Books and movies used to have dark references to a confinement ‘treatment’ where the victim would get hammered but not a trace would be seen outside on the body. It wasn’t morbid fascination but more the scientific curiosity of my early years. But never mind my strange childhood – that’s not the point. Now imagine being subjected to this treatment AND coming out of it feeling good. No? Well, it’s real. Torche manages to pull that stunt off with aplomb on ‘Restarter’. (more…)
I had drafted a review of Mirel Wagner’s “When The Cellar Children See The Light” but let it lie because BDWPS‘s review says almost everything that I wanted to say about this stunning album. In my opinion, one of the top albums not just of 2014 but ever.
Two years ago, Mirel Wagner emerged from Finland like a haunting ghost, bringing with her the sparse, folk storytelling that had long been forgotten. Her songs told darkly disturbing fairy tales of death and decay, all conveyed through only her raspy, alto voice and the soft strumming of her guitar. Her approach seemed simple enough, but the combination of the lo-fi production and Mirel’s hypnotic melodies resulted in one of the best folk albums of 2012.
When I first purchased Wagner’s latest release, When the Cellar Children See the Light, I worried that the sophomore curse would hinder all the elements that made her first album great. Would the songs sound as gritty with amped up production value? Would Wagner lose sight of the muse that inspired such intense songs as “No Death” and…
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Skrat caught a lot of notice with their highly acclaimed sophomore effort “Bring Out The Big Guns”. A little under 2 years later, the band’s back with its third album, “The Queen”. Right from the swirling start of the opening track “Machete” you know that this powerhouse punk trio is dishing out something special. Just that the sound is no longer only punk. That second album was marked by a lot of light even if the band played hard. This new one rides on a heavier, darker sound. (more…)
