Outbreak plays really abrasive, old school hardcore in a similar vein to Negative Approach. I guess that you could call this negative hardcore, because that’s basically what this is. The guitars are really messy and filled with high end, the drums sound light and are ineffective, and the vocalist has a really annoying voice. The subject matter is basically about how angry they are, blah, blah, blah. The album just sounds really amateurish and sloppy. I’m sure that if the guys in this band read my review, they’ll slag me for not knowing what punk is or something, but whatever. All I know is that this sloppy turd sucks, even thought the cover artwork is kind of cool.

Oh, baby! Straight Edge hardcore will never get old to me, regardless of how old I get! At 28, I’m much to old to sport X’s on my hands, but I still hold true and haven’t broken my edge like 90% of teen straight edge kids tend to do once they “grow up.” The boys in Champion remind me why punk rock, being straight edge, and other facets of rebellion against conformity are so important to young people: the music and movement are so full of passion! Champion, being your typical straight edge chugga hardcore sXe band, aren’t ever going to be called “innovators;” who cares, though, as very few bands have the passion found on “Promises Kept.” The music just bleeds emotion and aggression, and not in the “emo” way, oh no. The guitars are blistering, the drums hit hard, and the there’s enough hummable guitar riffs that you’ll keep this one in your disc player for more than a few spins upon first getting it. Verdict: Champion is one of the better chugga hardcore sXe bands out there, and “Promises Kept” will satiate any punk’s love of aggression and power.

Wow! Talk about incredibly catchy rock music, None More Black must be running for Presidential positions in that cabinet! Loud About Loathing is one enormous slab of buttery pop goodness from start to finish, and I’m quite surprised to say how much I love it! I usually hate this kind of stuff with fervor, there’s something really special about this vocalist’s gravel-laden vocals, the buzzsaw guitars, and undeniable melodic hooks that left me more than impressed. My favorite track here is the up tempo melodic rocker “Peace on Mars…” The chorus for that song feels kind of like Rites of Spring, updated for 2004. Overall, this EP is completely awesome, and I am seriously shocked at how good it is, as I wasn’t much of a fan of their first album.

It’s truly unbelievable how many bands sound exactly like Chasing Victory; borderline metallic hardcore chugga guitars interspersed with melody, pounding and propulsive drums, and a singer who whines and screams like he were dumped by his girlfriend right before recording the songs here. Said vocalist also sounds like Brett Detar of Juliana Theory, so chalk up another strike against them. Strike three would be the hilarious growl/ scream at the beginning of “Violent and Armed.” It’s quite comical that this guy takes himself seriously. In a nutshell, this is unoriginal, corny, and boring melodic screamo stuff.

I’ve never quite understood cover art with baby dolls on it. I guess the fact that the baby doll on the cover of this album is burned & beaten up is supposed to represent a loss of innocence or something, but the whole “baby doll = innocence” idea seems kind of cliché. Whatever, 4 Ft. Fingers plays really safe sounding, color by numbers melodic post-punk, similar in vein to Husker Du, without the creativity or innovation. The vocalist has a strangely deep voice that just sounds weird, and the band, while pretty solid, is very poorly recorded. The entire album has that weird “under water” sound, similar to the sound of a poorly created mp3. I kind of feel band for the band, as they really rock out pretty hard, but the poor production and crappy singer really sink what could be an o.k. album.

I probably won’t earn many scene points for saying this, but the Atari Star is marginally good, at best. On their third disc, “Prayer & Pretend,” they seem to be trying to create music similar in fashion to a cross between early Flaming Lips, Slint, Shallac, and Rodan. The result, though, is a rather listless exercise in really big sounding drums, gnarly guitars, and other overdriven things. The songs lack direction, and wander aimlessly across several wonderful snippets of cool sound that sadly get lost in the shuffle. That’s not to say that the album is without merits. “Bridge of Sighs” is a really gorgeous song of melody, mood, and power, with the predominant melody being gloomy and curious, yet eerily triumphant. Sadly, the fudge logs on this disc weigh too much to keep the gems afloat. Their slowed down version of Shellac’s “Copper” is awful; “Asphalt Everest” is some of the worst Gen. X blather since the script of “Reality Bites;” and finally, “Silver Montgomery” is completely out of place, with its acoustic guitars, organs, and lack of percussion (which is the true star of this album). All told, this probably could have been a really good four song EP.

What do we have here? Forced Reality’s latest, “Unheard, Unreleased, and Under the Boot,” is a real… well, turd. It is poorly recorded, generic in both its tough guy posturing, “oi’s,” lyrics about getting trashed, and being street wise, and general “old school” punkness. The vocalist has a gravel-laden vocal style which is o.k., I guess, but he’s way too high in the mix, and overpowers the band. He tries to sing from time to time, and it sounds silly. The guitars are really weak sounding and lack punch, and the bass guitar is non-existent. The drummer is the only positive aspect of this band, as he hits very hard and very well. The end sound on this disc is formulaic, uninspired, and carbon copy post punk “oi” stuff. Blah!

Vagrant Records is quite surely the author of the most important and the best compilation for 2004. “In Honor” is a double disc compilation made to raise money for The Syrentha Savio Endowment and The Sean McGrath Fund, and this is admirable in a world where record labels care a lot about making profit out of trends. So, speaking of the music, it contais two cd’s: on the first one you find 21 tracks, most of them unreleased, by the likes of The Descendents, Rocky Volotato, Jawbreaker, Face To Face, None More Black, The Bouncing Souls, Straylight Run, Nikola Sarcevic of Millencolin, Avoid One Thing, Thursday, Saves The Day and Majority Rule. On the second cd, you can hear tunes by the likes of Thrice, Piebald, Taking Back Sunday, Minus The Bear, Name Taken, Down To Earth Approach, Recover, Funeral For A Friend, Only Crime, Fear Before The March Of Flames, Moments In Grace, The Loved Ones, Murder By Death and a lot others. Musically I prefer the 2nd cd, but that is not the matter. The main aim for this record is to raise money for a great cause, to stop cancer!

Gratitude is a new band made by members who are not new at all to the indie rock musice scene. Actually they have a new album coming out in March 2005 on Atlantic but they’re the new band from Jonah Matranga, who is the mastermind behind such Emo pioneers as FAR, NEW END ORIGINAL, and ONELINEDRAWING, among others. “You’re Invited” is a four track EP which features four killer tracks off their forthcoming self titled debut album. The disc, produced by Jim Scott (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty, Wilco) shows how GRATITUDE is a rock band with guts. Matranga’s unique style of singing and his original way of writing lyrics are the main part of the band, made of four other men, that play some superb rock music. Songs like “Drive Away” and “Last” are so sweet and warm that you could not stop listening to them. The music of the tunes, and “This Is The Part” and “Another Division St”, is huge and a cross between U2 and Led Zeppelin and today’s heroes Radiohead and Jimmy Eat World. Matranga himself admitted he is happy for the huge result and I cannot say how much I am waiting for March 2005. The record is going to be big, so mark your calendars, kids!

The new album from pop punk masters HOME GROWN is a six song EP for all of the fans of rock music. After taking part in the third wave of ska core back in 1997, the band started playing rock music, instead of simply ska. On the new EP, with a new guitar player, the foursome displays all of its skills to play catchy songs. The new tunes are easy listening, enjoyable, rocking’ and most important, original. Songs like “Cross My Heart” and “I Win You Lose” are examples of how the band grew up in the last year. After the release of “Kings Of Pop” in fact, the guys started a new direction, made of clever lyrics, strong music, and not simply poppy punk rock. I think this band is one of the finest rock act out there, and hands down to Drive Thru for believing in them.