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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 | 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
GRIFT, THE:
If Sorrow Could Avail: CD
I like that, in case you couldn’t figure out what kind of music it is, at the end of the first song, they go, “Hardcore!” Sounds like what I think Limp Biscuit would sound like, but with a little more meat. It’s a good thing they’re “working the grift day in and day out,” because I doubt they’re going anywhere with music. Then again, I don’t think it’s meant for me seeing how it’s for “those who are from the streets and those who work the grift and all those who live and breathe hardcore and punk.” See, I don’t even think I really know what it means to grift, and, though I do love me some hardcore and punk, I’m still breathing air.
–Megan Pants (www.roacho13.net)
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GRIM FANDAGO:
IV. Eat Not the Heart: CD
Despite the low-rent heavy metal cover, these guys are more interested in treading the well-worn emo path, with a bit more punk in their delivery than others. Thought this kinda stuff had finally died a quiet death and was replaced by post-Gang Of Four new wave as the hip style to run into the ground, but apparently I was mistaken.
–Jimmy Alvarado (www.myspace.com/rabbitrecords)
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GRIM FANDAGO:
Birthmark Blues: CD
A four-piece from Australia comes at you from different angles and throws a few curveballs here. I’m hearing Jawbox-like guitar with some Off With Their Heads-type vocals. I like some of the song titles like “Dirt Doesn’t Need Luck” and “Horseland.” These guys are earnest and you can tell they are serious about this endeavor. I endorse this one and look for more sonic desserts from this band soon.
–Sean Koepenick (Poison City)
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GRIM FANDANGO:
Birthmark Blues: CD
Grim Fandango’s sound is a bit hard to pin down, and, to their credit, their music really defies easy categorization. For the most part, it has (in my mind) heaping helpings of late ‘80s Minneapolis sound that’s been filtered through the funnel of ‘90s harder-edged emo bands. But then there are these nice noodly bits on the guitar that sound like the Minutemen playing new wave classics. And through it all, the record has the herky-jerky movement of a manual clutch car being driven by a novice, but in a good way—the songs lurch back and forth pleasingly and then smooth out and pick up speed once the clutch gets popped on the chorus. This would be a great record to pop into the disc changer on random with the Pixies and the good Replacements records.
–The Lord Kveldulfr (Poison City)
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GRIM FANDANGO / KILL WHITEY:
Split: CD
Grim Fandango: Emo/pop/indie stuff with a singer that should really find another hobby. Kill Whitey: They sound like they take their cues from mid-‘80s college punk stuff and, to their credit, they’re pretty good at it.
–Jimmy Alvarado (rabbitrecords.cjb.net)
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GRIMPLE:
Self-titled: CD
Pretty straightforward Gilman Street hardcore. I would’ve been all over this fourteen or fifteen years ago, but these days there’re just too many bands that have gone down this exact road and, frankly, I’ve heard too many of ’em to be impressed.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Prank)
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GRIMPLE:
Self-titled: CD
Pretty straightforward Gilman Street hardcore. I would’ve been all over this fourteen or fifteen years ago, but these days there’re just too many bands that have gone down this exact road and, frankly, I’ve heard too many of ’em to be impressed.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Prank)
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GRIN AND BEAR IT:
Self-titled: EP
This reminds me a lot of hardcore in the mid-’90s; somewhere between hardcore thrash and powerviolence. The era of bands like Hellnation, Coleman, and Nema. This stuff is fast, noisy, and chaotic! They have some mid tempo parts to hook you in, but, for the most, part it’s played at eye-blurring speeds. Though “Scared” (best song on the record!) slows it down and gets dark and brooding with a nice bass riff that pulls you in before it is eventually blown to hell and back, obliterated the crush of speed. The riff that comes in between the speedy bits of “Deserve” is great. Simple, but effective, and they pull it off smoothly. The drums are wailed on, same with guitars. It makes me wonder if they ever fuck themselves up, such as mash fingers, or slice a hand, with all the thrashing.
