Dodecahedron – s/t. Good stuff in the same vein as Deathspell Omega. It’s a pretty dense album musically, so more than likely it’ll take a few listens to fully appreciate the scope of the album. I listened to it three or four times when I first downloaded it on Monday and I was completely blown away. Technical metal fans will really, really enjoy this as most of the guitar work is impressive and complex. I suppose you could argue that the album has the same feel as Deathspell in the sense that after a while it begins to sound the same (but that’s a common gripe for tech metal albums) but power through it. It is a rewarding listen.

United Nations – s/t. A few years old. Great album that is stripped down lyrically and musically positioned as rapid, intense, and somewhat jarring at times. United Nations features members of Thursday, Converge, and The Number 12 Looks Like You. Most of the songs take on a political stance, while others criticize members of the music community that haven’t done their part (Refused) or created an image for themselves, only to defeat it themselves (Refused). While most of the album is grindcore-esque/oriented, some songs break down into jazzier, slower parts as a means to stir things up and offset the tempo and melody. Geoff (of Thursday)’s vocal arrangements are much more raw than usual. Great album.

Terrible Feelings – Death To Everyone LP/Tied Up EP. I don’t remember exactly how I stumbled on this band. Female fronted, incredibly charismatic sounding while lyrically always dabbling on something cynical; I’ve not really found much information about the band aside from their last.fm (which you can look at yourself, you’re a big boy/girl). Much of their music has a distinct garage-punk feel with hints of surf-punk. I use punk in a light sense, as they don’t sound like surf-punk band Night Birds or any Bay Area surf sound band. Garage-Surf-Punk is about right. Each song has something different to it that sets it apart from the song before. Recommended.

Give – Flowerhead EP/I Am Love EP. Give are probably the best band you’ve never heard of. Give sound between a psychedelic Fugazi and a garage hardcore band with hints of Nirvana. If that sounds like a lot to take in, that’s because it is. Based on my description I don’t think I need to say more. Their Flowerhead EP is up for free download at their bandcamp.

Damp Hay – Middlewestern. A lot like Modest Mouse without being a lot like Modest Mouse. Hints of alt-country, rock ‘n roll, and grunge throughout the album. Middlewestern is only six songs but well worth the listen. Throughout most of the album you’ll notice that the vocals aren’t in the forefront of the music which is fine because it lends room to the jammy, sometimes wandering guitar arrangements throughout the album. I should note, Damp Hay don’t play up their jammy-ness in an obnoxious way. If I remember correctly, this is also free on bandcamp. Recommended for fans of Modest Mouse, who want something similar but not so similar that they turn on Modest Mouse.

Bridge and Tunnel – Rebuilding Year. Another band that has been out for quite awhile but not seen the attention they deserve. Bridge and Tunnel are a lot like less bullshit, less attention seeking Make Do And Mend. Anyway, this album is full of melody and probably the best post-punk album I’ve listened to in the past three years. The singing jumps between great harmonies to Hot Water-esque growling/yelping. What caught me was the band’s interesting use of guitar effects. They’re pretty apparent from song to song, but don’t smother the song in any way. The songs are raw without sounding too desperate for the “raw” vibe. Lyrically, I almost want to compare them to Brand New-circa Deja Entendu/Your Favorite Weapon in the sense that they have angst and enough introspection to talk about it intelligently, but I can’t say that without feeling like I’ve cheaped out on Bridge and Tunnel somehow so to put it simply: the song are incredibly relevant (at least to me) without being preachy or too angsty.

Southern Death Cult – The Southern Death Cult. SDC have the musical sound of The Cure and Bauhaus’ depressed-80s goth child. Some songs are a little more poppy than others. All songs have that same sort of disenchanted romanticism of the aforementioned bands.

Well, uhhhh… that’s all folks. I’m aware that my descriptions aren’t as in-depth as some of you may want but I feel as though they get the point across. Comments, suggestions on article topics, or questions for Q&A are always, always accepted and encouraged. Comment box is below.

