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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 | 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
DRIVEN HIGH, THE:
Self-titled: CD
If down and dirty rock'n'roll is your thing and you also like X, this might be your cup of tea.
–Donofthedead (Driven High)
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DRIVER:
Ninth Valley: CD
Fast, thrashy stuff with funny song titles (“Lesbian Seahags from Indiana,” “Midgets Can’t Surf”) and completely unintelligible vocals.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Lookatme Bumpole)
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DRIVER OF THE YEAR:
…Will Destroy You: CD
DOTY is synthy, glam-flavored, bass-heavy; like a funky Talking Heads (they cover “Girlfriend Is Better” just in case you don’t come to that conclusion on your own). It has one of the trippiest album covers I’ve ever seen. Seriously, it makes me kind of uncomfortable (but since I assume that was their aim, cheers). –Sarah Shay
–Guest Contributor (Future Appletree/Nail In The Coffin)
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DRIVEWAY SPEEDING:
Reasons Are Not Answers: CDEP
Through the years I have really latched onto certain labels, Crackle being one of them. Even with genres that I might not like, they have released bands that I enjoy. I feel like they have a kindred spirit with my taste in music. A new band out of the UK, this band has members from bands that I have enjoyed from the past like Servo (who are incredible!) and Ohno Express. I have heard references to Leatherface thrown around. I can’t use that one. I have no releases from said band and have made no effort on my part to listen to them. I have seen them once live. But what I do know is that these guys know how to keep things mellow but write some great songs with a good sense of melody. While keeping things on the raw side, the magic of the music carries the flag in a bold manner. Like later period Hüsker Dü and what I know of the Replacements, this band play a melodic rock that has enough elements of punk to keep me satisfied.
–Donofthedead (Crackle)
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DRIZZLE:
Self-titled: CD
The cover art screams
Flogging Molly-loving pirates! The music contained within, however, sounds more
like dirty Pabst-stained basement show punk rock. These guys would be at home
playing shows with Scared Of Chaka, Dillinger Four, Witches With Dicks and the
like. Not too shabby for a band that’s been around for over nine years (per the
website).
–Mr. Z (Moresmartthanyou)
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DROGUES, THE:
No Facts That Don’t Fit: CD
I picked this up because of the artwork – really cool bees. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t the Big Boys meets Talking Heads (who I like both) that I got. At this point, I’m not that taken by it, but it has the potential to possibly grow on me.
–Megan Pants (Waxbrain)
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DROP DEAD/TOTALITAR:
: Split 7"
What a great combo for a split! I have always liked Drop Dead. They are fast but unique. They always seem to be a step above their peers. The two LPs I have by them are pure classics. They contribute six songs on their side. I believe you can only put about 7-1/2 minutes of music, max, per side on a 7" record. So you know that they are giving you a mass quantity of manic thrash for your gritting teeth to enjoy. Swedish legends, Totalitar, round out this split with their brand of crust meets Dis-core. Three songs that are abrasive as sandpaper and as energetic as a new set of batteries. Two different interpretations of the international madness we call punk.
–Donofthedead (Prank)
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DROP OUTS, THE:
Nobody Likes You: CD
Yet another group of Ramones/Queers worshippers and a whiny, annoying singer to boot.
–Jimmy Alvarado (.home.net/brucemonkey" target=_blank>http://dropouts.home.net/brucemonkey)
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DROPGUN:
Devil Music: CD
Another DIY gem from Ohio, this time, Akron. Swaggering punk with cock-rock guitars, driving bass and drums, and gruff, yowling vocals. Overflowing with hormones, punch your way to the front of the stage and rock the hell out.
–Jessica Thiringer (www.dropgun.com—how about putting that on your CD, genius?)
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DROPKICK MURPHY:
Live on St. Patrick: CD
Three days of drinking, rabid fans, playing in your hometown, guest artists, and St. Patrick's Day is a recipe for a good recording session for a live release. Dropkick fans have probably already purchased this. For others on the fringes, this is a good sampler to get a taster. Their blend of street punk mixed with Irish pride has been accepted by many. Song after song, you can hear in the background that the music is embraced with passion by the audience on this recording. It shows that the band has reached the status and expertise of captivating an audience. In all its fun and glory, a fun listen.
–Donofthedead (Hellcat)
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DROPKICK MURPHYS:
The Singles Collection Vol. 2: CD
The thing that gets me about Dropkick Murphys is that I think that they are a great band, yet find myself annoyed by them much of the time. The band is tight and the songwriting is solid, but I just have a hard time getting by the wishy-washy Irish shtick. I mean, I just can’t handle it when a band is ripping it up only to stop and bust out the tin whistle and mandolin. It just kills the momentum. That said, this record is full of the type of Dropkick tunes that I love to hear. Balls-out, sing-along tunes that compliment multiple pints at the local shithole. Strong rockers with a good dose of covers of the likes of CCR, Gang Green, and Stiff Little Fingers make this record a worthy listen. Be warned that they do delve into the Irishism a bit here. I guess they kind of have to at this point but it’s okay though because it’s far outweighed by the good stuff.
