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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 | 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
CLOSET FAIRIES:
Ghetto Girls: 7”
No, not the Closet Fatties as stated in a previous Razorcake review. Closet Fairies, who feature Jeff from Boston’s Witches With Dicks on bass, come from Salem, Massachusetts and play garagey pop punk in the vein of Scared Of Chaka and a little bit of the Dickies. This 7” is short and sweet with one song on the A side and a song titled “Union Suite” on the B side, followed by a rager of a hidden track called “Wooden Nickels.” –Dave Dillon
–Guest Contributor (Spent Planet)
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CLOSET FAIRIES:
“Popular Science” b/w “Painted in a Corner”: 7”
I’m imagining a movie from the ‘80s that’s set in the ‘50s, and this is the band at the prom that storms the stage with a new form of music—rock’n’roll—and everyone rips their shirts off and loses their shit. Teachers, janitors, virgins, the mascot, cheerleaders, and the awkwards all learn to not give a fuck and loosen the shackles of conformity. To DIY punks, my Ouija planchette hovers around Space Cookie, Scared Of Chaka, Dick Army, and The Sneaky Pinks. Catchy, low-ish—not turd-ish—fi, party songs that ain’t afraid to cunningly slip some class war on the B-side into the lyrics.
–Todd Taylor (Shock To The System)
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CLOSET FAIRIES:
“Popular Science” b/w “Painted in a Corner”: 7”
So this is the last Closet Fairies release, eh? While they’ve always been a band I liked (especially their split with Party Garbage), they always kinda seemed like a band in transition. And while Razorcake has flubbed up their band name in the past, let’s set the story straight here. Closet Fairies play flawless Toys That Kill/Marked Men worship. Garagey, poppy, punk that’s always well put together. Who can’t get behind a line like “Don’t let them paint you into a corner of another rich man’s dream!”?
–Daryl Gussin (Shock To The System)
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CLOSET FATTIES:
Ghetto Girls: 7”
The first two tracks on this 7” remind me of the catch-your-breath moments in Scared of Chaka albums. You’re fully aware that the band’s capable of gorilla-with-chainsaw-and-fireworks time, and you know it’s coming, but it’s real fuckin’ nice, just kicking back and chugging some beers before you’re wrestling a rabid, hairy-armed simian of a song through a glass table. And, lookee, the hidden track (on a 7”, mind you) is that gorilla. Bam! Bam! Bam! Features “scab members” (their words) of Witches With Dicks. Neat.
–Todd Taylor ($4ppd., Spent Planet, Ltd.)
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CLUSTERFUCK / COJOBA:
Split: EP
Clusterfuck play speedy hardcore stuff that has some whacky elements that I can’t connect with. Kind of reminds me Litmus Green mixed with In God We Trust Dead Kennedys, but more modern. I do like the Cojoba stuff more (didn’t they used to be a harsh thrash band?). Their sound is speedy, but not thrash. More on the nervous kind of hyper side. Taina’s vocals are the definite standout. Delivered nice and clear, but with a lot of passion. I do think the music can benefit from just a little bit more fire in the playing.
–Matt Average (Computer Crime, computercrimerecs.info)
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CLUSTERFUX:
Thrash Mongrel: CD
Metal with some hardcore mixed in, or vice versa, depending on how you wanna look at it. The boneheaded macho quotient that accompanies similar sounding bands isn’t readily apparent, and that is a big thumbs up for ’em, but they still don’t blow up my skirt in the least.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Rodent Popsicle)
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CLUSTERFUX:
Thrash Mongrel: CD
Clusterfux have dual female/male vocals screamed to the extreme over metallic crust. The guitars are a little thin in the production but that doesn’t take away the power there are trying to achieve, which is heavy on the riffing to power through each song. The bass has the right amount of distortion to accent and fill what deficiencies the guitars lack. The guitar solos might discourage some punk purists, but metal heads will see it as an added bonus. Reminds me of the crossover period of the mid-to-late ‘80s.
–Donofthedead (Rodent Popsicle)
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CLUSTERFUX:
Thrash Mongrel: CD
Metal with some hardcore mixed in, or vice versa, depending on how you wanna look at it. The boneheaded macho quotient that accompanies similar sounding bands isn’t readily apparent, and that is a big thumbs up for ’em, but they still don’t blow up my skirt in the least.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Rodent Popsicle)
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CLUTTER FAMILY:
Freak It: Freak It: CD
Sounds like a power pop version of They Might Be Giants. Since there are few things in this world I loathe more than quirky pop, I did not like this at all.
–Mike Frame (Self-released)
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COACCION:
Invertebrado: CD
D-Beat from just a hair south of the border. This Tijuana, Mexico band is another marker to show that punk continues to thrive all around the world. Like Solucion Mortal a couple of decades before them, the band delivers some harsh ass music. Lyrics sung in Spanish are translated for the gringos, who can’t accept the fact that Spanish is the unofficial second language. I’m not a gringo, but I have the tiniest understanding of the language. Recorded in what I believe is the now defunct Burnt Ramen, a raw but brutal recording is documented. This is worth every penny that I paid to get this. I just wish this was released on vinyl as opposed to the worthless format we call CD.
