The looming inevitability of death and destruction animates Detroit quartet Protomartyr, as befits their name. Their sound is knife-edged post-punk, as played by a local dive bar band whose low-key demeanor belies a serious set of musical chops. Protomartyr’s breakthrough, 2014’s Under Color of Official Right, built upon the framework established by their debut,…
Guilty Simpson may have taken a break from his solo career since putting out O. J. Simpson in 2010, but he hadn’t slowed down, releasing five records with five different collaborators in that time. That boundless energy was there from the start, on 2003’s “Strapped,” the Jaylib song that served as Guilty’s debut, and…
Dej Loaf’s last mixtape, 2014’s Sell Sole, represented a turning point for the Detroit emcee, after her breakthrough hit “Try Me” unexpectedly introduced her to a wider audience earlier that summer. “Try Me” may have put her in the spotlight, but Sell Sole showed off Dej’s many talents, whether full-on rapping on “Bird Call”…
Metalcore has earned a rather unfortunate reputation, especially for a genre that was formed by fusing two of the heaviest styles in existence: extreme metal and hardcore punk. The Armed, a supergroup who describe themselves simply as “a punk rock band from Detroit, Mi.,” steer clear of the aforementioned label, despite their obvious…
Fans of the Growwing Pains’ ramshackle, rowdy garage-punk jams were introduced to the Detroit five-piece’s fondness for power pop melodies on 2013’s 17 Songs About the Same Girl, released on local imprint Urinal Cake Records. With a new 7″ out on San Diego-based Volar Records, the band deliver four sweetly packaged songs that listeners…
You can’t really talk about trumpeter Dave Douglas’ latest release – the self-titled debut of High Risk – for very long before a couple key points inevitably get raised. Foremost among these talking points is that the quartet from which the album takes its name is really the brainchild of both Dave Douglas and…
Making music is hard work, and if you choose to make it your life’s work, well good luck. The promises of easy wealth and fame that once accompanied the rock star lifestyle have all but evaporated along with the traditional music industry’s dominance. Perhaps your goals are aesthetic rather than financial, but even then…
No one ever predicted they would get this far. Having gradually reentered into the public consciousness over the past few years, Detroit proto-punk band Death have recorded their first new material in over three decades. A Band Called Death may have been the film the long-forgotten act needed to get the attention they always…
Sweet, yet serious; sassy, but sincere. These are just two of the contrasts one can use to describe Valley Hush’s exceptional new EP Don’t Wait. The second record from producer Alex Kaye and vocalist Lianna Vanicelli — following last September’s To Feel Small — is a multidimensional offering that demonstrates the wide range of…
Jamaican Queens introduced us to their turbulent pop two years ago with the release of Wormfood. After garnering acclaim and winning over new fans on national and European tours, the band started working on a follow-up. The resulting album, Downers, is a drug cocktail equal parts elation and depression with heaving, fuzzy synth lines…