Review: Why? - Alopecia:

Upon first listen it's........interesting.

Wiki

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Review: Chad VanGaalen - Soft Airplane:

Upon first listen I'm surprised at how much I didn't like this. I've been doing a much better job at screening artists to ensure some level of enjoyability, but this one flew a little under that radar.

Wiki

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Review: Sun Kil Moon - April:

Upon first listen it's a perfect rainy day album.

Wiki

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Review: Spiritualized - Songs In A & E:

Upon first listen I never was able to get into Spiritualized during my infatuation with post-rock. Their name came up all over the place, but it never struck a chord with me. Well, I'm paying attention now.

Wiki

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Review: Red Eyed Legends - Wake Up, Legend:

Upon first listen it's garage rock that fails to translate to disc.

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Review: Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line:

Upon first listen I'm just inundated with really great music from last year. Will it ever cease?

Wiki

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Review: Polar Bear Club - Sometime Things Just Disappear:

Upon first listen I'm not even sure how to describe this excellent punk-inspired, but entirely-unique album.

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Review: Paint It Black - New Lexicon:

Upon first listen there seems to exist a disconnect between the vocals and the music. Live, I'm sure this is one killer set of songs.

Wiki

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Review: New Radiant Storm King - Drinking In The Moonlight:

Upon first listen it's another solid album, aside from the sometimes distracting production.

Wiki

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Review: Kaiser Chiefs - Off With Their Heads:

Upon first listen let's just call them a guilty pleasure.

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Review: My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges:

Upon first listen it's perfectly fine arena rock - and I'm sure it's awesome live - but it's also a little schizophrenic. I mean, Highly Suspicious is a long-lost Talking Heads track and has no business on the album.

TheirSpace

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Review: The Mountain Goats - Satanic Messiah:

Upon first listen I was expecting something a little heavier, with a bit more crunch. Instead, I got some more awesome songs from Mr. Darnielle.

TheirSpace

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Review: Ida Maria - Fortress 'round My Heart:

Upon first listen I love the quirky songwriting and odd-timed deliveries, but much like the Dresden Dolls, she takes it a bit too far at times.

HerSpace

Preorder the import for $14.13

Review: Keane - Perfect Symmetry:

Upon first listen it's perfectly boring.

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Review: The (International) Noise Conspiracy - The Cross Of My Calling:

Upon first listen it would be negligent to say that fans of Ted Leo would enjoy this and vice versa.

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Review: Guns 'n' Roses - Chinese Democracy:

Upon first listen the expectations for this album were so varied, it's no wonder the reviews were as well. I rather enjoyed it - sure it gets a little too grandiose at times, but it's still a pretty good rock album. Of course, I was never a big GnR fan, so that probably helps.

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Review: The Gaslight Anthem - Senor and the Queen:

Upon first listen I'm not surprised these tracks didn't make their latest album. Not that they're bad, just not as good as some of the other work.

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Review: Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight:

Upon first listen I was sure, 30 seconds in, that I was going to love this album. While I did like it quite a bit, it didn't live up to those premature expectations.

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Review: The Fireman - Electric Arrangements:

Upon first listen I think I'd like this a lot more (though I did like it quite a bit) if McCartney weren't attached. Some truly wonderful, inspiring tracks and a few clunkers.

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Review: Fear Before - Fear Before:

Upon first listen it comes across as cheesy and not genuine. Can we please induce a moratorium on screaming and singing softly within the same song for a while?

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Review: The Fall of Troy - Phantom on the Horizon:

Upon first listen you've likely already made up your mind on these guys. I certainly have and can do without them.

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Review: Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series, Volume 8: Tell Tale Signs:

Upon first listen it's amazing that Dylan has such quality stuff never released. I look forward to his Bootleg Series releases more than I do his new albums.

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Review: Dillinger Four - Civil War:

Upon first listen it's pretty good pop-punk. I was expecting better based on reviews, but was not turned off by it either.

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Review: Deerhunter - Microcastle:

Upon first listen it's the best Sonic Youth album they've yet to release.

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Review: Dear And The Headlights - Drunk Like Bible Times:

Upon first listen they sound just like a dozen indie-rock bands (not that that's inherently a bad thing), but for whatever reason I found Ian Metzger's voice to be distracting.

TheirSpace

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Review: Davenport Cabinet - Nostalgia In Stereo:

Upon first listen I've gathered one of two conclusions from this: 1) Claudio isn't as much of a megalomaniac as I assumed he was and Travis is the driving force behind the sound of Coheed and Cambria or 2) Travis is an excellent student and has learned greatly from Claudio as many of the tracks here could easily be the basis for a Coheed track.

