| ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Injury Reserve looked destined to elevate themselves to alternative hip-hop legend status in the mid to late-2010’s. They had one of the best streaks of releases of any group or artist at the time, rivalling contemporaries like Brockhampton with more than half the members. ‘Live From The Dentist Office', ‘Floss’, their ‘DriveContinue reading "Picking up where they left off: By Storm – My Ghosts Go Ghost *ALBUM REVIEW*"
An industrial thrill-ride: Mandy, Indiana – URGH *ALBUM REVIEW*
| ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Your first impression of Mandy, Indiana’s sophomore album ‘URGH’ will either make or break your experience. Given industrial music’s mini-resurgence in recent years, particularly thanks to bands like Model/Actriz and Fat Dog making it cool to get sweaty and abrasive again, it should come as no shock that Mandy, Indiana have aContinue reading "An industrial thrill-ride: Mandy, Indiana – URGH *ALBUM REVIEW*"
Paracosm’s Blackpill: REDUX | THEATRE REVIEW
| ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | It’s a never-ending story. Romantically disenfranchised men with deep insecurity and misplaced anger channel their own shortcomings, perceived or real, into an ideology that projects their lack of personal success onto the women that use their agency to decide for themselves. The excuses are always the same too. They don’t know whatContinue reading "Paracosm’s Blackpill: REDUX | THEATRE REVIEW"
Upping the ante: Hellripper – Coronach *ALBUM REVIEW*
| ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Harkening back to the glory days of 80’s thrash, blending that with the death-defying guitar work of speed metal, and spreading a nice even layer of blackened muck over the top is Scotland’s very own Hellripper. Since 2014, James McBain has been the lone songwriter of this project, showcasing the sort ofContinue reading "Upping the ante: Hellripper – Coronach *ALBUM REVIEW*"
Microtonal math rock: Angine de Poitrine – Vol. II *ALBUM REVIEW*
| ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Have you always wished that King Gizzard were French-Canadians with an affinity for anonymity and Dadaist performance art? The ultra-specific vibe that this audacious duo captures is not too far off, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anything even remotely similar in the year of our lord. Loaded with a double guitarContinue reading "Microtonal math rock: Angine de Poitrine – Vol. II *ALBUM REVIEW*"
The duality of man: MIKE & Earl Sweatshirt – Pompeii // Utility *ALBUM REVIEW*
| ⭐⭐✨ | How do you turn down the dials on something that is already naturally low volume? If you ask legendary underground rap figures MIKE and Earl Sweatshirt, they might scoff at the question entirely, or refuse to answer it. You know what? Fair enough. It’s philosophical in the paradoxical sense. An answer toContinue reading "The duality of man: MIKE & Earl Sweatshirt – Pompeii // Utility *ALBUM REVIEW*"
Solid ear candy: Fcukers – Ö *ALBUM REVIEW*
| ⭐⭐⭐✨ | Is it pronounced “fuckers”? “Fuh-cuckers”? “Fuh-kookers”? It’s an eye-grabbing name, and it generated just enough curiosity in me about this New York duo to put them at the top of the priority list. Having not heard anything from them prior to hearing the album, I thought it could go a couple ofContinue reading "Solid ear candy: Fcukers – Ö *ALBUM REVIEW*"
A pale imitation: Slayyyter – WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA *ALBUM REVIEW*
| ⭐✨ | I need someone to tell me what the hype is about…Not because I’m desperate to like this or anything. I can very much go on about my life never hearing this again and be totally at peace. It’s not as a way to back anyone into a conversational corner, imprisoning them withContinue reading "A pale imitation: Slayyyter – WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA *ALBUM REVIEW*"
A defiant opus: Neurosis – An Undying Love for a Burning World *ALBUM REVIEW*
| ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ | Once a heavily ritualistic, primal gargantuan of a band, Neurosis made the most of their tendencies towards hypnosis in their heyday. Perusing their back catalogue, you can find no shortage of slow-moving dread to ascend to. Given the time period in which they landed, one can consider them early pioneers of subgenresContinue reading "A defiant opus: Neurosis – An Undying Love for a Burning World *ALBUM REVIEW*"
A lack of style: Harry Styles – Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. *ALBUM REVIEW*
| ⭐⭐✨ | Harry Styles is nothing if not curious. His artistic acumen to date speaks volumes about his desire to remove himself as much as possible from the boyband leader image. The now disbanded One Direction put him on the map, and was over almost as quickly as it started (as can be theContinue reading "A lack of style: Harry Styles – Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally. *ALBUM REVIEW*"
Transcendent: Gorillaz – The Mountain *ALBUM REVIEW*
| ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | There are many ways artists can transcend. They can capture an atmosphere and a sonic palette that goes far beyond our earthly realm. They can employ thematic ideas that explore the very idea of transcending itself. They can expand on their existing stylistic repertoire, graduating from their usual conventions for something moreContinue reading "Transcendent: Gorillaz – The Mountain *ALBUM REVIEW*"
Even more mutant: James Blake – Trying Times *ALBUM REVIEW*
| ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | It’s fascinating, really. As Blake leans more heavily into the organic warmth of traditional R&B music, his vocal applications grow even more manipulated. These undulations occur almost as if he were modulating himself in real time, independent of the technology required. The more rustic approach to his usual alien croon tunes onContinue reading "Even more mutant: James Blake – Trying Times *ALBUM REVIEW*"
“I got blacker”: Jack Harlow – Monica *ALBUM REVIEW*
✨ "I love Black music. I love the sound of Black music. And of course, I’m hyper-aware of the politics of today, that safer landing spot that a lot of my white contemporaries have found. And of course, it appealed to me to do something that I felt, at a time when there's certainly peopleContinue reading "“I got blacker”: Jack Harlow – Monica *ALBUM REVIEW*"
Dan Will Review 