–Donofthedead (First Blood Family)
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COACHWHIPS:
Peanut Butter and Jelly Live at the Ginger Minge: CD
The Scared of Chaka van, sans muffler, pre-Shins, yet full of cocaine and quasi-legal fireworks, leaves Albuquerque at 3:00 PM, MST travelling at an estimated 73 MPH, West on I-40. The Sonics van, circa when they were all alive, leaves the Northwest, and travels South on I-5 at 55 MPH. At what point do they crash into one another, because neither van has good brakes? Never, but the Coachwhips give their best musical interpretation of the event, down to the keyboards flying out the window and getting run over by a passing semi. And some underrated blues musician who never got his due and is known by neither you or I is killed in the wreckage (you can hear his guitar get smashed over and over again). It’s a mess that somehow works like a beautiful accident. (Recorded by former FM Knives badsnacks, Chris Woodhouse.)
–Todd Taylor (Narnack)
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COATHANGERS, THE:
Hit Jams Are As Follows: LP
My girlfriend likes this record. I don’t. The Coathangers are “quirky,” an adjective that seldom bodes well with me. The Coathangers have a Mika Miko-like oscillation of female vocalists, and riffs reminiscent of Kleenex/LiLiput (whom I love more than my mother). They also have lyrics about Tonya Harding and “haters.” I have a deep reverence for Louis-Ferdinand Celine, the greatest hater of them all (a combined misanthropy greater than W.C. Fields and William Burroughs COMBINED), so it makes sense that I hate on this record. Anyway, only the Stooges’ Funhouse, Kleenex/LiLiput’s Kill Rock Stars collection, and the Young Marble Giants’ Colossal Youth are of interest to me right now. So buy this record. Buy tons of them. Black Friday has passed us, but massive consumption of this record is encouraged. Go skeet shooting with your extra copies and buy more. Who knows? Maybe in ten years this record will line Salvation Army bins like Kenny Rogers records. A revolution of ephemeral material—started by me! Manifestation dada!
–Ryan Leach (www.robshouserecords.com)
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COATHANGERS, THE:
Self-titled: 7”EP
Somewhere in the trapezoid that the Sharp Ease, the Okmoniks, the Mummies, and Bikini Kill make, there’s an area somewhere near the middle that takes makes a show of simple, trashy rock, with a solitary keyboard playfully tinkling on the top and snaking down to your bottom. The Coathangers have nailed that grey spot perfectly and add a nice dollop of their own personality: danceable backbeats, fun/sexy playfulness, catchy choruses, and screamy fun. Makes me think of the unreleased GoGo’s demo; capturing their garagey goodness, without the glazed, cute pop sheen.
–Todd Taylor (Die Slaughterhaus)
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COATHANGERS, THE:
Larceny & Old Lace: CD
The Coathangers unleash some Georgia art punk that sounds like the more straightforward sister band of the departed Mika Miko. You got the multiple singers, the gangly riffs played with pawn shop instrument tones, and the bonus of a keyboard. The difference is that where Mika Miko had a more frantic post-punk vibe, the Coathangers have a bit more (sometimes demented, i.e. “Johnny”) garage rock in their blood. This falls on the “solid” side of things. There’s a feeling that this band is a lot more fun to see live, because as much as I want to say I really like the songs, a lot of them don’t rise above the fray often enough in memorability. The best track, “Tobacco Rd.,” actually happens at the end when the band breaks from their normal sound and goes for an acoustic, American gothic, folk number. I would put this track on summer mixes.
–Adrian Salas (Suicide Squeeze)
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COBALT CRANES:
Self-titled: 7”EP
Female but sometimes male vocals with a chunky, punkish rhythm guitar in my left ear, a fuzzy lead guitar doing Nuggetsy things in my right ear, a pleasantly farty bass in the middle of my head, and an oft-cymbal-less ((but occasionally tambourine-ful)) drumbeat making me feel that i, or someone, should be shimmying a bit to “Freak Out,” although they probably ended the thing a minute too early for my rump’s tastes. And, now that the taste of my rump has somehow come into play, i think i’ll move on, lest i start trying to draw inane parallels between “Take You” and the fourth Psychedelic Furs album. BEST SONG: “Freak Out.” BEST SONG TITLE: “Freak Out.” Apparently Frank Zappa knew what he was doing, which is surprising. FANTASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: French people make their numerals weirdly.
–Rev. Norb (Frantic City)
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COBARDOS, LOS:
Hot As a Bitch on 45: 7"
My wife, who usually tunes out most of the crap I listen to, offered up a rare review of this, saying it was about as annoying as the crusty thing that develops on a squeeze bottle of mustard. To be honest, I couldn't have put it any more succinctly. They call themselves "raw 'n' dirty punk rocker," but sound more like some lame faux oi band with more emphasis on calling girls "bitches" than the usual "let's get drunk and beat someone up" bullshit so prevalent in that genre. This is not to say the lyrical quality is any better, 'cause it ain't. And don't even get me started on their name. Guys, the word is COBARDES, not COBARDOS. Limited to 138 hand-numbered copies on thick red vinyl? Uh, make that 137, 'cause this one just went sailing out my window.
