AltWeeklies Wire
The Old Ceremony's Fairytales and Other Forms of Suicidenew

As a whole, this is the most convincing collection in The Old Ceremony's catalog, proof that the past, present and future of this veteran ensemble remain exciting. (Yep Roc)
The Evil Tenors' Peach Fuzznew

Peach Fuzz finds Durham's Nathan White breaking in a new sound and a new personality, adapting to unfamiliar surroundings and figuring out how to fit in.
Tags: The Evil Tenors
Onward, Soldiers' Monstersnew

On Monsters, Onward, Soldiers' talent is clear, but their focus is not.
Tags: Onward, Soldiers
Naked Gods' No Jamsnew

Boone quintet Naked Gods pair weirdo roots rock, not far removed from Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, with ambitious guitar architecture that points to Built to Spill and Dinosaur Jr.
Tags: Naked Gods
Oulipo's That Is What I Said (And I Dove Into the Water)new

On the rich and enveloping That Is What I Said, Raleigh five-piece Oulipo crams an LP's worth of ideas onto a five-song cassette. (Diggup Tapes)
Tags: That Is What I Said
Logan Pate'sThe Difference Between Moths and Butterfliesnew

Building from the soulful electronics of his earlier Moths EP, Pate adds hypnotic acoustic guitar, gracing the mix with his extraordinary voice.
Tags: Logan Pate
Heads on Sticks' Brutish & Shortnew
In the last two years, Heads on Sticks have gone from a largely studio-bound offshoot of a prominent local bandleader and sideman to one of the best live acts in the area.
Tags: Heads on Sticks
Wesley Wolfe's Pursuit of His Own Finished Productnew

"If I buy a new pedal that can inspire a new song right there because you're working with a new pedal or a new effect. Or if you buy a new guitar to have in the studio, you end up playing it for a little while, and there's different song fragments," says Wolfe.
INDY Week |
Jordan Lawrence |
10-20-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Brain F≠'s Sleep Roughnew
What makes this debut LP a record that will instantly drill itself into the head of most any loud-rock fan is the Charlotte band's endless churning, wrought by a precise mix of mind-rattling hooks and bone-crushing riffs.
Tags: Brain F≠
A new collaboration lets Shirlette Ammons finally speak on sexnew

"It seems like queerness has become sort of a pop culture circus as opposed to the way some people are choosing to live their lives every day."
INDY Week |
Jordan Lawrence |
06-23-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Shirlette Ammons
Wilmington's Onward, Soldiers are an Unlikely Southern Rock Bandnew

The genre-tweaking folk-rock band Onward, Soldiers is roots rock with a Southern soul and a restless heart.
INDY Week |
Jordan Lawrence |
06-16-2011 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Onward, Soldiers
The Huguenots' Debut EP is Underwhelmingnew
These aren't just popular trails; they're 16-lane freeways that have been jammed with traffic since 1964. The Huguenots' talent is clear, but if they ever want to set themselves apart, they'll need to take the nearest exit and start carving a path of their own.
Tags: The Huguenots
Floating Action's Desert Etiquettenew

Desert Etiquette, Seth Kauffman's fourth album and second under the Floating Action moniker, is an adventurous yet comfortably familiar excursion, a colorful musical expanse that's worth more than a few trips.
Tags: Floating Action, Desert Etiquette
Ari Picker's Harrowing Emotional Journey to Becoming Lost in the Treesnew

Picker's unhappy past pervades All Alone in an Empty House, the 2008 record the band reworked and rereleased this year on ANTI-.
INDY Week |
Jordan Lawrence |
12-03-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Lost In The Trees
North Elementary: Southern Rescue Trailsnew

On their second LP in as many years, North Elementary by turns yearns with awe toward boundless possibilities and bemoans the vexation of not fulfilling that potential.
Tags: North Elementary