Musings on the past and present state of music, film, and pop culture. Get off my lawn.
Concert Review: Nick Cave at ACL Live: master songwriter and performer offered an intimate evening accompanied only by piano and bass. Nick Cave has earned a reputation as a thorny character, a gloomy fellow adorned in black, crooning nihilistic lyrics of hell and damnation. He’s most often accompanied by his backing band The Bad Seeds, […]
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 […]
Simon Bromide ‘Following The Moon’ Review: The Bromides’ frontman strikes out on his own with solo debut album. As one 1/3 of the trio The Bromides, Simon Bromide (real name Simon Berridge) has earned a solid rep for his particular brand of indie rock. But with that group currently on hiatus, he’s venturing on his […]
The 19 Best Rock and Metal Albums of 2019: saying farewell to a great year for music as this decade comes to a close. Welp, it’s hard to believe that we’re not only about to say goodbye to 2019, but also to the decade. It has been a very strange, stressful year (and let’s face […]
Concert Review: Nick Cave Gets Confessional at ACL Moody Theatre–Aussie alternative icon brings empathy and humor to intimate Austin, TX performance. It takes a mighty big musical presence to compete against this year’s ACL festival. But Nick Cave pulled off this hat trick with a two night residency for his Conversations tour. But with a […]
Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes ‘The End of Suffering’ Review: UK tattoo artist turned punk sensation’s latest release is a game-changer. I must sheepishly confess that I was unfamiliar with Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes. I had heard the name, but for whatever reason it went under my radar. But all that has changed with […]
The Church ‘Man Woman Life Death Infinity’ Review: Australian alternative icons offer submerged, hypnotic soundscapes on new album. [rating=5]  I guess water is my element. I’ve always marveled at the sea and rivers and rain. It wasn’t conscious at all but on reflection, it definitely is a preoccupation on this record. What that means, I […]
Roselit Bone ‘Blister Steel’ Review: contributor David Dierksen dives into Portland group’s Gothic Americana infused sophomore album. [rating=4] By David Dierksen Attempting a simple sonic description of Blister Steel, the newest release from Portland collective Roselit Bone, is almost committing a disservice to the music, akin to describing a piece of abstract art by talking […]
SLIS’s 16 Best Albums of 2016: The best alternative, metal, and electronic releases of a brutal year. Good grief 2016 may go down in history as one of the most depressing and exhausting years ever. It was politically soul-sucking, full of heartbreak, including a ton of musical greats who we lost along the way. Luckily, […]
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds ‘Skeleton Tree’ Review: a dark yet beautiful reflection on tragedy as only Nick Cave could produce. [rating=5] Last year Nick Cave went through what any parent fears the most: the loss of a child. This happened in the midst of recording Skeleton Tree, his latest album with veteran outfit […]
