Blog: Latest Disgrace

In anticipation of their upcoming 2013 LP, math pop trio Pillage & Plunder have posted a pair of new singles to their Bandcamp page. And while all the critical elements of their 2011 debut EP, Look Inside for the Prize , remain—the wiry guitars, the brainy off-kilter rhythms, the disjointed pop structures—the two tracks are marked by a clear maturation in the band's approach and overall sound. Likely the biggest improvement is Gokul Parasuram's willingness to reign in the melodramatic excesses of his vocals (it should also be noted that bassist Hsiang-Ming Wen has begun [...]

With today's release of their much-anticipated debut LP, Future Fears , local four-piece Ocean is Theory are seeking to make good on the promises of their well-received iTunes Exclusive EP, released in August of last year. And judging from the album's first single, "While We're Young," fans should prepare for more of the bouncy, pop-infused rock and big, uplifting hooks that made their EP so successful. Normally I tend to shy away from music this unabashedly exuberant and (at times) formulaic, but here the band's pop sensibilities skew a little left of center making for a song [...]

Photos of Fox Grin , the Mad Flight and the Romans performing at 529 on November 29, 2012. All photos by Brandon Belcher. Click on a photo to enlarge. [...]

Maybe it's because I grew up in Miami in the '80s, but the mere mention of the word "cocaine" makes my mind turn to Miami Vice . It's a trigger for visions of white suits and pastel tees, palm trees, ocean waves, speed boats, bikini-clad women, seedy underworld dealers and, of course, mounds and mounds of blow. And from the looks of this fantastic new PLS PLS video, I'm not the only one who thinks of Crockett and Tubbs when the subject of nose candy turns up. Sometimes the most obvious route is the best path forward. [...]

If there was one record that defined November on the local front for me, it was definitely the new Qurious LP, Void Vanishing —a gorgeously-crafted and mesmerizing slice of experimental electronic music that exceeded even my own lofty expectations. It's a beguiling record that deserves considerably more attention—both here and elsewhere—because it's quite simply a masterstroke of mood and celestial ambiance. Without question, it's among the year's best. Looking forward through December, there is no shortage of potential gems lurking. Just this week, there is a half dozen records ready to spring forth and [...]

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET: Hijacking Music Festival w/ Psychedubasaurus Rex, Jungol, Fine Peduncle, Cusses, Nigredo, The Sneaky Hand, Tricil, more... Saturday, December 8 529 - 529 Flat Shoals Avenue in Atlanta 30316 Admission $10 ADV / $15 DOS / Purchase Tickets One of the more active artist collectives in the city, Hijacking Music has been assisting and promoting a small cadre of local bands since 2008, helping to engender support and facilitate resources for many artists in the community. Although the [...]

Dropout are some hardcore motherfuckers. And they've got the name, the classic hardcore logo and the crusty d-beat fury to prove it. If you're searching for innovation, you best keep moving on, paluka. But if you want barreling riffs, brutal breakdowns and an unrelenting torrent of blitzkrieg fury, then you've come to the right place. At its most basic and raw, this band is about five dudes doling out as much punishment and visceral carnage as they can over three-minute salvos that strike with all the force that hardcore's holy trinity—heaviness, speed and volume—can muster. Listening to "Torchbearer," [...]

I want you to take a second. Take a deep breath. Gather yourself. Because what you're about to hear may sound fragmented and disorienting, an unpredictable swirl of amorphous beats, shadowy sonics and cryptic rhymes. It's a track that thrives by foiling your expectations, by constantly pointing in one direction and then shifting to another. There are moments when you can't help but nod your head as the tension begins to recede and you're certain the rhythms are finally going to lock into place. But despite all indications to the contrary, the song never accelerates out of its low-pitched lurch. [...]

• W A K E - Blood Bleeds (featuring Contraverse)

There is every promise that Nigredo's long-anticipated debut, Collapse & Resurrection , will be one of the major musical highlights of 2013. All the signs are there. The double vinyl release, the beautiful and mystical cover art, the corporeal vs. metaphysical connotations of the album title and the fact that Nigredo have established themselves as one the city's most talented and compelling live acts, all point to a highly ambitious and painstakingly crafted work that will likely come to define the band's burgeoning career in one way or another. In order to pay [...]

There is every promise that Nigredo's long-anticipated debut, Collapse & Resurrection , will be one of the major musical highlights of 2013. All the signs are there. The double vinyl release, the beautiful and mystical cover art, the corporeal vs. metaphysical connotations of the album title and the fact that Nigredo have established themselves as one the city's most talented and compelling live acts, all point to a highly ambitious and painstakingly crafted work that will likely come to define the band's burgeoning career in one way or another. In order to pay [...]

