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Record Reviews1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | 0-9| A| B| C| D| E| F| G| H| I| J| K| L| M | | N| O| P| Q| R| S| T| U| V| W| X| Y| Z| Below are some recently posted reviews.  RSS Feed
J.J. AND THE REAL JERKS:
Self-titled: 7”
In my years of writing reviews, I have learned that a pretty package is rarely a sign of quality. Still, I always find myself going all “ohhhh” and “ahhh” when I see a record like this one with its beautiful cover art and glow-in-the-dark vinyl that actually glows in the dark (I checked). When I put it on the turntable, I clench my teeth and hope that the music will justify me keeping the record in my collection. I always start positive. I say things like, “Okay, this is some cool garage rock,” and, “that guitar part is kind of neat,” but nine times out of ten, I can’t fight the fact that the music coming out of my stereo does not glow nearly as bright as the vinyl. I can’t forgive J.J. for sounding more like a spirited lecturer than a rock’n’roll singer, even with the so-so sax solo on the flipside. One more for the giveaway pile. Bummer.
–MP Johnson (Kung Pao Chicken Pickin’, jjandtherealjerks.blogspot.com)
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INTEGRITY:
Detonate Worlds Plague: 12”
The best band ever just dropped a new 12” that rips as hard as anything they’ve done to date. Atmospherically, this is by far Integrity’s darkest work. Admittedly, the production occasionally leaves something to be desired, but luckily this kinda adds to the overall effect. Typically awesome artwork (and a massive patch that came with pre-orders!) rounds out a record that’ll be on or around my turntable for months to come. If you’ve been a fan to this point, you won’t be disappointed.
–Dave Williams (Holy Terror, holyterror.com)
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HUNX AND HIS PUNX:
Too Young to Be in Love: CD
Punk mixed with ‘50s/’60s teenage girl rock/pop with a Queercore twist. I would like to hear them sing about Johnny’s car getting stuck on the train tracks and there’s nothing left for them to do but mourn his loss (they come close on “Lovers Lane”). At least that’s what I think of when I hear this. Apparently, this is the first time Hunx has an all-girl band backing him up. Whoa! I love the sassy and confident vocal delivery. Especially on “If You’re Not Here (I Don’t Know Where You Are).” Shannon Shaw’s vocals are awesome on here as well. Is there a solo project from her in the future? Should there be? I think so. Anyway... There’s a lot of good stuff on this album—”The Curse of Being Young,” “Bad Boy,” and “Can We Get Together” are just a few. This would be the music on the stereo at the parties I would think are worth attending.
–Matt Average (Hardly Art, hardlyart.com)
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HOLY COBRA:
Forever: LP
I seriously get stoked when bands form that take their music waaaayyy out there to somewhere else. Holy Cobras are one of those bands. Punk on acid. The music is loud with abrasive touches and it’s sometimes chaotic. But it’s like it’s melting, warping, and mutating into another life form. Sounds like Chrome/Helios Creed meets Wet Hair. The drums have a mechanical sound, though they are played by a human. The guitar sound is certainly influenced by Helios Creed, and the bass has its own thing going on, while the vocals sound like they’re from a distant place. Interesting juxtapositions, such as in “Fly Pilot Fly,” where the drums are hammering away while the guitar has a repetitive riff that floats upward, creating a different tension. Sometimes the songs degenerate into shambles then suddenly switch into something a little more restrained, though noisy and unconventional.
–Matt Average (Telephone Explosion, telephoneexplosion.com)
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HIGH SCHOOL:
You Already Know: CD
Sometimes it’s weird to think that there is music about which people get really excited but is unknown to almost anyone outside of a group of friends or those at some local high school. They look forward to seeing the band in concert, singing along with the lyrics, and dancing. When the band is done with their latest recording, their friends and fans are all like, “I can’t wait to hear it!” and it brightens their day and excites them. When the final project is all put together and is delivered, those friends are so excited and stoked on having it in their hands and almost feel blessed at the opportunity to listen to it. The memories and experiences that the band has with one another and their friends playing in basements and with other bands that they are friends with—they’re all so important to that band and those in their community. Yeah, sometimes I forget all that when I review these releases. I can totally sense that the stuff I just wrote would apply to High School. That’s why it’s too bad I wasn’t really into their poor man’s Hot Water Music sound they put out on these eight songs. Oh well. These things happen. Good luck, guys!
–Kurt Morris (Ghost Like Me)
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HERE HOLY SPAIN:
Division: CD
Sorta punk, sorta modern rock, and taken as a whole, not particularly interesting.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Idol)
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HELLMOUTH:
Gravestone Skylines: 2 x CD
Angry, hardcore-tinged heavy metal, all shouty and blustery. There are a few pentagrams and upside down crosses in the art, but the lyrics are more in the pain/virulence camp than paeans to the horned and ice-cube-challenged.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Paper and Plastick, paperandplastick.com)
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HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, THE:
Live Fast, Get Tropical: CD
If you’re playing indie pop music, you don’t need to have the majority of your vocals be screaming.
