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: Cold In Berlin – Wound


Despite being from London, Cold in Berlin once again lives up to their name, as it conjures, stark, wintry urban landscape at night. Wounds (New Heavy Sounds) finds the band going further down the path they wandered down on their previous album, which found them more fully committing to their crossover into doom. The opening track of their new album blurs the lines even further, carrying a darker, more pulsating beat. Vocalist Maya belts things out with the expected intensity of her aching alto. The hypnotic pulse of “12 Crosses” shares some common ground with grunge from the nineties, as more exotic flourishes of atmosphere are also employed. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Alice Cooper – The Revenge of Alice Cooper


The Revenge of Alice Cooper (earMusic) is the first album with the original Alice Cooper band since Muscle of Love. Making it the band’s 8th album together, and Cooper’s 30th. Bob Ezrin is handling production duties to help them remember what they did back in the day. It opens with the lead single “Black Mamba,” which is slinky and theatrical. Rather than try to recapture the fire that was burning when they recorded Muscle of Love, they are side-stepping this favor of touching on a more “Schools Out” style of borderline Broadway-drama mixed with the Garage Rock sound Cooper has been dipping his boots in the past few albums.  Continue reading →