As a general rule, I tend to like pretty much everything that Sargent House puts out. After all, their roster incudes acts Russian Circles, Chelsea Wolfe, Emma Ruth Rundle/Marriages, Omar Rodriguez Lopez/The Mars Volta/Bosnian Rainbows, Mutoid Man, and Helms Alee, just to name a few. As a general rule, I also tend to really enjoy Japanese post-everything rockers Boris.
Album Reviews
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 To call Swans’ latest album To Be Kind a collection of new music is a bit of a misnomer. I saw them about two weeks after their last album, 2012’s The Seer, was released and three tracks that would end up on To Be Kind—“Nathalie Neal,” “She Loves Us!” and the title track—were already being featured (albeit in different forms) as part of their set. In fact, they played as many songs that would end up on To Be Kind as they did from the album they were touring behind. |
 Mammút are one of the most successful indie bands in Iceland, the land that shaped the unmatched imagination of musicians like Björk and Sigur Rós. Their third album Komdu til mín svarta systir ( Come to me dark sister ) is a great example of keeping dignity while giving life to radio-friendly rock music. Their music is more complex than the average rock band, dreamy and dark with lots of blind spots left for you to fill with personal thoughts. |
 Chances are if you’re familiar with German post-black metal/blackgaze outfit Lantlôs it’s because of their association with Alcest, whose mainman Niege provided vocals on the group’s two very Alcest-sounding previous full-lengths, 2010’s .neon and 2011’s Agape. |
 At this point, I don’t think anyone would fault Agalloch if they decided to simply rest on their laurels. After all, their discography has been so consistently excellent that if the band were to just phone one in and make Pale Folklore: Part II, few people would probably mind. This is a band with absolutely nothing left to prove, especially after 2010’s nearly universally lauded Marrow of the Spirit. |
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