The Thrill Kill Kult is one of those truly unique bands that has always existed in a world of their own. At their core, they blend industrial and goth with genres so far removed from each other that you’d never think they could work together, yet somehow, they make it happen.

This album is probably one of their more straightforward and accessible releases. It mixes danceable, clubby industrial with glam, funk, and alternative rock. Honestly, this would be a great entry point for a first ... read more

Mareux is definitely one of the best modern artists in the darkwave revival movement. He really has this retro-futuristic approach, blending sounds with vintage, dusty textures and modern, clean, crisp production. There’s a strong gothic edge, but he also does a great job of incorporating a synthpop vibe that really reminds me of synthwave.

Overall, I love the analog electronic equipment used to create this album, because it brings a warmth to the coldwave aesthetic, which gives the ... read more

On one hand, I can’t say Tides of Man are doing anything particularly new that hasn’t already been done in post rock. But for a traditionally structured post rock album, where tracks start off mellow and gradually build into heavy, cinematic walls of sound, this is a really solid effort that delivers exactly what it promises.

You can definitely tell the band comes from a post-hardcore background. That same raw emotion is still present, but instead of being channeled through vocals, ... read more

I’m sure among fans and purists this is something that’s often debated, but based on everything I’ve read, this really seems to be the defining album that kicked off the second wave of emo. My own introduction to emo came through early 2000s bands in the early 2000s, and I wasn’t impressed. But if my first exposure had been to this era instead, back in the mid ’90s, I think I would’ve had a very different view of the genre from the start.

This albums does an ... read more

This was a really fun post-hardcore/screamo album that a friend recommended to me. The vocals shift from spoken word to frantic, theatrical screaming and yelling, and they definitely lean into the deeply emotional side. It’s intense, expressive, and raw in a way that makes you want to dig deeper. This is definitely a band I plan to work through slowly as I explore more of their catalog.

This was a really cool discovery, and a band I’d never heard of before, and clearly an album that never got the mainstream attention it deserved. Instead, it ended up becoming a cult favorite. I’d describe this as power pop emerging from the late ’70s post-punk scene, with plenty of jangly guitars and a distinct pub rock feel. What blows my mind is how this album flew under the radar, because it genuinely had the potential to break through to a broader audience in the late ... read more

So the first album I heard from BCNR was Forever Howlong, and it was a really good album, and I really enjoyed the quirky edge it had. From there I listened to Ants From Up There, and I’ll admit I don’t remember it too well, but I do remember it was good, just fell a little short.

Well, now listening to For the First Time, this is hands down my favorite album from them. So good that I had no desire to change it. Instead, I just let it repeat every time it ended, and I did this for ... read more

So Savatage was still deeply entrenched in their early power metal roots, but you can definitely hear they’d progressed since their first album. The songwriting is tighter, and the production is much sharper, giving the album a fuller, more impactful sound overall. They subtly brought in the use of synths, but very sparingly, and they still hadn’t transitioned into the progressive metal band they would eventually become.

This is Nick Cave’s chamber pop singer-songwriter album. It’s definitely a more intimate record, with the focus mostly on his voice, backed by piano and acoustic guitar. It’s often seen as his heartbreak album, written in the wake of his breakups with PJ Harvey and his ex-wife Viviane Carneiro. I actually think this would be a good place for someone new to Nick Cave to start. It’s a little more accessible than some of his other work, but he still stays true to his style.

Hüsker Dü is a band I really have a lot of respect for, but to be honest, I don’t enjoy this album as much as their earlier, more aggressive hardcore material. This album leans much more into melodic territory and fits more into the indie alternative scene of the ’80s. It’s not a bad album by any means, but it just doesn’t hit me the same way their rawer early records do.

This was a solid hybrid of post rock, post punk, shoegaze, drone, and dark ambient. The album centers around themes of depressive spiritual emptiness, isolation, death, despair, and decay. It merges distorted soundscapes with heavy reverb, hypnotic drum programming, buried vocals, and long stretches of ambient and drone textures. The songs are generally long and weighty, slowly pulling you in with trance inducing repetition and building tension through droning layers. It’s one of those ... read more

So when it comes to the term dream pop, that label has become pretty loose over the years, and it covers a broad range of sounds and styles. But when I imagine what a true dream pop album should sound like, this is exactly it. This album is one single 35-minute track, and it’s less about structure or buildup and more about creating a dreamlike, ethereal experience.

Unlike other longform compositions that build toward some huge climax, this album gently drifts along in a slow, ambient pop ... read more

One thing that’s good to understand about this album is that it was originally released as a double LP, which means it had a total of four sides. Each of the first three sides showcases the individual talents of each band member, and then the fourth side brings the entire band back together. Hopefully that helps explain why the album feels so excessive and disjointed at times.

That said, this album really highlights the unique strengths of each member when they’re given full ... read more

First Review 6/25/25

I love this album because it really merges a lot of different styles that were happening in the late ‘70s. There’s a strong disco element that leads the way throughout, but it still holds onto ELO’s signature pop rock and progressive pop influences. In a way, the album comes off as playful, by leaning into the musical culture of its time without taking itself too seriously. It feels like they were just along for the ride, having fun, and making music that ... read more

This album had moments I wasn’t too crazy about, and then it had its fun moments. It’s all spacey, instrumental synth music with a definite sci-fi edge. It straddles the line between prog rock, synthwave, and post-rock, creating a sound that’s both retro and futuristic. Not every track hit for me, but when it worked, it really pulled me in.

This was another fun underground D.C. post-hardcore album with production by Ian MacKaye. It’s part of the Dischord Records universe, but originally released in 1985 and reissued on Dischord in 1990. This album played a significant role in shaping early emocore, shifting the focus toward emotional depth and introspection. Musically, it still holds on to an aggressive edge, but it leans more into melodic hardcore, standing in contrast to the more extreme hardcore that was dominating the ... read more

So I’m not going to compare this to Peter Gabriel’s era of Genesis, because by this point he was long gone, and we’re now in a different decade. So moving forward, when it comes to this ’80s era of Genesis, this album was good, but not great. It had a few boring moments, but once we got past those, the rest of the album was pretty decent, especially with the incorporation of modern synths and keyboards.

This album was good, but it’s definitely shackled to the late ’90s era. It’s exactly the kind of stuff I used to hear on downtempo DJ mixtapes back in the day. The vibe is nostalgic, and while it still holds up in some ways, it definitely feels like a product of its time.

So I’m not too familiar with Paul Weller, but after hearing this album, I’d say he’s pretty good. To me, it sounds like a combination of rock, Britpop, and singer-songwriter. One thing I really enjoyed was the use of organ and Mellotron. Sometimes it gives the music a loose, jam session feel. I’m not sure if it’s something I’d come back to often, but overall, it was a good listen.

So this is a classic album from the ’90s when it comes to grunge and heavy shoegaze, but I never knew about it until recently. Apparently “Stars” was their radio hit, but I don’t ever remember hearing it on the radio back then. That said, if you’re into Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins or Deftones, this is definitely an album you’ll want to add to your list. It’s crisp and polished enough for radio play, but still gritty and raw enough to hold onto ... read more