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By: Daniel Gerichter (@ZenDonut) – Nikki Nack, the eagerly-anticipated third album from New England’s tUnE yArDs, proves that, while there is a fine line between ‘performance art’ and ‘listenable music’, ringleader Merrill Garbus is busily dancing all over it. Now beyond “experimentation for the sake of experimentation”, Nikki Nack finds Garbus firmly in the creative driver’s seat. The album goes to its usual lengths to sound chaotic, frantic, … Continue reading
By: Daniel Gerichter (@ZenDonut) – Leeds-based indie rock quintet Kaiser Chiefs’ fifth album, Education, Education, Education & War, the first without drummer/songwriter Nick Hodgson, finds the band’s biggest successes well in the past and a forced transition now the focal point of their present and future. Knowing full well the scrutiny they’d be under, … Continue reading
By: Daniel Gerichter (@ZenDonut) – Most bands don’t endure 12 years of touring and recording without growing up a little, at least that’s the hope. With the release of their sixth album, Imaginary Enemy, The Used are wearing that maturity on their sleeves. Clearly, the band has outgrown their Screamo origins (shudder). We all … Continue reading
By: Luke Ottenhof – Brooklyn’s The Hold Steady has been crafting bar-rock anthems for over a decade. Celebrated tunes like “Stuck Between Stations” and “Stay Positive” defined the band’s audacious ambition, and their desire to tell us all a story. The formula has remained much the same over the band’s career, but … Continue reading
By: Adam Harrison (@AdamRHarrison) – It’s time to get those pumped up kicks out of the closet again in preparation for more groovy indie rock from Foster the People. The Los Angeles trio now brings us their second studio album, Supermodel. Filled with plenty more danceable tunes of their unique variety, they’ve got big kicks to fill following the huge success … Continue reading
By: Luke Ottenhof – There’s probably no better “genre” to describe Hamilton trio The Dirty Nil than with the name of their hometown: “Hammer” Rock. It could also be thought of as bearing the same qualities as the tool of the same name. It’s brash, gruff, and could probably be used to inflict harm. Granted, the extent of harm … Continue reading
By: Krista Hessey – Is there room for one more dreamy-voiced, synth-backed pop artist with an edgy haircut in the music industry? Sure, because with every “playlist of the week” or “song of the day” post on Pitchfork or any other music blog imaginable, people are always searching for a new source of talent whether it is … Continue reading
By: Calum Slingerland – The opportunity to provide some wonderful background sonics to a film project such as Les Revenants and touring their score for Zidane is directly where Scottish post-rockers Mogwai draw from on their latest release, Rave Tapes. It’s an album which carries itself on cinematic feel from start to finish while still treading a line between the … Continue reading
By: Krista Hessey – The Balconies are hungry. After extensive touring throughout Europe and North America with their six-track Kill Count EP, the quartet—with the recent addition of Steve Molella to the original trio—has released their debut album Fast Motions. Fast Motions has proven that The Balconies are serious. Their Kill Count EP released in the summer of 2012 acts as a reminder of the band’s … Continue reading
By: Patrick Topping (@ptopp_ing) – Arcade Fire’s Reflektor is the newest outing from everyone’s favourite band to love, and love to hate. And it’s okay to love to hate them, because right now, Arcade Fire feel pretty ambiguous about Arcade Fire. Following the pervasiveness of 2010’s The Suburbs, the Montreal-based collective were thrust across a rare threshold whereby the band’s closely-insulated image and music … Continue reading
Aesthetic Magazine | Album Reviews, Concert Photography, Interviews, Contests 