by Dan Bauer | Dec 10, 2018 | Album of the Week
SMUG’s new album, Gorgeous, knows exactly what it is: bratty pop-punk marked by massive, inescapable hooks. Through ten songs, “Gorgeous” never wavers from its goal to get you moshing with your friends now and humming to yourself later. Opener “Robbed Blind” sets the...
by Dan Bauer | Oct 11, 2018 | Rochester
Most rock songs are written with a particular, predictable pattern in mind – a rise and a fall, a bob and a weave. “In 3,” the new single from Rochester’s Anamon, is more like 5 quick punches to head – unorthodox, but effective. “It’s not real,” croons...
by Dan Bauer | Sep 26, 2018 | Preview
Neko Case made headlines earlier this month for a series of tweets lambasting Bradley Cooper as the “beige demon who makes sure very standard white dudes get to be in everything,” but if you were unfamiliar with her name up to that point, you’ve been missing out. Over...
by Dan Bauer | Sep 24, 2018 | Album of the Week
Seemingly, the biggest outlier on Red Heat’s new album, Dark Days, is the song “Yojimbo.” Most of the songs on the album are very literal and highly political, but “Yojimbo” is a relatively direct recounting of the movie of the same name. In their fierce, subtly...
by Dan Bauer | Sep 10, 2018 | Album of the Week
Cycle, the latest EP from synth-pop quartet Humble Braggers, is excellent, danceable and almost entirely bereft of hope. The cycle that the album title alludes to goes something like this: Feel lonely, feel desire; Take a risk, regret the consequences; Find...