Seeing as winter is close at hand here in the Northern Hemisphere, I feel it is high time to talk about an album that was dropped at the beginning of summer. After a nearly three and a half year break from the studio, punchy Canadian foursome Metric has returned with Synthetica, an 11-track step towards what seems like the slow but sure collision of new-wave psychedelia and haunting indie eloquence. When I first tuned in to Synthetica, it…
It’s been a really short while since they released the first trilogy album (‘Uno!’), and Green Day are already at it again. This comes in the aftermath of lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong entering rehab after his recent onstage tirade, something which led to several canceled concerts. [You can listen to the album here] If I could sum the album in just one sentence, I’d say it goes forward by going back. Not quite as…
I have always been an avid Muse fan. From ‘Showbiz’ to ‘The Origin of Symmetry’, from ‘Absolution’ to ‘Black Holes & Revelations’ to ‘The Resistance’. Like most Muse fans when ‘The 2nd Law’ was announced, I watched the album trailer and was excited to hear Muse’s latest offering. However, after trawling forums and fan sites to see what others thought, I found that ‘Muse Go Dubstep’ was met with horror as well as excitement. ‘R.I.P…
Oshin is the debut album by Brooklyn-based indie rockers DIIV. What is most striking about this album is its utter smoothness; each track flows into the next without abrupt turnarounds in melody or tempo. Do not be mistaken, however. Oshin’s track list is anything but the same ‘ol for forty minutes. Instead, each song works in conjunction with the others and gives the feeling of cohesiveness that many bands wish they could achieve. DIIV…
III’s album cover I stumbled upon Family Force 5 when I got lost at Warped Tour in 2007, and it was one of the best mistakes I’ve ever made. Made up of three brothers and two close friends, they “formed” in 1993 but have been releasing beats since 2004. III (pronounced “The Third” or just “Three”) is their fifth studio album, and their first releasing brand new music since 2008’s Dance…
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (TEED) is a name created by the cleverly imaginative Orlando Higginbottom. Even his name oozes originality and creativity. You may have heard his song “Garden” which is featured on this album, backing the recent Nokia Lumia advert. He is definitely a new artist that wades in the mainstream and strides in the underground. Listening to this album for the first time after only hearing his song “Garden” made me realise his…
Photo credit Benjamin Peterson
Album title: Neck of the Woods Release date: Tuesday, May 8, 2012. Tracks: 11 (you can find the tracklist here) Rating: 9/10 After a good three years and some odd weeks, Los Angeles alternative band Silversun Pickups has released its third true studio album to date, Neck of the Woods…which does just about everything but disappoint. In all honesty, I had no doubt this album would be quite tops,…
If I were to solely base my feelings for Mixed Emotions on its opening track, “Brothers,” I would be here to tell you that Tanlines has made the best indie pop album of 2012. On “Brothers,” swelling harmonies are laid carefully over Eric Emm’s wailing baritone vocals, creating an infectious pop song that goes beyond “catchy” and becomes unforgettable due to its infusion of subtle gravity. It packs so much promise that the album’s subsequent…
I’m sure you’ve heard Lana Del Rey’s name floating about the music scene for a while now – but it is only recently that her songs have drifted into my ears in a chilling way. This is especially weird as she has actually been on the music scene since 2008, but not under “Lana Del Rey”. You may have heard of her as “Lizzy Grant” – her real name. With this name she released…
Hailie Hay
Andrei Mihai
Daniela Murphy
Dr. Strangelove
Mackenzie Hall
Olivia Pad
Mark Steinbach