Atlanta songwriter and producer Evan Andree promised something different for his third EP, and Invisible Sap does find him embracing a new indie rock-based aesthetic. But while the three-song effort does leave behind the breezy and ebullient electro pop that marked his first two records in favor of a more traditional guitar-driven approach, it's clear that Andree hasn't lost his knack for crafting sticky hooks that resolve in unexpected ways. Closing track "Mr. Teleportation" is a driving, radio-friendly rocker that relies on earnest melodies and swooning loud-soft dynamics to get its point across. Like [...]

• Evan Andree - Mr Teleportation

Atlanta brethren the 100 Watt Horse and Tomahawk Deb (aka musician/producer Jake Thomson) can both be found lurking on the fringes of the city's electronic underground, so it only seems natural that the two artists have teamed up to craft a new sample-heavy EP full of bustling beats and idiosyncratic sonic manipulation that traces the edges of experimental pop and drone music. The eponymous four-song effort was released yesterday via Primitive Patterns , which continues to establish itself as a home base for a new wave of unconventional Atlanta noisemakers. The record's third and best [...]

Photos of Manchester Orchestra , Cage the Elephant , Grouplove , O'Brother , Royal Thunder and more performing at the Stuffing 2012 on October 21, 2012. All photos by Brandon Funk. Click on a photo to enlarge. [...]

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET: Japandroids w/ Swearin' Saturday, December 1 Terminal West - 887 West Marietta Street in Atlanta 30318 Admission $15 / Purchase Tickets If there was a more triumphant, raucous and blissfully earnest record than Celebration Rock released this year, I have yet to hear it. The Vancouver twosome came out firing on all cylinders on their sophomore LP, cranking out fuzzy, fist-pumping jams that slash and burn like the duo's lives depend on it. It's a record that [...]

Palaces are a ferociously aggressive and noisy trio that like to explore the darker and more abrasive side of metal and hardcore. I was introduced to them by their drummer, Jonathon Balsamo, who also mans the kit for Latest Disgrace faves Sorry No Ferrari (so you know their potential for extreme shredding and dizzying shifts in pacing and time signatures are high). The band recently unveiled their debut full-length, Tarnish , on their Bandcamp page, and while its eight tracks for the most part kick, claw and scream over pummeling riffs and flailing hardcore [...]

It's been well over two years since I've posted new music from experimental hip-hop duo Social Studies and I'm happy to report that time has not dulled their appetite for avant beats and abstract poetics. "The Wapner" is the first single from the group's sophomore effort, At Arms Length , and it features the same heady mix of free flowing, stream-of-consciousness wordplay and cerebral complexity that made their debut mixtape, Proxemics , such a joy and a challenge to listen to. But while the track projects some feelings of familiarity, this is not to say that [...]

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET: The Stuffing w/ Manchester Orchestra, Grouplove, Cage the Elephant, O'Brother, Royal Thunder, more... Wednesday, November 21 Center Stage Atlanta Music Complex - 1374 West Peachtree Street NW in Atlanta 30309 SOLD OUT! It's Thanksgiving week, which for the past two years has meant only one thing in respect to live music in Atlanta—it's time for the Stuffing . Presented by hometown heroes Manchester Orchestra , the single day mini fest, now in it's third year, is one of the fall's [...]

I'm not sure where Brother Hawk fits in the scheme of things around here. Their music contains no detached hipster irony to beguile you, no neo-hippie psychedelia to confound you, no sludgy swamp riffs to bang your head to. The Atlanta four-piece, consisting of guitarist-vocalist J.B Brisendine, bassist James Fedigan, keyboardist/organist Nick Johns and drummer Champ Hammett, plays big, bluesy, soulful rock that feels classic (in the Allman Brothers / Lynyrd Skynyrd -ian sense of the word) while still leaving plenty of room for some modern alt-rock grooves (think My Morning Jacket or Band [...]

Photo by Kevin Griggs I've been meaning to post this new single from garage-gazers Abby Gogo's latest 73 for a few days now, so I hope you'll excuse my lateness to the game with what is indeed an infectious slice of fuzzed-out garage pop songcraft. What I guess I find most remarkable about it is that stared at from afar, no one element on the track would seem to stick out—the grainy guitars, the dream-haze vocals, the lurking, semi-detatched melodies—it's all fairly standard fare for the genre. But the more you listen, the more [...]