Animal Magazine - Dusted: A Collection (animalmagazine.bandcamp.com)
This RVA-based group gives us an underproduced slab of raw, wild hardcore punk with hints of metal and garage rock. Animal Magazine's passionate fury is not for the weak--if you're looking for polished production, this isn't for you--but you're missing out on a good time if you pass up the chance to hear this record. (AN)
The rest of the record reviews from the new issue (all 23 of them!) are after the jump.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEW ISSUE OF RVA MAGAZINE!
Bat For Lashes - The Haunted Man (Parlophone/Capitol)
The third album by UK singer/songwriter Natasha Khan, aka Bat For Lashes, blindsided me with its brilliance. Its dark, gothic synth-pop displays the hypnotic intensity of Kate Bush and the soul-baring emotional depths of Fiona Apple, yet is entirely unique in today's musical landscape. Don't overlook it. (AN)
Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind (Epitaph)
Converge's eighth LP finds them better and more consistent than ever, further refining the sound they've been developing since drummer Ben Koller joined for 2001's Jane Doe--a noisy, chaotic mixture of metal and hardcore that combines to form a massive steamroller of brutality. This rules. (AN)
Graveyard - Lights Out (Nuclear Blast)
Graveyard serve up an expert imitation of early 70s proto-metal on this album--think Blue Oyster Cult or Pentagram--and it's a total blast. Some people are going to tell you to ignore it because its influences are so easily traceable, but fuck those people. Originality is overrated. Fun is what matters. (AN)
Herro Sugar - Smoking General Kills Sturgeon (herrosugar.com)
Local teens make good with this 8-song EP, on which they mingle scintillating guitar melodies and catchy pop choruses with a driving rhythm section that keeps things sounding powerful without heavy distortion. If you dig Weezer, Death Cab For Cutie, and early REM, you need to check these guys out. (AN)
HIM - XX: Two Decades Of Love Metal (Sony)
I've never gotten the hype around this long-running Finnish band, and this 20-track singles comp doesn't really change that. Overproduced, glammed-up goth rock (or gothed-up glam rock?) that's not catchy enough to work as pop, and only counts as metal if your idea of metal is Hysteria-era Def Leppard. Yawn. (AN)
Kylesa - From The Vaults Vol. 1 (Season Of Mist)
Kylesa's new LP is actually a remarkably cohesive compilation of B-sides and previously unreleased material. However, the album's main strength is also its crucial flaw--Kylesa's monolithic heaviness too often crosses over into outright monotony. Nothing this loud should be this boring, and yet here we are. (AN)
Miguel - Kaleidoscope Dream (RCA)
Sparse production, creative songwriting, and the combination of soulful singing and talented guitar playing make Miguel something of a 21st century Prince, though his dirty sex songs sound just as reverent as his love ballads. Kaleidoscope Dream is a miracle cure for R&B radio boredom. (AN)
Pig Destroyer - Book Burner (Relapse)
The first album in five years from this NoVa grind outfit alternates between blistering speed and thick, well-constructed thrash riffs, and should please both headbangers and circle-pit types. New drummer Adam Jarvis is a whirlwind genius, and J.R. Hayes' lyrics are as literarily disturbing as ever. (AN)
Torche - Harmonicraft (Volcom)
Their stoner-metal past is still audible in this Florida quartet's pounding drums and crunching guitars, but Harmonicraft is their third straight release that owes a much stronger songwriting debt to pop than metal. Anyone who digs both Cheap Trick and Black Sabbath will find a lot to like here. (AN)
Ty Segall - Twins (Drag City)
San Francisco's prolific garage-rock wunderkind has done it again with Twins, his third album of 2012. Fans of loud, wild rock n' roll will get a huge kick out of this LP, with its fired-up tempos and raging guitar overdrive. It's the musical equivalent of a speeding muscle car--crank it up and let it run right over you. (AN)
Wild Nothing - Nocturne (Captured Tracks)
Blacksburg's favorite sons completely ignore the sophomore slump with this excellent followup to their 2010 debut. These ethereal pop tunes achieve the perfect balance of treated guitar melodies and dreamy synth washes, over which Jack Tatum drapes his gorgeously sung choruses. No wonder Brooklyn loves these guys. (AN)
The Beetnix– The Pyramid Effect (soundcloud.com/beetnix)