–Matt Average (Allergic To Fun, allergictofun.blogspot.com)
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GRIPPER / THE DESTRUCTORS:
Les Fleurs du Mal: CD
Gripper: There’s definitely a reminiscent feeling of playing Tony Hawk games again right now. I’m not sure if this is a bad thing. Because, you know, those soundtracks were pretty fucking killer. The Destructors: Every time I think I know about all the classic punk bands, I find another that’s been around for thirty years. The Destructors have been on and off the radar since 1977 and their discography is huge! I’m amazed I haven’t noticed them before. A little bit Swingin’ Utters, a little bit Circle Jerks. I’m cool with this.
–Bryan Static (Rowdy Fargo, no address)
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GRITA O MUERE / TROPIEZO:
Futuro Precario: CD
Grita O Muere: Hyper-speed thrash from Colombia. Overt metallic wanking is kept at bay and the singer opts for screaming fetus mode rather than Cookie Monster. Tropiezo: Their five tunes here are a bit more subdued that some of the crazy, wild tempo changes stuff this Puerto Rican juggernaut has released elsewhere, but the tunes are still zippy, pissed off, and miles above the lion’s share of hardcore bands you’re gonna come across. Great split here.
–Jimmy Alvarado (discosdehoy@yahoo.com)
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GRITS:
Self-titled: 7"
Noisy punk from North Carolina. Kinda weird, kinda gritty in a let’s strip it down to basics and build it back up again kind of way.
–Jim Ruland (Lunchbox)
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GRIZZLEY ENDS, THE:
The Unfortunate Demise of…: CD
One of the things I love about writing for Razorcake is that I have no idea who most of the bands are that we cover. Until I started writing for Razorcake, I had never heard of Recess Records or Tiltwheel or Toys That Kill. I enjoy the opportunity to get to know some new bands, and the Razorcake podcast has also helped introduce me to some stuff. All that is to say that I still don’t know how to accurately describe a lot of the bands we cover, but I am pretty sure The Grizzley Ends would fit in fairly well. Their songs are short (ten tracks in thirteen minutes), and have a good mix of punk with some harmonies. I could try and drop some names as far as similarities, but I’m sure my lack of who’s who and who’s cool in the scene would probably just scare people off. These four gents from England are good at what they’re doing and their ability to blitz through everything doesn’t leave room for any bullshit. It’s quick and simple and probably something that should be played on a Razorcake podcast. Right, Todd? (wink)
–Guest Contributor (Squinty Joe)
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GROGGS, THE:
3D: 7”
Bad ass jams from these Santa Cruz garage punks, featuring vocals and guitar heroics from DIY champion Keith Thompson (who books shows and does sound all over town), these are four fun-filled, ragged rockers loaded with Nuggets riffs. And the reverb-drenched vocals add a bit of timelessness to the tunes. This is a fun record from the music, down to the packaging: pretty slab of grey marbled vinyl, sleeve artwork in 3-D with a pair of 3-D glasses thrown in, and a download card to boot! Released on the band’s own label, Church Of Sound.
–Jeff Proctor (thegroggs.com)
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GROINOIDS:
Radiobeat Sessions: 7” EP
I remember gettin’ the Boston Not L.A. comp at Roadhouse Records not too long after it came out. Although I was immediately drawn to the über-hardcore of Jerry’s Kids and Gang Green, the tune that had the most lasting impact was “Angel” by the Groinoids. Why? They sounded so completely unhinged rather than just pissed off. Simple riff, singer screaming “Chef’s gonna boil,” and it sounded like he’d be just the kinda motherfucker that would crank the oven up and dance around while the unnamed chef did just that. Outside of one other tune, “Empty Skull,” that appeared on the Unsafe at Any Speed comp, I don’t think they ever released anything else and remain one of the more obscure Boston bands from the early ‘80s hardcore scene. Well, it appears someone agreed with my estimation and saw fit to release this five-track collection of tunes recorded for those vaunted compilations of yore, and sweet crispy Christus, is it good. Why on earth Modern Method, XClaim! or any of those other labels back then never saw fit to release this in its entirely back this is a fuggin’ mystery, ’cause this is a veritable hardcore masterpiece, a nice bookend to, say, the Mentally Ill’s Gacy’s Place EP, just as loud and heavy as anything SSD produced in their prime, but with an extra dose of weird to give it some pizzazz. Word is a CD is on the way, and I’m hoping they see fit to send it this way, ’cause I’m gonna wear the grooves down on this pretty goddamned quick.
