Not quite as packed a week as last week, but equally as awesome as we have some fantastic albums to sink our teeth into!
Eric Church: Evangeline vs. The Machine
The modern, neo-traditional country legend is back with his first new studio album since his Heart & Soul collection in 2021. As a big fan of his work, I’ve been impatiently waiting for this one since it was announced. I’m happy to report, too, that this certainly doesn’t disappoint! No one quite does country, or music in general, like Eric does, and it makes for a damn interesting listen every time. This release is no different, packed full of awesome vocals from Chruch, alongside awesome arrangements and playing throughout.
There are so many awesome songs on this thing; from the opener to the harmony-glory of ‘Johnny’ to essentially the whole back half of the opener. Yep, this thing is only eight tracks long, barely 36-minutes, and almost all of it is stellar. Heck, there isn’t a bad song on here. The opener and tribal-closer are personal highlight tracks, but every single song is worth a listen to, and they all fit so well together. In a time where most country albums are bloated, stream-farming messes, this thing is all killer, and is a true testament to Church’s writing talent as much as his integrity. If you are at all into country music or curious at all, I can’t recommend this album enough. Heck, it’s still growing on me more now, the more I listen! It’s a very solid 9/10 from us!
Puddle of Mudd: Kiss the Machine
As if me having to sit through their last terrible album less than two years ago, Wes and co already have a follow-up. Yey…
What a shock, it fucking sucks. Like, I’m not even sure what’s worse between his attempt at country back in 2023, or this attempt to cringily recreate the sound and attitude of their heyday. Firstly, in his fifties, he shouldn’t be singing/writing stuff like ‘Beautimous’; it’s much more creepy than sexy. Then you have just the second song in being a ‘feel sorry for me’ acoustic ballad. Yeah. And to the surprise of I’m sure no one, it doesn’t get any better. ‘Back Against the Wall’ is another foray into cringy country rock, ‘Maniac’ is 2edgy4u while the closer, though having a catchy little whistle part, may be the worst of the bunch, lyrically and sonically.
Wes’s vocals are shot maybe more than ever, outside of that Nirvana video, while the songwriting and instrumentation is so paint-by-numbers and dull. It’s only nine tracks across half an hour but honestly felt like a slog to listen to. I did it once in full and never again. And while I would never try to tell anyone to stop doing what they love and what drives them, this is my announcement that, if there is another PoM album in the future, this guy certainly won’t be checking it out. I loved Come Clean back in the day, but I am officially done with the band. 1.5/10
Falling From Grace: At the Edge
The Finnish groove metal band returned with album number two last Friday, four years after their debut, and honestly blew me away! It’s almost death-metal-heavy but packed full of so many awesome riffs that the other genre never quite reaches. And the harsh vocals fit the instrumentation perfectly, drawing pretty clear comparisons to Lamb of God for me. I love that band, so of course I love this! Songs like the opener, ‘Downfall’, ‘Crawling Back to the Dark’ and the epic, almost symphonic-metal closer are all massive highlights. However, this is very much 38-minutes of awesome metal, and is amazing from start to finish. I’d never heard of this band before now but they just gained a massive new fan in me! They deserve to be so much bigger than they are, their talent is off the charts, so hopefully this is the album to finally push them to greater heights! I’ll certainly be spinning it again a fair bit and I’d recommend any metal fan check this out immediately! 9/10
Maddie & Tae: Love & Light
The country duo is back with their brand new album, their first longer release since 2020s The Way it Feels. Having said that, we have reviewed them here before, and I still say their 2022 output is an album. Still, we enjoyed that release and, shock horror, loved this one too! The pairs vocal harmonies are incredible and somehow stand out among a genre packed fill of awesome harmonies. And their songwriting, whether it’s lyrics or arrangements, are amazing. Every chorus on this is massive, catchy, stadium-filling stuff, and the songs range from boot-stompin’ rockier tracks and beautiful ballads. From the opener to ‘Free Like’ to ‘Girl in Alabama’ to ‘Sad Girl Summer’, there are plenty of awesome songs, though almost every song is a highlight. Yes, it’s a little lengthy, but that’s rather a given in the genre these days. It does take a bit of a momentum hit in the middle though, and if I had any critique, I’d say maybe cut a slower track or two from in there somewhere. However, it’s still a damn good, fun country album, and honestly one of my favourite of the year so far in the genre! 8.5/10
Hate: Bellvm Regiis
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read our review of it here.
