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Showing posts from January, 2011

Review: Various Artists - "Fat Music Vol. 7: Harder, Fatter + Louder"

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Like Jesus Christ and the slap bracelet fad, what once was dead is back again. After eight years of absence filled with various benefit comps, online samplers and other intangibles, the Fat Music series returns to the compact disc format stronger than ever. When you really think about it, assembling an outstanding collection of songs should be a piece of cake for a label with the roster of quality bands Fat is able to boast. And an outstanding collection of songs is exactly what you get on Fat Music Vol. 7: Harder, Fatter + Louder!. The compilation enters with Old Man Markley in the same way their Fat Wreck debut Guts n’ Teeth begins: the bluegrass harmonies of “For Better or Worse”. With a pattering banjo and spinning fiddle, Old Man Markley shows just what the buzz has been about with a song that’s actually vaguely reminiscent of Guttermouth’s “Foot-Long”...for better or worse. The Swingin’ Utters deliver the title track of their excellent Brand New Lungs 7-inch, while the Mad Caddie

Review: Fire at Will - "Hoping for the Best...Expecting the Worst"

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Fire at Will? Who’s Will? And what did he do that we should be firing at him? With a title like Hoping for the Best...Expecting the Worst, you’d assume they’d be firing at Alphaville and their attempts to stay “Forever Young”. Actually, Fire at Will is a French hardcore band. Musically, a very good French hardcore band. But unfortunately, still a French hardcore band, which is the main problem with Hoping for the Best...Expecting the Worst. Their grip of the English language is not as developed as contemporary Francophone counterparts Nine Eleven, while their vocals are more decipherable than, say, No Guts No Glory. The result is that while the lyrics are not a complete massacre of the English language, they are distracting enough to substantially hinder what would otherwise be a great hardcore record. Everything else on Hoping for the Best...Expecting the Worst is solid, if not splendid. From the riffs to the tones, the guitars set the foundation, at the same time punishing and dynami

Review: The Aquabats - "Hi-Five Soup"

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It’s been almost six years since the Aquabats released an LP. SIX YEARS. Sure, they've been busy with their award-winning Nick Jr. television show, Yo Gabba Gabba!, producing The Aquabats Super Show! and touring the world several times over, but what kind of an excuse is that? Buncha slackers if you ask me. In a December 2010 interview with the OC Weekly, MC Bat Commander Christian Jacobs said Hi-Five Soup! would be “definitely a departure... I guess what we came up with is more Yo Gabba Gabba!-meets-the-Aquabats.” Expounding in AMP Magazine, he claimed, “I think this new record has more stuff like that on it, silly kid stuff, which is fun. It’s less trying to appeal to a little bit older crowd and just trying to appeal to the Halloween costume crowd.” Given that the Aquabats have never exactly been pandering to the inner grown-up in all of us, that should tell you how kid-friendly this album is. It’s got a gang chorus of what sounds like children and/or Brobee’s posse along with a

Review: Mustard Plug / The Beatdown - "Ska is Dead, Vol. 2"

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In the second installment of the Ska Is Dead 7-inch club, Grand Rapids, Mich., veterans Mustard Plug combine with Montreal, Quebec’s the Beatdown for a split effort of Northern ska exposure. Mustard Plug has put out consistently good albums since 1997’s Evildoers Beware and only been on hiatus once since their formal formation in 1991. As a matter of personal preference, it’s always seemed like many of their major-scale songs are instant classics (“Yesterday”, “Go!”, “Beer”, “You”, “Box”, etc.), while their minor-scale offerings (“Never Be”, “Not Again”, “Mendoza”, etc.) are less infectious. Their offering here is kind of in between. “Aye Aye Aye” is, in some ways, a typical third-wave ska song, with fast, flickering upstrokes, intermittent horn blasts and walking bass. There’s no distortion overkill though, and the quality dual horn soloing helps stretch out the structurally standard song. If you generally like Mustard Plug, you’ll probably like this song. The Beatdown contributes a n

