Fairfax, VA’s own Fairweather delivers on their first full-length, “if they move…kill them”. The buzz around this band has been spreading around the east coast for a little over a year, and now the rest of the world can get their hands on the band’s bled of indie rock and emo. Every song conveys some very strong energy to the listener. Mark my words, the saga of Fairweather has begun…

Zero Down is the latest band to have joined the Fat Wreck Chords big family, they come from the Los Angeles area and these three guys formed a kind of super-band, as the singer Jim used to play bass in Strung Out and still plays for Pulley, drummer Milo was a member of Down By Law, and although this band is a trio they do not play pop punk, but So-Cal “skate-punk”, all played with the consciousness that the members have different musical influences, from the 80’s L.A. punk music bands like Bad Religion, Social Distortion and Adolescents to reggae, hip-hop and even jazz.

The idea to start a new band came to Jim at the beginning of 2000 and as he said, “I formed Zero Down because I’ve always been a fan of music. So many rockstars types write songs for so many wrong reasons. My favorite songwriters are fan of music and I’m still a fan”. What better presentation could a musician give? And in fact their debut full length - “With A Lifetime To Pay”- feels like a record made only for the pleasure of music. Anyway, unlike most of the straight ahead punk acts of today, Zero Down mixes both slower rhythm and faster parts, with a great attention for the total mixing of drums, guitars and bass, so that the 13 songs seldom sounds boring.

The sound reminded me as a kind of attempt to recapture the sound that Pulley created in their first record “Esteem Driven Engine” and also in their latest Epitaph album, as Zero Down plays with a lot of melody , although writing about less introspective issues that characterized Scott Radinsky unique ability; and this attempt is shown also in the way of singing of Jim that is very similar to Scott’s. The tunes are more or less all on the same level, if you like the genre they are all good, there isn’t a kind of radio hit, but some songs as “The Way It Is”, “Bite the Hand That Feeds” and “Going Nowhere” ( whose intro is very similar to a Pulley song ) deserves to be nominated as most clever ideas.

When Weston went into the studio to record this album (the group’s sixth album and major label debut) they strived for one thing: nonperfection.  Weston actually went into the studio with a mind set that they would not do more than two takes per song.  With this approach you would think taking a listen to this new album would sound very sloppy and unprofessional, but I’m here to tell you are wrong. “The Massed Albert Sounds” is nothing like anything else you’ll hear this year.  As in Radiohead’s “Kid A”, this is a great album to listen to with headphones.  Much more experimental than past albums, “The Massed Albert Sounds” incorporates many new features like keyboards, bells, and triangles.  All of these instruments blend in perfectly togther. There is a whole wide range of influences/sounds with this recording.  “Kiss Like An Angel” and “Wonderdrug” come off as sleepy emo tunes, while “I Just Quit Rock And Roll” and “Liz Phair” are straight up fun pop songs worthy of anyone’s attention.  Weston is very heavily influenced by post new wave rockers, The Pixies. One of my favorites on here, “To Some I’m Genius” shows just how much different and how much this band had progressed over the years.  In the first 30 seconds there is this solo keyboard part that sounds like its straight out of Zelda: Octrine Of Time for the Nintendo 64, its really cool.  The keyboard part leads into the drone of heavily distorted guitars that gets your heart racing. With this release Weston is shying even more away from their punk rock roots and taking more of an approach into a more experimental rock sound.  While some long time fans will shun away with disgust, Weston is just doing what any great band does.  What are they doing here?  They are maturing and only getting better.  The truly great, artistic bands have all done this, progressed their sound and have gotten nothing but better with time.  “The Massed Albert Sounds” is the latest chapter in Weston’s great career.

Junction 18 is a new band from Boston, Massachusetts.  They are influenced by such bands like Weezer and newer hot bands like Saves The Day and New Found Glory.  I can guarantee that you’ll like these guys if you like those bands. Andy’s (vocalist) lyrics and singing seem much more deeper and fuller than most bands today.  During most songs he sings in a low voice, and during points in the choruses or emotional points he gets it up pretty high.  Sometimes during the verses he belts out one high line of lyrics and then the next line he gets down pretty low.  He has one dynamic range in his ability to sing. Its virtually impossible for me to name the best song off of here because there all good, I don’t have a problem with anyone.  Top ones though are “Granite Street Knife Fight”, “Sweet Steps”, “Dakota”, and “June And The Ocean”.  I have listened to this album over and very since I’ve gotten it.  Everything about Junction 18 is so structured and tight, everything just fails into place perfectly.  The melodic guitar hooks are awesome.  Songs like “June And The Ocean” bring different things into the musical landscape by adding an acoustic guitar along with a second distorted guitar to make things interesting. I think these days people are really staring to take notice of Fearless Records and the excellent releases that they have come out with lately.  This is Junction 18’s debut on Fearless, and once again gets me even more excited about Fearless and what they are doing for music today.  This is definitely one of the top debut albums of the year.

DOW combines so many styles, and sounds, it’s hard to find something you don’t like in them. Buying The Lie, produced by Trevor Keith from Face to Face, is 13 tracks a melting pot of sounds. Buying The Lie is an album you would expect to get if Social D, The Smoking Popes, and Morrissey, all got busy and had a child. Even the rock-a-billy kids will like this one. Loud guitars, and good vocals stand out in most of the mid-tempo songs. Death On Wednesday is bringing the future of punk. Their unique fusion of styles will not go unnoticed for much longer.

Bad Astronaut is set to release their first E.P. in the first quarter of 2001. The band has a sound that is pop-rock with punk influences, which shows up on this effort. They have great melodies, and intriguing piano and keyboard part. Joey Cape’s (Lagwagon) vocals expand their possibilities with this type of song writing. The songs are somewhat complicated and catchy. In Ten songs, you wish your name was Elliot Smith. Acrophobe will make you bob your head and tap your feet, no matter how hard to try to keep up that hard, punk rock image.

Boarders and Boundaries brings LTJ back with a vengeance. I was surprised at what I heard. After seeing LTJ following the same road with every album, they threw me for a loop. B&B draws from less ska, and adds a heaping hunk of rock and roll. Progression is something LTJ picked up with this album. Don’t worry they still have those sing-a-long melodies, humorous lyrics, and now the occasional trumpet. Old fans may take a little time adjusting to the new sound, and new fans should not start with this cd. It’s not their best release or representative of the band’s sound, but the cd makes me think the band is headed in a different direction.

This is amazing!!! CRVM by far the best video magazine i’ve ever seen, and it’s all for punk rock. You basically get to see what it’s like to live with Dynamite Boy for 4 days, and all the weird stuff that goes on with a touring band. Cooter, Whippersnapper, and NFG are also featured on CRVM Issues 01. These guys have something great on their hands. I also have a new found respect for Danny from Dynamite Boy after watching this video. Check it out, and you’ll know what i’m talking about.
http://www.crvm.net

Being on a major label does have it’s benefits. MxPx’s first home video has great production, and a super professional look. “It Came From Bremerton” covers the band’s beginning up to it’s current state, and it does it well. You’ll learn some rare facts, and it’s just plain good. If you are an MxPx fan, or a fan of a well done short film check this out.

It’s that time of year for label samplers to be released. This is a good taste of what’s to come in 2001 from Kung Fu. I really like the track order on this sampler, because it organzies tracks by band. I grew tired of it quickly though. It’s cheap, so it’s a good buy if you can sit through 19 songs that you’ve probably heard before.