Album review
Beside Myself
Basement
Beside Myself brings Basement's melodies into sharper focus. The guitars sound clear and substantial, and Andrew Fisher's voice keeps its vulnerable character without being bu…
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Reviews
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Album review
Adore
The Smashing Pumpkins
Adore places the Smashing Pumpkins' melodies in a quieter, darker setting. Acoustic guitars, keyboards and programmed rhythms give the arrangements a different kind of weight,…
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Album review
The Whippoorwill
Blackberry Smoke
The Whippoorwill brings country singing and substantial rock playing together without making either feel like an added extra. Blackberry Smoke use a familiar musical language,…
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Album review
Sway
Whirr
Sway slows Whirr's guitar sound down and gives it more weight. Most of the songs move through dense layers of distortion, with the singing drifting inside them rather than sta…
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Album review
Free Hand
Gentle Giant
Free Hand gives Gentle Giant's complicated progressive rock a particularly clear melodic focus. The instruments and voices often follow different paths, yet the songs retain a…
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Holding All the Roses
Blackberry Smoke
Holding All the Roses gives Blackberry Smoke's Southern rock a tighter shape. The songs leave room for guitar playing, country detail and soul, but none needs a long instrumen…
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Album review
California Cursed
Drain
California Cursed brings a sharp metal edge to Drain's hardcore. The guitars move quickly, the rhythms have a strong bounce and Sammy Ciaramitaro gives the music a restless vo…
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Album review
Lighthouse
Iamthemorning
Lighthouse gives Iamthemorning's piano-led music a darker, more connected shape. The singing and piano remain at the centre, but strings, guitars and an active rhythm section …
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All Roads Lead Here
Chimp Spanner
All Roads Lead Here puts more care into its arrangements than a simple guitar showcase needs. Chimp Spanner is the project of Paul Antonio Ortiz, whose music brings bright lea…
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Album review
Heavy Soul
Joanne Shaw Taylor
Heavy Soul brings Joanne Shaw Taylor's stronger guitar sound into close contact with the soul and pop side of her writing. The ten-song set is clear and focused, with enough r…
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Album review
Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic
The Ocean
Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic gives The Ocean's heavy music a wider range of sounds. Electronic textures, orchestral detail and different vocal approaches become central…
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Album review
Midas
Wunderhorse
Midas gives Wunderhorse's guitar songs a rougher, more immediate sound. The playing often feels close to the edge, with distorted guitars, heavy drums and Jacob Slater's voice…
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Album review
Walk Through Fire
Yola
Walk Through Fire makes Yola's voice the centre of an inviting country-soul record. The arrangements look back to an earlier meeting of soul, pop and country, with strings, or…
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Death Spells
Holy Fawn
Death Spells gives its heavy guitars a wider purpose than simply making the quiet parts seem smaller. Holy Fawn combine soft voices, electronic details and blurred melodies wi…
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Album review
Revolution Revolución
Ill Niño
Revolution Revolución gives Ill Niño's heavy sound a clear point of difference through percussion, acoustic guitar and melodic singing. Those elements are part of the songs ra…
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Album review
Animosity
Sevendust
Animosity gives Sevendust's heavy sound a wider emotional range. The guitars still deliver plenty of weight, but Lajon Witherspoon's singing allows the music to become more op…
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Album review
Aquarius
Haken
Aquarius gives Haken an ambitious starting point. The London band's debut moves through long progressive rock and metal arrangements, using melodic singing, busy keyboards and…
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Album review
Tempel
Colour Haze
Tempel puts the movement between bass, guitar and drums at the centre of Colour Haze's sound. The Munich trio use blues and psychedelic rock as a foundation, leaving room for …
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Album review
Lightning Bolt
Pearl Jam
Lightning Bolt finds Pearl Jam working confidently within an established rock sound. The guitars have room to develop, the rhythm section is assured and Eddie Vedder remains a…
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Album review
Short Bus
Filter
Short Bus keeps Filter's early sound focused on rough guitars, heavy bass and Richard Patrick's sharp, strained voice. The electronic side is present, but the riffs do most of…
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Album review
Country Squire
Tyler Childers
Country Squire makes a full album out of nine tightly connected songs. Tyler Childers keeps the sound firmly within country music, using its twang and rhythmic lift around sto…
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Album review
Hell Finds You Everywhere
Thousand Below
Hell Finds You Everywhere brings Thousand Below closer to pop without removing their heavier side. The songs rely on large choruses, polished production and James DeBerg's fle…
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Album review
Nowhere
Ride
Nowhere brings a strong rhythm section into music built from overlapping guitar layers. Ride can make an enormous sound, but the songs remain melodic and the singing has a gen…
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Album review
Return To Dust
Return To Dust
Return To Dust give their debut a clear identity through heavy guitar and two voices that fit closely together. The grunge influence is easy to hear, especially in the darker …
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