Lollipop Magazine

Clouds – We Are Above You – Review

September 1, 2008

If chugliness is next to godliness, Clouds are tuggin’ on the great one’s hem, grinnin’ and waitin’ for free beer.

Diary of a Punk – Life and Death in The Pagans – Review

September 1, 2008

The Pagans howled great high-octane rock and roll. The writing is plain spoken, sensible, and focused. Like reading Burroughs’ Junkie or Bruce Caen’s Hollywood.

Totimoshi – Milagrosa – Review

August 1, 2008

The sound, approach, structure remains intact, but a relaxed sway has infiltrated. From strangled screaming to articulating why they were so goddamn cranked-up.

Birushanah – Akai Yami – Review

August 1, 2008

Traditional rock instruments plus “Japanese” and “metal” percussion. Pretty great big rumble-grunt vs. doom-grind. That you can’t understand a word helps too.

Winter – Into Darkness/Eternal Frost – Review

July 1, 2008

A bell-ringer that hit the doom gong in a new way. A slow, grind-inflected deathly thud subtracting the rock and adding more coagulated crush and heavy drone.

Torche – Meanderthal – Review

July 1, 2008

The plainspoken vocals aligned with the semi-doom crush via melancholy sparkle is mid-90s AmRep, so I see Helmet and Slint more than metal qua metal as rootage.

The Mooney Suzuki – Live June 29th, 2001 – Review

July 1, 2008

Live warts ‘n’ all at thee NYC institution, CBGBs (RIP), garagists The Mooney Suzuki ride ’60s into ’70s rootage like their NYC forebearers The Fuzztones did.

Iota – Tales – Review

July 1, 2008

Quality power trio heavy-rock/space-rock interface for those raised upon Monster Magnet and the mung those drugged peddle hopper stompers dosed on.

GG Elvis and the TCP Band – Back From The Dead – Review

July 1, 2008

Here we have punk straight-up buzzsawed Elvis classics cut with riffs’n’choruses from classic punk grumble. Dread Zeppelin for punks.

Hanoi Rocks – The Nottingham Tapes – Review

July 1, 2008

Straight-up live show from a band linking The New York Dolls and the hair metal thing. Not up to Gun N’ Roses’ or Aerosmith’s level, more roots rock and roll.