Review: No Good Reason - "Far Away"

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No Good Reason is for, lack of a better description, a melodic hardcore band from Almada, Portugal. They sound female-fronted, but upon closer inspection of their MySpace page, it would seem that they’re all male. Maybe they’re just young? That would be one explanation for the high-pitched shouts, but the second song on the record is “College”, a look back at “Four years gone / And I'm glad I used this time to multiply.” Adding to the confusion is that Side A plays at 45 RPM, while Side B plays at 33 RPM. Have you ever heard of such a thing? It’s not a huge deal, but I've never run across it. The record begins with a nice hardcore guitar riff complemented with good tone and a rolling rhythm of kicks and snares. The vocals are distorted (and high-pitched, as previously exhausted), but the melodies are fairly good and the opener “Monument” is concise enough to work. The aforementioned “College” follows with more of the pleasant melodic hardcore guitar introduced in the first song

Review: Vic Ruggiero / the Forthrights - "Ska is Dead, Vol. 3"

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Ska Is Dead began as a tour package in 2004 to prove that even though ska was officially dead to the mainstream, there was still enough interest to warrant large-scale shows from some of the scene’s biggest names and up-and-coming acts. The success of the tour and the five that followed proved ska wasn't really going anywhere, and rode that momentum to an Asian Man Ska Is Dead compilation CD and Skanksgiving celebration. The next logical step? A 7-inch vinyl series featuring the same array of heavy-hitters and newbies the tour has employed. A joint effort by Underground Communique, Asbestos Records and Ska Is Dead, the 7-inch club is a subscription-only series with a set of six split 7-inches. The particular split in question here is that of the prolific Vic Ruggiero of the Slackers/Stubborn All-Stars/Transplants/Crazy Baldhead/etc. and Maddie Ruthless on side A, with Brooklyn rocksteady ensemble the Forthrights taking up the other side. Ruggiero and New Orleans’ Maddie Ruthless co

Review: La Plebe - "Brazo en Brazo"

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La Plebe became one of the biggest buzz bands in punk in 2007 when ¡Hasta La Muerte! was released by growing powerhouse Red Scare, though they've actually been around since 2001 and independently put out several releases since 2003. Even without Red Scare on Brazo en Brazo, La Plebe has another solid record on their hands that is sure to convert even more into believers of the bilingual horn-punk fiesta. The record begins with a traditional canción ranchera in ¾ tempo before kicking in the punk with trompetas blaring and gritas de unidad. Following is “Campesino” (farm worker), which proudly proclaims “¡La tierra para los que la trabajan!” (roughly “The land for those who work it”). The bravado politico continues on the bilingual “Jaulas”, which asserts “Racist fucking pigs that control this democracy / Don’t care about the damage to working-class families / Migrant workers face incarceration / The mentally ill don’t get rehabilitation.” The poppy left-wing punk maintains through “

Review: The Cheifs - "Holly-West Crisis"

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Apparently the Cheifs were a Los Angeles punk band from the early ‘80s who played alongside bands like the Circle Jerks, Black Flag and X. I can’t vouch for them because I wasn't around (well, maybe I was an idea), but judging from the raw, granular recordings and primitive punk disposition, I’d say that sounds about right. From the style and melodies, the Cheifs actually sound closer to late ‘70s L.A. punk bands like the Germs or Fear or Angry Samoans. They packed in too much melody to really be called hardcore and lacked the austerity of stalwarts like Black Flag and Uniform Choice. In place of the raw aggression and minimalism is developed musicianship and sugary multi-vocal melodies that put them closer in style to their neighbors to the south in Carlsbad, the Dils. Songs like “Eddie’s Revenge” and the title track, “Holly-West Crisis”, demonstrate a songwriting that seems more rooted in traditional pop than the unorthodox structures employed by early hardcore bands. Lyrically,

