THE LOUDER STUFF
IMPERIAL STATE ELECTRIC – Honk Machine
The Hellacopters go power pop. (8)
IRON MAIDEN – The Book Of Souls
OK. (7)
JOHN ZORN – The True Discoveries Of Witches And Demons
If you’re into prog then Zorn’s new instrumental ensemble will blow your mind to shreds, sort of like a jazz/metal version of Fantomas doing the weirdest rhythms King Crimson ever failed to come up with. (8)
MYRKUR – M
Sounds like mid-90’s Ulver, exploring Scandinavian folklore through a black metal prism. Interesting in concept, somewhat lacking in execution. (6)
NILE – What Should Not Be Unearthed
Look, it’s a Nile album, OK? It’s fast, it’s technical, it’s crushingly heavy, you’ve heard it before, it’s Morbid Angel doing songs about ancient Egypt. (7)
THE SWORD – High Country
From the Thin Lizzy shuffle of “Empty Temples” to the QOTSA pop of “Seriously Mysterious” The Sword are not afraid to take risks and try new things here, and most of them work. (7)
THE OTHER STUFF
BARRENCE WHITFIELD & THE SAVAGES – Under The Savage Sky
The best garage punk blues/soul rock ‘n’ roll shouter you’ve never heard of is back with his toughest, most in-your-face album yet. Dig! (8)
FKA TWIGS – M3LL155X
Sorry, I don’t get it. I just don’t. (6)
HOLY SONS – The Fall Of Man
Better known as Grails/Om drummer, Emil Amos plays most instruments himself on this album that sounds like Pavement doing 70’s AM soft rock. (7)
MOCEAN WORKER – Mocean Worker
The kind of pleasant-but-sort-of-generic electrofunk you’ll hear blasting in beach bars across the universe. (6)
PAUL SMITH & THE INTIMATIONS – Contradictions
Maximo Park frontman in side project that sounds just like Maximo Park minus the hooks. (6)
RAY WYLIE HUBBARD – The Ruffian’s Misfortune
Is this rock, or is it country, or is it the blues? Dunno. Does it kick ass? You bet! (8)
VARIOUS ARTISTS – Truckers, Kickers, Cowboy Angels: The Blissed-Out Birth Of Country Rock Vol. 5, 1972
The title is self-explanatory and this series just keeps getting better: Vol. 5 has The Byrds, JJ Cale, Townes Van Zandt, Ry Cooder, Kris Kristofferson, New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Pure Prairie League, John Prine, Everly Bros, Rick Nelson, Dan Fogelberg, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band etc. (9)
THE LOUDER STUFF
CHELSEA WOLFE – Abyss
Apocalyptic distorted goth folk for black-clad, pale-skinned angsty post-teens, and I mean that in the best possible way. (7)
COSMIC PSYCHOS – Cum The Raw Prawn
Old Australian punks still sound uglier and funnier than the dozens of grunge bands they inspired 25 years ago. They still look uglier and funnier too. (7)
DISTURBED – Immortalized
With those soaring melodies and a relative scarcity of guitar solos you might be hesitant to call it “heavy metal”, but Disturbed’s unique brand of anthemic loud rock still makes for enjoyable listening. A solid comeback. (7)
ECSTATIC VISION – Sonic Praise
American style space rock, sort of like a lo-fi version of Monster Magnet’s version of Hawkwind. Fire up that bong! (7)
FEAR FACTORY – Genexus
Funny how 20 years ago Fear Factory’s ultra-compressed, mega-triggered industrial metal honestly sounded 20 years ahead of its time, and yet 20 years later shows its wrinkles. Still got a soft spot for them though. (7)
GHOST – Meliora
Definitely the catchiest tunes you’ll hear in 2015 from satanic mask-wearing ghouls – this glorious album officially elevates Ghost to the status of Rock ‘n’ Roll Saviours and will someday be regarded as a classic. (9)
KHEMMIS – Absolution
More Candlemass than St. Vitus, this is doom metal of the METAL variety with twin guitar leads and epic vocals and all that. (8)
LAMB OF GOD – VII: Sturm Und Drang
Slayer riffs galore and a venomous Blythe in great form make this the best LOG album since “Ashes Of the Wake”, probably. (8)
PENTAGRAM – Curious Volume
Half-crazed human wreck still sounds like a mud-covered Iggy Pop doing Black Sabbath. (8)
TEENAGE TIME KILLERS – Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
Given the range and sheer number of this hardcore/metal supergroup’s participants and guests (members of C.O.C., Clutch, Lamb Of God, Slipknot, Prong, Fear, Goatsnake, SUNNO)), Sacred Reich, Dead Kennedys, and of course Dave Grohl), the end result is not as exciting as it should be. Either that or I’m getting old. (6)
