On the turntable
Album reviews
Records Kazu has unboxed, spun, and talked through.
Watch the full playlist ↗
01 · Skramz
Train Breaks Down
Train Breaks Down
Raw, chaotic emo/post-hardcore from a band he's also interviewed.
02 · Metal
Master of Reality
Black Sabbath
Heavy, sludgy riffs from the 1971 record that shaped doom and stoner rock.
03 · Shoegaze
LSD and the Search for God
LSD and the Search for God
A dreamy cult-favorite EP that fans call a must-have on vinyl.
04 · Post-hardcore
Saosin
Saosin
The 2006 self-titled album, packed with soaring 2000s post-hardcore hooks.
05 · Shoegaze
Sunset Funeral
Glare
Heavy nu-gaze in the same vein as Whirr and Slowdive.
06 · Pop-punk
Does This Look Infected?
Sum 41
Pop-punk with a metal edge, straight from the early 2000s.
07 · Emo
Do You Know Who You Are?
Texas Is the Reason
A cornerstone of '90s emo and the band's only full-length.
08 · Screamo
Chaos Is Me
Orchid
Short, explosive emoviolence that helped define screamo.
09 · House
Discovery (Japanese Pressing)
Daft Punk
The French house classic, here on a Japanese pressing tied to the Interstella 5555 anime.
10 · Skramz
everyday is sOmeOnes speciaL day
OLTH
Sought-after skramz from the same scene as VS Self and Knumears.
11 · Indie rock
Good News for People Who Love Bad News
Modest Mouse
The record behind "Float On" and their big mainstream breakthrough.
12 · Midwest emo
Febuary
Febuary
Twinkly, urgent emo with screamo edges.
13 · Britpop
Definitely Maybe
Oasis
The swaggering 1994 debut from the Gallagher brothers.
14 · Skramz
A Reflection Of
Clay Birds
Emotional, abrasive screamo from the modern DIY scene.
15 · Hip-hop
Black Bastards
KMD
MF DOOM's early group, with a once-shelved album that's now legendary.
16 · Soundtrack
Music Instrumental Selection
Totakeke (K.K. Slider)
A fun one: Animal Crossing's resident musician on wax.
17 · Emo
Diary
Sunny Day Real Estate
The 1994 blueprint for so much of the emo that came after.
18 · Noise rock
Goat
The Jesus Lizard
Abrasive noise rock recorded by Steve Albini.
19 · Hip-hop
The Mouse and the Mask
Dangerdoom
MF DOOM and Danger Mouse team up with Adult Swim characters.
20 · Indie rock
This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About
Modest Mouse
Their sprawling, scrappy 1996 debut.
21 · Post-rock
Spiderland
Slint
The whispered-then-roaring album that defined post-rock and math rock.
22 · Skramz
Everything Seems Better Now
VS Self
Heartfelt, frantic emo from a modern skramz favorite.
23 · Pop-punk
IVC Edition
Blink-182
A special-edition Blink-182 pressing for collectors.
24 · Lo-fi hip-hop
Samurai Champloo Soundtrack
Various (Nujabes, Fat Jon, Force of Nature)
The anime soundtrack that helped kick off lo-fi hip-hop.
25 · City pop
Mignonne
Taeko Ohnuki
Elegant, breezy Japanese city pop from 1978.
26 · Slowcore
Last Room
Waveform*
Hazy slowcore in the spirit of Mazzy Star.
27 · Soundtrack
Bomberman Hero Soundtrack
Hudson Soft
The N64 game's drum-and-bass soundtrack, now on vinyl.
28 · Midwest emo
Please Be Nice
Camping in Alaska
Fun, twinkly emo with a big heart.
29 · R&B
Blonde (Black Friday vs. Repress)
Frank Ocean
A side-by-side look at the rare Black Friday pressing and the repress.
30 · Hip-hop
good kid, m.A.A.d city
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick's cinematic story of growing up in Compton.
31 · Pop-punk
Through Being Cool
Saves The Day
The 1999 emo/pop-punk crossover classic.
32 · Indie rock
Transatlanticism
Death Cab for Cutie
Ben Gibbard's bittersweet, slow-building masterpiece.
33 · Skramz
Demo
VS Self
Where VS Self started: the band's early demo recordings.
34 · Shoegaze
Giant Steps
The Boo Radleys
An adventurous album that bridges shoegaze and Britpop.
