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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
CRITICS, THE:
No Salvation: CD
I guess this is Australia’s answer to Coheed and Cambria. Good or bad? If you are a fan of my reference, good. If you are like me, and think this is bad—it’s like having itching powder on your butthole and you can’t take it.
–Donofthedead (MGM)
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CRITICS, THE:
Self-titled: 7"
Holy moly. From the cover, I wasn’t expecting much. It’s a pink and black bitmap of four band members without faces. Ho hum. But, as soon as it got played, who went ahead and turned Leatherface into a straight-ahead pop band from Australia with tons of power? I wasn’t so up on their CDEP, but these three songs are complexly layered as some sort of a fancy Greek desert and as unpredictable as fireworks with questionable fuses. Maybe it’s my ass talking, but I also hear some of the undeniable songwriting and prowess of The Replacements: wall of warm shimming guitars, stinging belt choruses, rising welt bass lines, and strong-piped vocals that are a notch below yelling. It all sounds so loud but clear and confident as fuck. I was wholly surprised by how good this was. Well worth seeking out.
–Todd Taylor (Rabbit / Out of the Loop)
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CRITICS, THE:
The Incentive: CDEP
I’m kind of in the middle on this one. The songs are well written and are passionate in their melodic rhythm. The songs are strikingly catchy. Mid tempo songs with emo like lyrics. The jury is still out on this one.
–Donofthedead ($7ppd to Rabbit)
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CROCODILE GOD:
No Regrets: CDEP
For all the thrash, grindcore, metal and such I see live, I honestly tend to really listen to more melodic punk more than anything when I’m alone. So, right off the bat when I pulled this out to listen for review, I remembered that I had something from this band. I checked my trusty music list and saw that I had copy of their LP Stella. That signified a good start, knowing I had liked them enough to keep one of their previous releases. I have a vague memory of what this band sounded like. I knew they were from the ‘90s during my melodicore phase. My memory was correct. Fast, melodic punk filled with hooks. I like that the recording is not overly produced and has a bright, live quality to it. The music reminds me of a mixture of the Beatnik Termites having a tea party with Snuff. Fun, energetic stuff!
–Donofthedead (Crackle)
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CROCODILES:
Summer of Hate: CD
I was really expecting to like this band since the only two members were both in The Prayers and the Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower. Those were really great bands that I felt were awesome and underappreciated. This is a really lame band that is not awesome and is over appreciated. Rolling Stone says you should “buy it now,” which is something you shouldn’t do at all. If you’ve never heard Echo & the Bunnymen or Jesus And Mary Chain this might be new, but, unlike those bands, it’s not exciting.
–Rene Navarro (Fat Possum)
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CROISSANTS, THE:
Self-titled: 7”
Trashy pop punk of the highest order is what you get from this Sacramento three-piece. Lo-fi and DIY, these Croissants are filled with distorted guitars and snotty, sneering vocals. These numbers are also incredibly peppy and catchy, with lots of “Oh Yeah” choruses. Reatards and/or Nobunny fans will rejoice with this little gem of a record.
–Jeff Proctor (lecroissants.blogspot.com)
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CROM:
The Cocaine Wars 1974-1989: CD
I guess this is supposed to be some sort of grind "concept" album, but it doesn't work very well as a release, period. All the songs seem half-done and sound like they probably wouldn't have been all too hot anyway, 'cause they all seem to go "blurp...blurp" and end up nowhere. Grind doesn't really bother me too much, provided it's done with some care, but this seems like such a lackluster, half-assed attempt that it's damn hard to even begin being interested.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Pessimiser, PO Box 1070, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254)
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CROM:
The Cocaine Wars 1974 1989: CD
I guess this is supposed to be some sort of grind "concept" album, but it doesn't work very well as a release, period. All the songs seem half‑done and sound like they probably wouldn't have been all too hot anyway, 'cause they all seem to go "blurp...blurp" and end up nowhere. Grind doesn't really bother me too much, provided it's done with some care, but this seems like such a lackluster, half‑assed attempt that it's damn hard to even begin being interested.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Pessimiser)
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CROOK$:
City of Rats: 7"
Eureka punks who sound like the Randumbs without the bite or, as evidenced by the lyrics to “Stalker Bitch,” the wit. Purty yellow vinyl, though.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Noma Beach)
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CROOK$::
City of Rats: 7"
The three songs on the first side exhibit at least a moderately praiseworthy ability to sonically transport the listener back to the not-quite-thrash-but-still-fast stuff of the first half of the ‘80s, including (for better or for worse) the little Black Sabbath-y intro and interludes in “12 oz. Curls” (which itself contains the surely immortal line “All you can think is drive real quick, ‘cause waiting at your house is a drunk horny chick”), on accounta, around 1984 or so, when everyone was playing what we then called “hardcore” (which would now, after twenty years of gross misinformation and such, be called, pfft, “endoplasmic reticulum” or something), everybody was actually secretly sick of playing hardcore, but there was no capacity to write/perform or even appreciate non-hardcore in The Scene, thus bands would satisfy their forbidden desires to play That Which Was Not Hardcore by writing these doofy metal or rock or electric folk or what-have-you intros to their songs. Didn’t really work all that well, because about twenty-four months later they all flipped their lids and started wearing paisley shirts and playing acoustic guitars, but i spose the thought was there. On the b-side, “Stalker Bitch” will hardly make anyone forget “Bummer Bitch” by Freestone, and “2069 A Sexy Odyssey” is just stupid. I mean, the Space Amazons are raining out of the sky for “an orgy of interstellar love,” but yet “they don’t want the women, they only want the men”??? BO-RIIIIING!!! If the Revolution doesn’t include hot ‘n’ heavy Space Amazon/Earthgirl action, i ain’t revolving. BEST SONG: “City of Rats” BEST SONG TITLE: “City of Rats” FANTASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: Band’s lyricist manages to first use “there” instead of “their” (“with there business suits and business shoes”), then, in the very next line, manages to actually use “their” correctly, twice (“with their power ties wrapped around their busy throats”), then, in the same song, manages to use “their” instead of “they’re” (“Who are they? Their not like you.”). Dude, i thought California made English its official language?