This C-ville duo has been dominating VA stages for over a decade, and The Pyramid Effect is another reminder about why you shouldn’t sleep on The Beetnix. This LP has rare wisdom, dope beats, and profound points, but it’s standout tracks like “As I Am…” that remind me why Waterloo is still one of my favorite rhyme-spitters. (DA)
Black Liquid– The Black Experience (blackliq.com)
Black Liquid kicks game into fifth gear, bringing a more polished sound and aggressive beat selection than previous installments. The content delivery is exactly what one can expect. That being said, evolution is obvious and this MC continues to improve. Creative people tend to move around a lot; it’s interesting to watch Black Liquid moving up. (DA)
Carolyn Mark– The Queen of Vancouver Island (Mint)
Forward female vocals and countryesque twang might overshadow the lack of production value for some. If Thelma and Louise listened to a little Carolyn Mark, they may have reconsidered the reckless abandon that lead to their death. However, the massive amount of estrogen currently coursing through my veins makes me want to drive a Thunderbird over a cliff. (DA)
Dank D - Planet Diesel (dankd.bandcamp.com)
This record is all over the place. Dank D has his hand in all but two of the credits, and somehow the production value on this joint is surprisingly engaging. I wish I knew who produced tracks like “H20,” “Vapor Trails,” and the title track, but the bandcamp page is unspecific. Dank D is crazy--I like it. (DA)
Jo Casino– SpaceBound (jocasino.bandcamp.com)
SpaceBound is a reflection of Jo Ca$ino’s youth. It’s fun, naive, and predictable. However, his delivery is charismatic and believable. SpaceBound lacks depth and experience on occasion, but the confident follow-through makes those staggered moments almost unnoticeable. It’s like Kendrick Lamar gave Mac Miller a wedgie, stole his lunch money, and stuffed him in a trashcan. (DA)
John Deluca - All The Precious Things You Love (thejadeid.bandcamp.com)
I received this on a CD with nothing written on it. For all I know, John played every instrument on this project. He’s been rumored to drive around in a green car full of instruments. All the Precious Things You Love creates an experimentally hypnotic experience. Well rounded, with so much to offer. (DA)
Kreator– Phantom Antichrist (Nuclear Blast)
The press release threatened to rip my face off with this record. It’s done no such thing. Nonetheless, Phantom Antichrist is still a cool album. With ten tracks, packed full of thrash metal awesomeness, pandemonious guitar solos, and comprehensibly dark lyrics, Phantom Antichrist is arguably one of Kreator’s best projects of their 30-year career. (DA)
Machine Gun Mustache– World’s Gon’ End (Not Cherries Records)
This is by far the most interesting album I’ve heard all year. Machine Gun Mustache blends elements of 1950’s Americana with garage rock and Celtic Folk in a manic fashion that engages the listener from start to finish. The average song length is 2 min, keeping the less appealing tracks short enough to make the whole project interesting. (DA)
Southern Belles- Sharp as a Knife (thesouthernbelles.bandcamp.com)
Sharp as a Knife is one of the best albums to come out of Richmond. That might be arguable, but you can’t deny that The Southern Belles have created something special with their very Kickstarter-funded first record. Upbeat country-blues jams with excellent production from Sound Of Music’s John Morand and Bryan Walthall. (DA)
So Illa - #ForTheFuckOfit (hlgnlife.bandcamp.com)
So !lla is determined to make good music, and this release is his best to date. It’s good to see that his recording quality and compositions have considerably improved over a short period of time. Will does his thing over the lion’s share of 18 tracks. (DA)
Stomp Status– 5440 (self-released)
Formed less than two years ago, after a jam session gone right, these four GMU music students have released their second album. Blending Jazz, Funk, Blues, and Rock, in a synchronized and enchanting fashion one will come to expect from Stomp Status, 5440 represents the next step in their musical evolution. (DA)
Tearjerker– Hiding (tearjerker.bandcamp.com)
This Toronto based band is always adequately adept instrumentally. Less is more this time around, as Tearjerker reaches for perfection with just four songs. Hiding is like finding money in the laundry; your future self will thank you for uncovering this discovery. (DA)