–Kurt Morris (Poison City)
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GUILT, THE:
Worth Nothing: Cassette
About twenty years ago, or less, really, these guys could have been on a label like Conversion or New Age. Stylistically, they sound like a straight edge hardcore band, though they don’t really sing about it. Mid-tempo, with big breakdowns, heavy drum sounds, crunchy guitars, gang choruses, and a vocalist who sounds like he’s either really pissed or emotionally overwhelmed. Urgent delivery and they hit on a lot of really good riffs that hold your attention the whole way through. Sometimes the lyrics are a little strange (check out the third verse of “The Situation,” second-to-last verse of “Your Leninism”). This is a pretty sold listen the whole way through, with songs like “Talk Hard” and “Dead Still” being the standouts.
–Matt Average (The Guilt, jamesdoubek@gmail.com)
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GLADIATORS EAT FIRE:
Self-titled: CD
Wow. The twelve songs that clock in at almost an hour on this debut full-length are quite diverse. Screamy hardcore one minute and then an atmospheric tune the next. The vocals are very reminiscent of Aaron Weiss from mewithoutYou while the music reminds me of older mewithoutYou as well as Envy, the Japanese screamo band. This was often the case when the vocals went into the screaming range and away from the singing. The band calls themselves experimental psychedelic hardcore, but I don’t really hear any experimental or psychedelic sound. As with most music that is quite varied, it would be nice to hear the band really hone down their sound and excel at something. If they continue to progress, I have no doubt one day Gladiators Eat Fire will look back at this album and say, “We had some good songs, but damn, we were all over the place!”
–Kurt Morris (gladiatorseatfire.com)
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FULL RAINBOW:
“Revolution Binge” b/w “Blackout Race”: 7”
A rollercoaster of thoughts more than anything. Like the Brokedowns but with less backup vocals and fewer singsong choruses. Like Government Warning but slowed down just a tad. Like Career Suicide but with more late Black Flag influence. Like a hot summer day if the heat waves were converted to musical notes. Fuck. One of those is bound to be close. You should check this out, even if the only thing that ends up impressing you is the super cool cover art.
–Bryan Static (Self-released, fullrainbowband.blogspot.com)
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FROZEN TEENS / STREET LEGAL:
Split: 7”
This is another one of those one-sided splits. The Frozen Teens play stripped-down punk rock you’ve heard a dozen times before by a dozen different bands— nothing to get excited about. Street Legal, on the other hand, is awesome hardcore punk with great hooks and powerful female vocals. The catchy riffs and epic amounts of guitar wankery crammed into each of the two songs here will not only get you rocking out but will give you a serious case of musical talent envy. The only disappointment with the Street Legal side of the split was how short it was. Two songs were not enough for me to enjoy the radness of this band. These ladies and gentlemen clearly know how to rock, and an EP (or LP) of them on their own can’t come soon enough.
–Paul J. Comeau (Shut Up)
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FRENCH EXIT:
Self-titled: CD
Huh. Not what I was expecting from the hand-made, spray painted Bud Light cardboard sleeve this CD came in. French Exit plays pretty decent pop punk. One of the vocalists sounds kinda like Dan Andriano and the music’s pretty tolerable. Not bad at all, really. The song “Backspace” even has a totally rockin’ wanky as all get-out guitar solo. There’s nothing mind-blowing here at all, but this is pretty solid.
–Ryan Horky (Frenchexit.net)
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FRENCH EXIT:
Demo: CD-R
Every time I think I’m sick of sing-a-long post-hardcore inspired pop punk, I hear a band that kicks me in the ass to keep me from falling asleep. This demo CD came in a sleeve made out of a recycled Bud Light case. The CD within the case sounds like a band that would send out demos in sleeves made out of recycled Bud Light cases. It’s a win-win situation! I would not be surprised if the beer that used to be in those cases was drunk during the recording sessions of this album. There is a definite demo quality to this recording, but if it’s any indication of what’s to come, then everything looks like smooth sailing here on out.
–Bryan Static (Self-released, frenchexit.net)
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FLOWERS OF FLESH AND BLOOD:
War Poetry: CD
Speedy U.K. anarcho-punk, more along the Legion Of Parasites than Crass DNA strain.
–Jimmy Alvarado (self-released, myspace.com/flowersoffleshandblood)
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FIRES OF WACO:
Old Ghosts Never Sleep: CD
Although the band name caught my eye and they have a song on here called “Damon Wayans,” it was all a cheap trick. This is nü-metal guitar with horrible, screaming vocals. “A Life of Low Expectations” is the last track here. This pretty much sums up this record. There’s nothing to see here.
