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Record Reviews1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 | 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| < Prev Section | Next Section >  RSS Feed
BANDAR LOG, THE:
AK-747: CD
So the insert to this CD has a picture of some honky in khakis and a safari helmet wielding a huge modern machine gun. There beside him, a missile is imbedded in the ground, then off to the right there’s what appears to be a bunch of African natives with spears. Above all of this is an ambiguous use of a quote by literature’s most famous imperialist Rudyard Kipling from The Jungle Booksabout “Monkey-Folk who live in the trees,” called the Bandar-Log. So what is a socially conscious music reviewer to do? Pick apart all the songs to find out where they might be going with such imagery and figure out if it’s simply culturally insensitive or if they actually might be making a progressive political statement? Probably. But since this is crappy alternative rock, which nobody who found their way into this fanzine would touch with a ten foot pole, I’ll save myself the time.
–Craven (no info)
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BANDITAS:
Self-Titled: CD
I met all three members of this trio prior to hearing their album. The drummer is also a poet. He and I did a reading together. He’s a pretty good poet (and I don’t often say that about poets). One of the guitarists is a writer, too. She does a zine about being a menstrual anarchist. She taught me how to say “eat my pussy” in French. The other guitarist hit me up to buy him a beer. With a trio of personalities like that, what could you possibly expect from the album? I wasn’t sure. I just wasn’t expecting it to be this good. The first thing you’ll notice when the Banditas start playing is that your head will start bobbing. You can try to fight this, but you won’t be able to stop. The second thing you’ll notice is a sonic fuzz wrapped around melodies. It’s been done before. Hüsker Dü and early Mudhoney did it well, but it would be a mistake to compare the Banditas to either one of those bands. In fact, it’s hard to find any safe comparisons for the Banditas. I guess there’s a bit of Rocket From The Crypt without the horns in there, like the Banditas and RFTC are part of the same species, but not the same genus. When you stop comparing them to bands, the next step is to just get swept away in the songs. There’s a nice balance of power and rhythm, and this trio puts more into the songs than you’d expect from only three people. And maybe, after about twenty or thirty listens, you might notice that there doesn’t seem to be any bass in here—no bass guitar, no bass drum. Not that it’s missing. It’s just not there. And, finally, this album will creep into your top five. At least, it’s one of my top five favorite albums right now. You may also be interested to know that this album is available on vinyl, too. And they sent me a CD. Fuckers.
–Sean Carswell (Last Drag)
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BANDITAS:
Save the Rats: LP
Hands down, Save the Rats is the sleeper hit of this review batch. I really wasn’t expecting much, and while the Banditas sound is actually a bit hard to pin down, I do know that I really, really like what I’m hearing. A female three-piece with a sound that’s a wildly successful amalgam of ‘60s pop, garage, country, and even gospel… and it’s coherent. And awesome. Frequently sweet “he done me wrong” songs coupled with a stunning solemnity that really works in their favor—it’s that sense of solemnity, coupled with the simple fact that these people sing really beautifully, that makes this record so rad. “Harmony Glass” is a perfect example of Banditas’ magic: a haunting and spooky reverb-heavy number laden with gorgeous harmonies and a slowly simmering rhythm section culminating a flare-bright ending. While that specific formula doesn’t stay the same throughout the entire record, the effect does. This is a great, great album.
–Keith Rosson (Hard To Kill)
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BANDITOS, LOS:
Self-titled: 7"
'60s-influenced instrumental music with just a dash of new wave thrown in. Would make good music for a movie soundtrack.
–Jimmy Alvarado (www.sheeprecords.com)
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BANG SUGAR BANG:
Thwak Thwak Go Crazy!: CD
I had many things running through my mind before listening to this disc. I know this band has been getting prime opening slots for many large bands. The cover looks kind of cartoonish and the title makes no sense to me. I hope it's not another bunch of glam rockers trying to fly under the punk flag. The band name doesn't exactly scream punk to me either. Putting all that aside, I was quite surprised. Here is a band that I would have bypassed easily. But after a few listens (and that's saying a lot from me), I was truly intrigued by their music. They easily could have been a band from San Francisco, New York, or Los Angeles circa '77 to '81. But the slickness of the production removes that thought quickly. I have read references of X from a few. I can hear it in spots due to the female/male vocals, but it is not prevalent. Stylistically, I hear hints of X but I also hear things in a song like "Kill the Radio" that could be a guitar-driven version of the Epoxies. They also sound like so many other things that I just can't pull it off my tongue. I hear songs sections that remind me of other songs and I hear parts of lyrics that I recognize from elsewhere. It's driving me crazy right now trying to think what band it sounds like or who sang something. "The Machine Gun Song" sounds like something XTC or Squeeze could have played in the past, a song that is somewhat silly but is infectiously melodic. Their songs of varying flavors keep things from becoming monotonous. What sells me here is the strong vocal delivery of bassist/singer Cooper. Her vocals capture the moment. Anyway, even though they are flying under the punk banner, I would consider them more a rock band that got lumped under the punk banner due to being hard to pigeonhole. But it's not a bad thing. This release did fall on my lap and I truly enjoy it.
