Reviews
SUMAC ask that you interpret their fourth full-length as an expression of care: unconditional care for yourself, for others, and for the wor...
Articles By Tom Piekarski
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![SUMAC Offer Brutal Empathy on Their Art Metal Epic 'May You Be Held']()
SUMAC Offer Brutal Empathy on Their Art Metal Epic 'May You Be Held' Published Oct 01, 2020 -
![Claire Rousay's 'Tuufuhhoowaah / Bday Shots' Shows the Artistic Potential of a Smartphone]()
ReviewsClaire Rousay's 'Tuufuhhoowaah / Bday Shots' Shows the Artistic Potential of a Smartphone Published Aug 17, 2020Claire Rousay has been incorporating daily life into her music more and more with every release. The two-track Tuufuhhoowaah / Bday Shots EP...
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![Protomartyr Aim Big on 'Ultimate Success Today' but Find Strength in the Subtleties Instead]()
ReviewsProtomartyr Aim Big on 'Ultimate Success Today' but Find Strength in the Subtleties Instead Published Jul 21, 2020These days, there's something strangely dissatisfying about hearing Protomartyr vocalist Joe Casey identify and diagnose our personal and so...
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![Bing & Ruth's 'Species' Is as Monotonous as the Desert Dunes That Inspired It]()
ReviewsBing & Ruth's 'Species' Is as Monotonous as the Desert Dunes That Inspired It Published Jul 15, 2020Bing & Ruth is New York composer and pianist David Moore's chosen vehicle for exploring ensemble-based music in the so-called minimalist tra...
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![Cult '90s Heroes Hum Are More Confident Than Ever on Comeback Album 'Inlet']()
ReviewsCult '90s Heroes Hum Are More Confident Than Ever on Comeback Album 'Inlet' Published Jul 10, 202022 years removed from their last release, Hum have returned with Inlet, their best album to date. Since 1998's Downward Is Heavenward, they'...
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![Greg Fox Turns Drumming Into a Spiritual Practice on 'Contact']()
ReviewsGreg Fox Turns Drumming Into a Spiritual Practice on 'Contact' Published May 29, 2020Greg Fox is best known for lending his drumming to experimental metal acts such as Liturgy, Ex Eye and Uniform. Despite the (overstated) agg...
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![Okkyung Lee Pushes the Cello to Its Limits on 'Yeo-Neun']()
ReviewsOkkyung Lee Pushes the Cello to Its Limits on 'Yeo-Neun' Published May 19, 2020Okkyung Lee has built a career out of mining the tonal depths of the cello. In solo work and in collaboration, she has mobilized that bundle...
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![C.R. Gillespie's 'Concentration Patterns' Succeeds When Its Sound and Sentiment Line Up]()
ReviewsC.R. Gillespie's 'Concentration Patterns' Succeeds When Its Sound and Sentiment Line Up Published May 15, 2020Concentration Patterns began as a private practice. Looking to quell the constant buzz of anxiety pervading his physical and mental spaces,...
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![Rone's 'Room with a View' Is More Predictable Than Progressive]()
ReviewsRone's 'Room with a View' Is More Predictable Than Progressive Published Apr 27, 2020Rone's Room with a View was shaped by at least two forces. The first was collaboration. Instigated by a live show commissioned by the Théâtr...
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![Jackie Lynn's 'Jacqueline' Finds Freedom on Back Roads and Dance Floors]()
ReviewsJackie Lynn's 'Jacqueline' Finds Freedom on Back Roads and Dance Floors Published Apr 16, 2020The last time we heard from Jackie Lynn, the vagabond's freewheeling lifestyle may have gotten the best of her. Having climbed the ranks of...
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![Beverly Glenn-Copeland Keyboard Fantasies]()
ReviewsBeverly Glenn-Copeland Keyboard Fantasies Published Mar 23, 2020With its repress of Beverly Glenn-Copeland's now-classic 1986 album Keyboard Fantasies, Toronto's Séance Centre contributes to the legend of...
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![Wolves in the Throne Room Thrice Woven]()
ReviewsWolves in the Throne Room Thrice Woven Published Sep 20, 2017Rejuvenated after taking a dive into the ambient undercurrents of their sound on 2014's Celestite, Wolves in the Throne Room are back with a...
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![Melvins A Walk With Love & Death]()
ReviewsMelvins A Walk With Love & Death Published Jul 11, 2017The last five years have seen the Melvins conjure opportunity out of chaos. In that time, fans have been treated to a double-drummer rhythm...
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![Helms Alee Stillicide]()
ReviewsHelms Alee Stillicide Published Aug 31, 2016How to follow up a debut album that melds various rock and metal styles with the sort of skill it takes some bands decades to hone? That...
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![SubRosa For This We Fought the Battle of Ages]()
ReviewsSubRosa For This We Fought the Battle of Ages Published Aug 24, 2016SubRosa have crystallized their chamber-infused doom on For This We Fought the Battle of Ages. Having achieved critical acclaim for their la...
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![Wreck and Reference Indifferent Rivers Romance End]()
ReviewsWreck and Reference Indifferent Rivers Romance End Published Jul 20, 2016Wreck and Reference play a skeletal kind of metal. The Los Angeles duo's first two full-lengths were built on the premised that, like Andy S...
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![Kayo Dot Plastic House on Base of Sky]()
ReviewsKayo Dot Plastic House on Base of Sky Published Jun 22, 2016Kayo Dot's Plastic House on Base of Sky builds on bandleader Toby Driver's recent commitment to darkwave-tinged, synth-based explorations....
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![Sumac What One Becomes]()
ReviewsSumac What One Becomes Published Jun 08, 2016Striking while the iron is hot, Sumac are unleashing their sophomore album, What One Becomes, a little over a year after debut The Deal. The...
