Category: Reviews

Review: Anika – Abyss

Anika is fed up and, frankly, bored with the world right now. It can be a soulless place sometimes…and a soulless time in some places. It can feel like everything is teetering on the edge of the album’s title, Abyss. Recorded in just ten days with a live band, Anika pulls no punches and channels her confusion, frustration, and distrust into a powerful record.

“I’m tired of all this game-playing,” she sings on the opening track, “Hearsay” – a wicked track about media manipulation, romantic manipulation (“You’re telling me tales to get your own way.”), and the vicious divides a rumor mill can cause. The title track roars with Lawrence Goodwin‘s metal-cutting guitars and then Tomas Nochteff drops sexy, heavy bass on you. “Honey” is a tale of Anika walking away from a lover who has become too much like her. Is it a coincidence, then, that the next track is the Velvet Underground-like “Walk Away,” in which Anika admits, “The truth is that I’d rather be alone, than with you.” Don’t feel bad, though. Anika doesn’t have much feeling for anyone in this glossy fake world. It’s not just you. It’s everyone. She doesn’t even trust herself or believe that she wants to spend lonely nights in her house, or if she wants the world to burn up or not.

“Into the Fire” is another hypnotizing track that Anika does so well as she longs for someone to take her off this planet we’re destroying and to somewhere quiet for a change. On “Oxygen,” Anika lets us know that she’s interested in trying something new, in exploring dark places, in finding breath amid the choking clouds of noise and limitations being put on our methods of expression and even our own bodies. “Out of the Shadows” is a rocker, with Anika putting divisive politicians in their place using fierce words (“Full of opinions, full of hot air. Am I supposed to fall before you?”) and fiercer riffs.

“It’s a one-way ticket, and I’m not on it,” she sings on “One-Way Ticket” — a song about the growth of fascism (“This city didn’t learn the lessons from its past, making deals with the snakes and the sharks.”). She tries to warn us about the growth of idiocracy and screen addiction on “Last Song” with lyrics like, “The robots are ruling, the logic is drooling, dripping out your open mouth.” By the time we get to the last track, “Buttercups,” Anika is “thinking of the simpler days” and wishing she (and we) could escape from the unrelenting pressures of this age of constant stimulation. Wouldn’t it be nicer to just lounge in a field of flowers for a while?

Abyss is a powerful record with multiple layers, each one getting darker as you go deeper into it. Anika is mad right now, righteously mad, and she’s trying to pull us out of the darkness, even if only for a little while.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Blackwater Holylight – If You Only Knew EP

Blackwater Holylight excel at writing, singing, and playing haunting songs that take doom rock into spectral places. Now, with their new EP If You Only Knew, the band take their doom rock into the shoegaze realm and the results are excellent.

Sarah McKenna‘s rainfall-like electric piano opens the EP on “Wandering Lost.” It matches the sorrowful guitar from Mikayla Mayhew as lead singer / bassist Sunny Faris reminds us that we all suffer at some point, and we can sometimes find solace in that. The song kicks into grand metal riffs in the second half, with drummer Eliese Dorsay putting down beats that Nordic metal bands would love.

“Torn Reckless” is a gorgeous shoegaze track that caught me by surprise. Faris sings about standing on the precipice of a relationship and not sure if plunging off it or backing away is the right decision. Mayhew’s guitar sounds like its being pumped through a dozen half-blown amplifiers.

“Fate Is Forward” is pure 1990s (good) alt-rock with its bursting guitars and quiet-loud-quiet verses and chorus. It’s almost a forgotten Failure track, and it’s impossible to choose who shines the most on it, but why should you bother? Just let it wash over you like a rolling thunderstorm.

Finally, I did not have “Blackwater Holylight covers Radiohead.” on my 2025 bingo card, but they’ve done it with a beautiful version of “All I Need.” They keep the buzzing synths and add more guitar fuzz. Faris’ version of Thom Yorke‘s vocals make the song open its heart a bit more and, yes, make it sexier.

This is one of Blackwater Holylight’s best records, and a great sign of good things to come as they continue to explore and expand their sound.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Andi at Terrorbird Media!]

