Musings on the past and present state of music, film, and pop culture. Get off my lawn.
10 Best Alternative Rock and Metal Albums of 2023: these are the albums that got us through a crazy year. It’s almost time to say goodbye to 2023. And that means it’s time for SLIS to do our annual Best-of Year list. 2023 was not a massive year for rock. But what it lacked in […]
SWANS ‘The Beggar’ Review: Michael Gira and collaborators return with stirring collection of songs composed during the pandemic. The pandemic affected every working musician. Economically, all artists suffered, and some musicians felt too unsettled to find creative inspiration. For SWANS frontman and founding member Michael Gira, the opposite was true: this was a time to […]
SWANS frontman Michael Gira discusses band’s new album ‘The Beggar’, his creative processes, current tour and much more in new interview. A new SWANS album is always an event. And the band’s new album ‘The Beggar’ (June 23, Young God Records) is no exception (click here for my review). Written during the pandemic, the album […]
King Woman ‘Celestial Blues’ Review: Kris Esfandiari returns with a punishing and rewarding follow-up to 2017 debut. Musical busy bee Kris Esfandiari has a host of musical projects, including the industrial tinged NGHTCRWLR, the shoegaze driven Miserable and the poppy Sugar High. But fans of her work with the doom metal outfit King Woman will be […]
Human Impact ‘Human Impact’ Review: industrial noise rock vets make a murky stew of sound. Human Impact is a supergroup of a most specific pedigree, featuring key members from the New York City noise rock and industrial scenes of the late 80’s and early 90’s. The lineup features vocalist/guitarist Chris Spencer [Unsane], bassist Chris Pravdica […]
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 […]
Swans ‘Leaving Meaning’ Review: Michael Gira sheds one musical skin for another on an album full of equal parts doom and hope. Swans are not your typical group. Where most bands start off with youthful verve (1982 to be exact) only to wane with age, Michael Gira’s post-punk outfit has only grown stronger. And longer–with […]
A Hawk And A Hacksaw’s Jeremy Barnes Talks New Album ‘Forest Bathing’: drummer for folk rock duo discusses evocative new album. Albuquerque, New Mexico based folk duo A Hawk and Hacksaw are back with Forest Bathing, their eighth studio album, (due April 13th via Living Music Duplication). The press release for the new album states that drummer […]
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 […]
John Fryer Talks New Black Needle Noise Album ‘Lost in Reflections’: veteran producer discusses new Black Needle Noise album, working with Chrysta Bell and more in our exclusive interview. John Fryer has been a pivotal figure in the evolution of electronic and alternative music. As a producer he’s worked with some of the most pivotal […]