HisSpace

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Review: Common - Universal Mind Control:

Upon first listen I'm going to give up on Common for a while. His promise and potential have been unfulfilled for far too long.

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Review: Coldplay - Prospekt's March:

Upon first listen there's certainly some throwaway stuff here (Glass of Water), but some songs should have ended up on Viva La Vida (Life In Technicolor II should have opened the album).

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Review: Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago:

Upon first listen if this album wasn't buried under a pile of adulation bigger that Bono's ego, I'd have already dismissed it. It's not, however, so I'll have to go back and see what all the fuss is aboug.

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Review: Blitzen Trapper - Furr:

Upon first listen I'm still not sure how to categorize these guys, but I don't remember them being so upbeat. Still, they don't make an entirely-cohesive album, but with enough good tracks worth listening to again.

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Review: Black Keys - Attack & Release:

Upon first listen I've been ignoring the hipster hype on these guys for years now, assuming it was just more of the same. Had I known there was an extremely solid blues-rock band hiding beneath the hype, I wouldn't have hesitated so much.

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Review: Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old Sun:

Upon first listen it's not as epic (or storied as) SMiLE, but if you're still looking for that early-'60s California pop feel, you could do worse.

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Review: Tom Gabel - Heart Burns:

Upon first listen it's no the return to anarcho-acoustic punk many were hoping for from the Against Me! frontman's debut, but it serves his namesake well. There's a couple of questionable decisions (electric drums?) and some really good songs (Anna, which blows away the live versions). At the end of the day it's an interesting experiment - one that I hope is repeated.

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Review: The Walkmen - You & Me:

Upon first listen this is what I would expect Bob Dylan and The Band to sound like if he tried to make an Indie Rock album.

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Review: Verse - Aggression:

Upon first listen it's lacking something I can't quite put my finger on. Something that their previous albums had that made me fall in love with the band in the first place.

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Review: Various - Tarantulas Records' Summer Is Here:

Upon first listen this sampler brings no new artist onto my radar, as it this compilation was designed to do.

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Review: Various - Masked And Anonymous:

Upon first listen it's another collection of Dylan covers surrounded by songs from Dylan himself. Unsurprisingly it's rather hit-or-miss when it comes to the covers (Grateful Dead's Baby Blue a highlight and Articolo 31's Rolling Stonea a lowlight).

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Review: United Nations - United Nations:

Upon first listen this supergroup of heavy hitters in the emo/post-punk scene make one of the best pure screamo albums in recent memory. It's not likely to replace the classics, but that's not what they're going for anyway.

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Review: TV On The Radio - Dear Science:

Upon first listen it's a suspiciously subdued album, lacking any of the grandiose moments present on Cookie Mountain. Still, it's undeniably catchy and upbeat (most of the time) and a solid, if underwhelming, follow-up.

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Review: The Streets - Everything Is Borrowed:

Upon first listen Mike Skinner keeps getting wierder and further away from his Original Pirate Material roots. Some of the melodies are really well done (especially the first two tracks), if unconventional, but it's a very difficult listen.

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Review: Stars - Sad Robots EP:

Upon first listen it's a very subdued affair that is the perfect amount of tracks. Anymore and it'd be tiresome. Any less and you'd feel cheated.

TheirSpace

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Review: Snapcase - End Transmission:

Upon first listen it's a very weird album for the band. Poor ordering of the tracks make for an uneven listen. In the end it certainly won't replace lookinglasself or Progression as de facto standards.

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Review: Secret Machines - Secret Machines:

Upon first listen it's another adequate album that fails to live up to the potential they displayed on their debut.

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Review: Portugal. The Man - Censored Colors:

Upon first listen it's way out in left field. The attention it has received by sites like AbsolutePunk and the label its on (Equal Vision) do not prepare you for the avant garde experience contained within. As such, it's disorienting to listen to the first time and I will be adding it to my rotating playlist for the forseeable future, if only to figure out if it's any good.

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Review: Amanda Palmer - Who Killer Amanda Palmer:

Upon first listen it's hard to sustain the appeal of overly-dramatic songs for an entire album - and the former Dresden Dolls is no exception. Still, there's a couple of really great songs on here (Astronaut, Runs In The Family and Oasis) worthy of a Palmer-related mixtape.