YEAR OF THE GOAT – The Unspeakable
Occult rockers return as Year Of The Muse or Muse Of The Goat or something, but it’s actually much better than what you’d imagine a satanic version of Muse should sound like. (7)
THE OTHER STUFF
ASHLEY MONROE – The Blade
Pistol Annie #3 releases a great solo album too, just like Miranda and Angaleena did last year. These country girls are on fire! (8)
DANIEL ROMANO – If I’ve Only One Time Askin’
Young Canadian country trobadour, a strong songwriter and storyteller steeped in the classic 70’s pop-country (i.e. non-outlaw) tradition. (7)
DR. DRE – Compton
Dr. Dre’s return (and, quite likely, farewell) is an all-star rap affair featuring Kendrick Lamar, Xzibit, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and others. Not his best, but solid. (7)
ELENI MANDELL – Dark Lights Up
The first words out of Eleni’s mouth on this live-in-the-studio recording are “I’m old fashioned” and it certainly sounds that way, with melodies and instrumentation that wouldn’t feel out of place on the Patsy Cline or Roger Miller catalogues. (7)
FRANK TURNER – Positive Songs For Negative People
Compared to 2013’s excellent “Tape Deck Heart” the folk punk star’s new album is rawer, but somewhat lacking oomph. He can still kick the ass of most singer-songwriters today though. (7)
GALACTIC – Into The Deep
Veteran New Orleans funk party band in top form plus superguests (Macy Gray, Mavis Staples etc.). Shake that booty! (8)
JASON ISBELL – Something More Than Free
My review back in June when I first got hold of a promo, was the following:
Isbell is a top-notch country rock songwriter and storyteller and all his albums are growers – you listen to them at first thinking “this is a solid (7)” but then you find yourself regularly seeking refuge in them years down the road. I’m pretty sure this one won’t be an exception so let’s admit that it’s really an (8+)
Now after the official release and repeated spins, I can confirm I was right. (8+)
JIM CROCE – The Definitive Croce
Comprehensive compilation of this wonderful early 70’s acoustic balladeer’s best work. Croce’s melodies and characters are guaranteed to put a bittersweet smile on your face. (9)
KRISTINE – Kristine
Cheesy 80’s AOR-lite nostalgia is apparently a proper genre now called synthwave and this Greek girl is its Goddess. It’s Berlin not Heart, 1988 Benatar not 1981 Benatar, Don Henley not Bon Jovi – hats off for getting the sound down perfectly but still needs work on the hooks. (6)
LINDI ORTEGA – Faded Gloryville
Lindi, will you marry me? (8)
THE FOGHORN STRINGBAND – Devil in The Seat
No Punch Brothers-experimentation or Old Crow Medicine Show-rockisms: The Foghorn Stringband’s version of bluegrass is as orthodox as it gets. (7)
THE LONDON SOULS – Here Come The Girls
Retro rock duo manage to sound surprisingly un-Black Keys/White Stripes-like, rather going for a late Beatles/Led Zep hybrid sound. (7)
THE ORANGE HUMBLE BAND – Depressing Beauty
15 tasty, jangly nuggets by this Australia-based power-pop supergroup led by an ex-Lime Spider and featuring A-list Americans (Big Star’s drummer plus a couple of Posies). (8)
THE YOUNG NOVELISTS – Made Us Strangers
Young Canadian sextet shows great promise – the bluegrass-y folk ballads are great, the garage rock numbers are groovy, and when their voices harmonize the result is delightful. (7)
VINCENT & MR. GREEN – Smash Up
Keefus Green is a long-time T-Bone Burnett associate with hip recent True Detective credentials. Jade Vincent likes to sing creepy torch song melodies over Green’s dance beats in a sexy, sultry voice that’ll make your knees wobble. The third album of this mysterious, under-the-radar duo sounds like absolutely nothing else you’ll hear in 2015. (8)
VINTAGE TROUBLE – 1 Hopeful Road
Too many soul ballads this time around and the more rocking numbers lack personality – there’s nothing as striking as “Blues Hand Me Down” or “Nancy Lee” on the new album. Disappointed, but I bet they kick major ass live. (6)
WILCO – Star Wars
Wilco gave this album away as a free download, and the least I can say is that it’s definitely value for money. (6)
