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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
YOU’RE NEXT:
Pushing Forward: 7" EP
Early Hogan’s Heroes comes to mind here, which means the beats are fast, the lyrics are shouted, and the mood is angry.
–Jimmy Alvarado (High Fidelity)
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YEAR FUTURE:
The Hidden Hand: CDEP
Featuring ex-members of the VSS, Angel Hair, the Pattern and Blackfork (oddly enough, listing former bands is also the bullshit way to start a record review), Year Future makes a relatively noisy and angular racket. It’s defiantly political—critiquing perception and complacency with all the grace of a sawed-off shotgun. For the most part, it’s relatively similar to contemporaries like the Blood Brothers. It’s also relatively bland and forgettable.
–Puckett (GSL)
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WORLD WAR IX:
Panic Attack: CD
Dummy thud punk a la the Spits sans the wit. Some of it’s not bad; some of it’s not particularly memorable.
–Jimmy Alvarado (www.eliseil.com)
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WIVES:
Erect the Youth Problem: CD
Fuck promo CDs. Double-fuck the shitty chaotic screamo ones.
–Puckett (Cold Sweat, no address given)
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WITCH HUNT:
EPs & Crucial Chaos Radio Session: CD
Pretty pedestrian female-fronted anarchy-core. Although they are quite proficient at what they do, and their subject matter is on point, I was kinda hoping for a little more than they deliver here.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Profane Existence)
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WITCH HUNT:
…As Priorities Decay: LP
A black bowel cake of hate and misery, slathered with a heavy frosting of vituperation and sprinkled decoratively with screamy, raw-tonsiled vocals—both male and female. Comes in an attractive box festooned with Winston Smith style cut-and-paste graphics that seem to portray the rich white men currently presiding over our nation as sinister buffoons. Because of my innate inability to stay serious for more than a few minutes at a time, it’s nothing I’d make a steady diet of. But really, what’s not to like?
–aphid ()
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WHISKEY SUNDAY:
Maldecido: CD
Vocals can make or break a band for me, and I understand it’s completely a matter of taste. I have a hard time listening to bands that have lead singers whose voices sound like a speaker about to rip. Maybe because it’s a sound I attribute to mechanical failure? Dunno. Anyhow, I instantly took a shining to the instruments in Whiskey Sunday’s songs. They’ve got a great balance of being both open and anthemic—creating a big atmosphere—while still pounding a song along with a nice velocity. It’s that type of non-flashy dual work that helps make Leatherface so great. They’re also multi-limb catchy. I’ll catch myself tapping a toe while nodding my head, a sure sign there’s more than something simple and derivative going on. After listening to this ten times, the lead singer’s voice is bothering me less, and I’ve heard instrumental flashes of Pegboy and Hot Water Music. Includes the instantly standout track, “The Laughing Academies,” with Annie of This Is My Fist! belting out the duet vocals.
–Todd Taylor (1-2-3-4 Go!)
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WEEGS, THE:
Meat the Weegs: CD
Skronk rock that sounds like it was concocted from a brew of early Pere Ubu, Birthday Party, a healthy helping of no wave and maybe just a pinch of death rock for color. A beautiful example of its ilk, but it’s kinda annoying trying to figure out song titles. A “secret track” explains how the Beatles’ infamous “butcher baby” cover was an idea actually stolen from the Weegs and faults a “total Beatle eclipse” (begun when Paul McCartney was killed and an imposter was put in his position) as the cause for Bush’s election, terrorism and 9/11. A triple bill featuring Lost Sounds, Melt Banana, and these guys would no doubt be one harrowing experience.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Hungry Eye)
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VOLCANIC, THE:
Nothin’ for You: CDEP
Trashy rock’n’roll, Aussie style. It ain’t bad, but it ain’t burning the barn down or nothing neither.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Out of the Loop)
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VILLAINS, THE:
Crime of Life b/w Reflexive Paranoia: 7"
The Villains are Boston’s future-core punk kings, or so says the little flyer that accompanied this record. I have no idea what means. Future-core? Egad, they don’t mean sci-fi punk rock, do they? Ray Bradbury and hardcore don’t seem like that good a mix, to me. If by “future-core” they mean the sound of punk to come (to paraphrase a Refused album title) then the future’s gonna sound a lot like the past and much of the present. This is decent, fast-moving, energetic hardcore, but it isn’t anything new by any stretch of the imagination. But that look with the camo pants and the bullet belt and the locked chain necklace, now there you might be onto something....
