L’arc~en~Ciel | Butterfly | Rating: 8/11 | Last month, L’Arc~en~Ciel posted a quote from guitarist Ken saying “I want to erase any kind of predictability from our songs.” When a band’s been together over 20 years, erasing “any kind of predictability” from their music is a challenge. Still, L’Arc~en~Ciel (aka Laruku) gives it their best shot in their 12th studio album, Butterfly. Compiled from the 6 […]
Standing Shadows | Freakshow | Just a Part of Me (Tales From the War) | One By One | Rating: 8/11 | Somewhere between the outward and worldly conditions of human suffering and discontent let’s assume that people still want to get their dance on amid their angst and confusion. And if that’s the case, then Standing Shadows is your band. The latter of 2011 saw […]
Nada Surf | The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy | Rating: 9/11 | Reviewed by: Joshua Hammond | From the first note of “Clear Eye Clouded Mind,” the opening track of Nada Surf’s newest album The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy it is rather obvious that the band will be making no excuses for being from the 90’s. Slinging fuzzy guitar riffs and power-poppy floor tom driven drums […]
Another year almost at an end and there’s been a lot of music to dig into. Doing our High Voltage due diligence, Chelsea pointed out 5 of her favorite albums that may have escaped your notice in her 5 Albums You May Have Missed in 2011; check it out. Here are 5 more albums that rocked my ears that I […]
The Black Keys | El Camino | Rating: 8/11 | Can’t say there was a hurry to kick out a review for this album for a few reasons; One, what’s the fucking rush?. Two, the Black Keys are worth more than a 24-hour digestion cycle and three, I was busy chair-dancing to the tunes. That’s right dancing ala that uber groovy dude we’ve all come to […]
Robert Schwartzman | Double Capricorn | Rating: 8.5/11 | The pop sensibilities of Rooney have always been foot-tapping head-bobbing finger-licking good and Rooney frontman Robert Schwartzman’s first solo effort, Double Capricorn, proves he’s not only matured but mastered the ways of pop songwriting. Double Capricorn falls just shy of 36 minutes and while heavily influenced in the ways of 80s synth (think Toto “Hold The Line”), Robert’s melodies […]
Big Black Delta | Big Black Delta | Rating: 9/11 | Since Jonathan Bates (formerly of Mellowdrone) dropped the fantastical thunder dance “Huggin’ & Kissin” into the ether, he has been high on the list of “I can’t wait to hear” when it comes to album releases. Between the moments of 80s synth chill (“Put The Gun On The Floor”, “PB3”) and true warmth (“Dreary […]