–Donofthedead (SOS)
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BANG SUGAR BANG:
Thwak Thwak: Thwak Thwak
Okay, let's get something straight: some songs should not be redone. "Sex Beat" is such a song, and redoing it with vocals that sound like Siouxsie Sioux with a tummy ache only makes matters worse. The rest of this wasn't too painful a listen, but after hearing what they did to what is thee quintessential Gun Club track, I had a hard time focusing on any of their merits.
–Jimmy Alvarado (www.bangsugarbang.com)
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BANG! BANG!:
Electric Sex: CDEP
A new band out of Chicago that is bringing back memories of ‘80s new wave with a bass player that sings like Terry Bozzio and music that has elements of early Devo and the Waitresses. Fun and a welcome change from all the death metal and thrash that I have been listening to lately.
–Donofthedead (Morphius)
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BANG! BANG!:
Decked Out: CD
Indie dance pop from this Chicago three-piece, with dueling male-female vocals. Veers off into the realm of pretentiousness at times and “borrows” a big chunk of their sound from the late ‘80s to early ‘90s Dischord Records roster. But with a disco beat. The song “(I Heard You Singing) On the Radio” cleverly starts off with, surprise, the sound of someone spinning through channels on the radio dial. Dear lord. They redeem themselves a bit with a Gun Club cover.
–Josh Benke (Morphius)
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BANG! BANG!:
Do You Like It?: CD
Did you know that back in the ‘70s the Alice Cooper Band were forced at gunpoint by Mick Jagger to write and record an album with the lippy Glimmer Twin? I didn’t either. But here it is. And if one listen isn’t enough to convince you of the verity of this recently come-to-light factoid, then just check out the lead vox on this disc who coyly goes by the moniker “Jack Flash.” Like that isn’t a total give away. But wait a minute... now he sounds like Richard Hell. Man, after that first song I was certain it was Mick Jagger. I guess it doesn’t matter ‘cause I never liked either one of those over-cherished suckwads. So to answer the original question, no, I guess I don’t like it. But the hot blond chick bass player on the other hand...
–aphid (Heads Up)
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BANGERS:
Small Pleasures: CD
More Leatherface than Queers on the pop punk scale, with odd chords, mid-tempos, smart lyrics, and a bucket full of hooks. The guitar sound seemed a bit subdued at first, but I found that cranking the volume up fixed that up right quick.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Kiss Of Death)
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BANGERS / BREAK THE HABIT:
Split: LP
Two sides of British gruff-voiced pop punk. Bangers do theirs with little bits of Hot Water Music-esque breakdowns to keep things vaguely interesting. Big sing-a-long choruses probably get the kids all riled up back home. The pacing is a little off, the songs seem to speed up and slow down at awkward times, and the snare pop is pretty annoying. Despite all that, it’s not a bad effort, just nothing terribly exciting or innovative these days, which leads me to the Break The Habit side. My hope is that Break The Habit is a novelty act, the Jewdriver or Manic Hispanic of the shirts off beard-core drones that every other band at Fest has become. How else do you explain these lyrics: “We are singing, we are dancing all night long with our favourite bands to our favourite songs. There is nowhere that we’d rather be, and I’m so glad that you’re here with me. Just another show. Same old bullshit, same old friends.” Same old bullshit, indeed. This is “Bro Hymn,” only with different stripes of shitty beer and bad tattoos behind it.
–Jeff Proctor (This One’s For the Crew, myspace.com/thisonesforthecrew)
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BANGERS / WHAT-A-NIGHTS:
: Split 7”
Two songs from each band here. Bangers: A three piece, featuring strong, somewhat gravelly vocals. The tunes are played at a comfortable, fairly easy pace. Good guitar work, backed up by a rhythm section that doesn’t slouch. In the liner notes, it says that these songs were recorded live. Unless there was no one there, I would say that it means the songs were recorded live in a studio, and not at a club. What-A-Nights: Four Japanese dudes playing upbeat punk songs. Nice guitar leads stand out on the B Side. The cover art features somewhat of a blob character coming after people. Good shit.
