No Use For A Name is back with their first “greatest hits” album, to celebrate their 20 year career. These four guys from California have been around for a long time, releasing good quality melodic punk rock since their early beginnings, and developing a sound that influenced so many other bands, and helped to create what is now called the Fat Wreck Chords sound.
“All The Best Songs” features 28 tracks spanning all the band’s albums, with two unreleased songs: all the tunes have been remastered, and you can hear the older songs from “The Daily Grind” as “Feeding The Fire” as well as newer stuff as “For Fiona” or “Let It Slide”. Between the oldest and the newest, the middle part is the one I personally enjoyed the most, with such anthems as “The Answer Is Till No” and “On The Outsider” from “Making Friends”, “Justified Black Eyes” and “Soulmate” from “Leche Con Carne” and even a couple of songs from “More Betterness” as “Coming Too Close” and “Not Your Saviour”. The two new songs, “History Defeats” and “Stunt Double” are ok but really, the best stuff No Use For A Name ever released can be found on “Leche Con Carne”, “Making Friends” and “More Betterness”.
This album reminds me of the times back in 1997 when I used to mail order punk rock albums on the Fat Wreck Chords mailorder catalog/zine: it was great, and it’s there that I found out such great stuff as No Use For A Name’s “Making Friends”, Lagwagon’s “Double Plaidinum”, Hi-Standard’s “Angry Fist” and a tons more, and the booklet is really huge and full of notes from present and past band members, as well as a short description of every song.
If you want to listen to great quality stuff from one of the original Fat Wreck bands, and for a dirt cheap price too, “All The Best Songs” will feed you.
Strung Out is back with their seventh album and this time they take it personal. After releasing such masterpieces as “Twisted By Design” and “An American Paradox”, Simi Valley punks released some darker albums as “Exile In Oblivion”, and this time they are back with the new disc “Blackhawks Over Los Angeles”.
The new album differs from the previous ones because of strong, socially aware and politcally active lyrics, where singer Jason Cruz deals a lot with politics, the world of nowadays and social issues. While on older albums the band used to sing about personal topics, the new album is built on politics, starting from the cover artwork, design by Jason Cruz himself.
Such songs as “Calling” and “Party In The Hills” are seriously catchy, and they remind of the older, darker and melodic anthems, with a lot of guitar riffs, choruses and harmonic lines. The new political direction comes out on such tunes as “All The Nations” and “War Called Home” where the band talks about what’s happening in the world today, and these tunes are not happy.
“Orchid” is a strong, metallic and dark song that fuse the elements of “Teenage Wasteland Blues” with “An American Paradox” at its best, while “Dirty Little Secret” is a jam of guitar riffs and melodic breakdowns, maybe the most melodic song of the whole record, with some hints of piano in the background, but this feeling disappears immediately as “Downtown” appears.
Strung Out always put some awesome closing songs, and this time it’s not different: the closer “Diver” is a melodic punk anthem, where the super catchy choruses alternate to the metallic guitar riffs.
All in all, “Blackhawks Over Los Angeles” is a superb punk rock album by one of the most respactable band that’s been in the scene since the first 90’s. Recommended if you want to hear some kick ass powerful stuff.
Tracklist 1.Calling (Download MP3) (Download Video) 2.Blackhawks Over Los Angeles 3.Party in the Hills (Download MP3) 4.All the Nations 5.A War Called Home 6.Letter Home 7.Orchid 8.Dirty Little Secret 9.Downtown 10.The King Has Left the Building 11.Mission Statement 12.Diver
In early 2007, Circa Survive entered the studio with producer Brian McTernan (Thrice, Strike Anywhere, Hot Water Music) at his Salad Days Studios in Baltimore, MD to record their sophomore album, after the enormous “Juturna”.
The new album “On Letting Go” picks up from where the previous disc left, but this time the music is more secure, precise and intense, with all the positive aspects of the previous album but with even more intensity.
Musically, the band plays intricate yet melodic post-hardcore anthems, fusing elements of pop rock with the incredible techincisms of this five piece. Anthony Green’s voice is absolutely fantastic, with such songs as “The Difference Between Medicine and Poison is in the Dose” and “In The Morning and Amazing…”, where you can hear how the definition of emo-core is just a word: Circa Survive makes it real with their incredible melodies and absolutely stunning vocal lines.
“On Letting Go” is a twelve track album - which comes with awesome artwork as well - that is more than just music: it’s a collection of harmonious art and melodic moments.
Tracklist 1.Living Together
2.In The Morning and Amazing…
3.The Greatest Lie
4.The Difference Between Medicine and Poison is in the Dose (MP3)
After a great disc on Equal Vision Records entitled “Doppelganger”, The Fall Of Troy is back with a new disc, “Manipulator”. The band, made up of three very young guys, is quite possibly the most experimental in the hardcore punk world, fusing elements of punk, hardcore, noise core, jazzy rhythsm, all mixed with screams, melodic guitars and chaotic song structures.