–Rev. Norb (Noma Beach)
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CROOKED BANGS:
Self-titled: LP
Going off the cover art, I was expecting some weirdo-style post-punk, or fucked up, drugged-out garage racket. Instead, this is tepid rock that is as safe as milk. Play this at your company dinner party. No one will be offended, if they even notice. Blehhhh....
–Matt Average (Western Medical, westernmeds.com)
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CROSS STICHED EYES:
Coranach: CD
Think Rudimentary Peni on a heavy Killing Joke bender and you’re on the right track with this one. Normally, a band attempting such an endeavor would be begging to have their ears slapped back ‘cause, let’s be honest here, those are some King Kong-sized Underoos to attempt to fill, but they more than manage to hold their own. Maybe it’s ‘cause the lineup includes some folks who were actual contemporaries of those bands (current drummer is the Subhumans’ Trotsky, for instance), maybe it’s because they’ve somehow managed to tap into the same secret formula Peni and Killing Joke have been jealously guarding for three decades. Whatever it is, not only are Cross Stitched Eyes nudging a comfortable space for themselves on a very narrow shelf, they do it by owning, instead of aping, the sound. Put more succinctly, this is the best gloomy anarcho-punk inspired band I’ve heard in a good while.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Alternative Tentacles)
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CROSS STITCHED EYES:
Decomposition: CD
Either this album is really good, or I just live a pathetic existence since listening to this is one of my high points of the day. I listen to this just about every day lately. I like to think it’s because this album is really good. Great, in fact. It’s heavy and dark like Amebix, but then you have some of the death rock elements like Killing Joke in there as well. The songs have an equally strong melody and the ability to pummel. “Existence” is by far the standout track among a sterling set of songs. It’s the guitar that comes in between verses that sends it over. The dark mood coupled with the lyrics is perfect. They never really tip over into thrash. They keep it to a mainly mid-tempo pace, building and keeping the tension, releasing through crashing guitar riffs and thundering percussion. The vocals are gravelly, but intelligible, and the words are delivered with conviction. This will more than likely get lumped in with the anarcho/crust punk thing, but the truth is, while they have those traits, Cross Stitched Eyes are headed into more expansive realms. Seriously, one of the best albums of the year.
–Matt Average (Alternative Tentacles, alternativetentacles.com)
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CROSSBRED:
Take off Your Fuckin’ Vanity: 3” CD
Twenty-minute mildly harsh racketscape with exciting surges, swelling rumbles, razory feedback spikes, crystalline oscillations, square waves, one vaguely rhythmic segment, machine noises, heavily-altered music samples, and a little yelling. Comes in a plastic petri dish with red stuff.
–Cuss Baxter (Apop)
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CROSSED OUT:
1900-1993: CD
A discography for one o’ them influential “power violence” bands. Like so many of the bands currently catering to this particular musical niche, the songs are intriguing for four or five songs, then start to blend into one another and eventually become one long, boring drone. In small doses, though, this was pretty good.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Slap A Ham)
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CROSSTIDE:
Seventeen Nautical Miles: CD
I think this is leftover from that pile of shit Jimmy and Todd sorted through in issue nine. This sounds like a fucking lullabye. It’s horrid. How does this shit end up at Razorcake HQ? Hell, how does it end up on a CD, is a better question. You guys lasted thirteen seconds into crap like this? You are better men than me.
–Toby Tober (Rise)
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CROSSTOPS:
The Ego That Ate the World: CD
The closest I’ve ever come to liking dirty southern punk is Zeke, but as a general rule, if any GG Allin influence is apparent, I’m almost immediately turned off. So what do I think of the Crosstops? Well, I’m not a fan, but let’s disregard that for moment. Do they deliver their promise of comedy? It’s definitely along the lines of older comedy punk bands like Dayglo Abortions or Fearless Iranians From Hell, in so much that it would definitely offend somebody’s grandma, specifically because they have a song about a grandma giving head to her grandson.
