Tag Archives: alternative

EP REVIEW: PLAIINS – Puppet – self-released

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It’s not every day you come across a band with members from Hong Kong, Israel, and Germany, giving them such universally diverse perspectives as the shameless genre-benders of PLAIINS – let alone ones with the musical chemistry to create an EP like Puppet (Self-Released). Through a seamless blend of punk, indie, hardcore, and alternative rock, the multicultural trio uses their range of experiences to oppose political issues from around the globe. Thus, making them lyrically relatable across nations, as well as sonically appealing to indie and punk fans alike.Continue reading →


Levitation Festival 2023 Books High on Fire, Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats, Dead Meadow, Ecstatic Vision, Unwound, and More

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Halloween weekend 2023 will see the return of Levitation Festival returns! The first wave of bands includes High on Fire, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Badbadnotgood, Flying Lotus, Unwound, Amyl & The Sniffers, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Oneohtrix Point Never, Panda Bear + Sonic Boom, Durand Jones, The Black Angels, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, Ty Segall & Freedom Band, Beach Fossils, Blonde Redhead, Hannibal Buress / Eshu Tune, Shannon & The Clams, High On Fire, Altin Gün, The Dandy Warhols, The Church, Jockstrap, Codeine, Water From Your Eyes & More! Taking place Halloween Weekend, October 26-29 in Austin, Texas, tickets are on sale at the link below. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Trophy Eyes – Suicide And Sunshine

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Five years and a near-breakup since their last full-length record, Australian rock outfit Trophy Eyes have fortunately returned for the foreseeable future. The long-awaited fourth album, Suicide And Sunshine (Hopeless Records) has reinforced the connection shared between the four-piece band. In the process, they made their most vocally, musically, and emotionally diverse collection of songs yet. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Gallus – We Don’t Like the People We’ve Become

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The pop-punk genre will never die. It’s fresh, fun, sometimes a bit silly, and wholly needed in a world full of stress and hate. People need music that makes them happy. People need music that will put a smile on their faces. People need music that will invoke a fresh breeze, wind in their hair, and a joyful being. Thank Gallus for the new album We Don’t Like the People We’ve Become (Marshall Records). 

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ALBUM REVIEW: The Used – Toxic Positivity

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From the album title alone, it is evident that The Used are just as sincere in their art as they’ve always been over the last two decades. Nine albums deep into their career, the emo quartet have graced us with the blunt Toxic Positivity (Hassle Records). The record calls out the detrimental mindset of suppressing negative emotions, addressing how it worsens one’s mental health over time due to ignored bottled-up feelings. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: As Everything Unfolds – Ultraviolet

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Breaking through the UK with their enchanting blend of alternative rock and metal, British quintet As Everything Unfolds continue developing their recipe for success with their sophomore album, Ultraviolet (Long Branch Records). The record’s name is inspired by a metaphor for gaining new perspectives on life and is an astoundingly fitting descriptor for the aural experience achieved by each track’s dynamic arrangements. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: The Nightmares – Séance

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Hailing from Newport, Wales, noir pop and alternative rock quartet The Nightmares reveal their bleak yet breezy souls with their debut album, Séance, via Venn and Equal Vision Records. The record’s themes of death were inspired by the COVID pandemic putting a hold on the band’s touring plans, leading to experiments with seances during the writing process. As one could imagine, the mental and spiritual outcomes of this paid a great contribution to the music’s morbid concepts and haunting execution. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: For The Fallen Dreams – For The Fallen Dreams

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A great deal of today’s biggest metalcore fans consider the 2000s to the 2010s the golden years of the genre. Bands such as Michigan-based For The Fallen Dreams who have continued on since the MySpace era help to maintain the style’s raw spirit with their ever-evolving nu-metal twists – and their new self-titled album (Arising Empire) is no exception.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Amber Run – How To Be Human

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UK indie trio Amber Run has a song likely everyone has heard, whether realized or not. Their saturnine piano hit ‘I Found’ from their 2015 debut album 5AM has been used in several television shows, played immeasurable times over the radio, and of course, became a viral TikTok sound. With nearly a gargantuan 325M streams on Spotify alone, the timeless hit has covered unfathomable ground. Now with their fourth full-length album How To Be Human (TRIPEL Records) Amber Run kicks off a promising album with a short yet equally captivating piano-vocal intro with ‘Flowers (Interlude I)’.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Pistols At Dawn – Ascension

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Hot on the heels of last year’s four-track EP Nocturnal Youth, comes Pistols At Dawn’s latest album Ascension (JFL Entertainment). The Atlanta-based quintet’s sound is alternative-influenced hard rock, and their newest one Ascension is a promising if patchy, display of heavy grooves and soaring choruses with a brooding atmosphere. Continue reading →