–aphid (FNS)
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VICTIMS:
…In Blood: CD
Some utterly vicious hardcore is dished up piping hot for ye, courtesy of this Swedish thrash powerhouse, who take Discharge’s lyrical sparseness and marry it to a sonic bulldozer that touches, but by no means relies, upon the aforementioned band’s sound. Yet another reason to love fjords and perpetual daylight.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Havoc)
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VESTIGES:
The Promised City: CDEP
Folks, I do believe an alt-pop renaissance is at hand. Hide the liquor, shut down the bars, and batten down the hatches, ‘cause it looks like it’s gonna be a mighty ugly storm.
–Jimmy Alvarado (www.particleacceleratorrecords.com)
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VARIOUS ARTISTS:
Ratas de Ciudad: CD
A corker of a collection of Latino hardcore bands from Chicago’s Southside, including Eske, Jodido, Tras de Nada, Non Fiktion Nois, PKDores, Reacción, and I Attack, respectively. Most of what’s on here speeds by at a nice clip, is lyrically split evenly between English and Spanish, and all of it is top notch. Included in the liner notes is an explanation as to why so many Southside bands play hardcore punk, an answer that, as the product of East L.A.’s punk scene, I can attest is pretty universal. I hope the label makes this an annual “state of the scene” report of sorts for the Southside, with maybe an expansion in the number of bands represented, ‘cause, as Los Crudos illustrated some time ago, the scene in Chicago’s barrios was apparently quite vibrant, indeed, and apparently remains so.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Southkore)
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VARIOUS ARTISTS:
Letters from the Landfill: LP
A four-way split featuring some of the best bands that the East Bay has to offer: This Is My Fist, Shotwell, Abandon, and the Peels. Not surprisingly, there’s a general aspiration of East Bay greats of the past (Jawbreaker, Crimpshrine, etc.), but the enthusiasm and excitement of the bands saves them from being tied down to their influences. This Is My Fist: Earnest. Gritty. Intelligent. I’m extremely fucking stoked that they have new songs out. Their first 7” is great, and these four songs are even better. It’s a hell of a nice way to kick off the album. Shotwell: There’s something so familiar about these guys. Maybe it’s the way they always sound hungover, like they want to play fast and yell but they never break out of their midtempo sneer. It’s much better than I make it sound. Abandon: Chunky hardcore that kinda falls into a rut too often for me. If I was at a show where they were playing, I wouldn’t leave, but it lacks that “oh shit, I need to hear that again” quality that the first two bands on this record have. The Peels: Starts off kinda jammy, kinda solo-y, which are two qualities that I very rarely enjoy, but then it settles into a nice, comfortable weirdness. All told, I’ll be listening to the first side a lot more than the second one, but I highly recommend seeking this one out.
–Josh (Left Off the Dial)
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VARIOUS ARTISTS:
I Don’t Want to be the One to Say It: CD
Twenty-three rough and ready tracks from a bunch of bands that I guess have been hiding out “down under” for awhile. I guess since I don’t get to go to many shows there is a reason why I’ve never heard of them. 4 Ft Fingers belt out two songs that burn like fresh brats on the grill—quick and tasty. How could you not like a band called The Retardos? I couldn’t resist their “Second Best.” Love Camp 7 is tight as well—“Creature from the Black Latrine” is dark and scary. Tiltwheel reminds me of Automatic 7, but I loved that band so no problem there. Steadfast rounds out my faves on this slab ‘o’ rock but pick this up and you’ll probably find your own new favorite band.
