Dirty Heads’ will take you on a journey out of this world with their newest album, Super Moon. The band’s seventh album charges a familiar combination of ska and hip-hop and with a compelling thematic backdrop. The message remains universal: that life is precious even in the dimmest hours. This message…

Though technically flawless, Born to Perish is a frustratingly forgettable Destruction album. Its ferocious riffs and double-bass assault ultimately fail to launch, partly because the cultural force of the thrash underground isn’t around to breathe fire into the equation.   Born to Perish Destruction Nuclear Blast Records, Aug. 9 It…

Whether you look to the festivals and workshops, the communal aspect of jazz—or the amount of personal chemistry it requires—is a major part of its longevity. This is evident in the origin story of Nérija, a U.K. group formed at the London educational foundation and a jam session called Tomorrow’s Warriors. The septet…

Wisconsin rockers Skillet are well past the point of having to depend on others. Frontman John Cooper and guitarist Korey Cooper took a leap of faith by handling most of the production on ‘Victorious,’ their band’s 10th album. The result is a 12-song ode to competition and overcoming. The…

Ty Segall, “First Taste.” Ty Segall is a very busy man. The Laguna Beach garage rocker filled last year with Freedom’s Goblins, covers album Fudge Sandwich and his collaboration with White Fence, Joy. First Taste clarifies once again that Segall has yet to spread himself too thin, slathering on his brand of fuzzed-out, dirty…

It would be a tragic understatement to say that the title of The Rocket Summer’s Sweet Shivers epitomizes the appropriate reaction to its well-crafted illustration of internal conflict and its resolution. Sweet Shivers The Summer LAB Records, Aug. 2 It’s clear that during his two-year break, mastermind Bryce Avary spent his…

While Russian Circles didn’t set out to mold 2016’s Guidance after that chaotic year, the album’s dramatic ambition carried an undercurrent of uncertainty. Chicago’s post-rock standard-bearers spent the next three years pondering their evoltion, but their season of exploration led them back to a blunt approach. While Blood Year maintains…

Beyond winning Chance the Rapper the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, Coloring Book also distinguished him as a unique force in Chicago hip-hop. The career-defining release’s gospel overtones, pop hooks and diverse flow saw Chancelor Jonathan Bennett come into his own as a suave, God-fearing punchline purveyor. He…

It didn’t take long for deathcore to follow death metal, embracing its lowest common denominator and falling into stagnancy. Genre stalwarts like Australia’s Thy Art Is Murder have to contend with the over-saturation and lack of innovation in the scene they’ve influenced. As Impending Doom did last year, they…

The Violent Femmes have been a band off and on since 1980—they’ve broken up so many times the actual band members couldn’t list them off the top of their heads—and in that time they’ve had their ups and downs. When they’re good they’re amazing; when they’re not good they’re…