Papir : V

The Danish trio Papir have always sounded much larger than you’d expect three guys to sound. With just the guitar/bass/drums rock trio standard set up, these guys make a mountain of sound. At times brash and fuzz-covered, other times dreamy and atmospheric, Nicklas Sørensen, Christoffer Brøchmann Christensen, and Christian Becher Clausen cover terrain as diverse as […]

Mogwai : Atomic

I have to admit, it took me a while to find my way to Mogwai. Even after seeing them in 2004 during an ear-shattering assault that left a good friend of mine and I stunned and shell shocked at the Curiosa Festival I still just could never bring myself to dig deeper into these Scottish […]

Explosions in the Sky : The Wilderness

Listening to Explosions in the Sky for me has always been like that lump in your throat moment in a great film. The tragic losses, the triumphant successes, and the moment when you realize everything is going to be all right despite all the downs you’ve gone through to get there. They soundtrack both figuratively […]

This Will Destroy You Destroyed Me

I’ve pretty much been immersed in the world of Texas band This Will Destroy You all week. It’s a harrowing and quite beautiful world to be in. Last week my friend John, who runs Karma Records of Warsaw(my hometown vinyl haunt), had nonchalantly brought This Will Destroy You up to me while I was in […]

Stranded Dreams and Beautiful Chaos

Back in December I bought an album by Body/Head. It’s the post-Sonic Youth break-up album that Kim Gordon did with fellow guitarist Bill Nace. It’s essentially Gordon and Nace in a studio,each with a guitar and amp. Gordon has a mic that she improvises words. It’s not singing. It’s like psycho therapy through spoken word […]

Honorable Mention Part IV: Deafheaven ‘Sunbather’

I’ve never been a fan of the screaming. Even as a child, when I was around another tot that found it necessary to scream and bark to get attention from other tots, a teacher, adult, or the like I felt that I needed to get away from this banshee in OshKosh B’gosh as quickly as […]

Deafheaven-Sunbather

Deafheaven’s Sunbather is one of those anomalies that happens every so often in metal music where you’re moved to your core listening to the aural violence. Singer George Clark sounds like Deftones’ Chino Moreno having some sort of attack as songwriter/guitarist Kerry McCoy creates transcendent -albeit bludgeoning- music that sweeps you up in the drama […]