// Category Archive for: Reviews

Tyler Talks Horror: The Exorcist

By Tyler Hodg

Hi, my name is Tyler Hodgkinson and I am a total horror n00b.

In this series, I’ll be taking a look of classic, cult classic, and modern horror films with ignorant eyes. Its concept is scary simple. (more…)

Music Review: The Flat Five, It’s A World Of Love And Hope

By Melissa Bratcher

The Flat Five’s debut album, It’s A World Of Love And Hope, is perfect antidote to the weird awfulness of 2016. Full of exquisite, goosebump-inducing harmonies and ear-worm melodies, it’s a vacation on vinyl (or digitally, as you do). The songs lull you with prettiness and then… you listen to the dryly hilarious lyrics. It’s the perfect marriage of those two factors and endlessly relistenable.
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TV Review: Empire S3 E01, “Light Into Darkness”

By Sachin Hingoo

The life of a Lyon is never easy. Constantly hunted, often abused, and subjected to the threat of confinement. When Season 2 of Empire wrapped up, the Lyon family was in shambles. Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) and Laura’s (Jamila Velazquez) fairytale wedding was broken up by a gun-toting, fight-starting, wasted Shyne Johnson (Xzibit) and Anika (Grace Gealey), still carrying Hakeem’s baby, was subpoenaed to testify against patriarch Lucious. In order to avoid this, Lucious (Terrence Howard) decided to hijack poor Hakeem’s wedding and force his whole family, including Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), to watch him marry Anika, a woman he clearly despises since she can’t testify against him if they tie the knot. Cookie finally swore off Lucious for good, but this predictably lasted about one minute because he’s just that charming. More on that later.
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Music Review: Opeth, Sorceress

By Tim Murr

Opeth began challenging the parameters of death metal in the 1995 debut Orchid. Mixing in clean vocals, piano, and acoustic instruments, the band was destined to stand out. Frequent lineup changes occurred, leaving Mikael Åkerfeldt the only constant member. These days, the death metal connection seems tenuous at best, given the greater prog rock direction Opeth has taken. And that’s fine.
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Music Review: Melvins, Basses Loaded

By Tim Murr

Aberdeen’s Melvins have been around since 1983 and remain one of America’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands. That’s not hyperbole; that’s just a fact. They have released a slew of albums exploring the boundaries of stoner, doom, sludge, and grunge music. King Buzzo and Dale Crover have been the only constant members with several different bass players coming and going. Which brings us to the new album, Basses Loaded.
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Tyler Talks Horror: The Changeling

By Tyler Hodg

Hi, my name is Tyler Hodgkinson and I am a total horror n00b.

In this series, I’ll be taking a look of classic, cult classic, and modern horror films with ignorant eyes. Its concept is scary simple.
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Music Review: Shovels & Rope, Little Seeds

By Melissa Bratcher

The last time we checked in with Shovels & Rope, they had released Busted Jukebox Vol. 1, a collection of covers and collaborations. That was in 2015. Now, they have followed up with Little Seeds, an intimate, confessional return to form. It’s breathtaking in its honesty, chronicling some life-altering events in Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent’s lives.
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Music Review: Julia Jacklin, Don’t Let The Kids Win

By Melissa Bratcher

I’m going to admit this right off the bat: there were a few times in listening to Julia Jacklin’s fascinating debut, Don’t Let The Kids Win, that I couldn’t quite make out what she was saying. On the opening track, “Pool Party,” I was drawn to the languid retro feel, a slow dreamy sway of a song, and the unusual timbre to Jacklin’s voice. I just had no idea what the lyrics were (and to me, as a reviewer, lyrics are important). But it didn’t actually matter, because the feelings are evident; there is a heaviness, a sadness that runs through the Americana-esque song.
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Music Review: True Widow, AVVOLGERE

By Tim Murr

When I was two tracks into True Widow’s second album, AVVOLGERE, I said to myself, “Wow, this is everything I love about Sonic Youth’s Confusion Is Sex and Bad Moon Rising, but without all the arty filler.” This Texas trio just rolled into my life with the exact kind of album I’ve been wanting for a really long time.
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Music Review: Sumerlands, Sumerlands

By Tim Murr

I hope Philadelphia, PA is super proud of Sumerlands, whose debut album just dropped. Their self-titled LP, released by Relapse Records and also available on the group’s Bandcamp page, is pure metal that hits all the sweet spots. The group does a fantastic job balancing the sounds of classic metal from the 1970s and ‘80s with the technical aesthetics of modern metal. In other words, imagine classic Black Sabbath being produced today.
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