Thursday, July 8th, 2010
Larry West recently caught Iwresetledabearonce on tour with Otep as they stopped through The Blockley in Philadelphia, PA on June 26, 2010.
Harder and faster. Louder and ruder. Pushing the limits of taste and being more extreme than the next guy have been a recurrent theme in metal since the 80’s. A constant pissing contest amongst Heavy Metal bands to see who was heavier than the next. This sometimes resulted in astonishing achievements like Slayer’s Reign in Blood, but also gave way to interesting bands such as Faith No More who would bend anything and everything while challenging the stereotypical “metal” sound.
Then you have Iwresetledabearonce.
Reaction to this group of avant-garde “metal heads” has been everything ...
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
I feel like In the Red Records have some weird magical musical crack that makes me like things that they release that I would never think I would like if you tried to describe it to me.
Maybe if you play In the Red records backwards it is like a Kiss album and it convinces people to like pop music again. In any case, I seriously tried to hate Thee Oh Sees (hate their name, hate everything everyone told me about them) but their newest release Warm Slime has not left my record ...
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
Review: The Big 4 Movie: Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax on the Big Screen!
By Larry West
I was a teenager again.
In 2002, I was an oddity in my high school. I, unlike 99% of the other students, listened to metal. Not only that, but I was still just getting into the genre. By the time I graduated, I had gone from listing to Winger’s Seventeen, to listening to Slayer’s Reign in Blood. That was truly a magical time, and I had one simple vision of all these guys just getting together and playing at each others' shows. This was already occuring to some regard; Anthrax let Metallica share its ...
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
The second installment in the Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer, Agoraphobic Nosebleed) curated series of compilations, This Comp Kills Fascists Vol. 2 collects the very best from today's sprawling underground grindcore, hardcore and punk scenes as it hits store shelves today!
I am giving this comp two enthusiastic thumbs up. If you’re into grind and power violence, this comp is a 74-track wet dream. Apart from the fact that this comp features new and exclusive material from legends like Despise You, Lack of Interest, Crom, and Apartment 213 as well as material from Noisear, Owen Hart, Extortion; it covers a wide range of not only playing styles, but or recording methods as ...
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
Get Him to the Greek is a hysterical follow-up to the relationship between die hard Aldous Snow fan Aaron Green (Jonah Hill) and raunchy U.K. rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) from Forgetting Sara Marshall.
The story takes place far after their days in Hawaii, and it seems that Aaron (represented as a new character) has been fairing relatively well while Aldous has quickly slipped into a long run of shitty luck.
Aaron Green is a driven, idealistic young college graduate who works as an intern for Pinnacle Records. He lives with his girlfriend Daphne (Elisabeth Moss), a doctor in her internship, but they do not get to ...
Friday, May 28th, 2010
Black Tusk
Taste The Sin
Relapse Records
Released May 25, 2010
Need the perfect complement for your backyard yard summer rager with your stankin’ metal friends? Savannah, GA’s Black Tusk have the soundtrack – Taste The Sin. Released on Relapse Records May 25, Taste The Sin is an essence a rock album for metal fans. While comparisons are being thrown left and right to fellow hometown bands Baroness and Kylesa, Black Tusk have their roots firmly planted in the rock world as opposed to the stronger metal and punk influences of their hometown peers.
The ...
Monday, May 17th, 2010
Heligoland
Massive Attack
Virgin Records
2010
Genres: Trip-hop, Downtempo
RIYL: Zero 7, Sneaker Pimps, DJ Shadow
7.6
Chances are, if you can ensnare the assistance of the likes of David Bowie & Tom Waits on your album, it’s hard to miss the mark. These were two of the many rumored A-Listers that were to be featured on Massive Attack’s first non-soundtrack release since 2003’s 100th Window.
However, Massive Attack made due with plenty of quality, albeit not top-billing stars such as Tunde Adebimpe from TV on the Radio, Guy Garvey of Elbow, and Damon Albarn of Blur/Gorillaz fame. The results of course, are very hit-or-miss. If you’re a fan expecting another perfect album like 1998’s Mezzanine, you are going to be disappointed. But ...
Monday, May 10th, 2010
Junior
Kaki King
Rounder Records
2010
Genres: Indie Rock/Pop, Instrumental Rock, Modern Folk
RIYL: Sleater-Kinney, Preston Reed, Do Make Say Think
8.3Kaki King was once heralded as “Queen of the Acoustic Guitar” by NPR and several guitar magazines. Her second LP and groundbreaking major label debut Legs to Make Us Longer won fans over with its sensational crossover appeal. It was simultaneously a pleasure to the ears of guitar acrobatic-aficionados who enjoy artists such as Preston Reed and John Fahey, and it also found a niche with singer-songwriter types that enjoyed her unconventional yet catchy song structures.