–Jimmy Alvarado (C-Town)
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COBARDOS, LOS:
Hot As a Bitch on 45: 7"
Pro: this is the thickest record I think I’ve ever held, and in magenta wax to boot; free sticker; four songs of “rock and fucking roll” that sounds like the Hellacopters doing oi. Con: “Hot as a bitch”? “We’re so fucking high and crazy”? “When we come along the crowd goes raging hell”? Okay, that last one’s pretty pro, but lyrically this whole thing is so ridiculously over the rock’n’roll top that the music behind it can’t possibly live up, and it doesn’t. But, “The things went crazy and the crowd goes wild.”
–Cuss Baxter (Straight Outta C-Town Muzique)
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COBRA:
Hello! This Is Cobra + ...Is Back: CDs
Oi stuff from a band that’s apparently been one of Japan’s best kept secrets for quite some time. While ...Is Back is the rawer of the two, it’s Hello! that boasts the catchiest, most anthemic tunes. What lyrics there are in English indicate while they aren’t much deeper or topical than the “let’s get drunk! Oi Oi Oi!” of too many of their American and English peers, they do know their way around a hook, which gives ‘em some additional points.
–Jimmy Alvarado (joepogorecords.com)
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COBRA HIGH:
Sunset in the Eye of a Hurricane: CD
I feel guilty reviewing this, since I don’t like prog rock and I’m not crazy about keyboards. It also feels that I don’t “get it.” At the same time, I’m wanting to dust off some long forgotten Roxy Music LPs that haven’t seen the light of day since 1984. At certain points the vocals are so much like Bryan Ferry, but mixed with stoner rock and a love of ‘80s music. It’s so sincere they could probably turn me into a fan if I saw them live. –Wanda Spragg
–Guest Contributor (Cold Crush)
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COBRA SKULLS:
Sitting Army: CD
Intriguing debut from this Reno trio. Every song has either “cobra” or “skulls” in the title. Just to be sure you won’t forget their names, I guess. It’s not just standard punk fare here. “Charming the Cobra” has a cool dub vibe. “I’ll Always Be a Cobra Skull” sounds like Johnny Cash on meth. “Cobraacoustic” is a pleasing way to wrap things up. Solid debut, but I have to brush up on my Spanish for this burrito-stuffed treat.
–Sean Koepenick (Red Scare)
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COBRA SKULLS:
Draw Muhammad: CDEP
I’d never actually heard this band, despite hearing the name over and over again. “Like Against Me! but with more ska punk,” was also what I’d heard, and I have to say, that’s pretty dead on. Come to think about it, they kind of remind me of Against All Authority without the horns. It didn’t immediately grab me at the first listen, but I do have a feeling I’ll want to go back to it later. Also, apparently Craigums from Love Songs/Conquest For Death recorded this, which scores bonus points in my book.
–Joe Evans III (Red Scare, myspace.com/redscarepunk)
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COBRA SKULLS:
American Rubicon: CD
Oh man, someone at Razorcake HQ is stalking me. I’ve been complaining about this band for the last month or so. It’s not that they’re bad, it’s that every time I hear a song, I think “What Against Me! song is this?” However, when the singer sings in his native tongue, Spanish, it sounds amazing. I want a whole record of that. But no one ever does a whole record in non-English anymore. Lame.
–Bryan Static (Red Scare)
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COBRA SKULLS:
American Rubicon: CD
You know how Against Me!, despite all the hype, was really only ever capable of writing five to six good songs per record? The rest of their records would then be filler. The Cobra Skulls sound like a band based on all that filler material. The singer even occasionally sounds like Tom Gabel. I saw them on the Red Scare tour and spent most of the show trying to decide what this one song they played sounded like. I eventually realized it was a dead ringer for the song “Nutrition” by The Dead Milkmen. It had the same melody and everything. So, if poor Tom Gabel impressions mixed with bad Dead Milkmen near-covers are for you, hop on this fast!
–Ryan Horky (Red Scare, Redscare.net)
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COBRA SKULLS:
Bringing the War Home: CDEP
Short, sweet, and there’s a cover of Bad Religion’s “Give You Nothing.” The strength of the Cobra Skulls is that one will never mistake them for another band, with their mix of melodic punk, folk, and rockabilly—among other genres—and singer Devin’s distinct vocals. The non-punk influences on this are a bit less distinct, but, if anything, the constant touring and new drummer have resulted in a tighter attack than before. My one complaint: where are the canciones en español at which they oddly excel?
–Adrian Salas (Fat)
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COBRA SKULLS:
Bringing the War Home: CDEP
I’ve had a chance to see these guys live a couple times, so I have no doubt that they are an earnest bunch of fellows. I’m also glad they didn’t do another “theme” record like a few years back. So let’s get out the checklist, shall we? Produced by Fat Mike: check. Bad Religion cover: check. Punk rock tempos and political topics: check. For some reason I can only profess a marginal interest in this EP. Not something that I think will go into heavy rotation; it just doesn’t move me.
–Sean Koepenick (Fat Wreck)
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