c/o Spill Magazine and Grew Up On Grunge:
Having listened to Lucy Dacus’ 2016 debut album ‘No Burden’, you’d not be mistaken to wonder if this is in fact the same artist, with less than two years having passed, such is the depth of her musical and lyrical maturity on show here on 'Historian'. This is an album that, right from the first few notes, pulls the listener in and immerses them in a vastly altered sonic landscape, featuring distorted guitar, constant and varied ... read more
Via Spill Magazine and Grew Up On Grunge (blog):
There is a debate that could be had, with 'Twin Fantasy' the fulcrum upon which both sides balance, as to whether Will Toledo is more emotionally tortured or musically gifted. Originally recorded in 2011 when Toledo was only 19, 'Twin Fantasy' explores the entire range of adolescent struggle, both the general and that which was specific to Toledo himself as he struggled to make sense of the relationship that he found himself falling into and out ... read more
Post-punk is such a hard genre to like, but Bria really channels Kurt Cobain and Kim Gordon...
If a British girl group broke up, this is what one member's first solo album would sound like...
Liverpool threesome The Wombats have since their debut album, 2007's 'A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation', championed both melodic British pop sensibility and whipsmart relationship-centred lyrics. Since that debut, their instrumentation has slid more and more overtly towards the 1980s but they have been as proficient lyrically with each new release. Sadly, it would seem that maturity has not helped lead-singer and songwriter Matthew Murphy maintain that proficiency...
Melodically, ... read more
I can think of no better way to start this review than with a simple statement of fact – this album is exhausting. It may also be absolutely bloody brilliant. I have spent the past two days scouring for my brain for what the album best reminds me of and here is the most cogent version – if David Byrne recorded with Adam Granduciel (The War on Drugs), but with Mike Hadreas’ (Perfume Genius) style and Meatloaf’s appreciation of scale and a sprinkling of Bowie’s ... read more
Though it's not always an easy listen, such is its mastery of mood and emotionally dense lyrics, this album is a phenomenal exploration of memory and loss and acceptance. Both beautiful and devastating in equal measure and perhaps most importantly, a complete and fully-realized album (as opposed to a collection of songs, which, to me, is becoming a lost art in modern music) from beginning to end, the like of which I have not seen since 2010's 'The Suburbs'. Peace,
Br.
There is a seemingly pervasive belief, especially within the world of internet-based music reviewing, that re-invention is the only way for a band to be relevant or to have created an album worth listening to. Case in point Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, a band that have long sought to make music for themselves and on their own terms, a pattern that they have continued with 2018's 'Wrong Creatures'. The result? Their album has been critically panned, mostly because it sounds too much like, ... read more
Read my full review at:
https://grewupongrunge.blogspot.ca/2017/10/october-album-review-liam-gallagher-as.html
Peace,
Br.
They may have had one of my favourite moments from Osheaga, but the album doesn't hold me the way their live performance did
Is there a band that has perfected musical schizophrenia as exceptionally as Wolf Alice. In a recent interview (I don't have the link, sorry), lead singer Ellie Rowsell stated that the reason that any two Wolf Alice songs sound so sonically different is that she has always listened to multiple genres and styles and thus has no desire to settle into one when making music. As was the case with 2015's 'My Love Is Cool', my choice for album of the year, 'Visions of a Life' is a wonderfully varied ... read more
Read my full review at:
https://grewupongrunge.blogspot.com/2017/09/september-album-review-chelsea-wolfe.html
Peace,
Br.
Read full review at:
https://grewupongrunge.blogspot.ca/2017/09/september-album-review-rostam-half-light.html
Peace,
Br.
More than many bands that I can think of, The National have been almost ridiculously successful at discovering and then honing the sound that would come to be uniquely their own. Richly layered, deeply thoughtful, almost orchestrally epic songs of heartache, change, and emotion, all delivered with the deep, moving texture of Matt Berninger's near-baritone vocals. Thus when the band stated in the lead-up to 'Sleep Well Beast' that they were intent on trying new ideas, new sounds, and ... read more
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"'Teens of Denial' is the better album even if it is less emotionally powerful..."
On annpearson's review of Car Seat Headrest - Twin Fantasy (Face to Face)
"Every site has its trolls;
Just like every head has its holes;
Just like every keyboard makes you feel real bold;
Every site has its trolls...
(to the tune of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison, circa 1988)"
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On Wolf Alice - Visions of a Life
"Sorry 'pouls' - I am not a "shots fired" guy at all and I apologize if it appeared that way. I have posted my full review on my AOTY review and I would be happy to hear what your thoughts are...
It was definitely a review that I struggled to write as it's always harder to write why I dislike something than why I love it ... such are emotions"
On Wolf Alice - Visions of a Life
"Interesting how many people dislike or poorly rate this album (not the same thing apparently) based on the fact that NME gave it a 100% rating and/or because it's getting a lot of good press and/or because it is perceived as grunge-revivalism. And here I thought we listened to and rated music for the actual MUSIC and acts of creativity and not for the associated, contrived media nonsense that goes with any major release. Huh."
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