ALBUM REVIEW: Softcult – When a Flower Doesn’t Grow


 

To Softcult, Shoegaze is the color of ambiance they dress their songs with, rather than a box that defines them. When a Flower Doesn’t Grow (EASY LIFE ENT) is even more polished, and songwriting is on point. The album opens with the hazy breeze of “Pill to Swallow.” The drums create movement even amid the shimmering waves of the guitar. If you are into post-anything guitar playing, the album is worth a listen for how the guitars are dialed in, but you might want to stay for the catchy songwriting. They are not shredding at any point inthis album, but it is an exercise in serving the songs even when they allow restraint to become unchained.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Show Me A Dinosaur – Plantgazer (2024 Reissue)


We are into the second half of 2024 and what a year it has been for new music! Even some of the reissues of older recordings coming out so far have been really good. The latest that deserves attention is the 2020 topical album about isolation and loneliness during the COVID Lockdowns, Show Me A Dinosaur’s Plantgazer (AOP Records). The Saint Petersburg post-Black Metal outfit toys with your emotions for nearly forty-five minutes. All while a “fictitious” man lives out his days in lockdown staring at his home plants, pondering about life under the new normal. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Holy Fawn – Dimensional Bleed 


Back in the tail end of the seventies, Bon Scott of AC/DC sang “if you want blood, you got it.” Over four decades later in 2022, we might hear a comparable rallying cry from vocalist/guitarist Ryan Osterman and his post-rock/shoegaze band Holy Fawn. However, on Dimensional Bleed (Wax Bodega) — the Arizona natives’ second album — the message would be more like “if you want relentless, beautiful sadness, you got it.”

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