• Review: Point Decster, Islas, Acidandali, Sadfields & Caos del Té @ Foro Alicia.

    The resurrection, or regeneration, if you want to use Doctor Who terms, of Acidandali was an atmospheric afternoon gig. Akin to the incense smell lingering in old church nave, the rich atmosphere was thick with diminished chords, reverb pedals and echo pedals on wet mode. First act was Point Decster, a fledgling band that mixes…

  • Review: Renegade Brass Band – Totems

    The rookery of talent that is Renegade Brass Band comes back with Totems, an album that solidifies their glitch-based hip hop into a sandstone-like foundation. No, actually, that’s a lie. It looks solid. It seems to be a waterproof barrier, but come closer and the porous surface is highly permeable; the wear and tear of…

  • Review: Eric & Magill – Peach Colored Oranges

    There’s always been something discombobulating in the music of Eric & Magill. A subcutaneous feeling that leaves translucent goosebumps where long lost memories reside. The prism-like ambience of Peach Colored Oranges feels like the band has glided over a colorful spectrum of emotions. Whereas All those I know was a melancholic affair, the vivacious Peach…

  • The Lost Gem: Karate – Some Boots

    Writing for Sloucher is very much like The Mafia: just when I thought I was out, they drag me back in!. Five years ago I wrote an article about defunct, uber-cult Boston band Karate and how, in my opinion, they are the most underrated band of all time. Now, I haven’t written any articles since…

  • Video: Eric & Magill – Tightrope

    Eric & Magill. What can I say that I haven’t said before? I love them. The sincerity of their dreamgaze sensibilities. The hook-laden pop songs they weave out of colourful yarns. The way they can make bad vibes evanesce away. After collaborating across oceans, time zones, and emotions, Eric & Magill are now in the same country,…

  • Review: The Clench – The Clench

    Weird westerns. Gotta love ’em. The cliché of the good guy wearing the white hat, evil being punished, and a good hootin’ and hollerin’ by the townsfolk at the end, all ignored. Instead, true grit is applied until the veneer breaks down into tiny pieces. The lustre is gone, night has fallen, and in the…

  • Review: Letting Up Despite Great Faults – Alexander Devotion

    Editor’s note: this review is based on the longer version of Alexander Devotion. Still, the four track EP completely has the feelings described in the following rant. It’s weird how memory works. I’ve been a fan of Letting Up Despite Great Faults for a good six years and I still can’t put my finger on…

  • A field guide to Mexican bands: Caos del Té

    Caos del té (Baladistus Dronicus) What do you do after screaming your lungs out to discount bin microphones, recording yourself in the lowest of fidelities, and letting your ramblings loose via Myspace? Well, you fall back into the cozy darkness of a crowded tearoom, carefully tethering the ballad sensibilities of Patsy Cline with the cheese…

  • Review: Toby Hay – The Gathering

    We are standing on top of a dam. On one side, looking down a long valley, millions of gallons of water are plunging over the dam wall. It is a breathtaking sight on such a glorious bright March afternoon. On the other side lays a vast expanse of water that is still as a millpond,…

  • Review: The Life and Times – Doppelgängers EP

    It’s a low-lit bar. The band takes the scene, as the uninterested saps and boozehounds keep hammerin’ down national beer and watered-down bourbon. The three bearded gents tune the instruments, check the cabling, and do a mic check. Nobody cares. It’s a non-smoking dive bar which saw its best days in the seventies, peaking the…