If you believe what critics have written about Hopesfall’s debut, the quintet is the brutal, sonically ambitious spawn of Obituary and Radiohead. While The Satellite Years established the band among the smartest of the screamo set, its followup, A Types, left the death-metal posturing behind, flexing melody and emotions more…

If American Idol is any indication, rock is really dead this time. Luckily for us, it looks like someone forgot to send RPG, aka Rocket Propelled Grenade, the obit. On its Arclight Records debut, the Richmond, Virginia, foursome unleash enough raw power and Motor City swagger to make Lester Bangs…

With bluegrass instrumentation tucked into the context of straight-up rock tunes, sing-along pop and They Might Be Giants-style goofenannies, the Clumsy Lovers’ “raging bluegrass Celtic rock” is guaranteed to get your next party started right, whether it’s in Dublin, Durham or Denver. Like the missing link between Bill Monroe and…

The compulsion to mention that the Soundtrack of Our Lives is from Sweden is like that irresistible urge to tell someone where you are when you’re on a cell phone. Despite the fact’s irrelevance, the conversation seems incomplete without it. After all, there’s nothing particularly “Swedish” about this grungy, shiny…

Mercifully, very little has changed since Radar Bros. gave us And the Surrounding Mountains, a majestic Barrett-meets-Beatles slab of dreamy pop. On The Fallen Leaf Pages, head moper Jim Putnam still pens opulent, melancholic waltzes that would fit right in on Pink Floyd’s Meddle. And he still spends countless hours…

At the 2005 Grammy Awards, Killswitch Engage was passed over in the category of Best Metal Performance in favor of Motrhead’s Metallica cover. Given the proven irrelevance and utter cluelessness of the Recording Academy, this should be considered an endorsement of Killswitch, a band that has written and rewritten the…

As artistic inspirations go, nothing tops the exquisite bitterness and self-awareness that come from a painful breakup. When the Comas’ Andy Herod parted ways with Dawson’s Creek star Michelle Williams, the result was the North Carolina band’s masterpiece, 2004’s delicately beautiful Conductor. On the opening track, Herod sets the tone…

Thirteen years ago, Bettie Serveert released Palomine, a record whose jangly guitars, infectious melodies and bittersweet lyrics helped define the sound of ’90s college rock. After a string of disappointing releases that never quite recaptured the verve of that debut, this year’s Attagirl is a refreshing change. But don’t call…

Strike Anywhere wants a better world, one where “punk” doesn’t mean Good Charlotte and “political” means more than P. Diddy. With intelligence and admirable chops, the Virginia quintet crafts straightforward, Oi!-inspired anthems far superior to the usual Hot Topic punk pabulum. To Live in Discontent brings together several of Strike’s…

Genius rarely runs in the family. Jakob Dylan can’t hold a candle to his dad’s work without going up in flames, and it’s best not to even think about Wilson Phillips. Fortunately, the daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle is an anomaly. Martha Wainwright plays unique, captivating, rock-ous…

There’s no good reason why New York’s Hem isn’t the biggest band in America. Last year’s Eveningland — with Gary Maurer’s and Dan Messé’s heartbreakingly beautiful songs, Sally Ellyson’s vulnerable-yet-vibrant crooning and a sound so lush you could sink right into it — is still stuck stubbornly in the CD…

The gloomy, Americana-inflected slowcore of Bloomington, Indiana’s Early Day Miners could be the soundtrack to a lost Jim Jarmusch film or the anthem for a forgotten Nevada ghost town. On their latest Secretly Canadian release, the stark All Harm Ends Here, vocals rarely rise above a mumble, instruments are played…

With synth pop making an unexpected comeback, the timing couldn’t be better for a new Erasure album. Vince Clarke’s infectious recordings with Depeche Mode, Yaz, the Assembly and, of course, Erasure helped create the blueprint for electronic dance pop, while Andy Bell’s soulful vocals and flamboyant persona added a critical…

Soul Coughing fans, rejoice! Music written and performed by Mike Doughty solo is finally available in stores. This two-disc package includes 1996’s stripped-down Skittish and 2003’s Rockity Roll — both previously available only directly from Doughty or your favorite P2P network — along with some live tracks and outtakes. On…

If having your heart ripped out through your eyes, stretched tightly around your head and shoved back in through your ears is your idea of a party, then you’re invited to High on Fire’s next shindig in hell. On Blessed Black Wings, Matt Pike and crew take their neuron-scrambling Motrhead-meets-Clutch-in-Sabbath’s-garage…

Reno Divorce (due at the Starlight Lounge in Fort Collins on Friday, January 7, and Whiskey Bill’s on Saturday, January 8) wears its punk ‘n’ roll influences on its tattooed sleeves. Fans of TSOL and Dag Nasty love Reno’s smart, swaggering take on bar-room punk, but the real elephant in…

Prolific as a deceased rapper, chamber-pop outfit Matt Pond PA is hard to keep up with. This year, the group released an EP and a full-length, and next month another immaculate collection of delicate pop hits the bins. Winter Songs includes one original tune and two brief instrumentals, but the…

Roses Are Red’s Trustkill Records debut, Conversations, comes plastered with a badge that proudly proclaims “ROCK IS BACK.” As embarrassingly hyperbolic as that might seem, the music produced by these five boys from western New York sets out to prove exactly that. While carefully dampened chords, gruff harmonies and impassioned…

John Prine has been hawking his musical hybrid of affable country simplicity and cynical cosmopolitan wit for more than thirty years, and he shows no sign of losing his edge. Though his last album was released more than four years ago, the country-folk Everyman still manages to consistently pack every…

Codeseven’s latest release, Dancing Echoes/ Dead Sounds, with its cushy synth pads and sweeping sonic panoramas, could be likened to a lost Elemental-era Tears for Fears record if it weren’t for the somber harmonic edges that have been sharpened into a metallic blade. Brothers Jon (bass/programming), James (guitar and synths)…

Brent Hinds is putting on some weight. Right now, his band Mastodon is in the middle of a mega-budget, liquor-sponsored arena tour with Slayer and Killswitch Engage. And apparently the catering is too good to pass up. “The fucking food is awesome!” Hinds exclaims. “I’m getting fucking fat, dude!” But…

The world probably doesn’t need another hardworking Bad Religion sound-alike, but Denver just might. You have to admire Dr. Neptune for earning a spot on the 2005 Warped Tour by stalking the 2004 outing with guerrilla sets played to bleary-eyed mall punks as they waited in line. On its second…