–Jimmy Alvarado (www.i-dealrecords.com/fatalist)
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GROND:
Steel Coffins: CD
Basic metal from Russia. Not even a Celtic Frost cover could save this disc from what it was destined for: a date with a garbage can. –
–Juan Espinosa (Atomic Carnage, no address)
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GROODIES, THE:
Self-titled: CD
This is punk that's too hardcore to be poppy, but has too many hooks to be hardcore. It's tight and full of energy and not unlike the Lunachicks, but they manage to mix up their song tempos a bit more and rock a little harder. A pretty good first effort. They're awfully talented for how young they are (I don't think any of them are old enough to drink), and they show a lot of promise. Keep your eyes open for these ladies.
–Sean Carswell (Failed Experiment)
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GROODIES, THE:
Self-titled: CD
This is punk that’s too hardcore to be poppy, but has too many hooks to be hardcore. It’s tight and full of energy and not unlike the Lunachicks, but they manage to mix up their song tempos a bit more and rock a little harder. A pretty good first effort. They’re awfully talented for how young they are (I don’t think any of them are old enough to drink), and they show a lot of promise. Keep your eyes open for these ladies.
–Sean Carswell (Failed Experiment)
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GROOVIE GHOULIES:
Go! Stories: CD
Please bear in mind that there is only ONE Groovie Ghoulies album in the universe – the other things you buy every year are just software updates (which is, of course, not to imply that any one Groovie Ghoulies album is more "THE" Ghoulies album than another; the One True Groovie Ghoulies album exists only as a Platonic Ideal, a thought construct that serves as blueprint for that which we experience in the everyday world. Just thought i'd clear that up). That said, let the record show that this is my favorite Ghoulies album of all time for a variety of reasons, one of which is that it's got the best cover (in the top purple wedge, Roach casually maneuvers her lunar module past a rocket ship containing armed, green aliens; in the middle orange wedge, a cheerful red Tyrannosaurus pursues Scampi, who flees across the rugged desert on horseback; and in the bottom blue wedge, an intense purple squid bears down on a scuba-diving Kepi. When YOUR band is able to stave off the assaults of aliens, dinosaurs, and sea monsters and still remain so damn chipper, THEN you can start faulting my logic). Another reason, strange as this may sound, is that it's got the best songs (i actually first heard this at a local record shoppe, and was so taken with the brilliance of the lead-off track, "Let's Do It Again" ["I'm not tired and I'm not bored and I'm not broken and I'm not sore, you ask me what I want? It's more! Let's do it again..."] that, although there were multiple avenues i could have pursued towards the goal of securing a copy without money having to change hands, i bought it on the spot, cash on the barrelhead, 'cause it was so cool [i mean, think about it: Kepi anticipated his own redundancy, acknowledged it, took steps to combat it, then turned it into a positive! Like, high five!]. When i got it home, i decided the record was so great that i wanted my friends to think that i got it as a promo, so i snipped the corner off the album cover. Then, later, i DID get a copy as a promo! I don't know what to make of all that, morally). The entire first side is more or less boss, with peachy backing vocals in "Mess Me Up" (come to think of it, there should be more backing vocals on Groovie Ghoulie records, it'd help fill out the sound. Pop-punk without backing vocals is like pizza without crushed red peppers: It can be done, i guess, but why?), and cool vocal phrasings in the sorta-like-the-Riverdales-song-"I Think About You During the Commercials"-but-way-better "School Is In" compelling me to state that Kepi would be one of the most underrated vocalists in punk rock today if anybody actually bothered to rate him. Now, of course, there is a certain segment of the populace that wonders exactly WHY the world would need a more-or-less G-rated (Kepi does use swear words sometimes to express his GREAT ENTHUSIASM!) hybrid of the Ramones, Misfits, and Riverdales, the tip of my Iceberg of Rebuttal being 1. They're fun and they rock; 2. The band and the band's records never get any worse-sounding regardless of how many times one hears them; and 3. A hundred years from now, everyone reading this is gonna be dust EXCEPT the Ghoulies, because they're freaky undead cartoon characters who will still look twenty-four years old, fit into the same black jeans, and be touring to support their 138th album, 20 Second Century. They're like a cool plastic thing in a landfill: It can be sitting there for an eternity, but all ya gotta do is pull it out and wash the dirt off and it's good as new. Ghoulies are GO-er than ever! BEST SONG TITLE: "Someone Is Always Not Happy" BEST SONG: "The Bay Bridge Club" FANTASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: Once my friend booked the Groovie Ghoulies in his club and he didn't have money to make flyers, so i tried to help him out by putting signs up in front of the venue that said "GROOVY GHOULIES TONIGHT!!!" but they were torn down by angry mobs because i misspelled "Groovie."