Blondshell: If You Asked for a Picture
The chilled-out indie-tinged singer songwriter is back with her sophomore album. And, honestly, while this is not typically my sort of thing, I really enjoyed this! It reminds me a lot of the late 90s, early 2000s radio rock or Midwest emo sound at times, and I’m a big fan of both styles. Heck, there’s even some grunge tinged moments throughout, which were awesome! Songs like ‘T&A’, the more punky ‘What’s Fair’, and ‘Toy’ are big personal highlights. However, none of the songs on this are inherently bad; and even though some aren’t my thing more than others, I still had a good time sitting and listening to this in full. The band are very talented players and songwriters, and she has a great, fantastically interesting vocal to go alongside it. If you are at all into the genres I’ve mentioned, or are just simply curious check this out. It’s well worth a listen and is a good album to chill to, if you’re okay getting a little deep. 7/10
Psykosis: Mind Games
Oh yeah, thrash time! This is a 30-minute brutal assault in all the best ways, and I loved every minute. I know the genre’s always had such a diehard scene, but is it just me or does it seem to be coming back even stronger the last couple of years or so? We’ve covered some absolutely incredible thrash albums and artists recently, and this is no exception! I feel like I shouldn’t have to point this out on a thrash album, but the instrumentation throughout is fantastic; everyone works their ass off and are at the very top of their games. However, the vocals are also a huge high point of the release, with them falling somewhere between Rob Halford and Accept. The production is also far better than most albums of this genre and size, so massive props to them for that. The whole album feels like early Exodus, if Bonded By Blood was recorded well and Balor could sing (plz don’t @ me, y’all know it’s true!). Songs like ‘Boiling Point’, ‘Mutant Mass’ and ‘Hivemind Hysteria’ are personal highlights, but it’s such a short, precise album that it’s all great!
For a sub-genre that is so packed full of awesome bands, for this album to stand out with this release says a lot about how awesome it is. They very much have a big new fan in me, and any thrash fans should get behind them ASAP. 8.5/10
Gypsy Pistoleros: Church of the Pistoleros
We’ve also checked out this one, aren’t you lucky?! Check out our review of it here.
Paula Teles: Entre Paredes
The opening track nearly had me fooled, not knowing about this band I was fully expecting a folk album, not to explode into symphonic/power metal with ‘Ventre’. It’s an epic, great song that sets the true tone for the album excellently. Then you have songs like ‘Contra-Regra’ and ‘Ponto Cego’ that are also excellent and definite highlights. However, at just seven tracks long and 28-minutes, it’s a compact, awesome release without a bad song on it! And, though I don’t speak Spanish (I think that’s what this is?) the emotion on display in the vocals still hit me hard. It won’t be for everyone, but if you’re into the more symphonic side of metal, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a try! It’s a solid 7/10 from us!
Recall the Remains: Revenant
The UK metalcore rising stars released their highly anticipated debut album on Friday, and it’s every bit as good as everyone was expecting it to be. The opening track is phenomenal and sets the dark, bordering on black/death metal tone of the album perfectly. Then it runs perfectly into the brutally heavy ‘The Night Will Bleed’ and ‘Fever Dreams’ and the album honestly takes much more of a deathcore tone at times, which I LOVE. Then you have songs like ‘Empty Woods’ and ‘Our Hell’ that are other massive highlights. The screams throughout are incredible, and the clean vocals are melodic and catchy as anything, too. If anything, the cleans give me slight Emperor Chung/Confyde vibes. And the riffing and drumming are technical and equally heavy, everything fitting together perfectly.
It’s an incredible album, and the fact that it’s a debut is even more impressive, even with the band having been around a while before this. The band are insanely talented players and songwriters, and have crafted something special with this album. If you like things heavy, I cannot recommend it enough. This will definitely help push them to new heights, I’m sure! It’s a very solid 9/10 from us!
Sterling Drake: The Shape I’m In
This feels like a mixture of Beans on Toast, Wyatt Flores and Amigo the Devil, but with more of a country/Americana tinge. I’m all here for it! It’s neo-traditional and very chilled-out. I absolutely loved ‘Calusa’, and then stuff like ‘Ozark Rose’, ‘Troubadour’s Blues’ and ‘In my Dreams’ that are equally great and massive highlights. However, the whole album is incredible solid, blurring the lines between country, Americana, roots and even bluegrass perfectly. It doesn’t feel its length at all either, with 14 tracks across 43-minutes going by in a flash. It’s Sterling’s first album since 2021, and it’s so nice he’s back to a longer form of music releases, as it really highlights everything he has to offer perfectly. I’d recommend this to anyone who’s even remotely interested in any of the genres or artists I’ve mentioned above. I’ll definitely be listening to it again, and it gets a solid 8/10 from me!
Car Seat Headrest: The Scholars
The low fi indie-rock legends returned the other day with their 13th studio album, and it was way more prog than I expected to be! Like, opener ‘CCF’ is an eight-minute masterpiece seeming to combine together everything from The Who to Pearl Jam to Rush to Stereophonics, and it’s fucking awesome! Then you have the punkier ‘The Catastrophe’, and the 20-minute rock opera ‘Planet Desperation’ that are also clear album highlights. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all super weird and quirky, but if you’re into the more proggier side of music, this is certainly worth checking out. It’s not something I’d revisit very often, but it’s a damn interesting listen and the band are clearly insanely talented. It gets a solid 7/10 from me, but I completely get if bigger fans of the band or genre give it higher!