Lollipop Magazine

The Stryder – Jungle City Twitch – Review

November 15, 2002

Even with a change of singers, the Long Island quartet somehow manage to sound tighter, more complex, less cliché, and more clever than 99% of their peers.

As Friends Rust – A Young Trophy Band In The Parlance of our Times – Review

November 8, 2002

Fuckin’ A, these guys just keep getting better. If you can believe it, this six-song EP is even more diverse and confident than their last full-length (Won).

Coheed and Cambria – The Second Stage Turbine Blade – Review

July 12, 2002

The smartest-sounding Equal Vision band. Melodies abound, but delivered in snarling spite and quivering hatred… a strange yet original combination.

Liars Academy – No News Is Good News – Review

June 28, 2002

While the artier half of Cross My Heart went on to create oblique sulkiness in Dead Red Sea, the poppier half push the hookier moments into a full-blown band.

Bane – Give Blood – Review

March 29, 2002

Bane spread the love by reminding us that everyday could be our last, and that you should “give blood” and whatever else you’ve got every moment.

Converge – Jane Doe – Review

March 15, 2002

One of the most intense albums of the genre, finding a link between grindcore, emo, and hardcore with scary time-signatures and crazed chord progressions.

Burn – Cleanse – Review

March 8, 2002

This is the logical extension of Orange 9mm’s brilliant Driver Not Included; a peek into what could’ve been a solid follow-up.

The Hope Conspiracy – Coldblue – Review

June 3, 2001

Featuring three ex-members of Harvest, The Hope Conspiracy treads familiar metalcore territory but manages to throw in nice riffing syncopations.

Fairweather – If They Move… Kill Them – Review

June 1, 2001

The production is gigantic, the singer knows when to step off to give the songs a calculated feel, and the arrangements are well-timed.

The Stryder – Masquerade in the Key of Crime – Review

April 1, 2001

They’re gourmet chefs on their instruments, creating new flavors with the usually tiresome emo singing and pseudo-glam rock guitar licks.