Trial Through Fire is an appropriate title for City Of Fire’s sophomore outing because what started out so pure and filled with so much hope became this lengthy ordeal that resulted in an album that quietly dropped with barely a whimper back in April of this year. The drama aside of a Pledgemusic campaign that launched in 2011 and only just came to fruition in 2013 aside, a whimper is definitely not the kind of sound you’ll be hearing from […]
Album Reviews
Pet Shop Boys, Electric: Album Review
It’s not always easy to be objective about a new album release by one of your favorite artists. And I preface this by saying Pet Shop Boys have been one of my favorites, really only second to Prince, since their debut Please in 1986. Don’t let their lack of airplay in the States since the 90’s fool you, PSB have sold over 50 million records worldwide, are the UK’s most successful duo ever, and still consistently make noise in the […]
Jay-Z, Magna Carta Holy Grail: Album Review
If you’ve grown up with Jay-Z as a consistent presence in your life, it’s difficult to be critical of him. That might have to do with his fairly remarkable record – although he’s only released a handful of stone-cold classics (Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint unimpeachably, and I’d argue for The Black Album too), he’s released plenty of good albums, with few (if any) clunkers in the bunch. I mean, sure, Kingdom Come and American Gangster weren’t really what anyone […]
David Lynch, The Big Dream: Album Review
Best known for his dark and often perplexing films, multimedia artist David Lynch is back with his second LP of non-film music, The Big Dream. The follow up to 2011’s Crazy Clown Time, The Big Dream very much continues in the same vein as its predecessor. Lynch has recently characterized his musical style as “modernized blues,” and while the song structures tend to follow a blues-based progression, it is once again the electronic elements and overall darkness of Lynch’s music […]
Popblerd’s New Release Report 7/16/13
I’m doing this. I really am! This is Big Money’s deal but I’m taking over the “New Release Report” for a little while because, frankly, I miss it. But enough rambling, onto the new releases… We’re in the middle of July meaning…nothing is coming out. For the most part. First, there’s the solo outing from ex-Pantera/current Down frontman Phil Anselmo. I didn’t like it. A lot. You can go here to read why. On the other side of the spectrum (And […]
Metal Monday Volume 131 (7.15.13)
Swelling with this air of Hacride-esque mysticism, “Nemesis of Neglect” slowly devolves into a Converge meets Entombed guitar barrage. Those comparisons continue especially taking on the Entombed guitar tones mixed with a kind of Jacob Bannon style inhuman screech but a little more guttural on “Terror”. Thus begins Heresy, the debut ruckus from Detroit’s From Hell. Moving on, “Unholy” is a seriously unholy merging of time signatures that just might just render listeners mad upon excessive repeat listens. Later still, […]
Mayer Hawthorne, Where Does this Door Go?: album review
Mayer Hawthorne both expands and contracts with his latest album, “Where Does This Door Go?”
Gogol Bordello, Pure Vida Conspiracy: Album Review
While I try to avoid reviewing albums I dislike, sometimes it needs to happen to warn the masses and longtime fans. It’s not often I use the phrase “utter shit” to describe a band or album but here I am typing while listening to Gogol Bordello’s latest, Pure Vida Conspiracy. To say this band has lost it somewhere along the way would be an understatement. They’ve lost members. They’ve lost their edge. They’ve lost that magic. A gang of gypsy […]
True Widow, Circumambulation: Album Review
There’s isn’t really anything like the fuzzed out almost ethereal sounds that True Widow produce in modern heavy music today which makes a throwback album like Circumambulation (That’s a mouthful!) so utterly refreshing. From the evil lurch of “CREEPER” which immediately sets the tone through to “LUNGR”‘s magical slow burn which concludes the album, Circumambulation provides a multitude of facets for lovers of stoner, doom, and just good old heavy music in general to latch onto. Albums like this make […]
Phillip Anselmo & The Illegals, Walk Through Exits Only: Album Review
First off can I just say how sick I am of albums billed as a “full-length LP” featuring less than 10 songs? Unless your name is Isis, Neurosis, or Pelican (To name a few, obviously) and the average length of one of your songs is 6-12 minutes then a measly eight songs ain’t cuttin’ it (Phil’s not the only one, mind you, just the most recent example). End tirade. Superjoint Ritual, Arson Anthem, Down, Pantera….it’s all led to this, hasn’t […]
Ciara, Ciara: Album Review
You would have to be blind to not notice that Ciara has had a pretty rough run of luck over the past couple of years. After her first three albums all debuted top three on the Billboard albums chart, Basic Instinct whimpered in at number 44 back in 2010, with only a top three showing for “Ride” on the R&B chart to show for it. Since then, there’s been an air of desperation about the number of singles that have […]
Purple Suns, YOURS: Album Review
Four songs is all it will take to not only knock you on your ass but also completely ensnare you into the Purple Suns universe! That’s right, Purple Suns is back with an all new EP entitled YOURS. If you thought you knew Purple Suns after MINES, you ain’t heard nothin’ yet! Having never had one myself, I can only imagine that lead track “Concussions” is a pretty good indicator of what one would feel like. It’s a cacophonous wall […]
