Sickoids are a three piece with members of Witch Hunt and Government Warning, and there are elements of both of these bands to be found in the music on this six track 12-inch, the follow-up to their self-titled LP. That means what you get is a no holds barred attack borne out of the general frustrations of life, be they personal or social, with a virulent tone from start to finish. That tone is built into a sound that encompasses American hardcore and also the U.K.-centric, anarchic scene of the 1980s, thus providing the perfect backdrop for venting annoyance and dissatisfaction-which is there from the beginning with the opening track "Occupy Your Time. [more]

I can still remember when I first heard Dillinger Four; I felt as if my head was being knocked clean off my shoulders. Not so much through any power or intensity (both of which traits are found in that band's music) but more through the "Bloody hell, this is great" kind of sense that came with the experience. Galactic Cannibal elicited the same response when I first heard this album. Even now, after over two dozen plays in three days, this records floors me on each and every listen. [more]

As a total latecomer to Lemuria-with my first experience being a live show last year when I was curious to hear what this band was all about-I was caught off-guard and unexpectedly blown away by what the trio delivered that night. Lemuria also shot holes through my expectations of them being a purely pop-punk band. Following that show I bought the band's second album Pebble which has grown into a favourite and my go-to choice when in the car. Almost twelve months on from that epiphany and Lemuria are now releasing their third album The Distance Is So Big, an album on par with its predecessor but at times, exceeding it. [more]

Youth Avoiders are from Paris, France; well, all except one of them, who is from Germany, so for all intent and purposes it's okay to refer to Youth Avoiders as a French group. They make a highly desirable racket courtesy of the instruments and voices at their disposal and should be complemented on those efforts. Following a couple of 7-inches and a variety of demos released on vinyl and/or cassette over the last few years, it was definitely time for this five-piece to take that leap onto a larger slab of vinyl, one which would allow it to cement the group's status as probably the best French-based band around at the moment. [more]

Careers in Science are a bit like a musical drug. They have a knack for knocking out some great punk rock and hardcore with a unique quality to it, in that it's very hard to pinpoint another current band with a similar sound With last year's debut long player Foreverwolf, these four guys from Toronto released the best album of 2012. You could say my anticipation for this six-track EP has been sky high. Kickstarting affairs with "Back to Business" it's evident there has been some effort on the band's part to throw in a new dimension or two, with a guitar sound that is reminiscent of Stephen Egerton in ALL and a few bass lines/notes akin to Mike Watt in his fIREHOSE days. [more]

In the early 1990s, a small group of Norwegian bands more or less shaped what black metal would become, providing the soundtrack for wandering around in frost-bitten Scandinavian forests, burning down churches, murdering and eating one another. Two decades later, Deafheaven's Sunbather is the soundtrack to wandering around an American city in a heat wave, letting the sound wash over you. While the influence of bands like Darkthrone and Mayhem are readily apparent, Sunbather's bright pink album art brings to mind My Bloody Valentine, with whom the group also have a healthy infatuation. [more]

The recent surge of post-hardcore screamo have seen the likes of We Were Skeletons, Departures and Pianos Become The Teeth carve out a niche for themselves, and the Saddest Landscape are no different. Exit Wounded shows just why. They delivered promisingly on 2012's After The Lights and this EP shows that they're ready to step it up. The quartet always find a way of blending honest anguish and emotional connectivity in the most emphatic manner and "Those Yet Lived" is a prime example. Yes, there's the emo aspect that Andy Maddox translates with such a pronounced pain in his vocals, and even in its most depressing tones, it's digestible. [more]

Although this EP was supposed to be released a number of years ago on another label that unfortunately aborted a number of projects amidst severe mismanagement (*silent glare*), thanks to Silver Sprocket, this baby has been stitched back up, stuck back in the womb to mature, and finally given a proper birth. A collaboration between Mischief Brew and Fanz Nicolay, Under the Table (which is a play off of what the aborted series originally was going to be called) features both artists covering classic tunes. Nicolay takes the vocals on "I Drink," a Charles Aznavour cover. [more]

Four young Floridians who go by the name of Surfer Blood came bursting onto the underground music scene in 2009 as a Pitchfork/Stereogum buzz band, with their first demo of "Swim" generating quite a bit of excitement around popular indie rock blogs. Their blend of '90s Weezer love, Smashing Pumpkins/shoegaze guitar fuzz and South African influenced beats helped them gain traction among the competitive digital and internet-based music world and its ongoing million band competition. Plus, the songs that ended up on 2010's debut Astro Coast were just suuuper good. 2011's Tarot Classics was pretty solid too, with three outta four songs being just as amazing. [more]

For a band with such remarkable consistency throughout their career, Jimmy Eat World's 2010 full-length Invented ended up an outlier, a long, meandering collection of retread ballads and weird, out-of-character rock songs that in places, seemed to want to recreate the heights reached on 1999 fan favorite Clarity (the band had performed a successful run of Clarity album shows the year prior to celebrate its tenth anniversary, and it's fair to assume those songs were fresh in the band member's minds). [more]