HerSpace

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Review: Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping:

Upon first listen it sometimes takes an adequate follow-up to reveal how great an album is. In this case, Skeletal Lamping is merely adequate, overshadowed by the much better Hissing Fauna.

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Review: Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul:

Upon first listen I've always admired Oasis' singles, but never cared too much for their albums, but I think they've got themselves a winner with this one.

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Review: No Age - Nouns:

Upon first listen it took me a long time to get into the first No Age record. I expect similar things from the second, as they're a difficult band to get upon first listen.

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Review: Music Tapes - For Clouds And Tornadoes:

Upon first listen I liked it much better than First Symphony as it had more of a Daniel Johnston feel to it. Still, by the end, it does get a little grating.

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Review: Mogwai - The Hawk Is Howling:

Upon first listen they never were one of those post-rock bands that went for the grandiose peaks, a trend that continues here. It's not bad, but I think it's a poor follow-up to Mr. Beast. Of course, it really is difficult to pass judgement on a piece of instrumental music upon first listen.

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Review: Martin Rev - Les Nymphes:

Upon first listen it's sleep-inducing electronic music.

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Reviews: Immortal Technique x3

HisSpace

Revolutionary, Vol 1: Upon first listen unobscene production coupled with interesting, thought-provoking lyrics in a surefire winner in the hip-hop arena. Still, it feels like he's either rapping a half beat too slow or his production is a half beat too fast which is distracting only until you're used to it.

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Revolutionary, Vol 2: Upon first listen it seems like he got his timing back on track, to accompany his even more politically-charged lyrics. There are a couple of moments and a few tracks that I wish didn't make the cut, but by-and-large it's a much more solid album than Vol 1 - and the first one was really good.

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3rd World: Upon first listen he realizes he can repeat a line a few times and have a "chorus" which works sometimes, but not always. It's certainly a more stylized, more polished, record, which isn't inherently bad.

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Review: I Am Kloot x2

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Gods And Monster: Upon first listen nothing I Am Kloot does is noteworthy. Which is why I can't figure out why I consistently drawn to their work. Somehow I missed this release a few years ago, something I know regret.

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Play Moolah Rouge: Upon first listen it's a little more repetitive than Gods and Monsters (and their self titled and Natural History before that), but still oddly compelling.

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Reviews: Hatebreed x4

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Under The Knife: Upon first listen the production's a little muddy (it is, after all, an independent hardcore/metal release), but there's not doubting it's ferocity, intensity and overall heaviness.

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Satisfaction Is The Death Of Desire: Upon first listen I came to Hatebreed a bit late (Perseverance), so it's taken me a long while to get back to what most consider their masterpiece. Now I can see why. Heavy, catchy, brutal - it's all here and less refined than later albums.

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The Rise Of Brutality: Upon first listen it's a bit more polished than their earlier works, but still just as heavy. But between Satisfaction and Perseverance, I'm not sure how much more you could need.

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Live Dominance: Upon first listen the prominence of the vocals makes it feel like less of a live album of hardcore/metal. At least, if my experience is any indication. Still, it's a wonderfull, one-stop shop for Hatebreed fans, covering all of their albums and giving further creedence to the idea that in the dictionary, next to the word for "breakdown" should be an audio clip of Hatebreed.

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Review: Make Do And Mend - We're All Just Living:

Upon first listen I have no idea how to descrbie these guys. I guess Brand New-esque? Whatever it is, I really liked it.

TheirSpace, where you can purchase it for $7

Review: Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue:

Upon first listen it's a very retro-'70s singer-songwriter album. Her last solo album did not hold up on repeated listens and I don't anticipate this one to either. Still, there are a couple of tracks I really like (Carpetbaggers with Costello, especially).

HerSpace

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Review: Last Lights - Last Lights:

Upon first listen this band had the unfortunate experience of showing up on my playlist right after American Nightmare's Background Music, all but ensuring I wouldn't be able to appreciate it. That being said, this was one of those bands that I listened to one track on their MySpace profile and immediately went to their website to purchase their record. Normally I do more research, listen to a few more tracks - maybe even the entire album - before making a purchase, but not this time.

TheirSpace, where you can download their Demo for free and purchase this EP for $5

Review: Kings of Leon - Only By The Night:

Upon first listen I can only come to one of two conclusions: A) Kings of Leon got exponentially better since the last time I listened to them or B) I've never properly listened to Kings of Leon.