–Ty Stranglehold (Hellcat)
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DROPKICK MURPHYS:
The Warrior's Code: CD
The theme of a lot of these songs seems to be if we stand together, we can’t fail. Something that seems reassuring with all the instability in today’s climate. “Your Spirit’s Alive” asks all the fans to come along for the ride. “Sunshine Highway” tells the story when times were simpler, and the most important thing was a good cigar and a cold beverage. “Citizen CIA” is straight ahead hardcore that Gang Green would raise their Bud cans to in approval. The best song on here is “Take It and Run.” Al Barr spits out his vocal parts with pure venom: “Space heaters and welfare checks are as good as it gets/in this land of hard lessons.” Then bassist Ken Casey replies, “Yeah I’ve got problems/ can’t you see I’m trying to solve them?” Best hard luck song to come along since X’s “Fourth of July.” Nicely done boys.
–Sean Koepenick (Hellcat)
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DROPKICK MURPHYS:
The Meanest of Times: CD
Great cover, great package, but the songs! Killer tunes: “Famous for Nothing,” “The State of Massachusetts,” and “Shattered” are the blast from the stairwells tracks. “(F)lannigan’s Ball” boasts some vocal help from a couple of The Pogues. Once again, this band delivers. Just saw them live on this tour and they bring the goods. So go see them and pick up this CD. You’ll get your money’s worth, pal!
–Sean Koepenick (Born & Bred, No address)
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DROPKICK MURPHYS:
Blackout: CD
The first Dropkick Murphys album, Do or Die, was an amazing album. I still listen to it. The five or six CDs they’ve released since then pale in comparison. Not only that, but they seem to be getting progressively worse. They have a good formula. It’s fun to sing along with their anthems. The songs are catchy and tough, sometimes funny and sometimes poignant. They still take the best elements of the Pogues and the Clash and the Business and make it sound good. They’re just not covering any new ground, and they’re not developing as a band. If I heard this album and I’d never heard anything before by the Dropkicks or by any other band that sounds like the Dropkicks, I’d really like it. But I have heard Do or Die and I have heard all the bands that have influenced the Dropkicks and all the bands that the Dropkicks have influenced, and Blackout just sits in the middle of that pile. It’s not bad. To tell the truth, I kinda like it as background music. Mostly, though, these guys are too talented to wallow in the mediocrity that they’re wallowing in.
–Sean Carswell (Hellcat)
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DROPKICK MURPHYS:
Sing Loud, Sing Proud!: CD
Another great release from these Micks. Included are tracks with Shane MacGowan and Colin McFaull (Cock Sparrer) on vox, which make for a great combination with Al Barr.
–Guest Contributor (Hellcat)
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DROPKICK MURPHYS:
Signed and Sealed in Blood: CD
Hot off the presses, Boston’s everyman band returns with a new record. Shout-along anthems, rowdy party rockers, and the usual humorous lyrics here and there make this an engaging listen. There’s no unified theme this time, but I think that helps to make the whole outing a bit tighter on this go-round. If you were expecting not to hear songs about drinking, then look elsewhere. But if you take the time to dig into songs like “Don’t Tear Us Apart” and “End of the Night,” you will be richly rewarded. Plus, “The Season’s upon Us” is the best rock X-mas jingle since “Father Christmas.” You can put that in your pipe and smoke it.
–Sean Koepenick (Born And Bred, management@dropkickmurphys.com)
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DROPSKOTS, THE:
Self-titled: CD
By-the-numbers modern poppy hardcore. They’re fast, tight and have all the requisite parts to ensure they’ll become huge radio stars, but I still lost interest by the third song.
–Jimmy Alvarado (King Bee)
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DROPSKOTS, THE:
More Seriouslyer: CD
These guys are staying true to their late ‘90s era pop punk influences on this CD. All thirteen tracks sound like a mash up of Blink 182 during their Cheshire Cat days and FenixTx with metal riffs dispersed throughout. There are plenty of anthem-swelling songs here, many of which are odes to laments about girls, a la track titles “Walking for Poontang” and “Forgetter.” With lyrics such as, “Burn down the bridge just for you/ no need to cross that misery,” I could see this music being in one of those new low budget American Pie flicks.
–N.L. Dewart (Zodiac Killer)
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DROSE:
A Voice: 7” EP
Artful dirge rock with agonized vocals and the minimalist of guitar parts largely consisting of deliberate strums and single note sustaining/tweaking. At times, it comes across like an avant-garde mash up of the Melvins and Tool. Though, as much as I appreciate and enjoy unconventional approaches to music, this is one of those records I can’t help but feel slips right through my fingers.
