Cloud Nothings : Final Summer

Cloud Nothings arrived seemingly fully formed in 2011. The punk rock swagger, post-punk indifference, and songwriting prowess of singer/guitarist/songwriter Dylan Baldi was already in place. His bedroom solo project became an actual rock trio, and after releasing two albums written and performed by Baldi the trio recorded Attack On Memory with Steve Albini at Electrical […]

High on Fire : Cometh The Storm

It’s been over 5 years since the last High on Fire album, the Lemmy-worshipping Electric Messiah. Since then HoF singer/guitarist/resident conspiracy theorist Matt Pike has dealt with health issues, marriage, divorce, and a solo album titled Pike vs The Automaton. Pike vs The Automaton was essentially a High on Fire album, minus HoF bassist Jeff […]

The Jesus And Mary Chain : Glasgow Eyes

The Jesus and Mary Chain have been a staple of the shoegaze/noise-pop community for 40 years, releasing their debut Psychocandy in 1985. Blurry, fuzzy, and noisy, Psychocandy was unlike anything else out at the time. The next album to make such a sonic statement was My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless six years later. Though brothers William […]

Vampire Weekend : Only God Was Above Us

Vampire Weekend are one of those bands that you either love or loathe. They have charm about them, but also a preciousness that turns off curmudgeonly old hipsters that don’t think they’re actually hipsters. On the other hand the band has songwriting chops and intellectually inviting lyrics thanks to singer/songwriter Ezra Koenig. Koenig can make […]

METZ : Up On Gravity Hill

Canada’s METZ arrived in the early 2010s in what seemed like a resurgence in the post-punk community. Along with fellow Canadians Preoccupations(formerly Viet Cong) and the Motor City’s Protomartyr it seemed as if post-punk was getting a 21st century kick in the pants. METZ was the loudest of the three, with singer/guitarist Alex Edkins guitar […]

Mr. Jones’ Takes The Spotlight : Breaking Down Elvin Jones’ ‘Poly-Currents’

There’s plenty of amazing jazz drummers, but for my money one of the most powerful with the most finesse was Elvin Jones. Jones gained notoriety for being part of John Coltrane’s great quartet, along with McCoy Tyner(piano), Jimmy Garrison(bass), and of course Coltrane. Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, Philly Joe Jones, Billy Cobham, Rashied Ali, and […]

Zombi : Direct Inject

The prog/synth duo Zombi, which consists of keyboardist/bassist/composer Steve Moore and percussionist/keyboardist AE Paterra, have notched out a very specific sonic corner in electronic music. Influenced/inspired by horror scores and films, as well as 70s prog and more thoughtful metal of the 70s and 80s, these two Pittsburgh-raised musicians have rewired the idea of the […]

The Black Crowes : Happiness Bastards

Sibling rivalry in rock bands is a long-standing tradition in the pantheon of rock and roll. The Kinks, The Jesus Mary Chain, Beach Boys, The Breeders and Oasis are just a few examples where siblings in a band had issues with each other from time to time. Something about that sibling rivalry, it would either […]

Ariel Kalma, Jeremiah Chiu, and Marta Sofia Honer : The Closest Thing To Silence

The best instrumental music takes you out of what you perceive to be your world and opens doors to new ones. It brings the curtain down on reality so that you can expand your mental and emotional horizons. Instrumental music doesn’t need words to guide you somewhere, as the composition built from instruments is the […]

zakè : B⁴+3

The latest from ambient sound wizard Zach Frizzell, aka zakè, is the enigmatic and widescreen effort B⁴+3. Originally known as B⁴, a 2023 Zakè Drone Recordings release that was a musical companion to art prints created by Frizzell, zakè felt that he wasn’t yet finished with this record. In fact, in describing that feeling he […]