Review: Pacer - "No. 1"

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trans·po·si·tion [trans-puh-zish-uh n] 6. Mathematics . a permutation of a set of elements that interchanges two elements and leaves the remaining elements in their original positions. I guess for a means of drawing parallels, you have to trace the UK’s Pacer to their former band, the Steal, a melodic hardcore act in the same vein as Kid Dynamite and Lifetime, whom they actually toured with. Following the breakup of the Steal, members Mark and Dave went on to birth a slightly less hardcore, more pop-punk-influenced band called Pacer: a transposition not unlike the origin of None More Black, with nuances ignored for comparison’s sake. Much more straightforward than None More Black in stylistic tendencies, Pacer actually aligns closer with gruff punkers like Banner Pilot or the Menzingers. Classic chord progressions and poppy but occasionally harsh melodies comprise the seven tracks that make up their No. 1 EP. This is especially noticeable on closer “The Long Drop”, a mid-tempo rocker w

Review: Glen Matlock and the Philistines - "Born Running"

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Most know Glen Matlock as the original bassist for the Sex Pistols, who was either booted or left of his own volition depending on who you ask, and eventually replaced with the late John Simon Ritchie a.k.a. Sid Vicious. But Matlock has also put in work with bands like the Damned, the Rich Kids, Iggy Pop and the Faces in his 35 years making music. Here, he combines with members of Chelsea, Generation X, the Rich Kids, the Stereophonics, Public Image Ltd and the Higsons for Glen Matlock & the Philistines’ Born Running. Like many of the more recent albums by former punk originators (Carbon/Silicon, X, etc.), Born Running takes essentially a straight-ahead rock approach comparable to big guitar Americana like Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with steady, energetic rhythms and palm mutes to channel the punk of yesteryear. So, then, it’s not altogether unsurprising to hear traces of Boss devotees like the Hold Steady and the Gaslight Anthem in the booming choruses and guitar lick

Review: Anne Frank Zappa - "Anne Frank Zappa"

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With one of the less clever before-and-afters that have come along, Anne Frank Zappa brings their sloppy, amelodic brand of garage punk to record players everywhere with the release of their debut self-titled 7-inch on Stardumb. Straight outta Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Anne Frank Zappa is the newest act from Jerry Hormone (ex-Ragin’ Hormones, the Apers, the Quotes), Elle Bandita, and Marcel Wiebenga (Das Oath). Borrowing from the Thomas Hobbes School of Punk, Anne Frank Zappa’s rowdy rock ‘n’ roll is nasty, brutish and short. The opener, “I Breathe Fire” clocks in at a swift 1:25 before bleeding seamlessly into the equally concise and repetitive “Inside My Head.” The entirety of Side A checks in at a mere 3:10, concluding with the squealing punk of “A-B-C.” The Side B leadoff is a little catchier, a blitzkrieg bootyshaker called “I Wanna Die for You.” Its successor, “Would You Kill for Me?” passes by before ever really getting going, while “(Hey Baby) Dig My Moves” is so muddled and

Review: Pelican - "What We All Come to Need"

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Why did it take so long for me to review this album, you ask? Well, I kept waiting for the promo company to send me a lyrics sheet, but I never got one. [insert rimshot / crickets chirping awkwardly] In reality, I kept shuffling this disc to the bottom of my pile in the hopes that someone a little more qualified to review this would take up the task. I mean, I really like the Buzzcocks’ “Walking Distance” and that nice little “doo-doo-doo-doo-do-do-do-doo” secret song after the Descendents’ “Thank You.” But when it comes to instrumental music of the stoner, post-metal sludge variety, I know just about as much as your average rube plucked off the street. So if anything, you can credit this review for its genuinely unbiased (and uninformed) reflections on all things related to this release. Rather than attempting to go track-by-track describing the music of one sludgy stoner metal instrumental after another, I think this space would be more effectively spent on sweeping generalizations o

