Alternative music, cult films, and pop culture explored through a Gen X lens — with reviews, interviews, and a deep-dive podcast.
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 […]
Toadies ‘The Lower Side Of Uptown’ Review: Texas alt-rockers return with their best album since 1994’s Rubberneck [rating=5] On their 2015 album Heretics, the Toadies reworked their classic heavy tracks, giving songs like Possum Kingdom subdued acoustic makeovers that worked surprisingly well. Click here for my Heretics Review And on their latest disc, The Lower […]
Dälek ‘Endangered Philosophies’ Review: alternative hip-hop act’s dystopian soundscapes and caustic lyrics capture Trump-era angst. [rating=4] Experimental hip-hop act Dälek have always forged their own idiosyncratic path. The group combine elements of industrial and shoegaze with lyrics offering insight in uneasy times. And their latest release, Endangered Philosophies (out September 1st via Ipecac Recordings), is […]