By: Josh Zoerner

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With a change in Indiana’s starting line-up for the first time this season, the Hoosiers played with an energy Sunday against Iowa that has been absent from this team in recent weeks.

Freshly shaven Will Sheehey replaced a struggling Victor Oladipo in the starting five as the Hoosier routed the Iowa Hawkeyes Sunday night 103 to 89.

Assembly Hall was rocking the Richter scale as the Hoosiers had double-digit dunks, eight of which belonged to Cody Zeller. Zeller set a new career high with 26 points on 11-12 shooting. The Hoosiers received contributions from just about everyone on the roster in the 103-point effort, while six Hoosiers scored in double figures (Zeller lead all scorers with 26, Christian Watford had 15, Verdell Jones III contributed 14 points along with 9 assists, Oladpio had 12, Derek Elston scored 11 including a personal 8-0 run in the 1^st half, and finally Sheehey with 10). Fan-favorite Tom Pritchard also contributed 7 points with a lay-up, steal, lay-up sequence in the first half and a two handed put-back dunk in the second half.

IU scored 54 points in the first half—four more than the Hoosiers scored in the entire game at Wisconsin on Thursday. Add the 49 second-half points, and the result is the first time Indiana has scored in triple-digits since 1995, coincidentally also against the Hawkeyes.

The issues that have haunted Indiana in the first half of the Big Ten season seemed to disappear against Iowa. The Hoosiers have struggled mightily to secure rebounds, but Sunday night was a rarity where IU managed to win not only the rebound battle, but the offensive rebound as well. Indiana won the rebounding battle 37-22, and the offensive rebounds battle 20-7. Indiana also outscored Iowa 58-to-40 in the paint, a characteristic that has eluded Indiana in the month of January.

However, the defense was not ideal against the Hawkeyes. Iowa managed to score 89 points on Sunday night; their previous high in Big Ten play was 76. Iowa shot 19-of-24 from the floor in the 2^nd half (79.2 percent), and 63 percent for the game. Indiana has notoriously struggled with their perimeter defense in conference play and Iowa took advantage to shoot 8-of-15 from beyond the arc. Indiana also gave up a few easy transition lay-ups that could be cause for concern against the top-tier opponents of the Big Ten moving forward.

Indiana travels to Michigan on Wednesday night, a team with a weaker inside presence, but who is deadly from outside. If Indiana repeats its performance from Sunday, expect a high scoring shoot-out against the Wolverines.

Q. Do you like the Beatles?

A. I like a few songs from the Across the Universe soundtrack, only.

Q. Thoughts on Refused and At The Drive-In getting back together?

A. I don’t like Refused, especially after that documentary where they basically proved to the punk community that they were unbearable divas. Sure, you can wank to The Shape of Punk to Come all you want but those leaps and bound would’ve been taken with or without Refused being the band to do it.  I like At The Drive-In and its derivative bands (The Mars Volta & Sparta) a fair amount. They hold my attention more than the bands that they branched off into. But it’s weird,  I wonder if those bands are revisiting a time in their musical careers that was more successful as a means to feel relevant.

Similarly, if there were not monetary reasons to do these reunions, I doubt they’d have happened. Coachcella? Alright. If it wasn’t for the money and it was for the music they could’ve played in a basement somewhere. It’s sort of funny to me that kids and adults everywhere are lining up to pay off this bands’ bills and give them money to live off of again. I think a lot of people share that opinion (but I don’t care if you agree or not).

Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed) eerily said it best via Twitter, “Refused’s reunion press statement should’ve said Cash Rules Everything Around Me.”

Q. How do you feel about Ceremony’s new single “Hysteria”?

A. I like it a lot. People have said, “It isn’t the same Ceremony that made Violence, Violence.” That’s an ignorant statement, because I assure you they are they same people. They’re just making the musical progression they want to make as a band and that should be respected. Also, who are the fans to say “This doesn’t sound like Ceremony”? That’s equally just as ignorant of a statement. The audience and fans don’t decide what a band sounds like- the band does.