–Sean Koepenick (Rabbit)
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VARIOUS ARTISTS:
Give ‘Em the Boot IV: CD
I picked up the first volume of this series back when it came out because its mixture of Caribbean-inspired bands and punk-inspired bands seemed an interesting mix. When all was said and done, the only stuff on it that remained remotely interesting was a live recording of the Skatalites’ “Latin Goes Ska” (which in turn was a ska take on Perez Prado’s “Pachito e-Che”) and a Heptones track. The “punk” rapidly degenerated into a mush of faceless faux-English fluff and the remaining ska tunes just weren’t that interesting. This has been pretty much the way things have been with these comps ever since. The standout tracks here come courtesy of Westbound Train and Chris Murray, the late Joe Strummer is repped by a live version of “Junco Partner,” and there is a pretty good punk track from the South Central Riot Squad, but the rest is pretty much disposable, courtesy of most of the bands that made previous installments about as interesting as watching cheese melt.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Hellcat)
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VARIOUS ARTISTS:
Eighteen California Bands You Won’t See on the Warped Tour: Golden Grouper, Vol.: CD
Essentially, GSL’s answer to those horrid Punk Rock Jukebox and said Warped Tour comps that seem to, ahem, represent the underground music scene these days. This comp from Los Angeles’ Gold Standard Laboratories (who brought you such fine acts as Arab on Radar, the Convocation of..., the Faint, Melt Banana, and Vaz) highlights the burgeoning California scene where punk rock is filtered through a noise rock-meets-acid rock double-chambered bong. Highlights include the keyboard-driven skronk und twang of New Collapse, the cosmic boogie rawk for drug-addled minds of Wires on Fire, the bass heavy P.I.L.-like post punk of Swann Danger and the Germs-meets-Alice Donut on an AmRep booze cruise (to Catalina!) of 400 Blows. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of the eighteen bands you won’t see on the Warped Tour. Do people still go see bands on the Warped Tour? If so, I guess we’ll have to suffer through the Battle of the Bands That Want To Be on the Warped Tour reality show real soon. God damn it, when will it end? I want my punk rock back and I want it now!
–greg (GSL)
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VARIOUS ARTISTS:
Collateral Damage: LP
My good friend Dustin Jak has done a lot of things for me over the years (drummed in one of my bands, been my tattoo artist) but one of the best things has to be turning me on to Hostage Records. It started with The Hostage Situation compilation. He gave me a tape of it for my car and that was it. I was hooked for life. Smut Peddlers, the Numbers, Smogtown, the Crowd… So many great bands all in one place! I was so taken that I wound up naming my new band after a Smut Peddlers song on the comp. The search was on for more. Finding the 7”s up here in the Great White North proved to be more than a little difficult, so I relied on the compilations to keep my fix going. The next compilation was Tower 13, which was damn near perfect. How could they follow it up? They did what all labels should, but never do. They went out and found a whole new crop of bands. I’m sure it wouldn’t have been too hard for them to wrangle a few tunes from their bread and butter bands (although most have broken up), but why not establish the next generation? I, for one, am sure glad they did. The record kicks off with a blast from The Bad Vibrations who let us know that beach punk is alive and well. Song after song, this comp. shows that the fertile grounds that sprouted such bands as Adolescents, DI, and Social Distortion among many others, is still producing the highest quality in punk rock. The highlights for me are aforementioned Bad Vibrations, Blood Soaked Hands, Code 4-15, Pharmacist’s Son, KBH, and the Pillz… The whole damn record is gold! The bottom line is this: GET THIS RECORD NOW! Hurry and you might get one with nifty camouflage wax. I guess I owe Dustin a tape.
–Ty Stranglehold (www.hostagerecords.com)
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VARIOUS ARTISTS:
Bankshot! Mass Destruction: CD
A pox on Choking Victim for turning Cyndi Lauper’s “Money Changes Everything” into one of the worst ska-punk songs ever put to tape! May you all get bad skin rashes for such a heinous transgression! The Paybacks deserve a good, sound ignoring for giving the world yet another unnecessary cover of Cheap Trick’s “Surrender” instead of picking one of their other tunes to run into the ground (why doesn’t anyone ever cover “Elo Kiddies”? That one seems like such a no-brainer to me). The rest of the bands on here are hit and miss, with Kill Your Idols and GC5 providing some high points and the Lawrence Arms, Leftover Crack (with the Distillers) and the Virus providing some low points. In all, no big whoop here, but I’ve heard much, much worse.
