Category: Album Reviews

God Shuffled His Feet by Crash Test Dummies

Crash Test Dummies‘ 1993 sophomore album, God Shuffled His Feet, remains a quirky gem in the alternative rock landscape, blending philosophical musings with folk-infused melodies and Brad Roberts‘ unmistakable baritone voice. Following their debut, the Canadian band catapulted to fame with this release, largely thanks to the inescapable hit “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm,” a humming enigma about childhood traumas that topped charts worldwide. The title track opens with a spoken-word intro pondering divine creation, setting a tone of existential whimsy that permeates the record.

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Knights of the New Thunder by TNT

KotNT banned cover

Released on October 2, 1984, Knights of the New Thunder is the second studio album from Norwegian heavy metal band TNT, and it’s a pivotal one. This record introduced American vocalist Tony Harnell, whose soaring, high-pitched screams injected fresh energy into the band, replacing original singer Dag Ingebrigtsen. Recorded at Nidaros Studios in Trondheim and produced by Bjørn Nessjø, the album clocks in as TNT‘s last foray into pure heavy metal before veering toward glam rock commercialism in later works like Tell No Tales.

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Space Vampires VS Zombie Dinosaurs in 3-D by Psychostick

In the crowded arena of comedy metal, where most acts stumble into one-note novelty territory, Psychostick‘s 2011 release Space Vampires VS Zombie Dinosaurs in 3-D stands tall as a gloriously absurd triumph. This third full-length album from the Tempe, Arizona crew—delivers a masterclass in blending razor-sharp riffs with laugh-out-loud lyrics that poke fun at everything from politics to personal failings. It’s not just funny; it’s a surprisingly tight metal record that holds up under repeated spins.

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Virgin by Lorde

Released on June 27, 2025, Lorde‘s fourth album, Virgin—produced with Jim-E Stack and touches from Dan Nigro—marks a seismic shift. Ditching Jack Antonoff‘s polished sheen, Lorde dives into synth-pop’s gritty underbelly, evoking Melodrama‘s euphoric pulse but laced with the unflinching intimacy of a 28-year-old reckoning with her body, identity, and industry scars. The cover, an X-ray of her pelvis revealing an IUD, screams transparency: this is Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor stripped bare, not some virginal archetype, but a “raw, primal, innocent” force reclaiming femininity on her terms.

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Peak Experience by Sydney Sprague

Phoenix-based indie rocker Sydney Sprague has always worn her heart like armor—raw, witty, and unyieldingly honest. Her third album, Peak Experience (self-released, September 26, 2025), distills that ethos into eight tracks of stripped-back vulnerability, marking her first independent full-length after parting with Rude Records. It’s a hushed reckoning with anxiety, obsession, and the elusive highs of existence, born from home-studio sessions amid relentless touring and personal reinvention. If her prior works—2021’s apocalyptic maybe i will see you at the end of the world and 2023’s sardonic somebody in hell loves you—were defiant anthems, this is a quieter unraveling: tender odes to spiraling thoughts, where pop-punk edges soften into folk-tinged introspection.

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