Rewind Review: The Jesus and Mary Chain – Stoned & Dethroned (2009 reissue)

Coming off the 1993 Lollapalooza tour (back when it a tour and still had good lineups), The Jesus and Mary Chain went into the studio in 1994 to record what was originally supposed to be an acoustic record for their fifth album, but making Stoned & Dethroned took longer than they’d expected and was also the first time since Psychocandy that they used a full band in the sessions instead of brothers Jim and William Reid doing everything.

“Dirty Water” (a sort of lament mixed with a sort of challenge) has those acoustic guitars, but the electric guitars and bass, and Ben Lurie‘s harmonica and Steve Monti‘s shuffling drums almost push it into psychedelic country territory. “Bullet Lovers” continues this love affair with the dusty west (I mean, look at that main cover image…).

Mazzy Star‘s Hope Sandoval joins Jim Reid on vocals for “Sometimes Always,” which has Reid begging for Sandoval to let him back into her life after he’s left her yet again. “Come On” is a lovable track with a cool groove and simple, yet completely relatable lyrics about trying to convince a lover that things will eventually turn around and be all right. The electro-acoustic guitar on “Between Us” is a nice touch, once again bridging the gap between western psych and shoegaze.

“Hole” is a dark one, with Jim Reid wishing he had some motivation (“All I want is a dream. Give me something to dream.). Monti’s simple drum beat is perfect for the track, while the guitars grumble like Oscar the Grouch deep inside his trash can. “Never Saw It Coming” might be a song about the end of the world, with William Reid telling us there will be no need of money, clothing, or even running when it comes. The bass groove on this by Lurie is top notch.

“She” is an interesting track (with nice guitar work throughout it) as Jim Reid tries to figure out a woman who “spends her time out of space and out of line, planning some unholy crime that comes to nothing.” Meanwhile, his brother wishes he and a woman could make it work on “Wish I Could.” “Save Me” and “Till It Shines” go heavy on the acoustic guitar chords, with “Till It Shines” again delivering a (mostly) hopeful message (“Junk the junk, love the love.”).

Shane McGowan from The Pogues takes over lead vocals on the sad (Notice the initials of the album’s title?) “God Help Me,” which is a straight-up prayer of someone at the end of their rope. Jim Reid tries to talk a lady friend out of going back to her old addict habits on “Girlfriend” (“We done our time and we had some fun. I want to get things done.”). He expands this to wonder what’s going on not only with her, but people in general on “Everybody” (“Everybody I know is falling apart.”) – a song which I’m willing to bet Radiohead has on a couple playlists. On “You’ve Been a Friend,” Jim Reid is missing someone who’s left him – possibly because of his actions.

William Reid, at least, feels a bit better on “These Days,” in which he claims, “I feel immune to the sadness and gloom.” On the closing track, “Feeling Lucky,” he’s finally found “someone who knows me, and she still wants to hold me.” The Brian Jonestown Massacre probably play this on repeat while on tour.

This album doesn’t have a lot of the loud, fuzzy riffs you might expect from TJAMC, but it does have the introspective lyrics, the good guitar work, and the interesting mix of American southwest vibrations.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Cie – Adventures II

Cie‘s newest EP, Adventures II, contains four rock solid tracks of booming, bumping deep house that you’ll want to throw on at your next party or anytime you need to feel like a bad-azz mofo.

The opening, swirling, pulsing, grooving bass of “Reichenstein” grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go for the next six minutes and fifteen seconds. “Der Turm” (“The Tower”) has cool tribal beats that put a neat spin on this house track. It’s a well-crafted blend of house, jungle, and a bit of synthwave. Nicely done, Mr. Cie.

Side B of the album contains two versions of “Stenzelberg” — the original and a remix by Mar io. The original’s funky bass groove is enough to sell you on the entire EP, and the rest of it is a flat-out house banger (Do I sound ancient using that term?). The remix is almost a minute longer and swaps out the house funk for more jungle flavor and darkness along the edges.

This is one of the best house music EPs I’ve heard so far this year. Go snag it.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Pull Proxy Media!]

