By - Kristi Houk   Trigger Warning References to rape culture and sexual assault; You know, what women and those who identify as women have been dealing with since the dawn of time. Will this shit ever get better?  Prepared to be pissed off and ready to burn down the patriarchy after listening to M(h)aol’s (pronounced “male”) debut release, Attachment Styles.  It’s no surprise that the band is Irish, I […]

By - Kristi Houk In which I revisit Pavement’s debut album, Slanted and Enchanted, originally released in April, 1992. I’ve dismissed Pavement since I first heard them in the early 90’s. Not without trying, mind you. I bought Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain when it came out in 1994 solely for the track, “Range Life.” I listened to the record—mainly that one track if I’m being honest—a handful of times and […]

Recommended if you like All Things British, Madness's Last 12 Records :) In the grand theatrical production that is Madness' storied career, the ska veterans have taken center stage once again with their 13th studio album, "C'est La Vie." In an industry where longevity is a rare accolade, Madness not only embraces their veteran status but revels in it, delivering an album that not only pays homage to their roots […]

By - Kristi Houk Recommended if you like:  Wednesday, Silver Jews, Jason Molina, Uncle Tupelo I am not convinced that MJ Lenderman is actually from Asheville North Carolina. While, yes, Asheville is typically still below the Mason-Dixon line, Lenderman’s scorched Southern rock sounds more like it’s coming from someone born and raised in Limestone County, Alabama.  Recorded live at Lincoln Hall in Chicago and at Lodge Room in L.A., these […]

By - Kristi Houk Recommended if you like: Weyes Blood, Big Thief, Wolf Alice, Girlpuppy Singer/songwriter Anna Beckerman has a way with words.  Her debut full length project as Daneshevskaya pronounced (Dawn-eh-shev-sky-uh), Long is the Tunnel is a sweetly haunting collection of 7 tracks that bend the psyche in a fairy tale fashion. The album opens during a hypnotic downpour and the listener is instantly transported into another world of […]

By - Kristi Houk   Recommended if you like: Wishy, Winter, Swirlies, Computer Wife, Ride This is a big deal. All new and old shoegaze heads are collectively losing their shit.  30 years have passed since the grossly underrated 90’s alternative rock/shoegaze band Drop Nineteens made an album. The Boston based group has returned with Hard Light a sublime collection of shimmering guitars, boy/girl vocals, and thundering bass lines reminiscent […]

By - Jaclyn Robbins Your first listen to a Hotline TNT song will hopefully be with perfect settings. It will be adequate volume, gain high and ready to be railed into by crunch and fuzz, a clear playground for layers of sonics that can almost be heard vertically. A few bars of music will hint towards their inclination for a three guitar setup at live shows. With bass tones to […]

By - Jackie Lo If you like Veruca Salt, The Breeders, Pretty Sick, Wet Leg, Sonic Youth, Ex Hex Earlier this year while researching songs for one of my new music shows I came across the track “Down” by Viji and was so excited to find a song that checked all my boxes by an artist I hadn’t heard of yet. I immediately wrote “Viji” down in my notebook and […]

By - Hal Recommended if you like Girl Ray · LVL UP · Mammoth Penguins · Courtney Barnett · Honeyglaze In an era of musical obscurity, when innovative sounds are drowned in a sea of mediocrity, Pip Bloom emerges as a beacon of hope. The Dutch sensation, with their latest album, "Bobbie," delivers a sonic revelation that could well define the year 2023. Heavenly Records, the venerated purveyor of groundbreaking […]