Today Is The Day – Axis Of Eden

I don’t like the way this album sounds, all muffled and muddy and kind of smashed in the parts that should be more dense and dramatic. All the space was used for the drums – which are admittedly ridiculous because Derek Roddy is a machine – but everything else, including Steve Austin’s vocals, get very [...]

Autechre and The Myth of Difficult Music (TM)

When people say “album xyz is difficult” what they most likely mean is that album xyz is annoying or grating or otherwise “not fun.” Sometimes this is a subtle way of telling someone that they’re not actually going to like a certain band, avoiding the reflexive combat instinct some folk display when someone tells them [...]

Mogwai – The Hawk Is Howling

One thing people must understand is that while these guys are a Scottish good time gal soundtrack for football (meaning soccer) games playing in the background while everyone gets knackered (meaning drunk) and a wee (meaning small) bit sad (meaning sadness), in America they’re the soundtrack to a prom night afterparty that never, ever ends. [...]