Album Reviews
Nails - Unsilent Death
This album sounds like the band is trying to beat you to death with sound. And, I must be a masochist because I fucking love it.
Just a heads up, this record will make you join Antifa and topple the government sending the US into an anarchic tribal state. Then you’ll drive across the country, killing off the newly appointed tribal warlords one by one because even that is too much authority for you to bear. In other words, it's incredible gym music.
Where to start:
Listen to the song Unsilent Death first. It wraps ups Nails completely. If you dig it, this is your new favorite band. If you don’t, the whole album is probably not for you.
For fans of:
Entombed, All Pigs Must Die, Getting drunk and trying to fight your dad in the front yard.
Madlib & Freddie Gibbs – Piñata
This album is a straight-up bad influence. Selling crack has never sounded so cool.
The production of boom bap hip hop meets the flow and melodies of a new great. It’s grimy in content, but the sound couldn’t be further from it. I think most grandparents would like this record if it was in a different language or something. A modern classic for sure.
Where to start:
Check out Thuggin’ first. It’s probably the catchiest song with a memorable chorus.
For fans of:
J Dilla, MF Doom, Telling your ex she ain’t shit.
Mobb Deep – The Infamous
A record so frigid and barren that those Burzum dorks should cite it as an influence.
I can’t think of a single black metal record that begins to paint such a bleak vision of the world. The beats are filled with empty space. The choruses aren’t catchy—they’re confrontational. In The Infamous world, almost every decision is one of life and death, and well, so what?
Where to start:
Shook Ones, Pt. II As far as beats building an atmosphere that matches the content, this might be the gold standard.
For fans of:
Nas, Big L, Pusha T, Wearing Timberlands with shorts.
IDLES – Ultra Mono
Like someone wrote a bunch of pop anthems and then replaced all the instruments with abrasive noises.
I’ve listened to rappers promise to kill “the opps.” I’ve heard punks swear they’re living by their own rules. And, I’ve believed very little of both. But when I hear IDLES take on bro culture and stadium rock bullshit, something about it clicks. Plus, as you can tell from the album cover, they realize they’re not changing the world—they’re just bitching about the dorks who ruin it.
Where to start:
The beginning, War is the perfect intro to the album. If you like the galloping-meets-droney vibe, you’re in for a treat.
For fans of:
Bloc Party, Swans, Old Man Gloom, Quoting Commie philosophers.
Wolfbrigade – Run With The Hunted
This sounds like a soundtrack to a movie where a guy rides a motorcycle made out of the bones of people he kills.
I have a simple rule. If an album has three or more songs about wolves, that album is dope. And this record has exactly three of those songs. This album has the speed and the general abrasiveness of d-beat punk, with tons of thrash elements thrown in for variety. Pop it on and buy a black leather bracelet or something.
Where to start:
I’d go with Warsaw Speedwolf. It has the epicness of the best Tragedy songs and a mosh part that most Cro-Mags fans would dig.
For fans of:
Motörhead, Discharge, Tragedy, Stuff that looks sketchy, but is not sketchy at all.
Slowmosa – Slowmosa
This is the record for people who say they like SLEEP, but can’t even make it halfway through a SLEEP record.
I can't make this sound sincere, but I do not mean the next sentence as a diss. This record sounds like what Run For Cover Records' first foray into stoner rock would sound like. It is perfectly produced and honestly sounds incredible, plus the riffs are groovy but not abrasive at all. It's just awesome, and I think my Dad would dig it, too.
Where to start:
You can start Anywhere. The songs have enough variety to be interesting, but every single one is a great example of a Slowmosa song.
For fans of:
JEFF The Brotherhood, Natural Child, Drinking PBRs, and Exaggerating about your musical taste.
Failure – Fantastic Planet
Can you imagine how good this album would have been if they hadn't been on heroin?
This record came out in 1996. And, Failure had already shed all of the general ’90s corniness that even excellent bands of that era succumbed to. It was probably the influence of the bands that modern alternative bands cite as an influence.
Where to start:
Dreamy. Heavy. Pretty. It’d be hard to top Another Space Song, even though lots of the other songs on the album come close.
For fans of:
Hum, Deftones, Referencing obscure sci-fi movies as if everyone should know them.
