i hate the sound of guitars

bellwire – “Waterbed” (EP)
Note: we’re not likely to make a practice of this. It’s against our charter. But the band bellwire reached out to us and invited us to listen to their music, and they made that easy and they weren’t rude about it. So we did. And it was pretty good. We decidedly liked [...]

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Alcest – Les Voyages de L’Âme
I’m not usually fond of post-anything genre labels. How can anything be post-rock? There’s still plenty of rock. But Alcest really is post-metal, in the sense that it used to be identifiably a metal act, and now it isn’t. This is shoegaze/dreampop for guitar tone freaks. If you’ve listened Pale [...]

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Every new release I listened to in November (69)

Absu – Azbu
Merrie Amtserburg – “Q Dee Rock and Soul #6″ (single)
An early Christmas present from Merrie Amsterburg and Q Division! Well, except you have to pay for it, so not exactly a present. But these mildly rocked-up versions of “We Three Kings” and “Silent Night” are [...]

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Every new release I listened to in October (64)

BDRM Eyes – (demo tracks)
BDRM Eyes blend the pedal happiness of shoegaze with a more energetic delivery and experimental/dissonant aspects that recall indie rockers of a Sonic Youthish bent. I can’t unreservedly endorse the recording quality; the drums are distant and murky. But definitely leaves me wanting [...]

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Every new release I listened to in September (58)

Bangles – Sweetheart of the Sun
Bridge and Tunnel – “Bridge and Tunnel” (EP)
Bridge and Tunnel – Rebuilding Year
Brief Candles – Fractured Days
Apparently they prefer “dream-pop” and “blissrock” to “shoegaze.” Poh-TAY-toe, Poh-TAH-toe . . .
Glen Campbell – Ghost on the Canvas
I admit it. It was knowing Campbell [...]

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Every new release I listened to in August (56)

Army Coach – “Daydream” (EP)
Something about (my favorite tune) “I Am a Failure” reminds me, probably obliquely, of the Wrens, but Army Coach’s punk lineage is clearer than the Wrens’. Thermals might be a better RIYL, or ‘Chunk or even Dü (some very Greg Norton basslines, [...]

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Every new release I listened to in July (29)

Apollo Ghosts – “Money Has No Heart” – (EP)
Apollo Ghosts – “For What They Do, They Do” – (EP)
Army Girls – (3 singles)
Blood Stain Child – Epsilon
Bomb the Music Industry! – Vacation
Broadcaster – “Joyride” – (EP)
Delicate Cutters – Some Creatures
I like this. But it’s far milder than [...]

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Every new release I listened to in June (20)

31 Knots – Trump Harm
Not as given to loud math-rock explosions as in years ast, but not exactly toothless either. I think this might be a slow-grower.

An Horse – Walls

Army Navy – The Last Place
Smooth, pretty indie rock with unforceful vocals, in the tradition of Voxtrot or [...]

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Every new release I listened to in May (32)

Black Books – “An Introduction to” – (EP)
The Black Watch – Led Zeppelin V –
Bluebrain – “The Pull” – (single)
Chalk Circle – Reflection – Before I heard this album, If you’d asked me if there was an all-female jittery post-punk/new wave band active in DC in [...]

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Every new release I listened to in April (42)

Age Rings – Black Honey – Expansive, richly textured rock (21 apr 2011)
Amaranthe – Amaranthe – Amaranthe integrate signifiers of extreme metal (blast beats, guttural vocals and, of course, high gain guitars) with those of classic/mainstream pop/rock (dense keyboard beds, eminently hummable melodies and layered harmonies) to [...]

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