Author: Bill Adams
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Yesterday’s Heroes – La Llama Que Nunca Se Apaga 7” EP
I could open this review by writing something trite like, “When it’s done well, whether listeners comprehend the language that a song was written in or not is irrelevant; its meaning will come through in the passion with which it was performed.” But that would probably make some readers scoff. It should – such statements…
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The Bar Stool Preachers – Blatant Propaganda LP
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Blatant Propaganda LP by The Bar Stool Preachers. It’s pretty incredible how much a band seems to change as soon as people start paying attention to them and their fanbase swells. History is littered with bands who seemed not to change for years as they attempted…
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Misfits – Friday the 13th EP
While there’s no small part of this critic that wants to hand this band which calls itself The Misfits its lungs and dismiss them as heretics (I’ve done it continually for years), the truth is that I just can’t do it now. The truth is, the four songs which comprise the Friday the 13th EP…
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Kriegs Legion – The Anti-State War Machine EP
It’s impossible to listen to Kriegs Legion‘s new EP and not flash on the crew of bands which came before them who didn’t exactly typify hardcore or punk rock in any manner but did explode forth with a sound and vision all their own under those banners. Bands of this tradition included names like D.O.A., Cosmic…
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Bum City Saints – Bum City Saints LP
While some critics may claim that an album or artist being “derivative” is a negative trait, that’s not always true – in the right context. Sometimes, the right sequence of sonic elements can align and instantly throw listeners back into the mindset thought to be long forgotten. It can be exhilarating and comforting all at the…
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Cheap Trick – At Budokan, The Complete Concert (2 LP reissue)
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Record Store Day reissue of At Budokan – The Complete Concert 2-LP by Cheap Trick. The 1970s are known for lots of things which happened musically, like the break-up of The Beatles, the deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, John Bonham and Elvis Presley,…
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Fews – Means LP
Even at first sight – before a note of music is heard from the Means LP – those who happen upon Fews‘ debut full-length will get the sense that they’re about to bear witness to an important musical EVENT. The front cover poses a bunch of very tantalizing questions. On it, a camera captures a…
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Booze & Glory – Carry On
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the diecut Carry On single by Booze & Glory The catch about the genre that’s affectionately known as “street punk” is that those who make the music often do not make it for very long. The reason for that is simple: street punk is impoverished by nature…
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Ancient Shapes – Ancient Shapes LP
While Daniel Romano has found great success exposing his Country & Western inspirations over the last few years (both 2011’s Sleep Beneath The Willows and 2013’s Come Cry With Me got longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize in those respective years), it’s refreshing and relieving to hear that the singer has elected to turn up…
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Pup – The Dream Is Over
Over the last few years, critics have announced the death of rock n’ roll so often that it has become pretty difficult to truly wonder if they’re not right. It gets even harder to not think that maybe – just maybe – there’s no going back either; it is the twenty-first century, after all, and…