Brighton MA Amateur Lovers Loose Tooth Records www.brightonma.net [audio:http://files.for-robots.com/daveb/sunblinded.mp3] Brighton MA is a Chicago Band with some ties to Iowa City. They have my sympathies — Chicago is a rough town musically, full of clubs and bands playing mean zero sum games. Safe to say anyone mediocre or timid gets tossed in Lake Michigan tout […]
Album Reviews
Album Review: Nethervoid – Sirens of the Blistering Light
Nethervoid Sirens of the Blistering Light Beyond the Pyres Records myspace.com/absolutefuckingevil [audio:http://missionfreak.com/audio/Nethervoid_Wyrm_of_Worlds_End.mp3] There is a song on a Nethervoid demo tape called “Torch the Temple,” and if there is an image that better describes this Iowa City black metal band’s sound, I certainly can’t think of it. And now, the group’s full-length debut, Sirens of […]
Jugs Across America CD Review
Jugs Across America Jugs Across America: A Modern Jug Band Compilation Self released Kellie Everette, Banjo Kellie from Escape The Floodwater Jug Band, has taken things up a notch with this new compilation, impishly titled Jugs Across America. It’s always been possible to find jug band music—either the original recordings, the ‘60s revivalists, or the […]
Lord Green – Lord Green CD Review
Lord Green Lord Green Self released Lord Green is a reviewer’s dream—this EP is about five and a half minutes long, which means I can sit through the whole thing without having to devote an hour I’ll never get back again. In fact the copy I have only has three tracks, while the silkscreened artwork […]
Samuel Locke-Ward – Sacrilege, Treason, Treachery & Thyme CD Review
Samuel Locke-Ward Sacrilege, Treason, Treachery & Thyme Self released If there is a party at the end of the world (and there will be, right?) then count on Samuel Locke-Ward to send out the invitations. With his new record, Sacrilege, Treason, Treachery & Thyme, he further establishes himself as not only a harbinger of doom […]
Unknown Component – In Direct Communication CD Review
Unknown Component In Direct Communication Self Released [audio:unknown_component_its_a_fine_line.mp3] Unknown Component – Its a Fine Line (mp3) Keith Lynch is a local singer-songwriter that has never done things the usual way, starting with his chosen stage name Unknown Component, which suggests an electronica act, or a band at least, but it’s just Keith, his guitars, and […]
The Coast – Expatriate CD Review
The Coast Expatriate Aporia We normally don’t run reviews of out of town bands, but this is an interesting and attractive CD, and it happens that they’ll be playing at the Picador September 21st. The Coast is 4 guys arrayed in the standard drums and wires rawk quartet. They’re Canadian, which is probably neither here […]
Mint Wad Willy – A History of Guns and Liars CD Review
Mint Wad Willy A History of Guns and Liars Self Released [audio:mint_wad_willy_god_bless_america.mp3] Mint Wad Willy – God Bless America (mp3) Mint Wad Willy’s debut album “A History of Guns and Liars” definitely has a Southern Rock vibe to it. The dominant instrumental sound is artfully sloppy, distorted slide guitar. When I first listened to it, […]
Escape the Floodwater Jug Band – Wrong Doings and Done Wrongs CD Review
Escape the Floodwater Jug Band Wrong Doings and Done Wrongs Whiskey for Breakfast Records [audio:Escape the Floodwater – Rag Mama.mp3] Escape the Floodwater – Rag Mama (mp3) It’s perhaps apt that Escape the Floodwater Jug Band’s new album comes out just in time for the great flood of 2008. The band photo on the back […]
The Horde – From Empire to Ashes CD Review
The Horde From Empire To Ashes Scenester Credentials [audio:The Horde – Battle Cry.mp3] The Horde – Battle Cry (mp3) Heavy Metal long ago descended irrevocably into self-parody. It’s a genre that for me has always been hard to love, and yet impossible not to love a little. Especially if the band is in on the […]