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Review: Dustin Kensrue - Please Come Home:

Upon first listen it's a perfectly adequate folk record. I'm sure if you were a big Thrice fan, this would be amazing, but as a more passive fan, it comes off as less than that. Not to say it's not worth listening to now and again.

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Review: Hostage Calm - Lens:

Upon first listen I instantly began comparing it to Highwire Days. Melodic hardcore punk at its finest. Not too deep, but completely adequate.

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Review: His Hero Is Gone - Monuments to Thieves:

Upon first listen it was not all what I was expecting. Musically engaging, but virtually indecipherable lyrics really hold it back.

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Review: Harvey Danger - Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?:

Upon first listen it's punk-influenced pop from the mid-'90s. Perfectly adequate yet unspectacular. Almost worth the price of admission just for Flagpole Sitta, a monster single that barely belongs on the album.

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Review: Fucked Up - The Chemistry Of Common Life:

Upon first listen it's like if the Mars Volta were a hardcore band. And not Spanish-speaking. I wasn't sure they would be able to top Hidden World, and while I'm not sure they have just yet, they sure made more than an adequate attempt.

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Review: Ben Folds - Way to Normal:

Upon first listen Mr. Folds is at his best when he's goofy and slightly over-the-top. He does both of those things here, as well as some more traditional Songs of Silverman-esque tracks.

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Review: Fiery Furnaces - Remember:

Upon first very long listen it's a staggering amount of audio. Forgive the hyperbole, but it seems like it's 112 tracks and 74 hours long. Still, they find a way to reinvent nearly all of their songs in sometimes positive, mostly negative (for those that listen to them a lot) ways. I think it wildly appropriate when artists rearrange, tweak or modify songs after they've been released and/or in live settings, but this takes it to a level I'm not entirely comfortable with. Yet.

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Review: The Explosion - Bury Me Standing:

Upon first listen it's not going to be able to touch Flash, Flash, Flash which is in my top 10 punk albums of all time, but it is their version of New Wave. Grown up, well-produced, yet familiar. A lot better than Black Tape.

TheirSpace

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Dungen - 4:

Upon first listen it's not nearly as pyschadelic, intense or passionate as Ta Det Lugnt, instead opting for what would be considered pop songs. Hard to get into without knowing what the words are.

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Review: Champion - Promises Kept:

Upon first listen I finally get why people love Champion. Straight edge hardcore done right and in the vein of the mid-90s Boston scene.

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Review: Civ - Thirteen Day Getaway:

Upon first listen it's a perfectly fine pop-punk album. Nothing too revolutionary from the former Gorilla Biscuit.

Gorilla Biscuits Space

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Review: Bloc Party - Intimacy:

Upon first listen this is the ablum in which we'll look back in 10 years and say one of two things: A) This is when Bloc Party really started expanding their sonic pallette and taking us with them - or B) This is when Bloc Party stopped being cool (forgiving Weekend In The City).

TheirSpace

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Review: Bigelf - Cheat The Gallows:

Upon first listen I was initially going to call this Beatles-esque but airy, drawn out and darker. And just then, I realized that Pink Floyd would be more apt - and in a good way.

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Review: The Adversaries - The Adversaries:

Upon first listen it's straight forward punk from a bunch of high school kids. Fast, aggressive, terribly produced and wholly unremarkable. Except for the fact it was Tom Gabel's first band.

Download the entire album

Review: Adamantium - Traditions:

Upon first listen it had been a long time since I'd listened to anything by Adamantium. Now I know it was because I didn't like it that much to begin with.

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Review: Wire - Object 47:

Upon first listen it was certainly post-rock/punk, but far more expansive, if a little repetitive.

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Review: Various - The Fountain Original Motion Picture Soundtrack:

Upon first listen this holds up remarkably on its own. Still, it makes me want to rewatch the film very badly.

Clint Mansell's Space

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Review: Various - This Is Boston, Not L.A.:

Upon first listen I was expecting most of the bands to run together. Stylistically, they do, but their is more than enough nuance to differentiate. Still, I don't think I could listen to more than EP worth of tracks from any of them.

Purchase for $8.78

Review: The Tallest Man On Earth - Shallow Grave:

Upon first listen if you had told me this was a long-lost Dylan album from the early '60s I'd have totally believed you.

HisSpace

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No word on US release date as of yet. Available on iTunes

Review: The Terrible Twos - Jerzy The Giant:

Upon first listen it's not quite as little-kid-friendly as Owl, nor is it as catchy. Still, the concept is great and there are some really terrific tunes on here.

