Lollipop Magazine

The Old Haunts – Fallow Field – Review

April 13, 2005

Members have been in enough bands, big and small, to know how to do it, and they choose to do it dirty. Not ironic dirty, just blowing amps and jumping around.

The Holy Fire – Review

April 13, 2005

Honest and gritty indie rock, with influences of powerpop like Pixies and Husker Dü. So thicker-sounding, lots of guitar jangle with fuzz, and strong melodies.

The Esoteric – With the Sureness of Sleepwalking – Review

April 13, 2005

Ex-members of Coalesce and Reggie and the Full Effect. Played with Converge, Mastodon, Blood Brothers, and Killswitch Engage. A bit of each has rubbed off.

Thee Merry Widows – Review

April 13, 2005

All girl rockabilly from Northern CA. Must be a blast to see live.

Troubled Hubble – Making Beds in a Burning House – Review

April 4, 2005

Sounds kinda clever lyrically, but with Ben Fold around, who needs 1500 potential openers? To be fair, I can see how short-sighted fans could think this rules.

The Van Ermans – Under the Gun – Review

April 4, 2005

Basic melodic pop rock, reminds me of mid-tempo Bracket. Melodic, nice harmonies, good production for an unknown debut.

The Spinto Band – Nice and Nicely Done – Review

April 4, 2005

Bar/None has a long and scattered history of putting out quite nice powerpop. The Spinto Band is their latest.

The Phantom Limbs – Random Hymns – Review

April 4, 2005

Like most stuff of this ilk, it’s a damn good start down the right dark and noisy path. Some off-kilter rhythms and freakshow keyboards, but it’s all 101 stuff.

Russell Allen – Atomic Soul – Review

April 4, 2005

Russell Allen is or was the singer for Symphony X. Anything using the words atomic or voodoo is cheesy and should be avoided.

NRA – Machine – Review

April 4, 2005

Real-sound punk rock. At it 15 years, and good at their craft. Gearhead has released The Hives, Mensen, and The Wildhearts, so they know their stuff.