Tag Archives: Jake Kussmaul

Last year, a simple exchange of creative input transformed into a bond of avant-garde and conventionality. Once singer O.A.K. added vocals to an instrumental that Mini Zila had intended for a class project, Measured in Heads was born. Based out of Middlebury, Vermont, the duo shares a unified dynamic that …

Earlier this month, 22-year-old singer-songwriter Kylle Reece released “Sink or Swim,” the latest single from his most recent project, a hard-edged alternative rock quintet known as Demon in Me. The song has earned the band solid reception upon its release, its elegiac and heartrending lyrical content resonating with countless listeners. …

While I’m a decent fan of modern shoegaze music, no act has intrigued me quite like Ummagma. The multi-faceted husband/wife team of Shauna McLarnon and Alexander Kretov formed 2003 in Moscow. Even through their relocating to two starkly contrasting countries—McLarnon in genial Canada, Kretov in war-bound Ukraine—the two sustained activity …

Musical climates commonly experience drastic change every four years. For some bands, such a span may bring them certain prosperity and commercial success. For others, it can prove to be a time of uncertainty—an obligation to conform or risk fizzling out. But in the case of Tampa, Florida quartet Soulidium, …

Rock music continues to trudge through the confines of marginalization, and a scant amount of acts have been able to successfully reinforce its importance in mainstream society. Seeing wholly decent newcomers lose their major label status after a mere few singles was only that start of my concern. But even …

The latest in the Fear Mint split series features contributions by Anthony Jay Sanders (The Island of Misfit Toys) and Cameron Boucher (Old Gray, Sorority Noise). Accordingly, both artists express candid anecdotes of their experiences with that inexplicable force of silent destruction: fear. While the contrasts of the previous EP …

For over 35 years, Killing Joke has constantly managed to reinvent their sound without losing their identity. Once a pivotal figure in the late 70s English post-punk underground, their influence later took on a life of its own, proving just as resonant with My Bloody Valentine as it was with …

A retrospective covering the Sunset Strip music scene of mid 1980s Los Angeles would feel incomplete without inclusion of W.A.S.P. Best known for such hits as “Wild Child,” “I Wanna Be Somebody,” and “L.O.V.E. Machine,” the band exuded an identity that kept them in a league all their own. While …

At the pinnacle of musical proficiency, multi-faceted songwriter/keyboardist Finn Zierler makes a triumphant return. His latest project, simply titled Zierler, brings to life the aurally explosive orchestral backdrop by way of vocalist Kelly Sundown Carpenter, guitarist Per Nilsson, bassist Truls Hagan and drummer Bobby Jarzombek. All members, brought together from …

No band was more instrumental in initializing the 2000s garage rock revival quite like London, England’s the Libertines. Cemented by blood brother frontmen Carl Barat and Pete Doherty, the quartet shared an affinity for ‘77 punk and bottomless chaos. With two full-length albums and a handful of exceptionally charting UK …

Cambridge, Massachusetts newcomers Northernmost successfully demonstrated an unbound tenacity in their local scene. After the release of Culprit, the quintet kept expanding to show for their quick success. They’ve branded themselves as “Reverb Rock,” a style that combines the textural depth of dreampop with a post-grunge accessibility. It finds definite …

When it comes to music, The Island of Misfit Toys is the exact opposite of what its name implies. Truthfully, it is a bright, intelligent team effort of bonded friends. To this day, the band has retained the same vision: expand the scope of musicality, and keep rawness intact. Just …