SOUND BITES

Frenetic hardcore ragers Turnstile come crashing into 2015 by way of 1989 on Nonstop Feeling , their debut full-length after a pair of EPs. The Baltimore quintet explode with youthful energy and pummeling riffs over the course of the dozen tracks. The production adds to the late-80s aesthetic; the drums boom and echo, the guitars buzz and slash, the overall product coursing with the blood of the group's forefathers. Whether the hardcore punk of Suicidal Tendencies, the frat-boy party funk of early Red Hot Chili Peppers, or the street-tested crunch of Biohazard (and, okay, a little bit of 311), Turnstile twist all of it to their will, resulting in a high energy cacophony that's a blast to listen to. January 13, 2015 • Reaper Records Highlights Gravity • Fazed Out • Blue By You

Wherein a lifelong fan begrudgingly approaches the band's forthcoming, forever-in-the-making fifth album from a practical standpoint.

I was reading through the comment section for an article on one of the sites I frequent earlier this week which, for me, seemed to encapsulate the average hipster's view of The Decemberists. The group's seventh record wasn't the subject of the article, but through the course of the comments and responses it was mentioned how strong the year was starting off musically, with Sleater-Kinney's latest top of mind. In an act of snarky pseudo-comedy, the person muttered something along the lines of "even The Decemberists managed to put out a good album". It's a common belief among many so-called Decemberists fans that their previous record, the simplistic and brilliant The King is Dead , was a lesser piece of art due to the stripping away of overbearing pretension and theatrics. Its acoustic leanings and focus on songs rather than stories rubbed some the wrong way, as though they were owed a lifetime of eclectic theatre, murder ballads and witty wordplay. For w...

In the '90s U.S., while conservative media was trying to censor anything they didn't like and mold the youth of America into corporation-controlled vessels of consumption, a handful of artists found success by going against the grain, resisting the powers that be and trying to convince young people to think for themselves. Rage Against the Machine did it by standing at the intersection of gangsta rap and hard rock with a megaphone waving pamphlets, while Marilyn Manson did it by shrieking from a pulpit wearing torn stockings and smeared makeup. As the anti-everything gleefully pushing any button he could find, Manson found himself in an orgy of controversy from 1994 to 1999, a span during which he consistently horrified, shocked and entertained with various stunts while reveling in the chaos he was causing. In 1998, however, he stirred up controversy among his own fans by radically switching up his image and his band's ethos for third album Mechanical Animals ; after amas...

Having made predictions in 2013 and 2014 already, this post has sort of turned into an annual tradition; and, with the year I had last year, why not keep it going? After correctly predicting that 14 out of 22 records would (or would not) come out in 2013, last year the bar was raised, as 9 of the 11 I thought would come out did while 12 of the 14 I thought wouldn't didn't, for a combined success rate of 82%. For those who didn't bother clicking the links above and haven't seen how the game is played, it's simple: I'm choosing 25 artists who could potentially release new albums in 2015, and assigning an arbitrary percentage chance to each corresponding with what I feel the chances are that it happens. I'm also going to give a half-assed explanation as to why I chose what I did. It should also be noted that none of these artists have officially announced release dates as of the writing of this article, which is the morning of January 14th. Ready? Let...

Your level of excitement for Sleater-Kinney's eighth album (and first in nearly ten years) is likely going to be somewhat dependent on whether you view Carrie Brownstein as "the one from Portlandia" or "the one from Sleater-Kinney". Those pressing play on No Cities To Love looking for quirky, hipster-baiting comedy might not get the album's desired effect, but those of us who fondly remember Sleater-Kinney's incendiary discography will fall right back in love by the time Price Tag hits its stride. That's not to say No Cities To Love is a nostalgic act of fan service; it's not. Rather, it feels like a natural progression from The Woods . Whereas the former was dark, brooding and suffocating, the latter is slicker, more wide open and dangerous; to really see what I mean, try out Entertain and Surface Envy back-to-back. Or try standing former single Jumpers up next to current single Bury Our Friends ; both great songs, but one bursts with life...

It's been incredibly quiet over the last few weeks, and thankfully so; working my paying gig in retail is always a bitch at Christmas time, and this year was particularly taxing. Now, with things easing their way back toward something resembling normal again, I figured it's high time we take our annual look ahead. It starts with a handful of artists who have officially confirmed new stuff for early in the year and, as you'll see, there's some pretty intriguing albums on the horizon. Let's dive in, shall we?