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Record Reviews1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 | 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
ONE NIGHT BAND:
Way Back Home: CD
Six piece from Montreal that shows a strong love for reggae and ska. A real mellow set of songs that are relaxing to have in the background while you chill. The songs that feature female vocalist Jacinthe really are the highlights and the ones that are the most vibrant. She does a cover of the Aretha Franklin classic “Rescue Me” which has been given the reggae touch. The opening track is also one of her numbers. It almost deceives you to believe that she is the main singer of the band. Not that the main male vocalist is bad, but she adds a tenderness that is striking. This gave me the same mellow vibe I got off the new Aggrolites CD.
–Donofthedead (Stomp)
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ONE NIGHT BAND:
Way Back Home: CD
Canadian ska of the traditional variety is what you get here. It’s clear they know what to do with a horn section, but on the whole they’re not really all that memorable.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Stomp)
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ONE REASON:
Defiance, Ohio: 7”
If you’ve ever listened to This Bike Is a Pipebomb and wished that the woman would sing more, then I have a record for you. One Reason take the right parts from American folk and country (and I mean real country, not the pop country that’s everywhere these days) and fuses them into punk rock seamlessly, much in the way This Bike Is a Pipebomb does. And, of course, it’s primarily bold, female vocals. I reviewed their full-length positively about a year ago, and that CD got a lot of turns in my stereo. I think this seven inch is even better. The songs are tighter, the vocals sound more confident, and there’s a good deal of variation between the four songs. I’m keeping my eye on this band.
–Sean Carswell (One Reason)
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ONE REASON:
Mountains: 7"
Three catchy poppy, kinda emoish songs from a place called Cleveland, Mississippi. When I wrote “emoish,” I didn’t mean it in a Mineral or Christie Front Drive kinda way. More of a later Discount mixed with Broadways kinda poppy emotional punk. Great, well-written songs. The first, “The End Never Mattered” is my favorite, and the most catchy of the three, but after a few listens, I ended up liking the entire 7” quite a bit. It has a Plan-It-X feel to it, and after further reading, I found they have a release on Plan-It-X South.
–Guest Contributor (Salinas)
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ONE REASON:
Mountains: 7"
Three catchy poppy, kinda emoish songs from a place called Cleveland, Mississippi. When I wrote “emoish,” I didn’t mean it in a Mineral or Christie Front Drive kinda way. More of a later Discount mixed with Broadways kinda poppy emotional punk. Great, well-written songs. The first, “The End Never Mattered” is my favorite, and the most catchy of the three, but after a few listens, I ended up liking the entire 7” quite a bit. It has a Plan-It-X feel to it, and after further reading, I found they have a release on Plan-It-X South.
–Guest Contributor (Salinas)
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ONE REASON:
All Rivers Run South; All Roads Lead Home: CD
I picked this up only
because it’s on Plan-It-X, and they’re the label that introduced me to Against
Me! and This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb. One Reason is kinda what you hope for out of
this label – there’s a tinge of Woodie Guthrie, an attitude of Joe Hill, and
enough rock’n’roll to keep you interested. This band is wedged so well between
Hot Water Music and Against Me! that you’d expect No Idea to put out this
album, but that’s not to say it’s too derivative. One Reason definitely are
hashing out their own sound, and the female vocals on this are flat-out tough.
The high point is “Rest Stop,” a dazzling, intelligent song about stopping at
the Trail of Tears Rest Stop in Illinois (“do you really have to commemorate
500 years of oppression with a building full of human waste?”). The low point
is the Bruce Springsteen cover. In between the highs and lows is a lot of good
shit.
–Sean Carswell (Plan-It-X)
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ONE RIVER:
A Breathing Will: 7”
With my first look on the band name, I figured they would be a ‘90s grunge Sub Pop band or modern day emo. But while doing some shopping at Some Strange Music, I was told that I would really like this. I gave it a shot. If I wasn’t told about this, I would have never had bought it. Once the needle dropped, I got slapped back to reality with a burst of thrash that made my eyes water. I need to sit down for this one! The music is so intense from these Japanese masters. Songs blow past my ears like a quick gust of wind that suddenly disappears. The vocals are passionate and screamed to the breaking point. The music encourages and compliments their assault. And all this comes with a well put together package which includes a fold out cover, sticker and even a printed record sleeve. A big thanks to Matt Average for the tip!
–Donofthedead (Revive)
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ONE RIVER:
A Breathing Will: 7"
With my first look on the band name, I figured they would be a '90s grunge Sub Pop band or modern day emo. But while doing some shopping at Some Strange Music, I was told that I would really like this. I gave it a shot. If I wasn’t told about this, I would have never had bought it. Once the needle dropped, I got slapped back to reality with a burst of thrash that made my eyes water. I need to sit down for this one! The music is so intense from these Japanese masters. Songs blow past my ears like a quick gust of wind that suddenly disappears. The vocals are passionate and screamed to the breaking point. The music encourages and compliments their assault. And all this comes with a well put together package which includes a fold out cover, sticker and even a printed record sleeve. A big thanks to Matt Average for the tip!
