Review of "Clear" by Periphery

Another Yeezus-inspired album cover (or rather "lack-of-album-cover").

Progressive metal band, Periphery, released their second album back in 2012, a record that I was enamoured with for its melodic take on “djent” (Read here). The band have since recorded a new EP, which dropped yesterday. Are the band still as kickass as they were two years ago?

Review of "Transgender Dysphoria Blues" by Against Me!

Transsexual coming-out stories are a rarity in the rock scene and I was curious to hear how the Floridian punk band’s lead singer, Laura Jane Gabel (formerly known as Thomas James Gabel) would tackle such daring and personal subject matter.

Review of "Murmur" by Murmur

Hellö kids,

SUM ALBUMZ DAT I BUYED

So, I bought four albums the other day and I thought I'd share them here:

The Money Store - Death Grips - The Californian extreme hip hop group's best album so far in my opinion. It gave my speakers a workout. Comes with lyrics inside - which in Death Grips' case is very useful.

Also comes with a gross close-up image of an eyeball in the lyric booklet. Thought I'd share that with y'all

Aleph - Gesaffelstein - Dark techno album from the end of last year. Click here for a review. Again, this gave my speakers a workout - especially that track "Hellifornia" with its air-raid-siren-like-synthline and seismic-trap-bass.

The Very Best of the Doors - The Doors - A great selection of all the best Doors hits. 20 of them on one disc! "The End" (predictably put at the end of the record) has been trimmed down slightly but I was never keen on the entire ten minute version.

The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees - Siouxsie and the Banshees - Their late 80s/early 90s material doesn't do much for me and unfortunately makes up half the album. Still, I enjoyed hearing all the melancholy early classics like "Israel", "Spellbound", "Happy House" and "Arabian Knights" on one CD.

Review of "High Hopes" by Bruce Springsteen

High Hopes is a collection of orchestral dad-rock arena pleasers, packed with strained-sung inspirational hooks such as “this is your sword and this is your shield” and the incredibly witty “Just like fire would” (it sounds like “just like firewood”. Get it???).

Review of "Iller than Most" by Del the Funky Homosapien

American Underground MC, Del the Funky Homosapien, delivers a mixtape that’s minimalist to the max, throwing away any hint of social commentary or lyrical theme, instead serving up an album that is essentially just one big diss-fest to all the other current rappers in the game. His rhymes are witty and his conversational tone of delivery is engaging, but overall, nothing really sticks.

Top 15 Dumbest Lyrics in Pop Music

2013 witnessed some truly poignant lyrical moments. Beyonce invited listeners to lick her skittles, Miley Cyrus explained the dangers of driving so fast you piss yourself and Jay-z dedicated an entire song to tuxedo designer, Tom Ford. And who could forget our Holy Father, Kanye, pleading with the staff in a “French-ass restaurant”, urging them to hurry up with his "damn croissants"? Such eloquent and thought-provoking poetry has inspired me to take a look back at some of the all-time greatest moments in pop music lyricism. Put your diving helmet on. We’re about to get deep.

Review of "Reflektor" by Arcade Fire

With its swirling new-wave synths and punchy basslines, Reflektor sees indie rockers, Arcade Fire, discovering the key ingredient they’ve been missing all this time - groove.