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Review

My favorite and least favorite music of 2024 (so far)

22 blurbs on music I love, and [?] blurbs on music I never want to hear again.

Media Mail

Media Mail: Widescreen post-metal, sci-fi ambient, unearthed post-punk, and more

The column where I review any vinyl, CDs, and cassettes anyone sends me.

Review

Bring Me the Horizon's 'POST HUMAN: NeX GEn' is sometimes brilliant, often bumbling

The metalcore titans' long-awaited new album soars at a scale only they could achieve. However, its magnitude can be awe-inspiring one moment and cumbersome the next.

Chasing Fridays

Chasing Fridays: Twikipedia, Candy Apple, Horse Jumper of Love

A full-length review of one of 2024's best albums, my take on some great hardcore, and a futile attempt to finally enjoy that slowcore band.

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Interview

"Your whole family's going down": A blunt talk with Spiritbox singer Courtney LaPlante

One of metal's biggest figures gets honest about the genre's "identity crisis," the value of criticism, "shitty music" on Octane radio, right-wing metalcore assholes, Charli XCX, and much more.

Chasing Fridays

Chasing Fridays: Draag, Belong, Torture live, and more

I review some of 2024's hottest shoegaze releases, report on seeing the fastest-rising band in extreme music, and recap an awesome hardcore show.

Review

Flipping through Spotify's 'Shoegaze Now' playlist: the good, the mid, and the terrible

Like it or not, this Spotify playlist is one of the main drivers of shoegaze's current moment. I spent an afternoon listening to its contents and reacting to what I heard.

Chasing Fridays

Chasing Fridays: Camila Cabello, Blushing, Trail of Lies, and more

My thoughts on Tryhardi XCX, Syracuse hardcore's heavyweights, some shoegaze I initially dismissed, and more.

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Interview

To be at ease: A long talk with Whirr guitarist Nick Bassett

In his first — and final — honest interview, the shoegaze musician goes deep on his and Whirr's history, addresses the band's controversies head-on, and muses about their future.

Chasing Fridays

Chasing Fridays: 100 songs I like and 13 blurbs

In this special edition of my Friday column I reveal a huge playlist of songs I love, and then write about a handful of 'em.

Show Review

42 thoughts on my first Guided By Voices show

GBV played 42 songs in Pittsburgh — so I cooked up that many thoughts on what I saw, heard, and felt.

Chasing Fridays

Chasing Fridays: Still House Plants, Wisp, Ekko Astral live, and more

Reviews of new art-rock, shoegaze, and rap albums, and some hardcore/post-punk gig recaps.

Review

On Sematary, Artemas, 6arelyhuman, and liking artists I think I should hate

From raver-scene trash to hauntaholic bliss, these are artists I enjoy so much that they make me question my own taste.

Chasing Fridays

5 shows in 4 days: Mannequin Pussy, George Clanton, All 4 All, more

This week's Chasing Fridays column is exclusively dedicated to the boatload of live music I saw over the last seven days.

Chasing Fridays

Chasing Fridays: Cindy Lee, Balmora, Jeff Rosenstock live, and more

*Velvet Underground voice* Friiiday morning. Yep, it's another one of those, and I'm here with this week's Chasing Fridays roundup. This week, I listened to a bunch of new metalcore (the good kind, don't worry), some indie-rock courtesy of A Country Western,

Chasing Fridays

Chasing Fridays: Camila Cabello, Xcelerate, LDB Fest, and more

My thoughts on the pop (flop?) song of the week, some hot new hardcore recs, and my experience at a Louisville hardcore fest.

Show Review

I Saw The Armed for What They Are

The post-modernist hardcore troupe played Pittsburgh. It made me feel some type of way.

Show Review

10 thoughts on my first Joyce Manor show (Feat. Shawn Cooke)

Shawn and I travelled to West Virginia to see the indie-punk maestros in a sold-out 250-cap room.

My Listening Week

My Listening Week: The Goin' Nowheres, Fountains of Wayne, a Worm show, and more

Some thoughts on power-pop, a longer album review, and a recap of a blood-gulping metal gig.

Media Mail

Media Mail: Sweet twee, mod-synth melancholia, gnashing metalcore, and more

The column where I review any vinyl, CD's, and cassettes people send me.

My Listening Week

My Listening Week: Mannequin Pussy, A Country Western, TAGABOW & 7 more

Thoughts on Philly shoegaze's best, some slowcore newcomers, some hardcore old-timers, and a lot more.

Media Mail

Media Mail: Scorching hardcore, psych-y indie, bonkers Christmas tunes and more

I said I'd review any physical media anybody sent me. Here's the latest batch.

My 101 Favorite Albums of 2023

It's List Season. Surely, you've already seen a ton of other Best Albums of 2023 lists. And if you're really invested in what I do, then maybe you already heard me rank my top 10 albums of the year on my podcast Endless Scroll.

Show Review

The Scope of All This Revival

I attended night one of The Hotelier and Foxing's 10-year-anniversary tour for 'The Albatross' and 'Home, Like No Place Is There.' I had thoughts.

Media Mail

Media Mail: Apocalyptic industrial, skin-searing hardcore, wicked grind and more

Reviews of new and new-ish releases from Realize, Pig City, Spy, Caveman and more.