For having such an influential, monolithic sound, the Melvins have made a cottage industry out of confounding expectations at every turn. For every celebrated burner likeBullhead, there’s, for example, a noise experiment like Snivlem, not to mention the band’s imaginative back-catalog full of split releases and limited edition ephemera. Their myriad lineup changes, and epic, thematic approach to touring, all while being decidedly down to earth and “econo” (to borrow the Minutemen’s term for the positive exhibition of no-bullshit working class values), have helped shape their status as populist musical terrorists. And the riffs, man, the riffs.   On first (more)

Having made an impression on the alt-country landscape with three full length albums and a self-released EP, Justin Townes Earle again tweaks his sound while further cultivating his songwriting on Nothing’s Gonnna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now, his new LP on Chicago roots label Bloodshot Records. Debuting as an acoustic troubador on the Yuma EP, Earle garnered much attention – moreso for being the son of and namesake of well-regarded country tunesmiths than for his own budding artistry, most evident on the crushing “Yuma” – and confounded expectations by releasing The Good Life, a western swing-inspired affair (more)

  Not the first metal band to use the term as an album title, De Vermis Mysteriis is a book of ancient knowledge in Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. As evidenced by the droney chants of Sleep and High on Fire’s sludgy mysticism, Matt Pike has long expressed an interest in the arcane through his music. Though there is talk that De Vermis Mysteriis is a concept album about Christ’s time-traveling bro, or something in that realm of the absurd, no one comes to a High on Fire album ready to devour the libretto – the almighty riff tells the real story therein.   Touching on (more)

In the past, Stephin Merritt filtered contrary impulses through his various side projects, most notably the 6ths and Future Bible Heroes. Though the Magnetic Fields themselves were shapeshifters, each album was generally tied together thematically and/or by a singular sonic palette. Though love, loss, and identity remain constant threads throughout their new album (and all of Merritt’s work), Love at the Bottom of the Sea presents the many diverse aspects of the Magnetic Fields in a succinct package. “Andrew in Drag”, a pop hit in any reasonable universe, addresses sexual identity (“A pity she does not exist / A shame he’s not (more)

As the ‘80s revival leaves its hyper-color mark on today’s art-school cognescenti – most of whom didn’t experience the day-glo nightmare first time around – one genre the decade’s nostalgiacs seem reticent to revisit is glam metal. For all the strides various strains of heavy music have made since the alt/grunge boom, reestablishing underground credibility and reappearing in the public eye, the spandex stylings of ‘80s hard rock bands have seldom been reexamined. Be it a Vietnam-esque sense of defeat or a general distrust of the form’s commercial leanings, it’s a scene that’s been virtually stricken from music history. Though (more)

  Historically an artist of diverse tastes and impulses, Iowa City anti-folk stalwart Ed Gray and his musical partners show remarkable focus and intent on The Old Bending River,cradling each song with hyper-literate character sketches of citizens on the margins, the wounded and unwound of the southern gothic.   Each song on The Old Bending River has been tenderly crafted, laced with clever rhymes and heady literary allusions. Gray’s self-described “junkyard country” is so startlingly clear, so subtle, that the few aggressive moments make everything around them sound so much more stark and harrowing. Gray’s rich baritone varies in timbral quality with each role he assumes, shifting (more)