The RadioActivist

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...

The Swingin’ Utters are back on the attack with their first new studio material since 2003’s Dead Flowers, Bottles, Bluegrass, and Bones. It may be coming a little late, and it may not be the full-length I was promised (LP is due out this fall), but it’s yet another great addition to the already overflowing Utters catalog. The three songs that comprise the Brand New Lungs seven-inch are all essentially entrenched in the same hybrid of street punk, power-pop, and pogo elements. While it’s not unusual for the Swingin’ Utters to mix things up and move in a different direction, it is somewhat atypical of recent times that they cluster songs of a similar sound together as they've done here. The EP opens with the title track, a bouncy, darting punk number that proclaims “I’m gonna find myself some brand new lungs / Because these ones are black and tired / I’ll use them well, and mind my health / Think nothing but pure thoughts." The track hits its stride with a gorgeous hamonic brid...

The fact that Banner Pilot has risen to such success (signing to Fat Wreck, international recognition among other merits) without heavy touring or high-profile promotion is the ultimate testament of this band’s ability to write a song. Their feisty brand of melodic (though not poppy) Midwest punk caught fire only a few years ago, and their popularity has exponentially grown with each release. Of course, it could also be having one of the best band names ever and/or being composed of members from such quality acts as Off with Their Heads, the Manix and Rivethead. Still, Banner Pilot is somewhat misread by more than a few (my previous self included) as a Jawbreaker or Lawrence Arms by-product. And while they do claim influences from said bands, Banner Pilot’s approach is unlike any of the bands they’re often lumped in with. For one, Banner Pilot has rarely based songs around booming choruses á la “Indictment” or “Your Gravest Words,” for example. They are, however, more prevalent on Coll...