Lav's Music Corner

While yes I do try to often deliver some semblance of continuity in these rapid fire reviews to make them make sense. But at its core the series is just meant for me to cover records that I'm too late or don't have the time to talk about in full. So with that being said this is a mish-mash of different genres of hardcore and industrial that I'm stretching because it includes records I want to talk about. 40 oz. To Fresno  - Joyce Manor After releasing some of the most essential emo and pop punk albums of the 2010's with their self-titled debut and 2014's Never Hungover Again  it hasn't exactly been a parade of critical or even fan acclaim since then. While I certainly don't think the bands releases have been terrible or anything they certainly haven't matched the energy of their earlier work. On this new album which runs out at a tight 16 minutes and change I was hoping that the band could find a way to translate their new feelings into music that was as...

Marilyn Manson is a long running American industrial rock and metal project fronted by the controversial but charming figure after which the band is named. After a series of critically acclaimed releases in the 90's and early 2000's the band developed a cult following, but has failed to receive the same amount of attention or praise since.  Review By Lavender: I've always been a pretty big fan of Manson's releases in the 90's, particularly 1998's Mechanical Animals . After some uninspired releases expanding into awkward sounds in the lat 2000's and early 2010's I wasn't too excited for whatever the band was coming out with next, but their last two albums have been pretty big improvements. Even though they aren't as great as some manson classics those last two records are the reason I was optimistic for We Are Chaos  despite some weak singles. As it turns out Chaos  sees the band sounding more uninspired than they have in quite a long time. The ti...

Nine Inch Nails   is a Cleveland based industrial rock and metal outfit fronted by Trent Reznor who has been pushing the envelope of rock music since the late 80's. After departing from a major label in the 2000's the band released Ghosts I-IV  a long ambient style soundtrack record, and earlier this year released two more records both over an hour long to serve as the next installments in this series. Review By Lavender: While my love for Trent Reznor's music and Nine Inch Nails in general is no secret I also have a ton of admiration for Ghosts  as well as Trent and Atticus' work on various soundtracks. So I was excited to dive into these albums and first heard them back in March when they were released. But given the nature of the music and the fact that it was over 2 and a half hours of material, well, I put it off. But here on a slow week I'm finally getting around to properly reviewing the records and in short if ambient music is your thing listen to Together  ...