LaGrecia
On Parallels
Suburban Home
9/10
Now, when you see a solid score from such reverent mags as Rolling Stone and Spin, you have to take it with a grain of salt. Take a closer look at Rolling Stone’s review section. Does it seem like 80% of what they review aurally gets them off? Yea, that’s what I thought. Take a look at our reviews and you’ll find that we don’t like 80% of the tunes we get to review. And while sometimes it is because the album is what I imagine rabid badgers …

BigElf
Cheat The Gallows
Custard Records
7/10
Big Elf is a band that finds a surreal if not morbid exuberance in the macabre. Similar to the vein of Creature Feature and Schoolyard Heroes, the tunes are this fucked up mix of carnival music and pure doom. The difference here is these weird hints of Motorhead and The Doors. The orchestral metal riffs of The Evils of Rock and Roll” make me want to kick some child while making out with a chick at the same time. Fuck yea, that sounds awesome. Ladies, you …

Black Light BurnsCover Your HeartI Am Wolfpack5/10
I really do enjoy the majority of Wes Borland’s work, I think it’s interesting and well thought out. This is not the majority of his work. This…is fucking weird. I actually was able to say that to his face (well, over the phone, but I said it.) It’s layered with crazy synths and it sounds like it was recorded by typing each word into a speak and spell possessed by Beelzebub.
I also really, really enjoy cover songs, I find it greatly interesting to see …

Mad Men: Music From the Series, Vol. 1
You know, that one show.
7/10

I have both praise and scorn for this TV show soundtrack:
Praise: What a great mix of jazz standards and original score.
Scorn: What the fuck, why’s it so short?!
Praise: The Aceyelone/RJD2 track is sweet as shit. What a great jam.
Scorn: What the hell are Aceyelone and RJD2 doing on the same record with Rosemary Clooney and Ella Fitzgerald? It’s like the MythBuster’s signing at Comic-Con, love you, but why are you here?
Praise: David Carbonara’s original score is essential in …

¡Forward, Russia!
Life Processes
Cooking Vinyl/Mute Records
3/10
Oh. My. God. This is awful. Which is a bummer, because the CD cover art’s rad, the album’s packaged well, but, jeeez. This sucks. I can’t even deal with it. One point for the cover art. But, I really can’t stand to think that this guy’s voice is one that could “grow on me.” I don’t know if he is going for the spazzy stylings of At The Drive In/Mars Volta, but it just sounds like he’s both terrified and someone’s standing on his nuts. His …

Melvins/Big Business Live
Aug. 7th Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY. &
Aug. 10th Pearl Street, Northampton, MA.
I’ve been to a lot of fucking metal shows and honestly few were as enjoyable as these. Onstage, the Melvins and their cohorts Big Business present you with an overpoweringly pure presentation of musicianship in the classic form of brutal percussion, heavy riffs, and really big hair. They have no need of flashy showmanship that seems to take center stage with so many recent musicians, who tend to put more money into their stage set-up than effort …

Hanif Jamiyl
Krushed Grapes
Bukarance Records
7/10
The title track asks me if I’ve ever had my “grapes krushed.” I honestly don’t know how to answer. I’m not sure if there is a racial/cultural divide at work here, but I have no idea how to interpret that analogy. I do know, however, that more and more I am diving deeper into the world of indie hip hop, and this sexually charged set of 14 tracks is no different. While the beats border on generic Propeller Head hooks, the flow is solid, often reminiscent of …

Banner Pilot
Resignation Day
Go Kart Records
9/10
Dear Banner Pilot,
I recently received your CD and press release and had a few comments for you.
A) I really appreciate it when bands are honest when they same things like “we sound like bands A, B and C.” I appreciate the honesty. I also agree that you sound like the Lawrence Arms, though I would like to throw in a bit of Screeching Weasel-esque snotty punk as well.
B) I appreciate the entirety of your earnest press kit. The lack of other reviews showed me …

Don LaFontaine was, for all intents and purposes, the movie voice guy. He’s the guy who would say, with as much bass as one man could have “One man…One Desire…” He passed away Monday from what is being reported as a collapsed lung, a complication from a blood clot in his lungs.
While many can try (such as Racket’s own Wesley Miller,) no one will be able to replace Don and his gifts to the world of movie previews and Geico commercials.
Don was one of those house hold names who did …