i hate the sound of guitars

The Lizard Lounge was crammed to the gills for the very welcome work-night friendly early set. Joe Pernice opened with a handful of solo songs, including the title track from Goodbye Killer and “Telescope,” a sneak peek at the in-progress Pernice Brothers album (he said it was mostly too rockin’ to translate well to an [...]

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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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Holy crap, I haven’t written about Mixtapes before? Really!? I have literally listened to this band more than any other artist this year.
Mixtapes live in a weird intersection between well-produced pop-punk and lo-fi indie pop. On the one hand they have a fatter drum sound than I expect from low-budget indies; on the other, [...]

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On the A-side, Lemuria offer two more examples of the smart, catchy, indie rock that’s made Pebble one of my most-played albums of the year so far. I expected their side to be swell, and it delivers. But the revelation here for me is Cheap Girls’ “Pure Hate.” I’m not quite sure what “And I/Keep [...]

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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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Hard to slot this into a specific genre, it’s not very “rock” (not in the least “rawk”), largely (but not exclusively electronic). It’s the sort of record in which choices of “which instrument voices this part” seem driven more by sonic coloration than by personnel. There’s a lot going on if you pay close attention [...]

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Department of cheap shots: Does this sound more like Joy Division circa Closer, or like New Order circa Movement? Okay, I’ll concede some Chameleons UK in the mix, too. But the album cover sure screams “Factory!”:

vs., for instance:

p.s. It’s not bad. Just shameless. And the album cover tends to make me discount the “these folks [...]

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New Order would decidely have struck me as a useful point of reference for Idle Labor even if the cover art didn’t recall Power, Corruption & Lies. As it is, I’m wondering if they want to get threatening letters from some lawyer. Craft Spells’ flowers are less gloomy, of course, and so is their music. [...]

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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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