Will Ryan
Pure X, ‘Crawling Up the Stairs’ – Album Review
The most prominent emotion on 'Crawling Up the Stairs' is frustration. On the record’s second track, 'Someone Else,' vocalist Nate Grace growls out the line “You know I earned it / So, c’mon, and give me all your / love” like an unhinged lover shouting self-loathing into the dark. It’s one of most devastating and immediate moments in rock music this year. Grace’s voice roils into a teeth-gritted m
Small Black, ‘Limits of Desire’ – Album Review
With their tightly woven 2009 self-titled EP, Brooklyn’s Small Black rode in with a wave of hazy synth nostalgia-ists like Washed Out, Neon Indian and Memory Tapes. They followed it up a year later with a full-length called 'New Chain. The album made it clear that they were more leaders than followers in the then-booming field of bedroom-pop pioneers. There was an edge to their lyrics and a depth
Savages, ‘Silence Yourself’ – Album Review
Savages make an immediate impression. That's true from their name to the glowering, haunted faces on the cover of their debut LP, ‘Silence Yourself,’ to their contortionist gothic post-punk sound to vocalist Jenny Beth’s savage (yup) dismantling of 21st century identity politics.
They’re an outfit that neatly fits the timeless four-piece rock ’n’ roll band mold -- each member playing a vital and i
Colin Stetson, ‘New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light’ – Album Review
You may have heard Colin Stetson before. The saxophone auteur is a touring member of the Arcade Fire and Bon Iver, and he’s recorded and performed with the likes of Tom Waits, Anthony Braxton, Fiest, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, David Byrne, TV on the Radio and LCD Soundsystem. Hopefully, you know a few of those names. With the 2011 release of his third LP, ‘New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges,’ St
Thee Oh Sees, ‘Floating Coffin’ – Album Review
John Dwyer and the merry troupe of bash-rock minstrels that make up the San Francisco garage psych outfit Thee Oh Sees have managed to put out an album every year for the past five years. Two in 2011. And that’s not counting live albums and singles collections. The group’s output ranges from scorched earth rock freakouts to pastoral echo-chamber folk. On last year’s ‘Putrifiers II,’ they even trie
White Fence, ‘Cyclops Reap’ – Album Review
Last year was a banner year for Tim Presley, the man behind White Fence. Operating under that moniker, he joined the three-records-in-a-year club, releasing 'Hair,' a sub-30-minute bark of weirdo garage-psych recorded with the like-minded Ty Segall (who also managed three LPs last year), as well as two volumes of 4-track-recorded guitar-pop with the title 'Family Perfume' slapped on the front. The