scissorkick

American Men

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Jeff sent this EP over and said he was “90% sure” I’d be into it. Fuck, I must be hard to please or something because this is so squarely in my wheel house I can’t imagine why he thought 10% of me wouldn’t be feeling this. American Men are a group of Scotsmen doing instrumental, [...]

From Monument to Masses — On Little Known Frequencies

Sunday, March 22, 2009

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From Monument to Masses — <em>On Little Known Frequencies</em>

There are perfect records and then there are perfect records. As a die-hard proponent of all things instrumental, I realize that my opinion skews when it comes to wordless rock music. Or solidly produced instrumental beats. Or the combination of the two. I’d be naive to expect Pitchfork to slap a 9.9 on On Little [...]

Maserati

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

8 Comments

Been a while. I know. Work has been all-consuming for nearly a month but now, finally with a chance to exhale, I can turn to the accumulating stacks and chose from a number of new gems to post for you. So why not start the return to posting off on the right foot, with a [...]

Fridge

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

3 Comments

It’s been about six years or so since the last Fridge LP and during that time each member of the UK trio has done nicely for himself. Kieren Hebden’s Four Tet project has garnered the most attention but don’t overlook the pastoral elegance of Adem Ilhan’s releases as Adem. And while third member Sam Jeffers [...]

Pelican

Friday, March 16, 2007

4 Comments

Metal is currently waist deep in a really exciting transformative stage. Just look at all the former metalheads returning back to the genre with renewed excitement. Think about it — Mastadon, Jesu, Isis, Red Sparowes, Pelican, Converge etc. — all amazing bands twisting expectations about what metal is and should be. Personally, I like how [...]

Battles

Friday, March 9, 2007

5 Comments

Experimentation in music, as in all things, inherently comes with miscalculated risk. A fact of life for adventurous musicians, there’s no shortage of legendary performers who may have misstepped before taking their great leap forward. With a trio of engaging EPs and a storied collective history in bands like Don Caballero, Lynx and Helmet, the [...]

Small Sails

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

6 Comments

Labels use a variety of tactics to get a writer to notice a record. One of the most effective techniques — especially to the freelancer with a day job and limited time — is the old RIYL package sticker. It’s a quick reference that allows me, within a glance, to determine if I’m about to [...]

The Lymbyc Systym

Friday, January 19, 2007

2 Comments

Tempe, Arizona’s sibling duo The Lymbyc Systym represent another of the newer Mush Records signings (Bibio is another example) to incorporate both mood and ambiance with a combination of electronic and more conventional means. Like former touring mates The Album Leaf, brothers Jared and Michael Bell use a smart combination of vintage keyboards, analog effects [...]

Cougar

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

7 Comments

SK Best of 2006 alert! Yesterday was a good day because of the arrival of this record, which immediately jumps to the head of the holiday listening line. If you are a fan of this site, then you like the mix of acoustic and electronic and no record released this year does it as well [...]

Auto!Automatic!!

Thursday, August 31, 2006

5 Comments

Not sure what’s up with the overuse of exclamation points (Thunderbirds Are Now! are also guilty) but that’s beside the point. Because Tampa’s Auto!Automatic!! are pretty! fucking! solid!! Long time readers are well aware that Scissorkick is a sucker for tight instrumental chops and this power trio deliver — channeling the old school (read Don [...]