Category: Reviews – Vinyl
Metal still sounds best on large, round pieces of pressed vinyl. The smell, the artwork – and it gets played through a needle.
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Luke Combs – Growin’ Up LP
Luke Combs Growin’ Up LP (River House/Columbia/Sony Music) I confess that it took a few days of listening to Luke Combs’ third album, Growin’ Up, constantly in hopes of finding a lede into the music before I finally found one which explained why I liked it as much as I do. I mean, the lyrics…
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NastyFacts – “Drive My Car” (Limited Edition Deluxe 12” single)
Nastyfacts “Drive My Car” (Limited Edition Deluxe 12” single) (Left For Dead Records) As every punk knows, it’s not terribly uncommon for many bands of a certain vintage to have a pretty abbreviated catalogue of releases. The idea of “one and done” isn’t uncommon at all, really – but it’s still saying something when a…
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Alexisonfire – Otherness LP
Alexisonfire Otherness 2LP (Dine Alone) The cool thing that Alexisonfire has always done (and this is not a claim that many bands can make) is that they have always challenged their audience without making it look intentional. When the band’s first album appeared in 2002, for example, the idea that three bands (Condemning Salem, Helicon…
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Lucius – Second Nature LP
Lucius Second Nature LP (Mom + Pop Records) Not so long ago, an article was published outlining the concept and idea of “post-genre” pop, and the very idea made this critic scoff. “Attention spans have grown shorter,” I thought. “The way that many young people define themselves, the things they like and the things they…
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The Flatliners – New Ruin LP
The Flatliners New Ruin LP (Dine Alone/Fat Wreck Chords) In the twenty-year duration of The Flatliners’ career to date, it’s actually pretty remarkable to observe the turns that the band’s music has taken. After beginning with some respectable (if not terribly memorable) ska-core in 2005 and then taking a couple of years to develop (see…
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Various Artists – Stranger Things 4 – Soundtrack From The Netflix Series 2LP
Various Artists Stranger Things 4 – Soundtrack From The Netflix Series 2LP (Legacy/Sony Music) I usually steer clear of soundtracks because I’m not the greatest fan of compilations in general. When I throw on a record, I usually want to hear an artist’s idea seen through from start to finish as well as all of…
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The Christian Family – The Raw and Primitive Sound of The Christian Family LP
The Christian Family The Raw and Primitive Sound of The Christian Family LP (Voodoo Rhythm Records) With the success of bands like The White Stripes, The Black Keys, Death From Above and Japandroids in hand, making a guess about the probable sound of The Christian Family – another two-piece American band – seems like it…
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Beat-Man & The Underground – It’s A Matter Of Time – The Complete PALP Session LP
Reverend Beat-Man & The Underground It’s A Matter Of Time – The Complete PALP Session LP (Voodoo Rhythm Records) In this era of digital production, rare is the album which feels and sounds dirty. Now, I don’t mean “dirty” in the sense that it was recorded poorly or the sound quality is poor, I mean…
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Maren Morris – Humble Quest LP
Maren Morris Humble Quest LP (Columbia/Sony Music) It’s funny how, as good as each of the eleven songs are on Maren Morris’ Humble Quest are, trying to pin down their appeal will probably take listeners a minute. For example, when “Circles Around This Town” opens the A-side of the album, listeners will be able to…
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OFF! – Free LSD LP
OFF! Free LSD LP (Fat Possum Records) To say that the last few years have been marked by difficulty and upheaval for OFF! would be an understatement. After Wasted Years was released in 2014, OFF! kept excitement levels up with the announcement that they were working on a feature film project (to be entitled Watermelon)…