While her first two albums were mostly instrumental forays into her musical vocabulary, complete with tapping sections and her ability ...
Saturday, May 8th, 2010
Creepoid
Yellow Life Giver
Indie/Psychedelic/Acousmatic/Tape Music/Grunge
Online:
Creepoid MyspaceCreepoid Blogspot
Philadelphia’s Creepoid recently played an over packed record release show with their hometown hero Kurt Vile and stamped themselves as Philadelphia’s next “constant hit makers”. Creepoid sounds like Mazzy Star lamenting a love affair with the Telescopes, and the result is a rainy day staple. Although Creepoid’s first release is dreamy and understated, recently performed tracks hint towards a more explosive, primal future.
Buy this before it is out of print. Creepoid stand out with their first release, but I expect even greater things to erupt in the not so distant future.
You Can Purchase Yellow Life Giver E.P. at Big Cartel...
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
Philadelphia’s The Party Photographers are an unexpected fill for the void that Beat Happening may have left in your heart.
With only a single seven-inch released by Ian Records, the Party Photographers show infectious twee promise. The Party Photographers are both minimal and imaginative, and have released a seemingly carefree lo-fi seven-inch for twenty somethings chasing dreams.
Recommended for fans of all things kill rock stars.
The Party Photographers Official MyspaceIan Records
Monday, May 3rd, 2010
4
Puerto Rico FlowersFan Death Records
2010
darkwave/rock/pop
John Sharkey III has distanced himself from his more aggressive former bands (Clockclean Er, Nine Shocks Terror) to produce an addictive debut ep titled 4 from his newest solo project Puerto Rico Flowers. Released on Fan Death Records in January 2010, 4 offers a deliberately minimalist; dark repetitive dark wave record that lends it’s self to be listened to over and over. In fact, when I first purchased 4, my room mate had to ask me to “lay off the Puerto Rico Flowers record” when I played it back to back a week straight.
Puerto Rico Flowers is bass driven, synth supported crack. Although 4 draws heavily on dark wave sensibilities, it ...
Saturday, May 1st, 2010
This is Happening
LCD Soundsystem
DFA Records
2010
Genres: Dance-punk, Disco, Electronica
RIYL: New Order, !!!, Disco revival with a modern twist.
8.7
Patience is a virtue…or so all the sages and soothsayers in various walks of life explain to us. This also applies heavily to music. Take acts like Tool and Radiohead, who release extravagant albums, but take years to do so. When LCD Soundsystem front-man James Murphy exclaims, “You wanted a hit? / but that’s not what we do,” in band’s latest full-length effort, This is Happening - he’s sharing their honest methodology.
Opening track “Dance Yrself Clean” takes about 3 minutes to really get going. Having this kind of patience is expected of LCD’s fans these days. Don’t ...
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
The buzz meter has officially entered the red zone for Erykah Badu as New Amerykah, Part Two: Return of the Ankh hits the street today. The hype surrounding this album started its upward trajectory when Badu released her Web-only single “Jump up in the Air (Stay There)” featuring Lil’ Wayne on her website in January. Long-time Badu fans had mixed feelings about the duo to say the least. The blogesphere saw debates carry on for weeks as to whether or not this was a good pairing. Adding fuel to the fire,the track was originally leaked by a member of the Lil' Wayne camp - going against Badu's specific requests to have the track kept under wraps until the album release. In an effort to maintain artistic control over her music, Badu decided to drop the track from the record entirely.
Larry West recently caught Iwresetledabearonce on tour with Otep as they stopped through The Blockley in Philadelphia, PA on June 26, 2010.
Harder and faster. Louder and ruder. Pushing the limits of taste and being more extreme than the next guy have been a recurrent theme in metal since the 80’s. A constant pissing contest amongst Heavy Metal bands to see who was heavier than the next. This sometimes resulted in astonishing achievements like Slayer’s Reign in Blood, but also gave way to interesting bands such as Faith No More who would bend anything and everything while challenging the stereotypical “metal” sound.
Then you have Iwresetledabearonce.
Reaction to this group of avant-garde “metal heads” has been everything ...
I feel like In the Red Records have some weird magical musical crack that makes me like things that they release that I would never think I would like if you tried to describe it to me.