Q. Vinyl or digital or CD or tape format?

A. Digital, all the way.

Q. Thoughts on Coheed and Cambria?

A. They’re an interesting anomaly of a band. They start off fairly post-hardcore/progressive and then move into Rush-esque classic rock worship-territory. I like most of their catalogue sans Year of the Black Rainbow. The lore behind the music is cool & Claudio has since made comic books about the albums’ subject matter. I can appreciate a man with a vision beyond on specific medium of art and that man’s willingness to go through with building his world. Is it a cash ploy? Maybe…  probably. I’ve always seen Claudio as a guy on par with a bizarro George Lucas making music & comics for less money.

Q. What are your thoughts on Youth Crew?

A. It’s sloppy but a lot of people like it. I’m not really into any of what I’ve listened to. The community seems to be wanting to fill pants larger than what they can fit into.

Q. Your opinion on the Henry Rollins’ Get in the Van?

A. Henry Rollins is a narcissistic douche. This pretty much confirms that his life centered around said narcissism and machismo while he was in Black Flag. I feel bad for people who had to put up with him in the same way as I feel bad for people who were friends with Refused or the director of The Boondock Saints after documentaries exposed them all as assholes.

For those who might be pissed off at this: I don’t like Rollins that much as a person. I can acknowledge that in Black Flag he created some great songs and played an important part in hardcore during the 80s.

That being said, piss off.

Anyway, that’s all you get this week.

By: Josh Zoerner

Without spilling to much, yet bringing you to the right side, let’s talk about “Archer”. It is an animated spy thriller/comedy which features a fictional, dysfunctional, and ridiculously low-budget spy agency (ISIS- short for “International Secret Intelligence Service”). The employees of this spy agency are unprofessional, dysfunctional, and stand alone in their ridiculous personalities. The show, just beginning in it’s third season has created a large fan base for the following reasons:

Reason 1: The Voice Talent
In the very first episode, you can easily recognize some voices. Several actors have done work with Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. H. Jon Benjamin (who plays the main character and the show’s namesake), and several appearances of a character voiced by Dave Willis (who plays a reoccurring character from a rival agency). Actress Jessica Walter, which was previously on the show “Arrested Development”, is a main character in the show- Mallory Archer- the woman which runs ISIS. Several episodes feature the voice of Jeffrey Tambor, another former alum of “Arrested Development”, often playing more than one character in every episode. Chris Parnell, former “Saturday Night Live” cast member, also does a regular character on the show; as well as Judy Greer and Aisha Tyler, who are famous for doing various comedies in the past. Apart from the regular cast and several reoccurring characters, there are often guest voice actors who have very large names in the acting industry.

Reason 2: The Writing
The writing for the show is very smart and has quite a few reoccurring jokes that transcend a single episode. It is a treat to catch the jokes in every episode, especially if you were there for their origins. It’s like a “Where’s Waldo” of humor over every episode of the series.

Reason 3: The Extremities
“Archer” often deals with a little bit of stereotypes- some of which are insulting, and some of which are true. The fact that these stereotypes are present in the face of humor is a great addition to the writing and substance of the show. We see several stereotypes addressed in this show- “the womanizer”, “the serious secret agent”, and “the mad scientist”. The characters are seen, and the creators have done some excellent work with twisting the characters around.

That’s it. There a billion reasons why you should watch the show- despite the fact that animation seems to be becoming a more prevalent genre- but I recommend that you take these first three as a guideline for why you should get into the show. Season 1 is on Netflix On-Demand, and you can find all the other episodes on several “file sharing” websites (I’m not even going to address SOPA or PIPA at this time). Please watch it. It’s on every Thursday at 10:30 on FX, and the third season has just begun. Enjoy the ‘danger zone’.