SOUND BITES

I've done variations on this theme several times in the past, usually after a long period of time during which I abandon my responsibilities around here and allow unreviewed releases to pile up high. Now that my "reviews" are shorter and without much deep thought involved, I kind of figured we wouldn't get to this point again so soon; and yet, here we are. Anyway, here are some albums I've checked out over the summer but not yet shared my opinions on; I could have done haiku just as easily as dropping one or two sentences as I have below, but it turns out I'm too lazy to even arrange this shit into the proper lines and syllables. Shrug. MONDO COZMO New Medicine June 12, 2020 • Last Gang Highlights Black Cadillac • Upside Down • Come On For his second album as Mondo Cozmo, Josh Ostrander got help from some heavy hitters; Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's Peter Hayes features heavily, both as a guest guitarist and co-producer, and previous single Come On was co...

Usually, as spring gives way to summer album releases dry up. In 2015, however, it didn't really feel like the case. Sure, there were less albums released than in the spring but pretty much every week in June and July saw something worthwhile hit the shelves. Plus, there are a couple from July 10th, which is the date all new releases shifted from Tuesdays to Fridays. This batch of nominees also represents a nice cross section of new and emerging bands, established acts and long dormant bands breaking long silences. Our third set of Song of the Year Nominees are:

  In terms of setting a tone, Bully's debut album wastes no time; the incendiary, bellowing  I Remember  charges from the gate, bum rushing unprepared listeners and sucker punching preconceptions one may have gotten from judging the album by its cover.  Feels Like  doesn't maintain quite this level of intensity all the way through, but it stays consistently vicious with only a few dips in tempo. Even then, the resulting tunes singe as much as they soothe, as evidenced by singles  Trying  and  Too Tough . The majority of  Feels Like  is fun, fleet and loud, doing its business in under a half hour. It will call early Hole to mind for a lot of folks, and that's an apt enough comparison, but I find portions of the overall sound (by times, at least) hearken back to '80s groups like The Go-Gos and Bangles, especially on  Reason ,  Brainfreeze  and  Milkman . Those pop sensibilities coupled with the relentless guitar attack ...