Review: Pascal Hetzel – ASLM Remixes

Pascal Hetzel‘s 2022 album, ASLM, gets an update three years down the road and becomes ASLM Remixes – featuring a lot of sharp talent and enough beats to power your next workout or dark afterparty.

Starting with JakoJako‘s remix of “RBBRMN” (“Rubberman?”), the album drops snappy electric percussion and throbbing sub-bass that gets into the back of your brain. GAEL‘s remix of “TWST” (“Twist?”) pulses like the heart of a final girl in a slasher film.

Up next is Kaiser‘s remix of “SLT” (“Salt?” “Slit?”), which you’ll want for your next HIIT workout because the bass on this makes you feel like you could either dance all night long or kickbox a dozen opponents. It’s followed by another remix of the same track, but this one by Projekt Gestalten. Their version adds an underlying sense of menace, almost like you’re dancing in a club with hornet nests hanging from the ceiling that might drop at any moment if the beats get too heavy.

The record ends with Luis Flores‘ remix of “PPPR” (“Pepper,” right?) throws you into some sort of futuristic, slightly dystopian sci-fi movie battle sequence with its buzzsaw synths, mechanical beats, and orbiting war machine bass. Good stuff, really.

Add this whole thing to your workout playlist.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Pull Proxy Media!]

Review: Babe Rainbow – Slipper imp and shakaerator

Recorded in an abandoned warehouse on a banana farm, and named after a towable tractor plough made by the Bunyip company (“…a revolutionary ripper of great strength.”), Babe Rainbow‘s new album, slipper imp and shakaerator, is a trippy affair that blends psych-rock with surf vibes.

The album starts with a question: “What is ashwagandha?” Elliot O’Reilly‘s bass groove hooks you right away as you “swim around like yin and yang” and “plunge into oblivion” with them. “Long Live the Wilderness” encourages us (with great yacht rock guitar riffs from Jack Crowther) to take it easy and get outside now and then. Or maybe it’s “Now and Zen,” as the next track adds in some vocal echoes and warps the instruments to produce a neat effect.

“Sunday” dips into astrological themes and spacey, jangly guitar chords backed by Miles Myjavec‘s zero gravity-drifting drums. The instrumental “Apollonia” is a lovely transition to “Like Cleopatra” – a fun love song about taking your girl to outer space and treating her like a queen.

“When the milk flows” (featuring King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard‘s Stu Mackenzie – who mixed the album) is a bouncy track designed to get you to shake off your troubles. Mackenzie returns on “Mt dub” – which seems to be a song about surfing in Australia (which Babe Rainbow do often, as well as in other parts of the world) and learning that “You’re more loved than you know.”

“Aquarium cowgirl” has a fun beat and sounds ready for radio play as the band sings about how amazing it is to be alive, despite what many others would tell you. It’s interesting that there’s no apostrophe in the title of “Rainbows end.” It’s a sentence, and song (featuring Camille Jansen on guest spoken word vocals), about impermanence with dreamy synths to help you relax with the idea that all things pass. The album ends with “re-ju-ven-ate,” in which Angus Dowling asks the bold question, “What are you paying for?…Abundance, abundance for everyone.”

This is a fun record, possibly the most fun one I’ve heard so far in 2025. Have a good time with it.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: j.o.y.s. – self-titled

Ramon Narvaez is also known as j.o.y.s., which stands for “Jump Out of Your Skin.” It’s an acronym for stepping out of your comfort zone and trying on something new. For Narvaez, that meant teaming up with has pedal steel-playing pal Justin Gaynor to finally put the musical improvisations they’d been creating into a self-titled album of intriguing ambience.

“dastardly” opens the album with simple synth chords and guitar drone notes that swirl like a vortex opening in space and time. The bending of time was a central theme while Narvaez and and Gaynor were creating the album, and they nailed the feel of it right away. “yucca valley” is perfect for desert meditations, as it seems to stretch beyond your senses and center you in stillness.

