Sweep The Leg Johnny Sto Cazzo! Southern By: Eric G. The cacophonous skronkfest known as Sweep The Leg Johnny is a beautiful brutality. This band adheres to very little in the way of traditional structure. It’s no free-form festival of noise- it definitely has structure, but the musical direction is often unpredictable. The band’s influences […]

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Bangs Sweet Revenge Kill Rock Stars By: Eric G. Sweet Revenge would be if this album took over commercial radio. Bangs churns out old school Ramones-style punk and inserts a fifties bad girl flare along with some of the catchiest hooks to come out of the Northwest in a decade. With Sarah Utter and Maggie […]

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Maquiladora White Sands Lotushouse By: Eric G. Maquiladora explores a lo-fi, ghost-town-saloon aesthetic not too unfamiliar but slightly askew with a whole host of vintage instruments and versatile voices, creating an album of remarkable craft and beauty. The band certainly takes cues from Neil Young, Tom Waits, Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen and probably even Mercury Rev. […]

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Hefner Boxing Hefner Beggars Banquet / Too Pure By: Eric G. Hefner is a pure pop outfit that plays the self-deprecating songs of Darren Hayman. Hayman’s voice is very English and very strained, but he delivers his heart-felt musings with a tone not too unlike Jonathan Richman’s exaggerated inflection. Hefner’s inherent cleverness brings Belle And […]

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Seely Winter Birds Koch By: Eric G. Seely sounds like Stereolab only on the most basic level; careful listening reveals that Seely inhabits its own unique and heavily stylized world. The bass tones and the propulsive rhythms are warm and fleeting while the guitars pluck out beautiful arpeggios that float above the fluttering soundscapes. Electronic […]

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Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai Directed By Jim Jarmusch Artisan By: Eric G. There is no way to tell from the previews how stylish this movie actually is. All you see is Forest Whitaker swinging a sword alone on a dank rooftop covered in pigeon shit. The promotional company obviously didn’t market this […]

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Knodel The White Hole Spongebath By: Eric G. Any band that purports to emulate the doctrine of Phil Collins and ends up sounding like a mutant mix of Six Finger Satellite, Gary Numan, and Kraftwerk is all right in my book. Knodel is a trio from Portland, Oregon, but the band claims its hometown is […]

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