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Review: The Suicide File - Some Mistakes You Never Stop Paying For:

Upon first listen I've heard most of these tracks before, but they still sound invigorating, fresh and angry.

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Review: Street Dogs - State Of Grace:

Upon first listen it's going to take me a while to temper expectations from wanting a sequel to Do Or Die. Still, what's here isn't so bad and really shows a broadening of horizons for the street punk.

TheirSpace

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Review: Silent Majority - Life Of A Spectator:

Upon first listen it sounds what I would imagine H20 would have if they had been a mid-90s emo band and not a late-90s NYHC band.

TheirSpace

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Review: Poison Arrows - Casual Wave:

Upon first listen this EP is pretty good post-punk. Not sure I could listen to an entire album, but a few songs works well.

TheirSpace

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Review: Plants And Animals - Parc Avenue:

Upon first listen it's not as if this is a bad album. It's just that it passes by and you don't take a whole lot away from it. Some of the tracks are too long for their own good, employing minimally-grandiose (ha!) instrumental sections that offer little to the song.

TheirSpace

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Review: Buck Owens - Ultimate Collection:

Upon first listen it's great to have some of these country-the-way-it's-supposed-to-be-done tracks. Still, it's a little grating after 14 or so tracks - especially all those sugary pop/love songs.

HisSpace

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Review: One Day As A Lion - One Day As A Lion:

Upon first listen I had zero expectations for this, so it easily eclipsed them. I liked it in EP form as I'm not convinced La Rocha's vocals (which aren't as incendiary as some of RATM) would hold up over an entire album, though I wouldn't mind the attempt.

TheirSpace

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Review: Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins:

Upon first listen I've been rather indifferent towards these guys over the last few years. That's all changed with Stand-Ins, their best album to date.

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Review: Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst:

Upon first listen Oberst takes his most direct stab at being Dylan, succeeding in the process.

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Review: The Mae Shi - HLLLYH:

Upon first listen there's some quality tracks in there. Reminiscent of Of Montreal, amongst others, but a lot of it gets lost in the sheer abundance of musical shifts.

TheirSpace

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Review: The Ike Reilly Assassination - We Belong To The Staggering Evening:

Upon first listen it's eerily similar to what Ted Leo would sound like if he had been more influenced by Bob Dylan and thrown a little Ben Folds into the mix.

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Reviews: Gaslight Anthem x2

TheirSpace

Gaslight Anthem - Sink Or Swim: Upon first listen it's Against Me! meets Springsteen via The Hold Steady. What's not to like? Scratch that, what's not to
love?

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Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound: Upon first listen and I thought it couldn't get better than their last album. How wrong I was.

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Review: Fucked Up - Epics In Minutes:

Upon first listen this collection of random trakcs showcase their more straight ahead punk/hardcore roots, before they got all avant garde. Worth having, if only to have a grasp of their progression.

Their Website

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Review: Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes:

Upon first listen I was expecting over-the-top bubblegum pop. Instead, what was delivered was slower, more focused and way better than those expectations.

TheirSpace

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Review: The Duke Spirit - Neptune:

Upon first listen the production was a little cleaner than I thought it should be. The music was very shoegaze-esque, but the lyrics crisp and audible. Still a fine rock record though.

TheirSpace

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Review: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Best Of:

Upon first listen the pace was a little unexpected, Songwriting seems strong as does emotional presentation.

TheirSpace

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Review: Bad Brains - Rock For Light:

Upon first listen I can see why this is considered a seminal hardcore/punk album. I just can't wait to remove the reggae songs from the track list.

TheirSpace

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Review: Agnostic Front - United Blood:

Upon first listen this pretty much confirms my suspicions that I do not like NYHC.

TheirSpace

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Review: Matt Pryor - Confidence Man:

Upon first listen it's exactly what I was expecting - a stripped down, more intimate version of On A Wire. And it succeeds in that endeavor.

HisSpace

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Review: Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue:

Upon first listen it was pleasant, if unsurprising. I liked the Bambu sessions more though.

HisSpace

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Review: Weezer - Weezer (Red):

Upon first listen it's a perfectly adequate pop-rock record. Of course, this comes from someone who wasn't a devotee.

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Review: Sky Eats Airplane - Sky Eats Airplane:

Upon first listen I'm not a fan of the "kitchen sink" approach to hardcore (or most aggressive music), incoporating throat-screaming metal, melodicism and more straight forward hardcore punk. It makes it all seem forced and unneccessary.

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