Aster Tracks

Blackpool based alt rock outfit Boston Manor are back with a new record. This one is the second installment of a series, meant to be consumed alongside 2021’s Desperate Times, Desperate Pleasures EP and a future third part in the series. There was even an acoustic version of “Algorithm,” a single off of that EP, released this year, which I imagine serves as the bridge between the two sections of the grander design. With the presentation of this next chapter of the story I went and revisited Desperate Times and had it lead into Datura and my opinion of that EP is generally unchanged from where I stood at the time of its release; there are some really strong songs there, especially early in the tracklist. However I find, still, that it slowly peters through its run time. That in mind, I was pleasantly surprised to say I had little to complain about on this new record. When put side by side the two do sound like one project despite the fact that they sound so distinct stylistically. Lyric...

  Brooklyn based black metal project has released a new part-single, part-EP. The first three tracks of this come together to form the title track of an upcoming 2023 record and to be honest I’m of two minds on that presentation. On one hand I find it a little silly to see the song in this broken form, especially if it’s only going to be present as one on the record. On the other hand, with 36 being a reset of the track's riff and 696 literally being its own song if looked at individually I think it comes off fine. Presentation aside; the fifteen minute cut is incredible. The riffs and basslines on this one are masterfully done and the keys in the background of it all present an air of creepiness that contrasts beautifully with the pounding jam in the forefront. I also love that throughout the entire thing, no matter where we go, we always return to the root of it all and the progression keeps it interesting for the entire play time. It’s also nice that 696 does feel so final with...

Look, I’m not going to write an intro on Dance Gavin Dance. You either love this band or you hate them. To be honest? I almost feel like I shouldn’t even touch this record seeing as I cannot forgive Tilian Pearson’s treatment of women and the band’s treatment of some of its members. Alas, I listened to roughly six hours of these songs and I have things to say that have to come out of me somehow, so if you’re interested. My first impression of Jackpot Juicer was that it’s a bad record, the first in the entire discography I didn’t like. While I don’t really feel that way I do feel like most of these tracks are utterly forgettable with only a handful of standout moments amongst its seventeen full songs. At the end of the day this band has always released records that inch in progression little by little but leave you a stand out element or two to write home about. The return of an original line-up, the unveiling of a new frontman or secret weapon co vocalist or a whole song in another lan...

Manchester rock duo Hot Milk have hit us with yet another EP before finally starting work on a full length shortly after the completion of this set of songs. While I can’t doubt Hot Milk’s success in the festival circuit I am starting to feel pretty bored of their brand of hook based alt rock that pretty much boils down to the queer version of butt rock. Something I have to give the band though is that they’re good at just that; delivering the hooks. My takeaway here is that while these are six hot new songs they just sort of fall into the ether with the rest of them and at this point I’m hoping this long awaited record will finally bring some sense of new identity or a bolder approach to this brand of festival pop that Hot Milk has become so comfortable in. Support this artist Follow me on Twitter

Growing up as a fan of heavy music The Devil Wears Prada was huge to me. In high school I would listen to their entire discography from With Roots Above and Branches Below and back pretty much everyday. As time went on though I grew less and less attached to the Dayton, OH band to the point that I hadn’t checked in for a few years. That was of course until ZII the follow up to the scene classic Zombie from 2010. For me personally ZII was a project I checked out feeling nostalgic for my lost love but of quality enough that I’d want to check out a new record but for the scene at large the EP left such an impression that whatever the band did afterwards had to be as good or even better and it seems like their eighth record has lived up to the hype. There is lots to love on Color Decay from the beginning with its grandiose opener in “Exhibition” as well as its pretty memorable single rollout. Co vocalists Mike Hranica and Jeremy DePoyster have a renewed sense of chemistry between them whic...

So, here we are, I’m ready to come back. I explained during my last formal review but to reiterate; I really overworked myself running this blog. It was impossible to keep up with records, it was hard to get excited about over one hundred singles a week. I wanted to fall back in love with music and I did. I found new records I loved after Nocturnal and even after the one this very review is about. I went to shows in my new home city; on fairgrounds with larger than life bands and in backyards with locals and Twitter mutuals screaming to thirty kids and even spaces between. On the outside I had ended a dangerous relationship, I had moved across the country and most stressful of all I had started to come out as trans for real. This is weird to me if I’m being honest. I feel like I’ve been past this point for years. I live as a woman in my day-to-day life. No one really questions it. I still had loose ends though; my family and you, the readers and friends I’ve made through reviewing alb...

The day “Entropy” dropped was kind of a dark one. I had recently split with my partner of fourteen years, though she didn’t accept it yet and that was the day we were to meet and talk things out. She wanted me to get space and my therapist's perspective and then come together and hopefully make it work. Thing is though, I knew this would never be enough time, and I had already made a decision of my own. I’ll get over it if you let me breathe from my skin cause my lungs tend to keep it within. This was a recurring issue in the entire relationship. I didn't get time to breathe, I barely got any time to myself and although I loved, love her, more than anyone and anything it wasn’t a healthy way for either of us to exist. So I needed to breathe, I needed space, I wasn’t going to get that here. I don’t just mean here as in the relationship, I mean here, where I am. There are a lot of stressors in my hometown and my day to day and I recognize that some of the influence those have ove...