Album Reviews

Bear In Heaven: Beast Rest Forth Mouth [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
October 13, 2009February 11, 2022

The transformation undergone by Bear In Heaven between their outstanding Home-Tapes debut, Red Bloom Of The Boom, and their sophomore release Beast Rest Forth Mouth, is, quite literally, breathtaking. Red Bloom debuted Bear In Heaven’s experimental rock with a sound that was, for the most part, entirely their own. Sure, there were traces of influence that in my opinion sided pretty heavily toward artists like Animal Collective, but it was also fairly unparalleled in its style of experimentation.

Ron Trembath
October 13, 2009October 19, 2009

There is no telling what emotions The Rest might conjure up when you hear their brilliant sophomore release Everyone All At Once. This is an indie-rock rock-symphony for our time. The band has worked long and hard to create an atmosphere derived solely from their heart’s ambition. As well as pulling influence from nature and booze. But, aren’t most great works inspired in such ways? Read More »The Rest: Everyone All At Once [Album Review]

Open Choir Fire: Dirt Bathed And Quilted [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
October 12, 2009October 19, 2009

Call it indie rock, or call it power pop; however you label it, Open Choir Fire‘s new LP, Dirt Bathed And Quilted is flat out good. There’s an unquestionable 90s influence focused primarily on the Northwest region, which is no surprise as the band hails from Seattle. “Killing The Messenger” is a hard-hitting rocker, while its successors in “Big Regret” and “You Should Take The Bus” take it down a notch but are no less intricate, powerful or yes, even sophisticated. Read More »Open Choir Fire: Dirt Bathed And Quilted [Album Review]

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: Higher Than The Stars [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
October 9, 2009October 19, 2009

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart is definitely one of this year’s biggest hype bands, and it’s obvious why: their fuzzy pop is undeniably catchy and not overly drowned in the forced underproduction that can often plague the sub-genre. After a wildly successful self-titled debut LP, they return with Higher Than The Stars, an EP whose title track matches the best tunes in the TPOBPAH library thus far. Read More »The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: Higher Than The Stars [Album Review]

Letters & If It Ain’t Breakfast, Don’t Fix It: Scattered Areas Where A Thousand Follow In Likeness [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
October 8, 2009October 19, 2009

One of last year’s best albums was In Case We Lose What We Have, by Olympia band Letters. It made number 23 of my favorite albums of the year. Well they’re back and they’ve joined forces with If It Ain’t Breakfast, Don’t Fix It. The DIY folk of Letters works almost too well with the wild noise of If It Ain’t Breakfast. The collective has created something outstanding that can only be dubbed lo-fi noise folk. Read More »Letters & If It Ain’t Breakfast, Don’t Fix It: Scattered Areas Where A Thousand Follow In Likeness [Album Review]

David & The Citizens: David & The Citizens

Andy Fenstermaker
October 8, 2009October 19, 2009

This self-titled EP by David & The Citizens may have preceded Until The Sadness Is Gone only by a few short months, but the debut extended play holds definite traces of an earlier, less mature group. One would think the short amount of time would leave little room changeâ€”yet the songs found encased here vary greatly from each other, and many from the long play that followed. Read More »David & The Citizens: David & The Citizens

Adam Hill: Them Dirty Roads [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
October 6, 2009October 19, 2009

Adam Hill‘s style of folk always donned the traditional styling so often seen as timeless within the centuries-long timeline the genre encompasses. Them Dirty Roads is, for the most part, no exception. But when the fiddles and acoustic guitar are removed, as found in opening track “Prelude”, something else happens — Hill produces a sound quite unorthodox, featuring a trumpet and static samples. As a prelude, the track works wonders to introduce Hill’s very clear-cut folk. Read More »Adam Hill: Them Dirty Roads [Album Review]

Bombadil: Tarpits And Canyonlands [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
October 6, 2009October 19, 2009

There are a lot of swirling sounds within Bombadil‘s Tarpits And Canyonlands. On one end it is minimalistic — stripped to its most basic components, “Sad Birthday” is piano and percussion with a slew of vocalists. But it’s not minimal, as even two instruments can create a sound all-encompassing. Add the collective of vocalists and precisely placed hand claps and the result is a sound much like that of Slaraffenland. But Bombadil cannot be limited to mere comparisons — the light instrumentation and experimental folk sounds they dabble in are truly their own. Read More »Bombadil: Tarpits And Canyonlands [Album Review]

the dutchess and the duke sunset sunrise cover art

The Dutchess And The Duke: Sunset / Sunrise [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
October 5, 2009May 12, 2023

In their somewhat self-titled debut, She’s The Dutchess, He’s The Duke, The Dutchess And The Duke popularized their lo-fi psychedelic folk with epic tracks like “Reservoir Park” and “I Am Just A Ghost”. With romantically-tinged dual male/female vocals, the duo of Jesse Lortz and Kimberly Morrison reverted to a sound that hinted at another time, one strife with protest and objection to the powers that were, at the time, seen as opposed to the greater good. In that, The Dutchess And The Duke were debuting at a very similar time mentally, and while their sophomore release Sunset / Sunrise may have lost some of the politics, it has gained elsewhere.

Andy Fenstermaker
September 30, 2009October 19, 2009

Listening to Sweden’s Dial M For Murder, one gets the eerie feeling that this could very well be how Interpol would sound were they to hail from the indie pop centers of Sweden. That, or maybe this band had a bit of an early youthful obsession with Bauhaus. Fiction Of Her Dreams is filled with new wave pop and similar deep, dark vocals often attributed to those bands. Read More »Dial M For Murder: Fiction Of Her Dreams [Album Review]

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