CZARFACE – CZARFACE MEETS FRANKIE PULITZER

What? WHAT??? Oh, it’s the return of Czarface (Inspectah Deck, Esoteric & 7L), who have consistently released a wide array of albums, collaborative efforts, and comic books, bringing Czarface to life. This time around, Czarface releases Czarface Meets Frankie Pulitzer (Silver Age), the relatively unknown emcee who also may or may not go by Facepuller. Many know who he is so if you know, you know, but we’ll get into that at another time. This is about the new album. And if you’re wondering, yes, Czarface brings the heat through every track here, and Pulitzer, no stranger to Czarface, performs on the group’s 2023 Czartificial Intelligence and 2022’s Czarmageddon!  Here it’s no different, as they rip through heady boom bap traps. Everything with Czarface is by design, and the new album is no different. There’s always a method to the madness, and this is fire we’ve all been waiting for!

DINOSAUR JR. – THERE NEAR

Sometimes you have to wait. Occasionally, it could be years. “But will it be worth it?” is the nagging question often posed, and you might wonder if the glitter of guitars and/or melodies has lost its sheen, leaving it behind like a B-level charlie. But yes, sometimes you have to wait and find out for yourself if something is fruitful and tasty. And yet you’re still left pondering, “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” We’re about to find out.

It’s been five years since we’ve heard any new material released by the likes of J. Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph as Dinosaur Jr., but the group finally returns from a self-imposed brief hiatus with There Near (Jagjaguwar), its 9^th album with the original founding members, and 13^th overall. To be honest, the musical rumblings have never been put on pause, and from the start, the band takes a no-holds-barred approach to songwriting. “Several Got Away” has the group moving in unison, nodding to its own past while standing firmly in the present. Ever present are Mascis’ huge riffs, necessary solo, and his signature laconic vocal delivery. His solo here is both controlled & contorted; structured chaos with meaning, while the rhythm is unrelenting. Lyrically, he could be referencing lost opportunities or possibly even lost love. But his own harmonies are classic Dino Jr., doubling up on his own voice, melding it together with the guitar & rhythm. With “No Friends,” Mascis is feeling the progression of time, as he laments the loss of friendships. Friends sometimes quietly vanish or become less visible as lives change; something everyone goes through. Here it’s more of a support network than anything else, and while his words wallow in melancholy, musically, the band is thunderous; a juxtaposition that’s welcomed. Murph’s drumming is controlled and throttling, while Barlow follows the same pace as Mascis draws on Wah Wah effects for his solo.

Barlow takes the reins on a couple of tracks here as well though, beginning with “Blowin’ Up,” with his signature Barlow-esque songwriting as delivered through mid-tempo Dinosaur Jr. Honestly, both songwriters have distinctive styles, but through Dinosaur, Barlow’s style fits within the structured dynamics of the band while allowing for noisy experimenting through guitars and background noise & feedback. He’s front and center on the closing “No One’s Ready,” which seems to free up Mascis on the song’s intro, as the music is driven by a stormy melancholy and a steady rhythm that barely changes and is embellished by guitar solos while Barlow’s warm voice drips across it.

While we may all appreciate the slower pace Dinosaur Jr. may go through at times, like on “Put It Down,” we’re here for the noisy racket and frenetic pace the band can shuffle through. Maybe ‘shuffle’ is the wrong choice of wording, but you have to love it when the group powers through a song like “Take Me With You;” this is the Dinosaur Jr. way. There’s a distinct way of doing things the band may have become complacent with, but who the fuck cares? The members give us these powerful rhythms, over-the-top solos, and melodies that embed their way into our heads for days. Everyone can appreciate that every time.

The wait, yeah, it was worth it, but maybe the band shouldn’t wait so long. There Near is everything you might expect from Dinosaur Jr. in 2026, carefully structuring the songs here and then blowing them to pieces, deconstructing and forming them back together. At this point in its career, Dinosaur Jr. has nothing to prove as it continues to release quality over quantity. I’m here for it.

