Lars Gotrich
Listen to the Viking's Choice playlist, subscribe to the newsletter.
-
Directors John Komar and Reza Iman explore difficult nuances surrounding a friend's murder, related here via an animated story about a dog that leaves an abusive owner.
-
Anderson knows where American guitar music has been and where it is now. But mostly, she just wants to kick up some dirt, here with a Rev. Gary Davis deconstruction and a Stratocaster hoedown.
-
The SoCal punk band's Smiths obsession makes for a confident, focused, 19-minute record that still gleefully indulges in pick scrapes and fast three-chord songs. -
The emo band's first full-length album in 16 years is a measured and often gorgeous set of songs, each well-positioned to remind fans why they fell in love with Braid in the first place. -
Yet another metallic masterpiece from the Portland band, The Serpent & The Sphere feels like a film shot out of sequence, with "Eureka!" moments hidden throughout. -
From Satan's ridiculous riffs to Katie Gately's chutes-and-ladders computer music, Lars Gotrich brings a wide range of heavy, loud, out-there sounds to bury 2013 once and for all. -
Manilla Road and Carcass kept the young'uns on their toes while SubRosa made metal gorgeous. -
From faithful solo sets to Television-indebted deconstructions, 2013 has been a renaissance to the fingerstyle guitar. And more so than any year, American Primitive ain't just for loners anymore. -
From a straight-up death metal record by a bunch of lifers to a bluegrass 'n' black metal hybrid (really!), these are the records that hurt so good in 2012. -
Since 2009, Wolfe has mixed electric blues and folk with an eye on the dark side. On a new collection of once-orphaned songs, Wolfe goes acoustic, but sounds no less ethereal or haunting.
