Alternative music, cult films, and pop culture explored through a Gen X lens — with reviews, interviews, and a deep-dive podcast.
The Darkness ‘Pinewood Smile’ Review: Brit rockers are back with a new album of their quirky brand of arena rock. [rating=4] U.K. rock revivalists The Darkness continue to blaze their own idiosyncratic path on Pinewood Smile, their fifth studio album (out October 6th on Cooking Vinyl), expanding on the diverse strengths of their 2015 effort […]
Albums Revisited: Stone Temple Pilots’ Core Turns 30: Looking back on STP’s blockbuster (yet polarizing) début. “Overnight success” is an often offensive term when describing a band. No group gets it together their first night out. It’s the incubation process that counts, and some bands get an earlier break than others. Stone Temple Pilots were often […]
Albums Revisited: Depeche Mode’s ‘Music For The Masses’ Turns 30: a look back at the album that turned a gloomy cult electronic act into stadium rock gods. Depeche Mode sure took a strange road to stardom. They started off as a synth-pop act, hitting it big with 1981’s Just Can’t Get Enough. But then their primary […]
Concert Review: Depeche Mode at Austin360 Amphitheater: electronic icons thrill the faithful and devoted on a sultry Texas night. [rating=5] It speaks to Depeche Mode’s enduring popularity that even the wide confines of Austin360 seemed barely able to contain their adoring (mostly black-clad) public last night. It was a humid evening, but the group donned […]
Concert Review: The Church at 3Ten ACL Live: Psych-rock vets play fan favorites and new tracks for a packed house. [rating=5] It’s been 2 years since Australia alternative icons The Church played Austin, and judging by last night’s rapturous crowd at 3Ten ACL Live, absence has only made the heart grow fonder. The band played a […]
The Horrors ‘V’ Review [rating=4] The Horrors have evolved more distinctly than perhaps any other 21st century band. They started off as horror punks (2007’s Strange House), then went into mad scientist mode, offering a mix of goth, shoegaze, and Britpop on releases like 2009’s Primary Colours and 2011’s Skying that wowed critics and cultivated a devoted following. […]
Tombstones in Their Eyes ‘Fear’ Review: space-psych L.A. trio conjure weird and wonderful textures on new EP. [rating=4] With their B-movie horror moniker and album artwork, one could be forgiven for thinking that L.A. trio Tombstones in Their Eyes were some type of doom or sludge metal group. But you’d be mistaken. Yes, the group are […]
Chelsea Wolfe ‘Hiss Spun’ Review: singer continues to perfect her fusion of goth and doom metal. [rating=5] Chelsea Wolfe’s sound has evolved in surprising and satisfying ways throughout her career, but perhaps the biggest quantum leap was from 2013’s Pain is Beauty’s stark and delicate arrangements to 2015’s Abyss, which incorporated elements of industrial and doom […]
Gary Numan ‘Savage (Songs from a Broken World)’ Review: Electronic music pioneer gets political on dark, majestic release. [rating=4] New Wave icon Gary Numan has never shied away from dark concept albums about future dystopian nightmares. But his latest release, Savage (Songs from a Broken World), feels more contemporary than ever. And that’s entirely intentional. According […]
The Church Release New Single ‘Undersea,’ Announce Album Release Date: group will release their 26th studio album next month–North American tour starts this Friday. Australian alt-psych legends The Church kick off their North American tour today, and they have another treat in store for fans: their new album Man Woman Life Death Infinity will be released October […]