–Nighthawk (Drunken Sailor / Snuffy Smiles, DrunkenSailorRecords.co.uk)
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BANGERS AND MASH:
As Primitive As Can Be: CD
Prime ‘60s slop delivered to your eardrums by three mock-topped maniacs with their tongues planted firmly in cheek. The sound’s a little cleaner than most records by bands peddling this style these days, but don’t let that deter you from picking this up, ‘cause the songs are great and funny as hell. I do suggest that you work a little more on your English accent, though, Edwin.
–Jimmy Alvarado (British Cooking)
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BANGERS AND MASH:
As Primitive As Can Be: CD
This is a highly entertaining and extraordinarily hilarious musical mock-up of 1964 and ‘65-era British beat groups... a true-to-form, tongue-in-cheek tribute to the merry moptopped music-makers of the flashy swingin’ Sixties. The garagey Mersey-style songs contained herein are amusingly adorned with thick (but very obviously fake!) Scouse-tinged vocal inflections and a frolicking rompfest of giddy butt-jigglin’ instrumentation... yeh baby, it’s as if Austin Powers is frenziedly fronting The Rutles at The Cavern Club in British-colonized Hades! If ya really wanna spice-up your next all-night house-bash, pop this groovilicious lil’ platter into the cozy confines of your hi-fi unit, and then feverishly twist and shout the night away with the tastiest lad or bird of your choice. Bloody fab and gear, this one is!
–Guest Contributor (British Cooking)
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BANGS:
Call and Response: CD
Within a week of moving across the country to California, some friends suggested going to see Toys that Kill play with Bangs in a town about four hours away. No job, no home, and no plans, I thought it was a great idea. To make a long story short, we spent about eighty bucks on gas, had to hitchhike after we ran out, and drive about eight hours one way to get there. Late. Toys that Kill had played all but three songs of their set, so I was pretty pissed. After some performance art (not helping my mood) Bangs took the stage. Two ladies and a guy on drums who are not afraid to rock. They blew me away, even in my salty mood. By the second song, I was up front bopping and dancing my day away. I never picked anything up. I was stupid. This album kicks so hard from the start, slowing for “Kinda Good,” then picking right back up. Their alternating vocals are so, well, true. They don’t sound like they’re trying to be anything, which is a little too common lately. The music is catchy as hell and the lyrics balance smooth and sweet with hollers that make you want to yell along. My only complaint is that it’s only six songs long.
–Megan Pants (Kill Rock Stars)
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BANKRUPT:
Listen: CD
Some frighteningly bad pop punk from Hungary. I’m gonna have nightmares for months following this ordeal.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Sarkadi Balázs, Kendermag utca 1., Budapest, 1162 Hungary)
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BANNER PILOT:
Demo: CD-R
I’m still pretty gay for Rivethead even though they broke up. I think they outdid Screeching Weasel at their own pop punk game. Nate, Rivethead’s bassist, and a guy who’s name I just like to say—Ganglehoff—was an incremental part of what made them great. On this demo, Nate’s bass talents are as evident as the difference between shit and chocolate pudding because I like the songs on here and they’ve got a drum machine. No, not a "We’re techno. Start humping the fridge," drum machine, a "Fuck, dude, we can’t find a drummer, but we have all these songs, so hook up the Casio" variety. And the songs are solid, bouncy, forlorn, and full of promise. Reminiscent of Rivethead, but not in a depressing, creepy, get over it way. Cool shit.
–Todd Taylor (bannerpilot@gmail.com)
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BANNER PILOT:
Pass The Poison: CD
Sounds like the Methadones, or maybe even Sludgeworth. But with vomiting!!! BEST SONG: The presence of “Ever Fallen In Love” kind of can’t be negotiated around. BEST SONG TITLE: “Bender”—i mean, Bender was way cooler than Fry or Leila IMO. FANTASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: I was just bitching last weekend about bands who put seven or so songs on a CD, my main point being that if bands want their fans to take them seriously (which, shockingly, many do), that kinda works both ways, requiring the bands to take the fans seriously as well, thusly precluding them from recording seven or so songs and attempting to pass it off as an “album” when everyone and their ma knows that an “album” is like twelve or fourteen songs (although it should likely be stated that experience has taught me that seven or so songs is the perfect amount of songs to record at one sitting—any more than that becomes a hideous cattle call; any less than that is not cost effective). Amazingly, i found this seven-or-so-song CD to be almost perfect in length; it pretty much seemed like i got a full dose of the band, yet it was only seventeen-eighteen minutes long. Huh.
–Rev. Norb (Arsenic)
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BANNER PILOT:
Pass the Poison: CD
Insanely catchy EP from this Minneapolis four piece. Shades of Pegboy and Face To Face are here. But their songwriting is all their own so it doesn’t sound like a rehash. “Portland Nights” is my favorite on this platter, but there’s also a groovy Buzzcocks cover too. Go see these guys live if they roll up to your ‘hood. Trust me.
