Posts tagged "2011 in music"

Spin Cycle: Electric Six’s “Heartbeats And Brainwaves”

Since 2005’s sophomore album Senor Smoke, Detroit’s Electric Six have delivered a new album every year for their adoring masses. Some have been great, some not so great. On Heartbeats And Brainwaves, the band’s eighth album, they’re leaning heavily in the former. From the get go, Heartbeats And Brainwaves showcases a very refreshed sounding Electric Six brandishing a reinvigorated swagger. H & B boasts a return to the electro a la previous floor bangers “Dance Commander” , “Down At McDonnelzz” […]

Metal Monday Volume 39 (10.10.11)

In Jesseworld, no band  compares with Will Haven . They’re this weird mix of hardcore and sludge with this air of evil floating above that sounds like nobody else. If you’ve never heard them then you’re missing out. When they disbanded shortly after the release of 2001’s Carpe Diem, I was heartbroken. They announced a return in 2005 which was promising until vocalist Grady Avenell dropped out of the mix resulting in their fourth album, The Hierophant, being recorded with a different […]

Metal Monday Volume 38 (10.3.11)

This is really the seventh full-length from Machine Head? It’s crazy to think that there was a time when it was doubtful they would survive through the nu-metal craze of the ’90’s yet here they are after their second coming with 2003’s Through the Ashes of Empires bigger than ever, stronger than all and being handpicked to open for Metallica. Since TTAOE, Machine Head rediscovered themselves, found a songwriting structure that worked and took the time to create songs and […]

The Viewfinder: Kele Okereke’s “What Did I Do?”

Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke is back with a new solo EP available at the end of October. Entitled The Hunter (Cue Mastodon mix-up’s now), it’ll feature 7 all new tracks including a cover of “Goodbye Horses” (The “Buffalo Bill” song in The Silence of the Lambs) by Q Lazzarus along with the first single, “What Did I Do?” featuring vocalist Lucy Taylor on lead vocals. I am definitely a fan of Bloc Party’s and Kele’s electronic direction. I loved Intimacy, and though uneven […]

Spin Cycle: Kasabian’s “Velociraptor!”

The first half had me worried. A little too much ’60’s psychedelia and nostalgia for my tastes  perhaps? With the exception of stellar single “Days Are Forgotten”, the first half of Kasabian’s fourth album, Velociraptor!, falls short of the high expectations I set for this band. Velociraptor! doesn’t come alive for me until act two. From the moment the title track hits halfway through the disc, I’m sold. Tom Meighan spits lyrics in rapid fire succession until the wide open […]

Spin Cycle: blink-182’s “Neighborhoods”

If you didn’t like their self-titled record, forget about Neighborhoods. For those of us who did and enjoy both +(44) and Angel & Airwaves, Neighborhoods is the perfect amalgamation of all those parts. Since the release of their “grown up” album in 2003, blink 182 have broken up, formed all kinds of bands and eventually found their way back to each other to create Neighborhoods. Almost two years since reuniting, Neighborhoods is the prime example that a band needs to […]

Metal Monday Volume 37 (9.26.11)

At this point in Mastodon’s illustrious career, I have to ask: Is it even possible for them to make a bad album? If their latest, The Hunter, is any indication then the answer is a resounding “NO!”. Stepping away from the concept album concept (pun intended) for the first time in almost 10 years, The Hunter sees the behemoth known as Mastodon at their most loose, raw, and yet still experimental.  With but just two songs on here crossing the […]

Metal Monday Volume 36 (9.19.11)

Coming at you on September 27th is a  split by two bands you better know in 2011. Their names: Junius and Rosetta. One is a Philadelphian band named Rosetta who released their third album, A Determinism of Morality, last year. The other, Junius, a band from Boston whose last record (2009’s The Martyrdom of Catastrophist) took almost 3 years to complete and was inspired by the works of Immanuel Velikovsky . Yeah, they’re deep. “A Dark Day With Night” begins as if […]

Spin Cycle: Staind’s “Staind”

It’s album number seven for Staind and the band have decided to go for the throats and revisit their roots meaning Staind is a pummeling beast of an album in the vein of Tormented and Dysfunction.  No joke. No lie. When they said they were going in a heavier direction for their latest, they weren’t lying. First thing long time fans will notice is what an angry record this is. It really seems like singer Aaron Lewis consciously made an […]

Metal Monday Volume 35 (9.12.11)

Let me start off with this, I got into Anthrax during John Bush’s tenure. I know Persistence of Time, State of Euphoria, Among The Living, etc. well but I’ve always liked Bush better. That said, I was very cautious coming into Worship Music because this is not MY Anthrax anymore. That said and with a biased opinion already laid out, I can say that this is one un-fucking-believable Anthrax album. Worship Music is such a metal as fuck album that […]

Metal Monday Volume 34 (9.5.11)

Every song on MonstrO’s debut is a deeply layered opus. From the opening wail of “Fantasma” through the gentle chord fade out of 8-minute closer “April”, MonstrO deliver a solid album comprised of seasoned veterans who’ve been through the motions before and have the musical chemistry to guarantee staying power. Look at the line-up: There’s ex-Torche axemaster Juan Montoya, ex-Bloodsimple members Kyle Sanders on bass and Bevan Davies on drums along with vocalist/guitarist Charlie Suarez. Then you have their first album (available […]

Spin Cycle: Mike Doughty’s “Yes And Also Yes”

There are not many artists in 2011 as prolific as Mike Doughty . He’s just unleashed his first entirely electronic album (Dubious Luxury: check out the review later this week), there’s a book due next year, oh, and a little thing called Yes And Also Yes which you are reading about right now and hopefully buying after finishing this. Of the music that is thrown at consumers/listeners year after year, it’s very rare that you find one single album that is consistently […]