Maybe if you play In the Red records backwards it is like a Kiss album and it convinces people to like pop music again. In any case, I seriously tried to hate Thee Oh Sees (hate their name, hate everything everyone told me about them) but their newest release Warm Slime has not left my record ... 
Review: The Big 4 Movie: Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax on the Big Screen!
By Larry West
I was a teenager again.
In 2002, I was an oddity in my high school. I, unlike 99% of the other students, listened to metal. Not only that, but I was still just getting into the genre. By the time I graduated, I had gone from listing to Winger’s Seventeen, to listening to Slayer’s Reign in Blood. That was truly a magical time, and I had one simple vision of all these guys just getting together and playing at each others' shows. This was already occuring to some regard; Anthrax let Metallica share its ... 
The second installment in the Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer, Agoraphobic Nosebleed) curated series of compilations, This Comp Kills Fascists Vol. 2 collects the very best from today's sprawling underground grindcore, hardcore and punk scenes as it hits store shelves today!
I am giving this comp two enthusiastic thumbs up. If you’re into grind and power violence, this comp is a 74-track wet dream. Apart from the fact that this comp features new and exclusive material from legends like Despise You, Lack of Interest, Crom, and Apartment 213 as well as material from Noisear, Owen Hart, Extortion; it covers a wide range of not only playing styles, but or recording methods as ... 
Black Tusk
Taste The Sin
The ... 
Heligoland
Massive Attack
Virgin Records
2010
Genres: Trip-hop, Downtempo
RIYL: Zero 7, Sneaker Pimps, DJ Shadow
7.6
Chances are, if you can ensnare the assistance of the likes of David Bowie & Tom Waits on your album, it’s hard to miss the mark. These were two of the many rumored A-Listers that were to be featured on Massive Attack’s first non-soundtrack release since 2003’s 100th Window.
However, Massive Attack made due with plenty of quality, albeit not top-billing stars such as Tunde Adebimpe from TV on the Radio, Guy Garvey of Elbow, and Damon Albarn of Blur/Gorillaz fame. The results of course, are very hit-or-miss. If you’re a fan expecting another perfect album like 1998’s Mezzanine, you are going to be disappointed. But ... 
Junior
Kaki King
Rounder Records
2010
Genres: Indie Rock/Pop, Instrumental Rock, Modern Folk
RIYL: Sleater-Kinney, Preston Reed, Do Make Say Think
8.3
Kaki King was once heralded as “Queen of the Acoustic Guitar” by NPR and several guitar magazines. Her second LP and groundbreaking major label debut Legs to Make Us Longer won fans over with its sensational crossover appeal. It was simultaneously a pleasure to the ears of guitar acrobatic-aficionados who enjoy artists such as Preston Reed and John Fahey, and it also found a niche with singer-songwriter types that enjoyed her unconventional yet catchy song structures.
While her first two albums were mostly instrumental forays into her musical vocabulary, complete with tapping sections and her ability ... 
Creepoid
Yellow Life Giver
Indie/Psychedelic/Acousmatic/Tape Music/Grunge
Online:
Philadelphia’s The Party Photographers are an unexpected fill for the void that 
4
Puerto Rico Flowers
This is Happening
LCD Soundsystem
DFA Records
2010
Genres: Dance-punk, Disco, Electronica
RIYL: New Order, !!!, Disco revival with a modern twist.
8.7
Patience is a virtue…or so all the sages and soothsayers in various walks of life explain to us. This also applies heavily to music. Take acts like Tool and Radiohead, who release extravagant albums, but take years to do so. When LCD Soundsystem front-man James Murphy exclaims, “You wanted a hit? / but that’s not what we do,” in band’s latest full-length effort, This is Happening - he’s sharing their honest methodology.
Opening track “Dance Yrself Clean” takes about 3 minutes to really get going. Having this kind of patience is expected of LCD’s fans these days. Don’t ... 
The buzz meter has officially entered the red zone for Erykah Badu as New Amerykah, Part Two: Return of the Ankh hits the street today. The hype surrounding this album started its upward trajectory when Badu released her Web-only single “Jump up in the Air (Stay There)” featuring Lil’ Wayne on her website in January. Long-time Badu fans had mixed feelings about the duo to say the least. The blogesphere saw debates carry on for weeks as to whether or not this was a good pairing. Adding fuel to the fire,the track was originally leaked by a member of the Lil' Wayne camp - going against Badu's specific requests to have the track kept under wraps until the album release. In an effort to maintain artistic control over her music, Badu decided to drop the track from the record entirely.