–Juan Espinosa (Self-released, thedustinrose@gmail.com)
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DROWNING WITH OUR ANCHORS:
Breathing Lessons: 7”
Due to his encyclopedic knowledge and cyborg-like retrieval capacity regarding all things emo, I decided to consult David the Brit on this one. He said that the high/low vocal arrangements were very similar to Yaphet Kotto (with one of the vocalists apparently being a dead ringer for one of the dudes from Under A Dying Sun) while the record as a whole was very colored with a Funeral Diner flavor. Me, I just thought it was a decent, if a bit long-winded, seven inch—the quiet guitar buildups were nice, but by the time they got to the vocal duelings and instrumental gunfights I’d felt like I’d swam in this particular pool plenty of times before. Features members of Bullets In and Burial Year.
–Keith Rosson (Commodity Fetish)
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DROWNINGMAN:
Don’t Push Us When We’re Hot: CD
How about Paint It Black if they were more tech and less positive? Or a band like JR Ewing if they had to listen to nothing but Cut the Shit a week before they went into the studio? What I mean is, there’s the bouncing, spit-flying-through-the-air feel of old and new school hardcore at work here, but it’s an element that’s constantly fighting for dominance over something a lot darker and more precise, like if Dillinger Escape Plan were all considering mass suicide and wanted to put out a concept album about it. Don’t Push Us… is both catchy and angular, welcoming and incredibly alienating all at once. They’re smart, they’re pissed off, and as songs like “Dude Status: Revoked” and “Major Disappointment Reporting for Duty” document, you can write songs that are both reasonably magnetic and ugly as fuck.
–Keith Rosson (Thorp)
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DROWNINGMAN:
Learn to Let It Go: CD
Okay, here is an open call to all of you to have an open debate. The topic is emo and why I should like it. All of you that are fans, please show me your wisdom and ignite the candle of interest in me. Second topic is why this band does not have emo tendencies. I hear it in the music. Tell me why I shouldn’t think this as an emo sub-genre. To pick one side, I hear an H2O meets Bouncing Souls thing going. But on the other side of the debate there is that tuneless drone that I hear in emo releases that is unmistakable to these ears. Also, the pictures of tulips on the cover does not strike me as a punk rock subject to use in photography. So here it is. I am calling all you fools out to try and sway. Look in the magazine or website and find my contact information. Write me and tell me your position. I will respond.
–Donofthedead (Law of Inertia)
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DRUG CULTURE:
Self-titled: EP
Hardcore that draws from the past couple decades as well as building on the present. The sound is tense and often speedy. They don’t really go into the thrashy side of things, but do hit some speeds to underscore their urgency. The time changes and constant simmer keep things interesting. My favorite song of the five is the opener, “Prescribe,” with the lyrics and presence of the bass that snakes around sinisterly in the mix. That’s not to say the rest of the songs are not good. Quite the contrary. All the songs on here rip. It’s like they build in intensity with each track. “Slaveships” is a burner, and then along comes “To Cope,” which ratchets the power up about ten more notches. “McKinley” backs off a little bit, but the fire is constant and the change of pace with something just ever-so-slightly slower with a few time changes only adds to the overall punch and crunch of this one-sided affair. Is there more to come? It’s a question I ask myself as this record ends.
–Matt Average (Mind Melt Ent, mindmeltent.com)
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DRUG PROBLEM:
Self-titled: LP
This is a proper vinyl issue of a tape this New Zealand band released in 2009. When it was given to me, I was told it was “like a more extreme Dystopia,” and while they are missing key components of the comparison (the guitar tone, etc.), the feel of the music reminds me a lot of the first time I heard Dystopia. The bulk of the record is a lurching, lumbering mess; slow but moving ahead with an energy that makes it feel like it might just fall over on top of itself. The fast parts are interspersed at irregular intervals, and don’t do much to relieve the tension. Listening to this album actually hurts, it makes me feel claustrophobic. This is the soundtrack to waking up every day and having to work a job you hate because you have to survive, and wondering if the tradeoff is even worth it. This band broke up in 2010, so I feel like this record is probably flying below the radar in the U.S., but if sludge or powerviolence is your thing, this record is more than worth the effort of tracking down.
–Ian Wise (Diseased Audio, diseasedaudio.blogspot.com)
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DRUGLORDS OF THE AVENUES:
Sings Songs: CD
Johnny “Peebucks” Bonnel is back with another side project that’s familiar and strange. Faster and less folksy than Filthy Thieving Bastards, though their version of “Drug Lords of the Avenues” on Pappy Was a Pistol is virtually the same as the one that appears here, only muddier with more feedback. Good old fashioned Bay Area punk rock’n’roll.
–Jim Ruland (Red Scare, myspace.com/redscarepunk)
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