Mastodon – Once More Around The Sun
Metal monsters Mastodon bring back their militia to the
masses. Once More Around The Sun is a fastidious follow-up to The Hunter, it
features the commercial rock appeal of that record, coupled with the brutality
of Leviathan and the mystery of Crack the Skye. Once More Around The Sun may
not be Mastodon at their best, but it is one of this year’s best thanks to it’s
pulse pounding riffs and no-nonsense rock and roll.
FINAL GRADE: A
Parquet Courts – Sunbathing Animal
The New York City punk indie darlings return with Sunbathing
Animal and it is Parquet Courts at their usual best. The talk-singing from
frontman Austin Savage and the jangling hooks from the rest of the band are
what fans have come to love from this band and this record is no different.
FINAL GRADE: A-
Hercules & Love Affair – The Feast of a Broken Heart
The NYC electro-pop masters return with their third album
and still bring as much thunder, joy, and excitement to any dancefloor,
however, this time they make it much more sentimental.
FINAL GRADE: B+
The Front Bottoms – Rose EP
After releasing two fantastic albums and a handful of EP’s,
The Front Bottoms return with another extended play that seems to be a window
into their next album. The lyrics are smarter, the music is tighter, and the
fun is still there. If this is in fact a preview to what future material will
sound like, it has been such a joy watching them evolve as a band.
FINAL GRADE: B+
Thunderegg – C’mon Thunder!
One of music’s most underrated songwriters returns with his
21st album and makes us still scratch our head as to why the Egg has
not hatched to the masses.
FINAL GRADE: B
Lana Del Rey – Ultraviolence
New York City hipster songstress Lana Del Rey returns with
her Dan Auerbach-produced sophomore album and while she continues with her
melodrama, she also realizes the exactly who she is as an artist, person, and
pop culture figure.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars – Libation
The African rockers return with their fourth album and still
manage to bring the world together in the power of their songs and shrink the
globe’s flavors into an albums worth of material.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Echo & The Bunnymen – Meteorites
The cold-wave and new-wave gods return with their 12th
album and while they won’t gain any new fans with their latest offering, they
sure will not lose any of the old ones by now. Meteorites a solid record with
no surprises.
FINAL GRADE: B-
RiFF RaFF – Neon Icon
The long awaited debut from the child born from a Versace
egg has been hatched onto our universe. The whole aura and mystery surrounding
RiFF RaFF has superseded his musical ability but that is just fine, the whole
package is a reminder that we sometimes need to not take ourselves too
seriously.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Madball – Hardcore Lives
The NYHC legends return with their first album in ages and
it does not disappoint. It is classic, hard hitting Madball that stays true to
form.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Hamilton Leithauser – Black Hours
The Walkmen may be on hiatus, but that doesn’t mean that
frontman Hamilton Leithauser is going to stop making the music his band became
known for. Leithauser may have made the best Walkmen record that never existed.
Featuring swelling orchestral maneuvers, touching and relatable lyrics, plus
his uncanny voice, Black Hours could hold fans over until the band possibly
gets back together again.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Crowbar – Symmetry in Black
The New Orleans sludge gods fire back with a record that
doesn’t hear them stray away from their typical dark, murky metal form.
FINAL GRADE: B-
Klaxons – Love Frequency
It has been four years since we have gotten new music from
Klaxons and in that time things have changed – “Nu Rave,” the genre they were
placed in has nearly disappeared, keyboardist James Righton married Keira
Knightley, and yet, fans are still excited to hear what they have to offer.
Love Frequency is their latest serving and while it is a fun and eccentric
listen, it lacks much of the interesting musical nature their previous efforts
had and all of the songs seem to blend in together as if you are hearing the
same track with different vocals. We expected more from a band as interesting
as them.
FINAL GRADE: C+
Swans – To Be Kind
The experimental New York icons return with their 13th
album, and it is a massive undertaking. To Be Kind is all over the place.
Featuring drone, post-punk, thrash, and experimental sounds over the course of
a double-album, after a while, the music blends in together and you forget what
is what. Had this record been narrowed down to a single disc, it could have
packed a bigger punch.
FINAL GRADE: C-
Body Count – Manslaughter
After eight years apart, Ice-T thought it would be a good
idea to resurrect his thrash-metal band that was popular in the early 90’s.
After hearing Manslaughter, we feel we need to be put in a body bag.
FINAL GRADE: F