–Donofthedead (Revive)
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ONE SMALL STEP FOR LANDMINES:
Self-titled: CD
Whenever I see a whale on the cover art for a record, I automatically wonder how hippy-dippy the record will be. And is it just me, or do prog rock bands put an inordinate amount of whales on their record covers? I’m not claiming that O.S.S.F.L. are a prog rock band, but their brand of rock’n’roll is a whole lot more complex than this three-chord simpleton can properly describe (and it’s not hippy-dippy). So, out of laziness or stupidity, I turn to the Mighty Onesheet: “angular-yet-driving guitar lines, tangling…catchy-yet-sophisticated songs” with “jazzy, rapid-fire drums and an explosively propulsive bass line.” That sums up the tunes, and in the end I liked how it all came together. Imagine eating a really tasty cheeseburger in a five-star restaurant: simple, solid food with a wonderfully complex and ornate presentation.
–The Lord Kveldulfr (Civil Defense League, www.civildefenseleague.ne)
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ONE STEP SHIFT:
Chemical Burn: 7”
I’m at odds on this one. At times, I like it and at other times, I want to kick my own ass for liking it. When they slow down, it’s really soggy mathy rock that’s less intimidating than a second grader with bad eyesight. When it speeds up, like landscape seen from an accelerating car, all the angles seem to add up and get interesting, in a Jawbox, Nomeansno smartguy punk rock sort of way. Not abysmal, not an emo turd, but not fully endorsed, either.
–Todd Taylor (Loder Brock)
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ONE STEP SHIFT:
Chemical Burn: 7"
I’m at odds on this one. At times, I like it and at other times, I want to kick my own ass for liking it. When they slow down, it’s really soggy mathy rock that’s less intimidating than a second grader with bad eyesight. When it speeds up, like landscape seen from an accelerating car, all the angles seem to add up and get interesting, in a Jawbox, Nomeansno smartguy punk rock sort of way. Not abysmal, not an emo turd, but not fully endorsed, either.
–Todd Taylor (Loder Brock)
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ONE TIME ANGELS:
Sound of a Restless City: CD
Post-Husker punky pop that was pleasant enough to stay on the player for its duration.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Adeline)
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ONE TIME ANGELS:
…Tricks and Dreams: CDEP
This is a six song offering from a melodic rock band hailing from California. I’m pretty sure that this is Doug from Screw32 on vocals and guitar. I have no reference point for this, because it’s not the kind of music I ordinarily listen to. The tempos are midpaced but things pick up considerable in the second half. The songs are definitely well structured and the vocal hooks are smart and well placed. It might interest some people that Jesse Michaels sings backup vocals on this. The guitar work is also interesting. The fourth song, “Two Steps to the Edge,” really grabbed me, as it has a sort of mod-meets-XTC feel to it. I’ll definitely put this song on a mix tape this summer. I would definitely recommend this to fans of post-punk melodic rock. –Yemin
–Guest Contributor (Lookout!)
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ONE TIME ANGELS:
Sound of a Restless City: CD
Post-Husker punky pop that was pleasant enough to stay on the player for its duration.
–Jimmy Alvarado (Adeline)
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ONE TRICK COBRA / SUS:
Split: 7"
This is a split release of raging thrash/hardcore from two bands from Corpus Christi, Texas. Sound quality is decent and both bands do their style quite well. The record comes with a CD version containing the same songs, so that is a bonus. This would be right at home on Deep Six Records and fans of bands like Manchurian Candidates would find a whole lot to like here.
–Mike Frame (TFC)
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ONE WIN CHOICE:
DefineRedefine: CDEP
These five songs sound halfway between Rise Against on Revolutions Per Minute and the more straightforward Avail songs, which lands them in Strike Anywhere territory. While that sounds good and all, there’s some weak voice work going on here: harmonies that never really gel, some ill-chosen vocal melodies, and some angry screams that never really sound angry as much as a little whiny. I reviewed this band’s other album, and I said the exact same thing about the vocals. There’s some kind of oomph that the band’s lacking in the singing department. Maybe they’ll get it next time around.
–Adrian (Jump Start)
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ONE WIN CHOICE:
Conveyor: CD
I was a bit dubious of this one when the press one-sheet listed Rise Against as an influence. But the fearless reviewers here at the ‘cake have to keep an open mind, correct? Musically, everything was tight and moved along forcefully from song to song. I was hoping for a bit more melody in the vocals department. This issue seemed to be remedied as the record played on. “Who Threw Out the Itinerary?” and “Frame Your Favorite Pictures” were the choice cuts here for me. May take a while to grow on me, but it’s a good effort here.
