when first we heard Cult’s Electric (“When Shadows Come Alive”) and Iggy Pop’s first, classic solo records, like Lust for Life (“Love for…
Canned Heat “Friends in the Can” (Fuel 2000) Friends in the Can is an excellent blues/rock album from lead veterans of the genre. Several guest appear on this album to spice things up. This include Roy Rogers on “Bad Trouble”…