–Rev. Norb (Stardumb)
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GROPERS, THE:
Self-Titled: CD
The singer reminds me of DeDe Troit, so it would naturally follow that this strikes me as a more rockin’ UXA. Fairly solid SoCal-by-way-of-Seattle punk rock here.
–Jimmy Alvarado (www.thegropers.com)
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GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT:
Ronald McVomit’s 14 Song Happy Meal: 7” EP
No, it wasn’t the barely competent, female-fronted retro-thrash that comprises the music on this. It wasn’t the sarcasm dripping from the lyrics, either. What sold me on this was the four-page coloring book. Everyone loves to have a reason to bust out the crayons, especially when it involves coloring in pictures of Mickey Mouse being crucified and Ronald puking.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Bacon Town)
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GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT:
Ronald McVomits 14 Song Happy Meal: 7”
Nothing gets me more excited than fourteen songs on a 7”. Especially when one of the songs is called “God Is an A-Hole!” Pretty cool. This is straight-forward, female-fronted punk with a humorous approach to political issues. With Sound Idea’s Bob Suren on bass how could it not rip? Also contains the sickest coloring book ever!
–Daryl Gussin (Bacon Towne)
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GROSS URGE:
Cat Killer: Cassette
Plodding basslines and
doddering drumbeats—possibly played simultaneously by the same guy—while what
sounds like an eleven-year-old kid yelps inanities over the top of it. Does
contain the immortal line, “I don’t like to skate ‘cause it hurts when I fall.”
Limited to fifty.
–Keith Rosson (Baby Carrots)
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GROSS URGE:
A Very Special Cupcake: Cassette
This minimalistic, artsy music exhibits everything from drum machines to what sounds like kid toy instruments. I’d call this an even less accessible bedroom version of Erase Errata. It’s music that delivers a brief retreat from convention.
–N.L. Dewart (Baby Carrot)
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GROUCHO MARXISTS:
Manifesto: CD
Poppy, sloppy shit that
sticks to the roof of your mouth. Kind of annoying and kind of fun at the same
time. By the end of the record, you need to go to the dentist because your head
hurts and you realize that stomaching the Groucho Marxists is painful but worth
the trouble. They do share some similarities to The Ergs! Guitar solos and
basslines that walk up and down the walls that have your eyes searching for an
invisible bouncing ball you will never find, which may be one of the reasons I
actually made it through the entire record. I keep expecting Groucho Marxists
to grow on me like pubic hair, but it hasn’t happened yet. The New Jersey bunch
leaves me wanting more with a little hope that their lyrics will improve and
their next effort will be so catchy it will give me herpes forever, again. And
I don’t care who you are, songs about giving or receiving oral sex are almost
always never amusing. Unless it’s about pubic hair or sexually transmitted
diseases or it ends really, really
badly like somebody farts or pees.
–Gabe Rock (Wrapped In Plastic, no address)
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GROUCHO MARXISTS, THE:
Manifesto!: LP
Chris Pierce’s new band (technically not “new,” but it took a while for the record to come out), who’s a New Jersey legend who’s been in Doc Hopper and Sinkhole, not to mention recorded a bulk of music to come from the New Brunswick/New York City within the past few years. Most of his previous endeavors were heavy on the Descendents/ALL/Cruz Records influence, and this is no different—it’s poppy but with a hard edge, yet with a fun, goofy sense of humor to it. It’s good to hear Chris is still coming up with good stuff like this.
–Joe Evans III (Don Giovanni)
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