The Boonaraaas!!! “A Tribute to Bananarama” (Thunderwoman) Yep, the damn Boonaraaas!!! and their exclamation points are back. Just for the record, these ladies are so ugly (see other Boonaraaas!!! review) I was positive that these were dudes dressed in drag…
Bright Eyes “Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground” (Saddle Creek) Bright Eyes (BE) is one of those bands that are so emotionally raw in their (well, his – Conor Oberst, guitarist and…
Broadcast “Haha Sound” (Warp Records) Bands emerge from the UK every year and garner a lot of press just for sounding vaguely like something successful that’s come before them. Occasionally though, a truly unique band will appear out of nowhere,…
Camarosmith “Self-Titled” (Dead Teenager) Who likes the rock? I mean, that pure rock. Yeah, all the shit the nay-sayer’s call “retro” vibed, just because it learned a thing or two from that dirty boogie rock of the late 70’s. Yeah,…
Caustic Resin “Keep On Truckin” (Up Records) Brett Netson is somewhat of an unknown hero, considering today’s unimaginable and immense popularity of “our” once sacred “indie-rock.” Having played in the O.G. line-up of Built to Spill would be clout enough…
Comets on Fire “Self-Titled” (Alternative Tentacles) I, for one, haven’t been impressed with a lot of the garage revival shit going on right now. So few of the bands really capture the essential “strangeness” of the whole thing, instead offering…
Converge ““Unloved and Weeded Out”” (Deathwish Inc.) Among the sea of mediocre emotional metal, a solid rock stands high above every crashing wave that never ceases to fall short of its potential. The upstanding group: Converge, a band that has…
Criteria “En Garde” (Initial Records) Stephen Pedersen is a little pissed off. He has a great track record with bands (Cursive and White Octave), but a sour break up with Cursive is showing its head on En Garde. Quick history…
Dew Scented “Inwards” (Nuclear Blast) Super fast thrash. Yeah, that old school thrash where the guitars sew themselves, needle-like into manic, ripping tempos while it’s pummeled by those crisp double bass kicks. While they do command an abrasive presence, Leif…
E*Rock “Conscious CD” (Audio Dregs Recordings) You know I hate electro as much as the next guy. Unless, of course, the next guy is a Cat-in-the-Hat-hat-wearing, glow stick munching, robot dancing fag. E*Rock is one of those electro bands. And…