punk/post-punk albums
Album Review: WSTR – Red, Green or Inbetween
After a thankfully brief period where it seems like the pop punk genre has been populated by lesser bands hitting the charts with a more pop focused version of the genre, it’s bands like WSTR (from Liverpool, UK) that can get things back on track to what it actually means to be successfully classed as …
Album Review: Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes – Modern Ruin
Modern Ruin is the second album from musical chameleon Frank Carter. The Rattlesnakes, fronted by ex Gallows and Pure Love vocalist Frank Carter, have only been a band two years but have already released an EP and a debut album, as well as performing at the biggest festivals in the UK. Modern Ruin opens with …
Reissue: Theatre Of Hate – Westworld (3cd deluxe reissue)
The official rerelease and remaster of Westworld, Theatre of Hate`s first album. TOH came to the forefront in the early 1980`s, I was lucky enough to see them at that time at Plymouth Top Rank, supported by Southern Death Cult pre the release of this album in 1982. The distinct sound of Brandons vocals and …
Album Review: Various Artists: Action Time Vision: A Story of UK Independent Punk 1976-1979
A cracker of a new 4CD Box Set released for the 40th anniversary of Punk. Not that the anniversary should swing you into buying this, if it had come out in the last 20 years it should still be in your CD collection. There have been a few Punk Compilations over the years, some poor …
Album Review: Folk Devils – Beautiful Monsters; Singles and Demo Recordings 1984-86
Filed firmly under the criminally ignored banner during their lifetime, a brief flame that was snuffed out almost as soon as it has caught fire in the middle of the 80’s. It’s a light that didn’t look likely reignite either, despite this (and previous) retrospectives, due to the death of frontman Ian Lowery back in …
Album Review: Axis: Sova : Motor Earth
Before hearing Axis: Sova’s newest album called Motor Earth I had no idea who he was. Yes, Axis: Sova is a he. That’s the name Chicago guitarist Brett Sova goes by when creating grainy garage rock albums. If you’re at all familiar with DIY, scuzzy rock gods like Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, Kelley Stoltz, …
Album Review: Preoccupations – Preoccupations
Preoccupations is the band formerly known as Viet Cong. Viet Cong was a band that put out one of my favorite albums of 2015. Preoccupations is a band that may have put out one of my favorite albums of 2016. Not only for the fact that their self-titled album is a beautifully dark concoction of …
Album Review: Terminal Gods – Wave / Form
Wave / Form – Terminal Gods debut album – kicks in with the fuzz fed guitar feedback, drum machine heavy intro to Shockwave and right from the off makes clear it’s intent. Their guitars are switched to power play, their synths set to stun, all combine to compliment their lead singers undeniable baritone vocals and …
Not Forgotten: Bill Nelson – ‘Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam’
Guitarist Bill Nelson’s trajectory has been eclectic and multi faceted – singer, guitarist, songwriter, producer, painter, video artist, writer to name but a few. After folding his 70s band ‘Be-Bop Deluxe’, he created ‘Red Noise’ (which the Harvest label insisted on calling ‘Bill Nelson’s Red Noise’) and released the excellent ‘Sound on Sound’ in 1979. When it came …
Album Review: Mourn – ‘Ha, Ha, He.’
Catalonian four-piece Mourn make a welcome return with 26 minutes of youthful exuberance. ‘Ha, Ha, He.’ (out now via Captured Tracks) is the second album released by Mourn in the past two years. It would have been released even sooner, if it hadn’t been for label issues, and everything about this album adds to the …