35 · Emo
Orange Rhyming Dictionary
Jets to Brazil
Blake Schwarzenbach's first band after Jawbreaker.
36 · Hip-hop
Key to the Kuffs
JJ Doom
MF DOOM over Jneiro Jarel's off-kilter beats.
37 · Indie rock
Is This It
The Strokes
The 2001 debut that brought New York garage rock back.
38 · J-rock
Planet Folks
Asian Kung-Fu Generation
The J-rock band famous for its anime theme songs.
39 · Hip-hop
Scaring the Hoes
JPEGMafia & Danny Brown
A chaotic, sample-heavy team-up between two experimental rappers.
40 · Alt rock
Gish
The Smashing Pumpkins
Their fuzzy, shoegaze-adjacent 1991 debut.
41 · Soundtrack
Hero of Time
Various
Ocarina of Time's music re-recorded with a full orchestra.
42 · Experimental hip-hop
The Money Store
Death Grips
Aggressive, glitchy and hugely influential.
43 · Midwest emo
American Football (LP1)
American Football
The house-on-the-cover classic of Midwest emo.
44 · Hyperpop
Intro Bonito
Kero Kero Bonito
Bubbly, bilingual pop that hinted at hyperpop before it had a name.
45 · Industrial
The Amalgamut
Filter
Industrial rock from Richard Patrick and company.
46 · Indie rock
Slanted and Enchanted
Pavement
The lo-fi slacker-rock debut that set the template.
47 · Nu-metal
Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water
Limp Bizkit
Peak Y2K nu-metal excess.
48 · Shoegaze
From the Leaves of Your Garden
Modern Color
Post-hardcore meets shoegaze, for fans of Title Fight.
49 · Alt rock
Adore
The Smashing Pumpkins
Billy Corgan's moody, electronic-tinged turn.
50 · J-rock
FLCL Soundtrack
The Pillows
The scrappy guitar rock behind the cult anime FLCL.
51 · Hip-hop
The Low End Theory
A Tribe Called Quest
Jazz-rap perfection from 1991.
52 · Lo-fi hip-hop
Metaphorical Music
Nujabes
The jazzy debut album that inspired a whole generation of beatmakers.
53 · Soundtrack
Hecho en Hyrule
Mariachi Entertainment System
Zelda music played by a mariachi band.
54 · City pop
Sunshower
Taeko Ohnuki
Lush 1977 city pop featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto.
55 · Hip-hop
Illmatic
Nas
One of the greatest hip-hop debuts ever made.
56 · Post-punk
Turn On the Bright Lights
Interpol
Moody, sharp-suited New York post-punk revival.
57 · Hip-hop
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Wu-Tang Clan
RZA's gritty, kung-fu-soaked blueprint.
58 · Midwest emo
You'll Be Fine
Hot Mulligan
Shouty, hooky modern emo.
59 · Hip-hop
1999
Joey Bada$$
The boom-bap mixtape that brought back a '90s feel.
60 · Post-rock
Tertia
Caspian
Huge, cinematic post-rock with a heavy edge.
61 · Indie rock
The Lonesome Crowded West
Modest Mouse
Many fans call this jagged 1997 album their best.
62 · Pop-punk
Dude Ranch
Blink-182
Pop-punk from the Scott Raynor era, just before they got huge.
63 · Art rock
Ants from Up There
Black Country, New Road
Sprawling, emotional and full of sax, from the UK art-rock band.
64 · Post-punk
Our Love to Admire
Interpol
Interpol's bigger, glossier third record.
65 · Emo
Something to Write Home About
The Get Up Kids
The keyboard-laced 1999 emo essential.
66 · Shoegaze
Raw Blue
Whirr
Whirr's 2024 comeback. He unboxes the ultra-rare Christmas variant.
67 · Emo
This Afternoon's Malady
Jejune
The Boston emo band's 1998 classic. It goes nicely with his Jejune interview.
68 · Post-hardcore
Trainwreck
Boys Night Out
A dark 2005 concept album about a man's breakdown.
69 · Emo
Songs Not to Get Married To
Reggie and the Full Effect
James Dewees' emo-pop side project.
70 · Emo
In Reverie
Saves The Day
The divisive 2003 follow-up to Stay What You Are.
71 · Indie rock
Blue Screen Life
Pinback
A full-length review of the San Diego duo's second album. His favorite track is "BBtone."