Review | Japandroids – Celebration Rock
(Polyvinyl, 2012) Brian King and David Prowse, the duo making up Vancouver’s Japandroids, are a force with which to be reckoned. Their live shows are quickly reaching ‘must-see’ level of notoriety, while their recorded outputs are only going from strength to strength. Celebration Rock, their recently released second full length, continues the onslaught of punchy...
Album Review | Torche – Harmonicraft
(Volcom Entertainment, 2012) Formed in 2004, Miami, Florida’s Torche have been on a journey since their inception. Tagged with every modern day rock-descriptor imaginable, from “stoner pop” to “sludge-pop-metal”, there has been little consensus into which genre they should slide. But should we be able to easily slap a genre label on an artist we...
Album Review | AU – ‘Both Lights’
(The Leaf Label, 2012) Both Lights is an album for cloud watchers. In it AU embody forces in their natural state – pulling you in to take you into flight, lifting your senses with them to the crest of the wave – utter euphoria. It’s been three years since the last album from AU. The Portland,...
Album Review | Death Hawks – Death & Decay
It would be a short-sell to say that Finland’s Death Hawks are simply recapitulating an era long gone, repeating a formula which was sowed by the likes of Sabbath and the Doors. Instead, on their latest release Death and Decay, you are privy to an instance of synergy in influence and inspiration on difficult terrain. They weave a...
Album Review | Howler – America Give Up
The recent full length from Minneapolis-based Howler, America Give Up, offers up a much needed dose of poppy surf rock with some edge to help shake off the winter dank and ring in the spring with some good vibrations. Opener ‘Beach Sluts’ floats between meandering 60’s guitar rock to balls-out fuzz fight. ‘Back to the...
More Rockumentaries Please…
Nothing compares to the divine combination of a great band with engaging visuals provided by our more cinematically gifted friends. Can we see more please? Allowing the spectator insight and the added layer of thought to the presentation of a bands overall vision engages, connects and entertains. Case and point – ‘On Tour with Calla’,...
