BADBADNOTGOOD – III (Create/Control)
Finally, time to be positive about somethin’ again. Scratch that. Time to be ECSTATIC. Since their debut in 2011, smashing Canadian trio BADBADNOTGOOD have been ripping up the back pages of jazz standards. “Fuck that shit,” said one of the boys at the end of BBNG when asked about John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”. “I don’t […]
Bo Ningen – III (Stolen Recordings/ [PIAS] Australia)
![Bo Ningen – III (Stolen Recordings/ [PIAS] Australia)](http://collapseboard.com/wp-content/themes/patterns/timthumb.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fcollapseboard.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F05%2Fsr077-front-website.jpg&q=90&w=650&h=300&zc=1 "Bo Ningen – III (Stolen Recordings/ [PIAS] Australia)")
Bo Ningen (Japanese for “Stick People”) are getting all kinds of attention right now. There’s a lot of hype. Pitchfork is involved. I know what you want to hear though, since you’re here reading this instead of just looking at Metacritic or letting Pandora curate your listening choices: is the hype deserved? I’ve been listening […]
Cloud Nothings – Here and Nowhere Else (Carpark / Mom and Pop)
I thought / I would / be more / than this Let no one convince you this is the finest album of the year. “Wasted Days” dropped jaws back in 2012 – and, don’t doubt it, I was flabbergasted the first time I heard this nine-minute master class of the modern-day guitar solo. It’s dramatic. […]
Palberta Are Champs
My friend Cayla bought the first Palberta tape at a show, and they all came individually packaged; hers was in wrapped in the kind of bag that you usually get onions packaged in, skins included. Hearing that, I thought to myself, ‘now that’s something’. That tape — My Pal Berta — is something you could wrap in used […]
Album Reviews: Future Islands – Singles (4AD) and Xiu Xiu – Angel Guts: Red Classroom (Bella Union)
So. By now you’ve probably seen the one TV performance that us muso-types can’t stop buzzing about. But, in case you’ve tuned out yr social networks lately (we are smack dab in the middle of Lent, after all), here it is. A fair chunk of the discussion ‘round this bouncing black-clad wonder has devolved into […]
Beck – Morning Phase (Fonograf/Capitol)
Damn it, Beck. It’s not that I – or anyone else at Collapse Board, for that matter – hate successful white guys with guitars. We’re just hard-pressed to find one that doesn’t bore us to tears or drive us nuts with their banal male sexuality. Nor is it true that there’s no place for sentimental […]
Scraps – Electric Ocean (Fire)
Sarah: Is Scraps a euphemism for anything? Laura: Not really – its just crap between two s’. One must always be wary of “bedroom projects” these days, since any dullard with a computer and a sound-generating device can market themselves as a musician. Scraps, at the very least, is not a dullard – say how-de-do […]
Sky Ferreira – Night Time, My Time (Again, but this time with special guest stars EMI and The Needle Drop)
Yes, Scott already wrote a most righteous review for this album. Yes, Everett also championed her via a SOTD feature. And yes, I also adore Sky. So why is this review necessary? Well, to begin with, EMI has finally blessed Australia with the release of Night Time, My Time, with the UK to follow next […]
Introducing: Screamfeeder (Singles and More 1992-2004)
Well, last week, Everett True tackled the Dirty Jeans comp as well – and GUESS WHAT? Though his was inevitably meatier with context, our two reviews basically agree on two points – a) roughly a third of that collection is dry derivative shit, and b) there just weren’t enough chicks represented. So, guys, I’m pleased […]
Album Review: Blank Realm – Grassed Inn (Fire/Bedroom Suck)
That narrative in the music press (the music press love a narrative) in which Blank Realm emerge four-legged from the murky deep and wriggle their gills in the fresh air of rock n roll? It’s true, to an extent. I told it myself a few years back, on an unread, long-dead blog. “Blank Realm invented […]
