Neil Young once declared it was “better to burn out than fade away.” At 80, it was advice he should have heeded, as it’s been 30 years since he released a decent album that wasn’t sandbagged material from the seventies left in the vault. What makes a great artist like your Iron Maidens and David Bowies is consistency. How are you holding up 14 albums into your solo career? This is the question we ask going into the newest Morrissey release, Make Up is a Lie (Sire Records).
Cheer-Accident has been around since 1981, which equates to the same length of time as Metallica. Unlike the Thrash Metal legends however, the Chicago outfit (named after a Hallmark shopping display) have released a fantastic amount of albums, nearly 30 at last count, as well as several compilations, EPs and seven inches, some of which have been released by the legendary Skin Graft Records (home to Squid Pisser, U.S. Maple, The Flying Luttenbachers, Dazzling Killmen and other such wonderful artists). Continue reading
If the sea had teeth what would they look like? (You’ve probably never wondered). If you have asked yourself such a question, you’ll likely have to keep pondering. As to what they would sound like, well Sam Barton, Mike Bourne and Jimmy Martin, known collectively as Teeth of the Sea, have been providing an answer to that question since their first record (2009’s Orphaned by the Ocean). Hive (Rocket Recordings) is the group’s sixth full-length release.