J.R.C.G. : Grim Iconic…(Sadistic Mantra)

Justin R. Cruz Gallego, aka Tacoma-based musician known as J.R.C.G. defies a tag to any sort of genre. Listening to his Sub Pop debut Grim Iconic…(Sadistic Mantra) you’re hit in the chest with serious rhythmic and groove intentions. He locks into his Latin roots and lays down some seriously heady percussive trips, but on top […]

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 […]

Beach House : Once Twice Melody

Beach House, the Baltimore dream pop duo consisting of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally, have been making dreamy indie rock since 2006. Right out of the gate these two have settled into a sound that is centered on melancholy keys, echoing guitar lines, and Legrand’s deep and hypnotic vocals. Their sound seems as if Cocteau […]

METZ : LIVE AT THE OPERA HOUSE

METZ have established themselves as modern post-punk titans over the course of a decade, making albums as sonically punishing as they are deceptively catchy. Pained, barb wire-wrapped pop structures coated in honey, dipped in broken glass and meticulously pounded into our psyches until we give into the aural assault. The Canadian four-piece released their fourth […]

Metz : Atlas Vending

METZ have been making angular swaths of post-punk noise for a few years now. Over the course of three full-lengths and a handful of EPs and singles, the Canadian trio of guitarist and vocalist Alex Edkins, bassist Chris Slorach and drummer Hayden Menzies have honed their sound from unhinged anxiety and pent-up rage to an […]

The World Is Still Ending But A New METZ Album Is Coming In October So It’s Cool

Well it seems the unbelievers are out in full swing. Unbelievers in contagion and unbelievers in thinking of their fellow human being. So most of the big box stores are enforcing masks in theirs stores if you want to shop there. That’s great. I have older parents and I have friends and family with compromised […]

METZ : Automat

Metz have obliterated car speakers and ear drums quite easily since their Sub Pop debut album back in 2012. Their sound is like Tinnitus feedback served over a post-hardcore back beat with a healthy dose of primal screaming sprinkled on top. The Bleach and In Utero comparisons aren’t without merit, but there’s more to the […]

Beach House : 7

It took me a bit before I truly could appreciate the magic of Beach House’s music. The Baltimore band’s appeal eluded me their first couple records. What I’d heard off of Teen Dream and then Bloom was nice in a passerby sort of way, but I didn’t know what all the accolades were about. What […]

METZ : Strange Peace

I will admit that I have a bit of a dude crush on the Canadian rock band METZ. There’s just something about their intense brand of noise rock/post-punk gumbo that gets me in the gut. It’s a kind of rush that comes with a special sort of experience. Maybe like jumping out of a plane, […]

Morgan Delt : Phase Zero

The first thing that hits you on Morgan Delt’s excellent Sub Pop debut Phase Zero is the breezy, island sway of “I Don’t Wanna See What’s Happening Outside”. Vocalsjust shy of a whisper cascade along a mellow, shuffling rhythm with wobbling guitars, synths, and a prominent proper meaty bass line holding it all together. It […]