“river / road” curls along for over eight minutes, with Gaynor’s pedal steel helping your brain drift like a leaf on the water and your hand sway up and down outside the car window as you drive at a leisurely pace. Speaking of water, “blue water prison” is something you won’t mind being in, as it washes over you and then drains away tension.

The guitars on “lee & leo” are reminiscent of lonely border towns or nearly empty roadside diners on a side highway. “heights” almost fades out before sliding back in to bring you back to Earth. The long title track is a back-and-forth conversation between Narvaez and Gaynor’s guitars while quiet synths moderate them. By the time we get to “96 (jumping cholla),” we’re either falling into or awakening from a dream.

It’s a lovely record, and a nice meditative journey if you’re looking for one.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Ryan at Clandestine Label Services.]

Rewind Review: Iguana Death Cult – Echo Palace (2022)

Hailing from The Netherlands, Iguana Death Cult both blend and defy genres on their 2022 album Echo Palace.

Opening with funky post-punk on “Paper Straws,” IDC instantly reminded me of !!! with their quirky dance grooves and solid bass lines from Justin Boer. The title track brought some of Parquet Courts‘ groovier stuff to mind, and Tobias Opschoor‘s frenetic guitar riffs on it are great.

“Pushermen” is a good example of the band clicking together in the studio, as they wrote it in about an hour. It seems to be a song about escaping the constraints of the urban grind (“Living in a box of concrete, how do you keep occupied?…Maybe I’ll take you anywhere. Don’t believe the hype. Maybe I’ll take you anywhere. Freedom’s in the mind.”).

“Sunny Side Up” is a quirky garage rock track, not unlike early Devo, about how trying to make it through a typical day of work and the “superficial spectacle.” (“I’d give you all of my money if I could borrow some time.”). Benjamin Herman‘s guest saxophone solo on “Sensory Overload” is outstanding. “Conference to Conference” once again tackles the banality of the corporate life.

“I Just Want a House” is a great post-punk track with great back-and-forth vocals between Jeroen Reek and his bandmates as they pine for a simpler life away from the hustle and bustle (“I’ll admit I’m confused on how we even got here. Just want a house where I can lay back.”). “Oh No” is like a lit fuse racing toward a pound of dynamite. Boer’s bass borders on panic, and Reek blasts out trombone honks to inspire more wild dancing in the clubs.

“Rope a Dope” is a good example of Arjen van Opstal‘s “sounds easy but is deceptively difficult for others to place” drumming ability and the keen and subtle use of Jimmy de Kok‘s synthesizers. You realize that a lot of the tracks on Echo Palace wouldn’t sound right without them.

van Opstal’s hi-hat work is on-point on “Heaven in Disorder,” and I love the slight echo effect on Opschoor’s guitar in it – and the neat sense of menace in the last quarter of the song. The album ends with the garage / new wave (How did they mix those genres so well?) rocker “Radio Brainwave.” It’s a great way to wrap up the record.

I discovered IDC when I saw them open for Osees last October. They won over the crowd right away, and I’m keen to see where they go next.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Lonnie Holley – Tonky

Lonnie Holley is singer, songwriter, artist, educator, and poet…and, surprisingly to me, a trip hop artist. I knew that his new album, Tonky (named after his nickname from growing up in and around honkytonks), would be full of gripping tales from his life and views on the current American landscape. I didn’t expect it to be layered with found sounds, electric beats, and trip hop touches.

The opening track, “Seeds,” is the longest at over nine minutes and has Holly telling about how fields he worked as a child until he was exhausted or often beaten so bad he couldn’t sleep. The string instruments strum out growing tension while simple synth chords are like the hums of spectres watching from the other side of the veil. “Life” is a short poem of hope with Holley encouraging us to use small actions to grow big change.

“Protest with Love” is the most punk rock song I’ve heard in a long while, and it’s wrapped in a lush trip hop track. “If you’re gonna protest, protest with love…Let love do its thing,” Holly advises. Loving thy neighbor, heck, just being nice, is one of the most rebellious acts you can do in 2025. In the jazz and post-funk (Is that a thing?)-inspired “The Burden,” Holley tells us all that it’s on us to remember those who came before and how we need to honor them (“The burden is like a spell that’s been cast upon you. Burdens of our ancestors to unravel and clarify in history.”).

