Berated

The Antlers’ previous release, Hospice, was so emotionally stirring that listeners felt personally close to frontman Peter Silberman, like he was a longtime friend or accomplice. It’s easy to account for this attachment, as bands rarely have the ambition to release something as personal as Hospice, a heartbreaking thematic gem that uncovered a narrative [...]

Reviews of these new tracks: Son Lux's "Rising", Shabazz Palaces' "Are You… Can You… Were You? (Felt)", and John Maus' "Believer".

The role of a producer is often undesirable to many young musicians. The arrogance and pretentiousness among many in this niche leads them to believe their creative power is limitless, and so therefore their songs can speak volumes without sophisticated production and mastering. They eventually learn otherwise, but usually not until their music aspirations appear [...]

If you asked me about a year ago if I’d want to review the sophomore effort from the Portland-based Fleet Foxes, I’d have told you, “Absolutely not.” Simply put, I was ‘over’ Fleet Foxes. The over-saturation of their self-titled debut was too much for me, and I came to resent the album in a sense. Fleet Foxes [...]

Like many Elephant 6 acts, the solo project of Olivia Tremor Control keyboardist Peter Erchick has a mysterious enigma that is propelled by not only a nostalgic psych-pop sound, but also by the infrequency of his releases. His output – under the name Pipes You See, Pipes You Don’t - first appeared with a full-length, [...]

I wrote in depth about the excellent start-up GroopEase last week, noting it as a great way to find new music and support the artists at a discounted rate (with a portion going to charity). Now we’re going to hold a contest, where you can be just as supportive for FREE. They’re essentially giving out [...]

Cass McCombs’ fifth full-length, Wit’s End, is a natural progression. His early material showcased an infatuation for intricately produced psych-rock, never becoming indulgent enough to be fetishized because they were presented in a distinctive singer/songwriter format. His songs have always sounded alarmingly personal, even if the degree of distortion and pounding hooks prevented his lyrical [...]

HAL were featured on Obscure Sound over five years ago. They were under-exposed then, and remain so now. That HAL have not released anything in seven years certainly didn’t help. Nonetheless, I listened to their eponymous debut very often for several years without tiring of it. Its swirling mixture of Beach Boys-inspired west-coast pop and [...]

The opening moments of Nine Types of Light is telling of the rest of the album. Unlike previous TV on the Radio releases, there is no grand musical build-up. Instead, Tunde Adebimpe’s vocals spring forth with such prowess that it nearly drowns out the instrumentation. This technique is evident throughout the new album and, unfortunately, [...]

Tomboy begins shrouded in uncertainty. Noah Lennox’s words – “know you can count on me” – sound suspiciously like “no, you can’t count on me.” It’s the first album in which Lennox seems to have no idea how he wants to affect the listener, which is something he has never had trouble with before. Even [...]