MIKE D – THANK YOU

“One lonely Beastie I be.” You might think this may apply now more than ever, but I don’t think that’s the case. Mike D seems to find comfort in solitude through Thank You, his new solo album, which may not be what you think it could have been, or actually is. With the new release seems to delve into a minimalism and sound that the public isn’t familiar with, seeing Mike D dive within. Throughout the album, his melodic spoken delivery is more akin to a remixed Cibo Matto at times, but his funky beats and electronic rhythms are much more pop-oriented and catchy AF. It’s as if he’s found a different life to lead, moving as far away from his past as he can. But it can be a hard pill to swallow, and the opening “Switch Up” doesn’t make it easy. Its catchy mechanical rhythm drives everything into a colorful mélange of the surreal, cartoonish, and artsy. D doesn’t throw in a load of rhymes through this frenetic, dancy backdrop, but allows the rhythm to take him wherever he’s going.

But it seems Mike D has a no-fucks-given attitude here and “What We Got” is what he has. Here he offers up a vast vocal array of sublime lyricism over a bouncy rhythm that’s as infectious as whatever RFK Jr. is trying to give us all right now. This is one of the joints D strays from his minimalist vocal deliveries and, yeah, it’s a banger. The melody is enticing with its thumping beat underneath that makes its way to the surface. Here he utilizes looped background voices mixed with percussive noise to blend it all together. At moments, this seems like an album made to get everyone on the dance floor, and listening to “Secrets Pt.1” and “Secrets Pt. 2” seems to cement that idea. Electronic blips and the bounce in the rhythm is almost hypnotic, again with D’s melodically spoken vocals.

There’s the occasional soft-sounding despondency of songs like “I Don’t Care,” this one led by drums and guitars, which seems as if its glistening in the wind. Here he’s present and just allows the music to blaze a path of its own as keyboards are layered on top. It’s back to business though with “It’s Time,” where we find yet another bouncy rhythm, a banjo plucking a few notes, along with a deep bass line. The difference here, Mike D tosses in more rhymes allowing his mind to open and “let loose.” At just under 3 minutes, his style starts to seep through again, and we welcome it.

With Thank You, Mike D explores new territory and this dog has some new tricks. Oh it’s quite different but he’s taking that Magic Bus down a path that varies from the one he’s traveled on. It’s never too late to try something new, and he proves that.

RUSSIAN CIRCLES – NINE

As the years go by, many of us get slower, our reflexes may not be what they once were, and our punching power has diminished. It’s the way our lives and bodies work; just take a look at your parents or your grandparents. They were once filled with youthful energy and ideas, just like you, and sometimes wish they had the energy to do the same things they did when they were younger.

Yeah, we’re not talking about Russian Circles in that way though. The Chicago outfit has been releasing material for 20 years now, and performing together a little longer than that. The band just released its ninth album, appropriately titled Nine (Sargent House), as it continues to explore the innermost workings of its thundering rhythms with explosive guitar strikes. If you believe instrumentals are limited, the trio- guitarist Mike Sullivan, drummer Dave Turncrantz, and bassist/keyboardist Brian Cook will prove you wrong. The group is about setting a mood through the post-metal sound it has refined throughout the years. There’s normally a buildup, a crescendo within the group’s song structures that allows the members to add layers on top. If you look at “E2”, this is what Russian Circles does; mines through the underlying rhythm and creates a sonic wall right on top. In this case, guitars hover all around while the rhythm mesmerizes listeners.

But Russian Circles is a metal band, and they won’t ever let you forget that. The opening “Borehole” is unrelenting, as the rhythm itself seems to roar while guitars subtly refine the song with guitar notes that shimmer like a blood moon. It’s captivating and the band members are so familiar with one another, the track is seamless and completely unforgiving if one isn’t prepared for it. It’s “Empath,” though where the band showcases how it’s cast in metal. Guitars attack, the rhythm is explosive and tumultuous, barely leaving any room to breathe. THIS is the epitome of Russian Circles.

Lay your worries to the wayside and rejoice. Russian Circles is the group you had no idea you needed in your life. Nine devours and destroys everything in its path, leaving a path to blossom and bloom until it returns once again to do the same.