Album
Noah’s Barks pages relating to music albums.
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Killing Joke – “Pylon” (2015)
I can’t deal with Pylon. Where’s the intensity!? Where’s the fucking fury!? Killing Joke were a hoot; a bunch of old codgers more pissed off over… whatever—than any musician half their ages. Killing Joke used to be a pummeling, muscular, fuck-em-up band, but Jaz Coleman and co. have been softening up ever since Hosannas From… (read more)
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The Damned – “The Black Album”
What a fucking cool album cover. It’s like an emblem you’d see emblazoned on the front gate of Dracula’s castle. The Black Album is a certain curiosity in The Damned’s discography, as the group are almost entirely known for their earlier simple “brat punk” albums, but they broke out of that stereotype more and more… (read more)
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The Melvins – “Hold It In” (2014)
The more the Melvins try to sound young, the older they get. This is true of many artists. Nick Cave immediately comes to mind: whenever he tries to rock nowadays, his first priority is convincing the world he still has sex appeal. But much like his testicles, there’s nothing left to get out. Old people can rock… (read more)
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Refused – “Freedom” (2015)
Finally, post-hardcore goes boogie rock on Freedom. Some The Wall-esque arena rock thrown in for good (bad) measure. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t find a lot of this catchy, if not in the electrifyingly intense way The Shape of Punk to Come. I’m not sure if I’m being too nice to… (read more)
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Florence + The Machine – “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful”
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful Release Date(s): May 29, 2015 How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful is a very mild comeback for Florence. After starting out as a fusion between the most enrapturing parts of Kate Bush and Siouxsie and The Banshees, and in accordance with Dragon Ball Z rules on fusion, surpassing her influences in songcraft,… (read more)
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Cannibal Ox – “Blade of the Ronin”
Even the most well-written critique of Blade of the Ronin struggles to escape the desperate fan dream of The Cold Vein Part 2. Every aspect of Blade of the Ronin that sways a little right, everyone says it was wrong of it to do so, and that it should’ve stayed on the left. From my… (read more)
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Kendrick Lamar – “To Pimp a Butterfly” (2015)
I’ll throw out that I’m not particularly into hip hop. Still, I’m personally tired of hip hop epics of misunderstood cult heroes from a relentlessly bleak hood life. That’s not to say it’s illegitimate or not a story worth telling—just that I feel like I’ve heard it before. A cringe white boi I may be,… (read more)
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Lupe Fiasco – “Tetsuo & Youth” (2015)
The more I listen to Tetsuo & Youth, the more convinced I am that it’s a modern hip hop masterpiece. I don’t give a shit if Lupe Fiasco isn’t “cool” anymore—but I suspect hip hop listeners at large do. Fiasco uses his youthful, irreverent persona to his greatest advantage yet, and a frequently innocent, childlike… (read more)
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Sun Kil Moon – “Benji” (2014)
I’m surprised at how much less wispy Kozelek’s voice sounds on Benji. I thought it was an age thing, but he brings it back at certain points, so I don’t really like his alternate delivery. A change I care for even less is how overtly literal, yet basic his lyrics are compared to when they… (read more)
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Preoccupations – “Viet Cong” (2015)
Preoccupations understands the disenfranchised coldness of late ’70s and early ’80s post-punk very well, which proves they’re great listeners. But their unrelenting attachment to it makes their sound inflexible, and the interesting personality quirks that the original, experimental scene brought out aren’t audible in Viet Cong—and that’s the real strength of post-punk. Viet Cong is… (read more)