Review: Various Artists - "50" (Stardumb Records)

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The modestly titled 50 is a pop-punk compilation put out by the Netherlands’ Stardumb Records. Never heard of them? Well, 50 would seem like a good opportunity, commemorating the label’s 50th release and marking one of its most significant collections. All of the bands heard here come from Stardumb’s formidable roster of releases, which includes big names like the Groovie Ghoulies and Zatopeks, as well as some of the most offensive and/or sexist releases since the Dwarves (see the Nerds’ ...Just Because She Didn't Wanna Fuck or the split EP Beating Up Schoolgirls). This compilation is rather innocuous in comparison, therefore rendering discussion of the album’s music the chief purpose of this review. Each band here contributes one new song as well as a cover of a song previously released on Stardumb. Side A is all covers, and includes a nice ‘50s surf take on the Groovie Ghoulies classic “Running with Bigfoot” by Peawees, and an excellent cover of the Favorats’ “Surfin’ Surfin’” by

Review: The Dreadnoughts - "Polka's Not Dead"

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Is polka dead? Probably, if the Recording Academy’s recent scrapping of Best Polka Album Grammy Award is any indication. Do the Dreadnoughts care? Probably not. They don’t seem like the type of band to be knocking at the door of any Grammy nominations, plus they get to allude to the classic slogan/overrated album of the Exploited (although, to really draw the parallel, the Dreadnoughts should have foregone the apostrophe and went with Polkas Not Dead). It would be hard to go without mentioning Gogol Bordello in a review of Polka’s Not Dead, but that’s not to say it’s any kind of carbon copy of NYC’s gypsy punk underdogs. Still, when you combine the frenzied snare-kick onslaught of punk rock rhythms with accordions and violins in the years after Eugene Hutz and company staked their claim, avoiding comparisons is futile. However, the Dreadnoughts push forward in other directions with an audacity that’s both admirable and effective. The two-minute a capella sea shanty “Randy Dandy-Oh” fea

Review: Johnny Rev - "Kill the Lights"

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I haven’t heard any of Johnny Rev’s previous material, but based on past reflections, it would seem that they have at least made some improvement in the quality of their musical output. Whereas the afore-linked Not Your Scene featured the production of sought-after mainstay Matt Allison (Lawrence Arms, Alkaline Trio, the Copyrights), the Kill the Lights EP was produced by Dan Precision (Much the Same, Shot Baker, Flatfoot 56), of Rise Against, Break the Silence, and 88 Fingers Louie fame. And while the music still resembles loose, formulaic skatepunk, at least the lyrics seem more coherent and perhaps a bit less amateur. In the three tracks that make up the Dropcard EP, the band assembles mildly capable sounding melodic punk that sounds more like early 2000s Drive-Thru than the mid-'90s EpiFat they claim as influence. The vocals are strained and fairly weenie, making their Bad Religion influence sound more like the Benjamins, only much less endearing. Furthermore, the songs are all

Review: United Nations - "Never Mind the Bombings, Here's Your Six Figures"

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The enigmatic ensemble that is the United Nations first made waves some time before their debut ran into trouble on the way to its release. Initially dubbed “grindcore” in early press coverage, what emerged from United Nations’ self-titled debut was an abrasive blend of Golden Age screamo, extended powerviolence and the melodic post-hardcore frontman Geoff Rickly popularized in Thursday. Never Mind the Bombings, Here’s Your Six Figures doesn't depart much from the hectic, noisy smattering of its predecessor, including the equally blatant copyright bending of the front cover. Whoever is spanking the skins (Ben Koller of Converge is commonly suggested) makes his presence known immediately on “Pity Animal,” a complex jumble of precision blast beats, snapping marches and sludgy rhythms. The drums either prod along to the twisting guitarwork opposite the spoken-word bridge or slam heavy with a force equal to the throat-searing screams of Rickly and company. The slightly more straightfor