“Let those who have ears, let them hear…We might not have it all together, but together we have it all,” Holley preaches in the beginning of “The Stars” — a powerful track about how people brought over on slave ships saw the same stars we now see, but how much have we progressed since then? The included rap by Open Mike Eagle is so slick it might drop you to the floor.

Holley makes sure you’re paying attention on the growling (and slightly funky) “We Were Kings in the Jungle, Slaves in the Field.” “Strength of a Song” has some of Holley’s strongest vocals on the record as he sings about finding hope and power in music. Near-industrial drums make “What’s Going On” sound like a roaring muscle car engine. “I Looked Over My Shoulder” is psychedelic jazz mixed with dark-wave synths.

“Wait a minute…” Holley says at the beginning of “Did I Do Enough?” Good heavens, haven’t we all thought that at some point — especially if you’ve been through a tragedy, or someone close to you has? The song is just Holley’s heartfelt vocals above ambient synths that build to gospel-like grandeur and it’s a stunner. “That’s Not Art, That’s Not Music” has Holley firing back the criticisms aimed at black music and culture upon their detractors.

The album ends with the hopeful “A Change Is Gonna Come,” but Holley asks, “Are we ready for something to happen?” One has to recognize the signs, when to stand up, and when to take flight. We have to be willing to accept change from divisiveness to inclusion. “How can I love God without loving you?” a woman asks not only herself, but also all of us. It’s the main message Holley wants to convey, and one we all must hear.

This is already one of the best albums of the year.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rewind Review: The Jesus and Mary Chain – Honey’s Dead (2009 reissue)

The Jesus and Mary Chain came out swinging on their 1992 album (their fourth) Honey’s Dead. First, the title refers to their hit “Just Like Honey” and how they’ve decided to move on from it, so get on the train or get off the tracks. Then, the first line of the opening track, “Reverence,” is “I wanna die just like Jesus Christ.” The song was banned across many BBC airwaves for that lyric (along with “I wanna die like JFK.”) and its repeated apparent references to suicide – which were actually about letting go of relationships and the ego.

There’s no hidden meaning behind “Teenage Lust.” It is what’s advertised. William Reid‘s guitars sound like they’re being banged around in a tool & dye plant. “Far Gone and Out” is still one of JAMC’s biggest hits, and it has Jim Reid singing about a woman he wants to teach a lesson (“No one works so hard just to make me feel so bad.”).

His brother, William, on the other hand, has much better things to say about the subject of “Almost Gold” – a woman who was the closest he’d come to perfection by that point in his life. HIs guitars on “Sugar Ray” roar and growl like angry wasps as he tries to tell a woman that he’s not like “All those boys [who] have fun with toys. All I want is you.”

“Tumbledown” has Jim Reid dealing with the fallout of another lover who’s nothing but trouble, while Steve Monti, bringing a nice return of live drumming to the band, knocks out frantic beats. “Catchfire” is a standout if you love some psychedelia mixed with your shoegaze. The title might be a drug reference. After all, the album was recorded in their studio they’d named the “Drugstore.”

Jim Reid finally finds Mrs. Right (Now?) on “Good for My Soul” – a downright lovely shoegaze song giving praise to a woman who “Ever since she came I’ve been whole, believe me.” “Rollercoaster” is an early 1990s rock gem with William Reid trying to forgive his past after others have already done so (and Monti nails some killer beats in the meantime). On “I Can’t Get Enough,” he sings “Honey, you’re so cool” to a woman, but you really don’t believe him. His brother’s guitar work highlights his snarky frustration.

By the time we get to “Sundown,” William Reid is ready to give up. “The planet poisoned me. It’s a sick place to be. I’ve got a taste for it. Now I’ve gotta leave.” “Frequency” is the sibling to “Reverence,” which much the same lyrics but with William Reid on vocals and extra guitar crunch and shredding sprinkled on top.

Honey’s Dead was (and still is) a good record, and a second launching point for the band to explore more options and sounds. Don’t skip it.

Keep your mind open.

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