Musings on the past and present state of music, film, and pop culture. Get off my lawn.
Concert Review: Ministry, Melvins, Corrosion of Conformity at Emo’s, Austin: ‘Industrial Strength’ tour pulverizes rabid crowd. The last time I was at a concert was January of 2020. I have avoided shows since COVID reared its ugly head. And even once lockdown was eased up and bands began touring again, I was still reticent to […]
13 Best Rock and Metal Albums Of 2021: great music from a not-so-great year. I feel like every time I do yearly-best-of’s, I have to comment about how great music made a shitty year more bearable. Welp, 2021 was certainly another year that was pretty fucking terrible, when we desperately needed as many sonic escape […]
The Melvins ‘Five Legged Dog’ Review: sludge metal legends release mammoth 36 song, 4-LP collection of acoustic renditions of classic tracks, deep cuts, and covers. If there’s one sonic characteristic synonymous with the sound of the Melvins, it’s distortion. Big, syrupy, gelatinous overdriven riffs that emanate like lava, buttressed by relentless drumming and guitarist/singer Buzz […]
Red Fang ‘Arrows’ Review: Oregonian sludge rockers return with hook-filled release (June 1st, Relapse Records). Oregonian metallers Red Fang have been hammering away since 2005, bringing their own unique twist to the stoner/doom/sludge genres, from their incendiary self-titled debut, to 2011’s breakout hit Murder The Mountains, to later works like the atmospheric Whales and Leeches, and […]
Melvins ‘Working With God’ Review: Sludge lords go back to their original 1983 lineup on latest release. Metal oddballs the Melvins have always had a fluid lineup, changing in numerous iterations over the years. For their latest release, Working With God (out 2/26 via Ipecac Recordings), they go old school, reuniting their original 1983 roster […]
Dale Crover ‘Rat-A-Tat-Tat!’ Review: Melvins drummer keeps it eclectic on sophomore solo release. For Dale Crover’s 2017 solo debut The Fickle Finger of Fate, he delved deep into his quirky musical soul, and spat out a truly strange and singular work. For The Melvin drummer’s new sophomore solo effort Rat-A-Tat-Tat! (out January 15th via Joyful […]
King Buzzo featuring Trevor Dunn ‘Gift of Sacrifice’ Review: Melvins frontman/guitarist keeps it weird on 2nd solo release. On his 2014 solo debut This Machine Kills Artists, Melvins’ frontman/guitarist Buzz Osborne proved he could make his acoustic six-string sound just as heavy (and strange) as any menacing distorted riff he’s conjured in his formidable career. […]
Episode 32: 25 Albums Turning 25 in 2019-The Best Albums of 1994-SLIS Podcast: tackling the best releases from another amazing year of music. Following our podcast episode ranking the best albums from 1989, co-host Chris Logan and I dive in to the best 25 albums from 1993 turning 25 this year. ’94 was a HUGE […]
Episode 11: 25 Albums Turning 25 In 2018: The Best Albums of 1993-SLIS Podcast: celebrating a watershed year for alternative music. Following on the heels of our podcast episode ranking the best albums from 1988, co-host Chris Logan and I decided to tackle all the best albums turning 25 this year. To do so, we […]
All Souls ‘All Souls’ Review: Los Angeles act offers an inventive mix of stoner, garage and psychedelia. [rating=4] It’s only February, but L.A. band All Souls self-titled début (out Feb 9th on Sunyata Records) is already one of the freshest and infectious releases of 2018. The group features notable stoner rock luminaries, including vocalist/guitarist Tony Aguilar […]