For The Boats epitomizes the vulnerability and openness that make State Lines such a good band. Their self-titled 7-inch set the stage last year for this record and when it comes to exceeding expectations, that's what this record does. The album's chock full of simple, catchy anthems and "For The Boats" as an opener expounds on all the bitter things in life, but also on those small spots of hope. It sets the record's depressing makeup but amid this sombre tone, the emotional honesty - sometimes hilarious - pays dividends. [more]

First things first: this isn't Sundowner, the mainly acoustic project of Chris McCaughan from The Lawrence Arms, so no getting overly excited because you think it's a new, secret release. However, Sundowners' (from Minneapolis) second long player is the kind of record that deserves a fairly high level of excitement and for those already aware of the band, The Larger Half of Wisdom will represent a step up from previous releases, whilst for those enticed into listening to it for whatever reason, it is hoped that they would be pleasantly surprised by what they encounter. [more]

2012 marked the end of an era for Portland, OR psych rockers Portugal. The Man: It was the first year in which they did not release a full-length album since dropping their debut Waiter: "You Vultures!" back in 2006. They have been such a prolific band that it's become hard for anyone other than die-hard fans to keep up. So while a two-year gap between albums is standard for most, in Portugal. The Man years, it feels like an eternity since they dropped In the Mountain in the Cloud. It seems the break has done them some good however, as Evil Friends may just be their strongest showing yet. Portugal. [more]

If lots and lots of people love you and just as many people hate you, you are doing something right. Vampire Weekend, as we all know by now, rode the wave of Pitchfork hype to stardom and wireless printer commercials. Fame. Fortune. Judd Apatow-produced movies. They drew in as many haters as lovers due, probably, to being different and therefore accused of being simply hipster bait. Truth is, Pitchfork and the other cool blogs were right and they were indeed blending South African pop seamlessly with New England classically-trained preppiness to introduce a wholly unique take on whatever the hell "indie rock" is. [more]

Maguma Taishi are the supergroup featuring Hideo Takahashi and Matthew Kazama of the Birthday Suits, Mike Park of Mike Park, and Paddy Costello of Dillinger Four. This eight-song, self-titled 7-inch has been billed as being based off Japanese hardcore and while these songs retain the energy of the Eastern sonic blasters, there's more going on here than pure mimicry. For one thing, Park doesn't shred his vocals like GISM or Disclose. Rather, the vocals are blown out, running red lines at all times, like so many Bay Area garage rockers. [more]

After a number of years and several bands that collapsed before releasing any material, Brad Logan of F-Minus and Leftover Crack finally releases some new music. Rats in the Wall, which admittedly aren't just a Brad Logan affair, reference F-Minus while going in a more classic and darker direction. As with F-Minus, Rats in the Wall have dual male/female vocalists. Logan's bark is as hash as ever, but wisely, instead of screaming pure white noise, he keeps some humanity in his voice which gives the music a sense of dynamics. Co-vocalist "Eva" exists somewhere between the siren call of Penelope Houston and the grinding screech of Nausea's Amy Miret. [more]

I forgot how versatile Jenny Lewis can be with her voice. Sure, she kept putting out records after Rilo Kiley's polarizing final full-length, Under the Blacklight, but they all felt like genre exercises. Touring through Rilo Kiley's tunes means jumping from indie to folk to classic rock. Lewis could coo and shout, build up and burn, all on a whim. For a couple of years, Rilo Kiley were one of the better rock bands around. After a lengthy silence, fans finally get an obituary in the form of Rkives, a compelling rarities comp. [more]

While they're still more than capable of generating a sonic mass of technical chaos, it seems that these days the Dillinger Escape Plan are most comfortable and confident exploring more melodic pastures. On One of Us is the Killer, their fifth full-length and first for Sumerian Records, even the heaviest tracks-such as opening salvo "Prancer" and the furiously spastic "Hero of the Soviet Union"-break away into more traditional rock sounds midway through. The heavy parts are still convincing enough as to not feel forced, but it's clear the group have bigger things on their collective mind. [more]

New Jersey's Banquets turned a lot of heads with their debut full-length, 2011's Top Button, Bottom Shelf. Now the band have returned with their self-titled sophomore album, and once again, they deliver a collection of strong, catchy, tuneful anthems. Were it not for the obvious heart and emotion in the songs, the band might seem almost calculating in how perfectly crafted their songs are for fist pumping sing alongs in sweaty clubs. [more]

One of the biggest forward leaps from album to album in heavy metal came with Metallica's jump from 1983's Kill 'Em All to 1984's Ride the Lightning. "Fight Fire with Fire" was much faster and heavier than anything on Kill 'Em All (and arguably remains the heaviest song in their catalog), while "Fade to Black" was the world's first thrash metal power ballad, and expanded the horizons of their subgenre further than bands like Slayer or Exodus would have dared. By becoming simultaneously harder and softer, they became a more well-rounded group altogether. With Ultraviolet, Savannah, Ga. [more]