–Sean Koepenick (Poison City)
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FAITH ADDICTION:
Self-titled: Cassette
Just about as ‘80s hardcore as the name implies them to be.
–Bryan Static (No Reprieve, no address)
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FACE THE RAIL:
Self-titled: Cassette
I’ve had this sitting here for the last two review cycles. I’m really sorry, guys! I had a hard time finding a tape player that worked in my house, then I would forget for a while... I’m really kinda mystified about this whole tape resurgence these days. I grew up in the cassette heyday, and I switched to CDs for quite sometime before skipping back to vinyl again. It’s kind of cool I guess... Anyways, back to the review. These guys tricked me. The cover has some crazy ‘60s “trippin’ at the Filmore” kind of typeface and a lot of ‘80s bright, glowing colors. The first song opened with a kind of late ‘80s/early ‘90s indie rock/jangly punk kind of thing happening. I was kind of liking it and before I knew what happen, it fell apart and exploded into some fierce hardcore punk rock. Fine skate rock that I’d play with my Gang Green, JFA, and Sheglank’d Shoulders on a skate session mix. Nice work, you rippers!
–Ty Stranglehold (Tankcrimes)
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F BOMBERS:
Pledge Allegiance: LP
Did I just exit a time machine? This is a ‘90s Hellcat release, right? I’ll just take a look at the back sleeve and… huh, 2011. Now that my time travel hypothesis has been disproved, I’m forced to assume that these guys fucking love the street punk from that era. They play the style fairly confidently. If you need something reminiscent of early Tilt or the Distillers, this isn’t a bad choice.
–Bryan Static (Sixty Nine Apple/Jailhouse, jailhouserecords.com)
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ESTROGEN HIGHS:
Cycles: 12” EP
Indie pop that wears its lo-fi ‘60s influences on its sleeves.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Safety Meeting, safetymeeting.net)
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ENDPROGRAM:
Balatus: CD-R
Some pretty ferocious hardcore punctuated with (thankfully) few metal tinges here and there. The vocalist’s a little atonal but the lyrics are whip-crack smart and unafraid to tackle inherently political issues, going so far as to instigate a pretty incendiary topic within the words of the final song. The recording could have used some beefing up, but, for a demo, it’s pretty solid, and it’s apparent from their presentation (nice silkscreened sleeve, sticker, lyrics sheet, etc.) and extensive, thoughtful liner notes that these dudes are at the very least questioning themselves and the culture and system around them. Worth checking out.
–Keith Rosson (End Program)
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END BEGINS:
One Step Forward, A Lifetime Back: CD
Totally faceless modern-day hardcore. I’m sure dudes karate kick the air or whatever while these guys play, but it’s hard to even get worked up enough to write a bad review for this. These guys are apparently Finnish, if that matters. To me, bad hardcore is bad hardcore, no matter where it comes from.
–Ryan Horky (Full House, fullhouserecords.com)
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ELSINORES, THE:
Demo: Cassette
There’s an awesome new wave of up-and-coming bands that are part of the punk scene, but are clearly more inspired by ‘80s alt and indie rock than anything else. I’m talking about stuff like Black Wine and Big Eyes or what Hunchback was doing years ago. It’s a trend I’m enjoying immensely. The Elsinores pull in with their brand of pop punk, complete with a keyboard in the rhythm section. It’s nice to hear a band that utilizes a keyboard without making it a lead instrument. Yeah, I know the Sedatives did that, but these guys do it in a completely different way. I’d be really happy if a full length ever came out of this.
–Bryan Static (Self-released, theelsinores.blogspot.com)
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ELECTRICUTIONS, THE:
Forgotten City: 7” single
What caught my eye, initially, is Kid Congo Powers produced this. Never known him to be connected to anything bad. So, I put this record on, and get hit with some really good punk that recalls the first wave, not to mention a little bit of power pop thrown in to give this a little more dimension. Lyrically, they lean on the political side, yet they’re not droll and sloganeering. The songs present a bleak view on the surface, but there’s defiance in the delivery, and also one of hope, as in the song “Days Like These”: “Now you got nothing to show for living on your knees / Stop / Get up / I ain’t dying but I’ve had enough.” Better believe it!
–Matt Average (Windian, windianrecords.com)
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DONOTS, THE:
The Long Way Home: CD
The Donots play polished and accomplished muscle pop, and through most of the record that works really well for me, but sometimes the sound borders on mall punk, but not quite. I like this record, even though a few tunes become kinda vanilla thanks to slick production. Lyrical content seems to center on the pros and cons of isolation (more pro than con) and the ridiculousness of living with regret; not bad as far as that goes, but the lyrics are a bit clichéd at times. All in all, I liked this record quite a bit, but it sometimes sounds like a mish-mash of stuff I have on a bunch of other records, and there really wasn’t much that struck me as truly distinctive.
–The Lord Kveldulfr (OK Good / Solitary Man)
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