–Sean Koepenick (Arsenic)
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BANNER PILOT:
Resignation Day: CD
I bought a “super limited record release version” CD-R, which I thought ruled. Until it didn’t work. Damn! But I got a “real” copy, which I feel is less cool. Anyway, this is a pretty great follow up to Pass the Poison. It’s pretty similar, and kind of reminds me of a more aggressive version of the later era Lookout! Records pop punk. At first I was surprised by how trebly the whole thing sounded compared to the EP, but it went away quickly when I realized just how great some of these new songs are.
–Joe Evans III (Go Kart)
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BANNER PILOT:
Resignation Day: CD
This album is so goddamned good. I thought their EP and split with Monikers were great, but this record is head-and-shoulders above that earlier output. I’ve heard a few people drop Screeching Weasel comparisons, which I suppose is somewhat accurate, but I feel like there’s more of a Rhythm Collision pop punk thing happening here, with some undeniable Jawbreaker action thrown in there. The production is somewhat subdued or maybe a bit lacking in dynamics, but I think it works incredibly well in recreating that distinctive and super-sincere ‘90s sound, intentionally or not. I honestly can’t stop listening to this record.
–Dave Williams (Go-Kart)
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BANNER PILOT:
Resignation Day: CD
Watertight melodic punk that’s as close to perfect as this genre of music can get to. The record just feels good, like palm-sized rocks itching in your pocket as you pass an abandoned warehouse with some windows still left unbroken. My hat’s off to Nate Gangelhoff (bassist, songwriter, author of You Idiot and Whiskey Plus). Nate and I have corresponded for many years, and he sent over early demos of many of the songs on this record; they were formative, the tracks were supported by a drum machine. It was good. The skeletons of the songs were there, awaiting flesh. Resignation Day—and I don’t say this lightly—is on par with Rivethead’s The Cheap Wine of Youth, Off With Their Heads’ All Things Move Toward Their End, and Dear Landlord’s scattered vinyl tracks. Gruff, direct, plainclothes Midwest punk. Not fancy. Not tricky. Not gimmicky. Not precious. No make believe. Just direct, continual, and literate, shot after aching shot. It’s the album-form answer to “What are you going to do with your life when you’re old enough to completely and utterly fail on your own?” Do you rise up with lumps or lay down and place the blame on something else?
–Todd Taylor (Go Kart)
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BANNER PILOT:
Collapser: LP
I can safely say that this is my absolute favorite record of 2009. I had incredibly high expectations for this LP after Resignation Day became a daily staple in my headphones, and Collapser completely surpassed any preconceived awesomeness I’d prepared myself for. The melodies are sweeter without venturing too far into “pop punk” territory, the production is slick-yet-vicious ala Off With Their Heads’ LP, the lyrics are personal and heart wrenching without even a hint of corniness. It’s pretty much everything I look for in a record of this genre. I honestly feel that Collapser is a benchmark in the post-Jawbreaker punk world. Banner Pilot have unquestionably set themselves apart from the gravelly voiced pop punk masses with what is, in my opinion, a near-perfect record. Unbelievable.
–Dave Williams (Fat Wreck)
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BANNER PILOT:
Collapser: CD
I think it’s safe to call this the “highly anticipated Fat Wreck” debut, right? While it’s not a drastic departure from anything they’ve done before (I hear the Jawbreaker and other influences still), there’s interesting little bits that throw you at first listen (“How’d they get the guitar to sound like that?” “This kind of reminds me of Superchunk”). Overall, it’s solid, though it has that weird “problem” where if I’m not careful, I’ll find myself listening to a few of my personal highlights over and over again (particularly “Central Standard,” “Pensacola,” and “Vacant Lot”) instead of just listening to the whole thing all the way through. I think this is their best sounding record yet.
–Joe Evans III (Fat Wreck)
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BANNER PILOT:
Collapser: CD
This is album is in my top three of the year, for sure. Hell, it might be number one. I have the Pass the Poison EP, but somehow managed to miss Resignation Day. Collapser manages to feel comfortably familiar, yet still exciting and fresh. For the uninitiated, Banner Pilot is really gritty pop punk (think gravel vocals, heavy and really busy bass work that’s actually noticeable, tempos that never really dip below fast, and twin guitars that know how to play some excellent minor key stuff against power chords), with a low-key epic quality to it. It’s like every song is somehow the story of your life while it’s playing. Collapser sounds like the album I always hoped None More Black would make. The lyrics are really great too. They have a bit of the Weakerthans’ Great Plains desperation poetry mixed with Lifetime’s direct emotiveness. I would single out some tracks, but they’re all great. Get this, and if you don’t like it… well, much like the Grinch, your heart may be two sizes too small.
–Adrian (Fat)
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