Alternative music, cult films, and pop culture explored through a Gen X lens — with reviews, interviews, and a deep-dive podcast.
Concert Review: A Perfect Circle at Austin360 Amphitheater: band brought politically themed new album ‘Eat The Elephant’ and more to vivid life at Texas show. ★★★★★ Austin’s Wednesday weather necessitated a rescheduled performance, and luckily A Perfect Circle opted for a one day delay vs a cancellation. The skies were clear and cool and the […]
Failure ‘The Furthest Thing’ EP Review: third 2018 EP brings group’s ambitious project full circle in advance of full-length October release. ★★★★ Alt-rock trio Failure have been on a mad creative tear this year, with one grand vision: the release of three individual EP’s, to be followed by a full-length (due this October). Previous releases […]
Spotlights ‘Hanging By Faith’ Review: Brooklyn alternative-metal trio return with remixes off last year’s Seismic LP, as well as a cover track. [rating=5] Spotlights’ album Seismic was one of the best albums of 2017, a bruising yet beautiful sound from the NYC husband and wife duo of Mario and Sarah Quintero, which offered a bewitching […]
Failure ‘Your Body Will Be’ Review: band’s 2nd of four 2018 EP’s covers the gamut of their sound. [rating=4] Hot on the heels of their In The Future EP, Failure are back with Your Body Will Be (due May 25th on Failure Records),the 2nd of 4 EP’s planned for this year, all of which will […]
Failure ‘In The Future’ EP Review: space rock trio release 1st of four EP’s (to be compiled for full-length album). For any Failure fans worried that the band’s highly anticipated reunion would be short-lived, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Four years after their critically acclaimed comeback album The Heart is a Monster, the […]
Spotlights ‘Seismic’ Review: Married Brooklyn rockers craft a brutal yet beautiful noise. [rating=5] Spotlights (aka Brooklyn husband and wife Mario and Sarah Quintero) are a power duo in every sense of the word. On their sophomore album Seismic (out October 6 on Ipecac Recordings), they create a sound so massive, it’s hard to believe it […]
Review: Failure Takes Fans on a Trip to ‘Fantastic Planet’ at Mohawk Austin: space rockers perform iconic 1996 album in its entirety. [rating=5] Failure’s 1996 album Fantastic Planet is an opus that’s grown legendary with time. While overlooked upon its release, its dense, sonic layers and engaging arrangements has cultivated quite the cult following. This has served the L.A. […]
Albums Revisited: Failure’s ‘Fantastic Planet’ Turns 20: celebrating one of the most underrated alternative albums of the 90s. August 13, 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of Fantastic Planet, the 1996 album from L.A. space rock gods Failure. And if ever there was an album deserving of a tribute and reappraisal, this is it. In an decade full […]
SLIS’s 15 Best Rock Albums of 2015: the best metal and alternative rock albums of the year. Last week I covered the 25 best rock songs of 2015, and now it’s time to celebrate the best albums of the year. As always I pride myself on sticking to rock oriented releases in a sea of pop nonsense, […]
SLIS’s 25 Best Rock Songs of 2015: counting down the most rocking tunes of the year. It’s just a few weeks until we say goodbye to 2015 (really?), so that means its time to break our best-of lists, starting off with the best rock tracks of the year. Here’s my favorite 25 from the worlds of alternative, […]