–Sean Koepenick (Jumpstart)
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ONELINEDRAWING:
Visitor: CD
Lonely guy with a guitar and no friends unless he needs something
–Donofthedead (Jade Tree)
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ONELINEDRAWING:
Visitor: CD
Basic math for the promotionally impaired: promo CD - liner notes = coaster.
–Puckett (Jade Tree)
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ONELINEDRAWING:
The Volunteers: CD
Well, Jade Tree
finally stopped sending advance releases and started sending totally thrashed
promo copies. For the life of me, I couldn’t get the liner notes out of the
digipak… but that’s okay, because the tray in the digipak was shattered anyway.
I consider these things to be fucking shames because I actually like this. It’s nothing fancy, nor is it new.
It’s just well done, introspective, melodic indie rock which will fit perfectly
into the record collections of people who like the Kinsellas’ work (see:
American Football, Owen, etc.). While all of these songs are pretty, drifting
musical pieces which frequently feature breathy vocals and most seem like the
perfect thing to put on when putting on the moves on that special someone for
the very first time, some of them are just slightly too energetic (see: New End
Original) to serve as background music. With all of that said, these songs are
simply too immediately catchy to think that this is a record that I would still
like in a year or two—they’re too immediately present and enjoyable; as most of
us know, the albums we like best are the ones that we have to fight with for a
while. This record is simply too genial to take a swing at me on the first
listen. While that speaks well of its craft, it doesn’t say much about its
staying power or whether it will mean much to me in the future.
–Puckett (Jade Tree)
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ONELINEDRAWING:
Visitor: CD
Basic math for the promotionally impaired: promo CD - liner notes = coaster.
–Puckett (Jade Tree)
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ONELINEDRAWING:
The Volunteers: CD
Well, Jade Tree finally stopped sending advance releases and started sending totally thrashed promo copies. For the life of me, I couldn’t get the liner notes out of the digipak… but that’s okay, because the tray in the digipak was shattered anyway. I consider these things to be fucking shames because I actually like this. It’s nothing fancy, nor is it new. It’s just well done, introspective, melodic indie rock which will fit perfectly into the record collections of people who like the Kinsellas’ work (see: American Football, Owen, etc.). While all of these songs are pretty, drifting musical pieces which frequently feature breathy vocals and most seem like the perfect thing to put on when putting on the moves on that special someone for the very first time, some of them are just slightly too energetic (see: New End Original) to serve as background music. With all of that said, these songs are simply too immediately catchy to think that this is a record that I would still like in a year or two—they’re too immediately present and enjoyable; as most of us know, the albums we like best are the ones that we have to fight with for a while. This record is simply too genial to take a swing at me on the first listen. While that speaks well of its craft, it doesn’t say much about its staying power or whether it will mean much to me in the future.
–Puckett (Jade Tree)
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ONES, THE:
Self-titled: CD
Egads, Meatloaf would be in trouble if he wasn’t already, you know, Meatloaf.
–Megan Pants (Waxvaccine)
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ONES, THE:
Self-titled: CD
This was on and off for me. The opening track “Yeah, You Make It,” is so catchy in that ‘70s pop kind of way that gets me so easily. Other tracks seem to fall a bit flat and into boring territory. When it’s good, I want to hear more, when it’s not, I barely know it’s there.
–Megan Pants (Wax Vaccine)
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ONES, THE:
Shame Shame Shame b/w Tunin’ in Tokyo: 7”
I can’t tell if they’re trying out some originals before they go full-on into their six-hour rendition of Zappa’s “Plastic People” or if they’re just trying to get airtime on their local classic rock station. Either way, there’s just way too much of a flagrant “we’re a quirky rock’n’roll band, look at us!” feel to this thing. You know how the Murder City Devils almost had a convoluted Lynyrd Skynyrd southern rock approach on some of their later songs? Post In Name and Blood, I mean. Well, consider the Ones to be the Murder City Devils Ultra Lite. All the weirdness with none of the threat. I feel bad for the guitarist; he’s wearing a Poison Idea shirt and you can’t help but wonder if a band of this nature is particularly suited for a guy who would wear something like that. (Endnote: I just read a review of this record in MRR and it turns out a guy in this band actually was IN Poison Idea. Not sure what he’s doing in this band, but one does wonder. Helping out a sick friend live out his last dream of rock’n’roll stardom? Fulfilling his community service obligations? Regardless, knowing at least one band member’s pedigree still doesn’t manage to improve this record, even a little.)
–Keith Rosson (Snakehead (no address))
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