CD Review: Suicidal Tendencies – 13

Review by Ellen Eldridge On the one hand, hearing that Suicidal Tendencies releases its first new album in 13 years makes me reminisce on the bands that plowed me through the ‘90s; on the other hand, a nagging voice asks, “Really?” because didn’t Megadeth just release an album called 13 in 2011? But Suicidal announces […]

CD Review: Sevendust – Black Out the Sun

Review by Ellen Eldridge Black Out the Sun is the ninth release by Atlanta natives Sevendust since 1997; this release also marks the first time the band has taken more than two years to release an album as Cold Day Memory came out in 2010. The guys must have taken the extra year to nail […]

CD Review: Colleen Green – Sock it to Me Drops Tuesday, March 19th

Review by Ellen Eldridge The Descendents’ influence on Colleen Green extends through fuzzy guitars, growling amps and quietly melodious vocals on her full-length Sock it to Me (3/19 Hardly Art Records). She has been described as “long hair and getting high,” by Joe Bernardi, and if that doesn’t speak to the theme and the undercurrent […]

CD Review: Intronaut – Habitual Levitations Drops Tuesday, March 19th

Review by Ellen Eldridge The word Intronaut makes me think of a spacesuit-clad band destined only to open for bigger bands, spiraling out musically while standing still on stage. After listening to Habitual Levitations, I feel quite certain that Intronaut will break out of its well-earned slot opening for bands including Tool and Meshuggah. Maybe […]

CD Review: Anthrax – Anthems; Drops March 19th

Review by Ellen Eldridge I’ll be the first to admit that my love of Anthrax and Scott Ian stem from Ian’s appearance on The Simpsons more than does it for my indulging in the band’s discography. Not that I ever had anything against Anthrax; I just didn’t get too into any of the albums minus […]

CD Review: Shooter Jennings – The Other Life, Releases March 12th

By Ellen Eldridge   If Waylon Jennings hadn’t given his seat up on the famous flight Buddy Holly chartered in 1958 that crashed on the “day the music died,” son “Shooter” would never have lived to combine the psychedelic influence of Pink Floyd with the earthy soul of outlaw country music.   His 1979 arrival […]

CD Review: Helado Negro – Invisible Life

By Ellen Eldridge Shoe-gazing, dancing alone in a crowd while wearing headphones, mumbling in the rain and dreaming in a foreign language all touch on the feelings contained within the first track on Helado Negro’s Invisible Life. Roberto Carlos Lange fuses synthetic elements and samples with Spanish lyrics. “Lentamente” slowly moves from “Llumina Vos,” which […]

CD Review: Sol Driven Train — Underdog; Playing @ Smith’s Olde Bar March 9th

Sol Driven Train Underdog By Al Kaufman Sol Driven Train is made up of a bunch of happy guys from Charleston, SC who love making music and probably listened to a lot of Jimmy Buffett as kids. Their songs consist of loose, rootsy melodies infused with horns.  They sing carefree songs about the glories of […]

CD Review: Buckcherry – Confessions

Review by Ellen Eldridge Fans on the bus with Buckcherry know the band for its rock appeal; the down and dirty life one would expect from a fast-soloing, hard living group of guys. And I may have always been running behind the bus unsure if I wanted on or not. I’ve seen Buckcherry open for […]

CD Review: Big Wreck – Albatross

Review by Ellen Eldridge   A thick band of power chords grinds out early in the opening track, “Head Together,” on Big Wreck’s Albatross, effectively introducing the band’s first new album in ten years. For fans unfamiliar with Big Wreck, comparisons to Soundgarden and Led Zeppelin are fair considering Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush, Alice […]

CD Review: Atlas Genius – When it was Now

Review by Ellen Eldridge Atlas Genius managed to do what almost every band wants to do and what very few achieve: buzz. Before the release of the band’s debut full-length, with only an EP, Atlas Genius generated quite a bit of well-deserved buzz. “Like an invitation you weren’t expecting to get, Atlas Genius knocks on […]

CD Review: Puscifer – Donkey Punch the Night EP

Review by Ellen Eldridge   I get nervous with my Puscifer CDs because I know I will want them around to comfort me when I need a pick me up song full of boldly layered lines and powerfully dynamic vocals. Many Tool fans assume Puscifer is frontman Maynard James Keenan’s bastard child; a joke band […]

CD Review: Sandra McCraken – Desire Like Dynamite, Releases 2/14

By Ellen Eldridge Like watercolor mixed with wine, Sandra McCracken’s smooth voice resonates like an artist’s paintbrush pulling color through grey on a canvas. “Fire cannot burn the same place twice,” in the first track’s chorus confirms that sensory detail introduces and collates the songs on Desire Like Dynamic. “Go” is one of three sneak […]

CD Review: Foals – Holy Fire, Released Today 2/12

Review by Ellen Eldridge The cover art for Holy Fire stands out like a battle call for a new British invasion. The third Foals album follows two gold releases and solidifies the group in a similar fashion to a small business that outlives its first few years. Truth be told, I haven’t heard the band’s […]

CD Review: Pissed Jeans – Honeys

By Ellen Eldridge Punk rock and glam metal drove two divergent paths into the forest of music, so, when I hear about a band with a name like Pissed Jeans coming out of Allentown, Pennsylvania, with ‘80s hardcore punk influences I wonder if this is a group of basement dwelling geeks or a project to […]