Musings on the past and present state of music, film, and pop culture. Get off my lawn.
The 15 Best Rock Albums of 2024: the best in alternative, metal and more from a year that sorely needed musical solace. 2024. What a year, huh? I’m personally worn out from it and dreading 2025, but I take my pleasures where I can find them, and music remains a source of solace for me […]
Episode 53: Pulsars’ Dave Trumfio Talks 1997 Self-Titled Album Reissue-SLIS Podcast In this week’s episode, I interview Dave Trumfio, the songwriter and vocalist for the synth-pop duo Pulsars. The Chicago-based Pulsars, which also featured Trumfio’s brother and multi-instrumentalist Harry Trumfio, were one of the first bands to bring back an 80s retro sound on their […]
Blushing ‘Sugarcoat’ Review: Austin quartet channels classic shoegaze and alt-rock through a modern prism on third album. ★★★★ Something interesting happens when American bands gain inspiration from British shoegaze. Groups like Garbage, The Veldt, True Widow, Deafheaven, and The Smashing Pumpkins borrow elements from My Bloody Valentine, Curve, Slowdive, Ride, et al, but with an […]
Best Rock Albums of 2022: 10 awesome rock albums from another crazy year, featuring releases from Placebo, Suede, Dead Cross, The Cult and more. As 2022 comes to an end, it’s time to reflect. The pandemic has become more manageable, but is still with us, and on a global scale most things still feel out of […]
Episode 35: 25 Albums Turning 25 in 2020-The Best Albums of 1995-SLIS Podcast Following last year’s podcast episode celebrating the best albums from 1994, co-host Chris Logan and I dive in to the best 25 albums from 25 years ago, in this case the year 1995. ’95 was another great year for alternative rock in all […]
Episode 31: Medicine’s Brad Laner Talks New Covers Album ‘Scarred For Life’-SLIS Podcast: American shoegaze mastermind discusses new covers album, reuniting with his original vocalist, his creative legacy and more. On this week’s podcast my special guest is Brad Laner, best known as the guitarist and songwriter for Medicine, one of the most interesting and […]
Miami metallers Torche have carved their own unique path through the metal landscapes for over 14 years now, distilling their love for a disparate array of rock sub-genres into their own unique sonic stew. On their latest release, Admission (July 12, Relapse Records), the band continue to chart their own course, refusing to bow to […]
Spotlights ‘Love and Decay’ Review: Brooklyn trio’s sophomore album offers new insights into their unique musical landscape. Brooklyn’s Spotlights made big waves with their 2017 full-length début album Seismic, taking a disparate influence of post-metal, shoegaze, space rock and goth that made them one of the most refreshing new acts in metal. One cursory listen […]
How many arguments have you had with your friends on whether a band is great or terrible? If you’re a music nerd, probably too many to count. Some bands just don’t inspire a casual fan base. They’re so polarizing, so absolute, that they either cultivate a die-hard fan base or legions of haters. And that’s […]
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 […]