–Jimmy Alvarado (www.bankshotrecords.com)
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VANISHING:
Still Lifes Are Failing: CD
Skronky no-wave death disco. While I’m not much of a fan of Glass Candy, this album echoes Ida No’s vocal stylings while also drawing links to Siouxsie and Romeo Void (both vocally and musically). While this may sound like a record which is little more than the sum of its parts, it’s substantially more—these eerie songs are filled with a creepy mood which is closer to the aesthetic sensibilities of gothic rock and early industrial music (think Bauhaus and, to a lesser extent, Throbbing Gristle in that band’s more melodic moments) as well as the edgy, brittle saxophone sound best exemplified in free jazz and by James Chance. I can’t help but feel that I should be dressed like a Droog, drinking laced milk in a bar lit only by black lights and filled with dry ice drifting across the floor while people wearing too much lace and velvet pull the flames down on the dance floor.
–Puckett (GSL)
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UPTOWNS, THE:
The Beast: CD
Just when I thought that ska was dead enough that Tazy Phillips could start to be forgiven, this showed up in my inbox. If you must know, think Reel Big Fish. And if that wasn’t bad enough, consider that most of this is a concept album, much like some fucked up two-tone version of Red-Headed Stranger.
–Puckett (www.theuptowns.com)
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UPSILON ACRUX:
Volueris Avis Dirae-Arum: CD
Ornette Coleman plays Pong with Beefheart’s Magic Band in Devo’s basement. Goblin doodlerock.
–Cuss Baxter (Planaria)
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TYRADES:
Incarcerated: 7"
For a band that laments that their instruments are “covered in failure,” and members feel like quitting because people they don’t know if they actually like their band, the Tyrades sound indestructible on vinyl. It’s not about finesse. It’s all about a snarling, gnashing, just-smart-enough, just-dumb-enough punk rock that’s pretty fuckin’ perfect for this dude right here. Brains + heart + genitals (there’s a lady present) + hard luck + amplification, go!—it’s an equation more often fucked up than not. The Tyrades tip the scales back. Everybody wins with Jenna’s tough and seductive snarl, Jimmy Hollywood’s “for saying you don’t know how to play, you sure get a lot out of it” guitaring, to Robert’s vulture picking through tough meat bass, and Frankie hitting the kit like a piece of trash “disciplining” a misbehaving kid in a checkout line at Wal-Mart. Great stuff. Four songs, including a slashy Wire cover.
–Todd Taylor (Die Slaughterhaüs)
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TRIGGER HAPPY:
Petrograd: CD
Sometimes I think Todd floats me stuff like this just to see if anything vaguely emo in sound really WILL make my head explode. Should’ve known something was up when I saw they were responsible for half a split with J Church.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Hungry Ghost)
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TRAVOLTAS:
High School Reunion: CD
Music which sounds like the tragic result of not-particularly-spectacular carnal knowledge of Gary Numan by the Yum-Yums. Not entirely horrible, but yet so unbearably anemic that i should be given pause to wonder if this album was not raised since birth in a veal pen. BEST SONG: Although the “song composed of staged ‘answering machine messages’“ gimmick is one that pretty much ran the course of its fifteen minutes of fame about, oh, fifteen minutes ago, “Class of ‘88” kinda touched me because the jilted guy/condescending girl dialogue was, tragically, pretty much right on. BEST SONG TITLE: “Major Tom” FANTASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: I heard that “Major Tom” song for about the first time in like fifteen years this summer at an ice cream parlor, and i was thinking how cool it would be if someone covered it... then these guys cover it in their native tongue (whatever the hell it is), and, completely overthrowing my recent tirades on how European bands oughtta sing in their native language, i find myself wishing that they’d sung it in English instead. Huh.
–Rev. Norb (Fastmusic)
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