–Bryan Static (Rockstar)
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CROSSTOPS:
Truck and Disorderly: CD
Being an ironic version of
a crappy bar band still makes you a crappy bar band.
–Speedway Randy (Malt Soda)
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CROW:
Bloody Tear: LP
I am not one of the fortunate to have any of Crow’s recorded works that were produced in Japan. But I do have some that I picked when I was fortunate to see them live on their west coast tour. They made me a new asshole after seeing them live. They were so good, I couldn’t close my mouth long enough to stop drooling. So having this record in hand is a real treat. There was no way in hell that this was going to suck. Something about Japanese bands that make them appealing to me is the professionalism. They seem to be well rehearsed to the point of playing to near perfection even though they can consume a lot of alcohol. I saw Crow, Paintbox, and Forward now over the last few years and they partied hard and played harder. I believe the proper term to describe this certain style of punk out of Japan is Burning Spirits. Mid tempo to fast with elements of rock and metal with the sheer force of punk. Yelled vocals over metallic riffs, power chords and with no fear of throwing in a guitar solo. An equal blend of punk and metal without being too much of either. Not a song on the whole thing I can say I do not like. Only distraction is having to get up when a side ends to flip the record over to hear more music. A band that has now been around for sometime and hopefully will grace us on these shores again.
–Donofthedead (Prank)
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CROW BAIT:
Three Tickle Guys: 7”
Relatively solid pop punk with gruff vocals. It’s solid, and some of the songs catch my ear, but there ain’t much here to differentiate it from everything else in this reviews section.
–Ryan Horky (Dirt Cult/Solidarity/Lost Cat/ADD/Drunken Sailor/Eager Beaver, crowbait.bandcamp.com)
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CROWBAIT:
Three Tickle Guys: Cassette
Five songs of Hot Water Music punk with a guitarist who knows when to go into a catchy lead. Nothing new here, but the tape insert holds enough inside jokes that I’d go to their show just to hear the funny shit they say while tuning.
–CT Terry (Dead Broke, deadbrokerecords.com)
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CROWD, THE:
Goes Wild: rough mix: CD-R
Man, what titillating sonic excitement The Crowd create! This is poppy surfpunk fury at its most pleasurable, pristine, and explosive... all-at-once harmonious, harried, and aesthetically full of unquenchable thirst for life! This dandy delight of a disc holds all of the necessary audial ingredients to make it a surefire punkrock classic: a heapin’ helping of snotty tit-twistin’ vocals; a spirited dash of robust backing choral chants; heavenly sugar-sweet swirls of perfectly timed harmonies; thick chunky slabs of rhythm guitar gutsiness; an ingratiating abundance of lead guitar strafings soarin’ straight through the stratosphere; and a concoctive mixture of rumbling bass expulsions and precise fever-pitched dead-between-the-eyes drumming. Indeed, it’s an ear-pleasing platter of well-executed musical magnificence, and I’m bedazzled beyond belief!
–Roger Moser Jr. (no contact address )
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CROWD, THE:
Letter Bomb: CD
This brings back memories. This record was my first exposure to The Crowd when it was released by Flipside. Twelve years later, it’s still catchy, still cool. Also includes the rare EP Dig Yourself.
–Jim Ruland (TKO)
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CROWD, THE:
Letter Bomb: CD
This record is a re-release
of the 1996 Letter Bomb LP with
the 1995 Dig Yourself EP as
bonus tracks. Sooo, I never really listened to The Crowd in the past and had to
get a crash course in who they were and their discography. In the end, they get
my vote; this is a very solid record, catchy, poppy, with lots of bitter twists
thrown into the mix. Me like. Twelve years removed from its original release, I’m
sure that these tunes still stand up and sound fresh. Another very welcome
release from TKO.
–The Lord Kveldulfr (TKO)
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CROWD, THE:
Punk Off: CD
You may already know the Crowd from the fucking genius Beach Blvd comp from way back when in 1979, (by the way, that comp might just be the best comp of all time!). Total southern California beach punks, straight from Huntington Beach! Catchy early eighties poppy punk with just the perfect tiny mix of early eighties hardcore. So, I know what you’re thinking, “Sounds great, Maddy, but I’m SURE they totally stink NOW! What are they, dude, like eighty years old?” For the record, I firmly believe that the Sex Pistols reunion sucked. The Buzzcocks new LPs suck. If the Clash ever reunited, that would probably suck, too. But this, this is so damn good! This album doesn’t sound at all like an old band trying to milk what they were doin’ years ago! This sounds new! Great! Exciting! Full of energy, harmonies, punk rock, and a manic whirl of great surf-punk! The perfect album for a summer full of fun! If this were a cereal, it’d be Honey Nut Cheerios – it’s been around for about the same amount of time as the Crowd, and it’s still as good as ever – seriously!
–Maddy (Unity Squad)
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