With vocals somewhere between Lou Reed and King Krule and a lo-fi, original rock vibration, Mutual delivers beastly bops in their debut self-titled EP. They’re a self-proclaimed, “warm rock band,” hailing from the biggest little city in the world, Reno, Nevada; and they capitulate their listeners with a big sound from a little album. Consisting […]

After 34 successful years of being a band and 15 full length albums, one would think that a band would have a signature sound. But, Yo La Tengo, one of the more iconic and influential indie rock bands out there currently, continues album after album to innovate and experiment with their sound. With Yo La […]

The Shacks are a trio from New York consisting of singer-bassist Shannon Wise, guitarist-producer Max Shrager and drummer Ben Borchers. What immediately makes their sound distinctive on the band’s sophomore album, Haze, are Wise’s hypnotic vocals, which enter your ear like a secret being whispered amid a medley of whirling reverb and stacked overdubs. While the sleepy-sounding-singer aesthetic is not unpleasant, Wise has the tendency to […]

Rock music based out of the New York scene has been making a resurgence recently. With the new releases from artists that made an impact in that scene in the 2000’s and 2010’s  including Albert Hammond Jr., Jack White, Moby, this scene is coming back as one that is more polished. With the release of […]

For a debut album, an artist needs to have some kind of an idea what kind of sound the music should have. Yes, elements of other genres could be in the music, but it’s confusing for the listener to not be able to tell the type of music even through the entire listen of the […]

Make no mistake about it, Robert Pollard is a musical genius. The leader and prolific visionary behind Guided by Voices, Pollard has been consistently putting out music for so long that last year’s release, August By Cake, marked the 100th album of his career, including his 22 albums as a solo artist. Despite the rotating cast of musicians that have come and gone over the years, Guided by Voices has cemented its status […]

When they broke into the scene in the early 2000’s, there was no other band like The Strokes out there. The band’s brand of quick and to the point indie rock music had not been heard before that point. Since then, they have become one of the most influential rock bands of the 21st century, […]

 Dick Stusso’s sophomore work, In Heaven, is an album faithfully committed to coming face-to-face with failure and the self. There’s nothing the blues do better than self-pity, but there is something about Stusso’s particular country brand that gives a sense of hope and resilience. He’s taken the time to mature beyond his 2015 debut album, […]

What may be most surprising about Acid Dad’s self-titled debut album is that it doesn’t come off as sounding like a psychedelic drug trip. On the contrary, Acid Dad offers a sobering take on the difficulties of transitioning from adolescence to young adulthood and the general political apathy of today’s youth. Acid Dad’s brand of garage-punk-psych-infusion is new and innovative without sounding […]