Influenced by the likes of Converge and Neurosis, going through Isis, The Fall Of Troy delivers strong and powerful metallic songs, where the sick guitar riffs alternate to more melodic and slow parts, as on “Cut Down All The Trees and Name The Streets After Them” or the smashing “Oh, The Casino!”. The great thing about the record is that on the twelve songs you never live a slow, weak or boring moment, as the band is always keeping on reinventing their style.
“Manipulator” is one of the greatest post hardcore album of the decade, I highly recommend to check this out.
Tracklist 1.Cut Down All The Trees and Name The Streets After Them (MP3)
Look Mexico’s debut album on Lujo Records is an unique revelation of powerful indie rock music played with the heart by four guys from . After two self-released EP’s, Look Mexico found a home on Lujo Records, and “This Is Animal Music” is the result.
The album is made of original ides and music, from pop rock guitars to soft vocals, to horns and songs like ” You Come Into My House, While I Sleep?” and “Me And My Dad Built Her” are classic examples of how the rocking guitars can fuse themselves with slow melodies and soft words.
Influenced by the likes of American Football and Minus The Bear, Look Mexico is a creature where you can find anything, from indie rock to power-pop, from sparkle-core to spoken words.
Street Smart Cyclist is what I call DO IT YOURSELF philosophy: music played with simple instrumentations, do it yourself production, hand made artworks, and low fi punk rock music, yet catchy and melodic as hell.
The band plays powerful, catchy, pop punk rock music as such bands like Small Arms Dealer and Latterman, with a focused attention for simple, catchy and easy listening punk melodies. The bass lines and chord progression on “Hoods Up!” is totally fun, with vocals recorded lower than instruments (at least I think) and I got the sweat of these guys playing in their garage. “Pastor Of Muppets” starts with a super melodic guitar riffs, and when the gang vocals start you can hear you the singalongs here are catchy. The song have got some slow moments, that alternate to faster, punker and screaming choruses. “The Three Lane Cut” is the more experimental song on this three track CD: you hear fast melodies, technic drums and a more indie rock sound.
Street Smart Cyclist is a band that I would watch out, I think they will end up releasing a punk rock masterpiece on Deep Elm or Fat Wreck Chords, or No Idea or Jade Tree. Labels take note.
The CD of Bees And The Birds came in into the form of a do it yourself packaging, with handmade graphic artwork and I think this is not even a CD but just a CD-r of mastered music, all made at home.
I think this is a great thing. Bees And The Birds play catchy poppy indie rock with hints of folk and a lot of melodies, a little bit as a cross between Tilly And The Wall and Sufjan Stevens, with some banjos used here and there too. The result is a three song CD where you can hear anthemic tunes as “Birds Do Da Bees” with a lot of folky rhythms, or “I Followed You Home”, which is an acoustic guitar driven song, with both male and female vocals, that sound to complete each other on any verse. “Waiting For A Call”, the last song, is a slow, acoustic and sad song about expectations, fallen love and waiting moments. The rhythms star slow and then grow faster and faster, all with a simple acoustic guitar and two vocals, which made me see how simple things are the best ones.
Bees And The Birds have got a strong, powerful and fresh ability to create new melodies and I think it’s a shame these guys have not found a record label yet.
The Measure [SA] is a femal fronted indie punk band hailing from New Brunswick, New Jersey, and they are a true revelation to my ears. I discovered them on a rainy summer day last month, while I was going to the library and I was totally bored. But after I got to listen to “Historical Fiction”, I was glad because a new great band was there.
The Measure [SA] fuse punk rock with indie rock and american rock music, as they sound like a No Idea Records band, with hints of folk, punk, and rock and roll. I think The Measure [SA] are great when it comes to change rhythms, as on songs like the opener “Just Go”, where you can catch the band playing a lot of melodies on different structures: first fast riffs, then mid-tempo choruses and then screamed gang vocals. “Little Things” is a folky/alternative song where you can
The fourteen track album is a record for fans of good rock music with attitude, but I think also the average fan of mainstream indie rock as The Subways or Tegan And Sara will fall in love with “Historical Fiction”.
“The Sea And The Beast” is the brand new album by indie rockers Band Marino: I read it took ages for the band to finish the record, but this is a great album and it was worth the wait. Presented in a nice digipack package with a concept artwork on the sea and the beast, the CD sounds like something I never heard before. As a cross between the indie pop of Death Cab For Cutie and the dark atmospheres of Interpol: more likely, these guys get influences from the 60’s rock music, but hey, I am a nerd and know only these new bands.
Band Marino plays eclectic indie pop music, with a lot of various influences: from the pop rock to folk rock, with songs like “Arlee Hayes” and “Every Time I Make a Girl Cry I’ve Done My Job”, where you can hear acoustic instrumentations as well as acoustic guitars, all played in pure indie rock tradition.
If you like any of the bands I mentioned in this review, you should definitely need to listen to Band Marino too.
Tracklist
1. American Patriot
2. I Have a Dream
3. Chasing Rainbows
4. Elephants Are Grey (Elephants Are Blue)
5. Every Time I Make a Girl Cry I Know I’ve Done My Job
6. Feel It in the Air
7. Arlee Hayes
8. Someday We All Must Die
9. Como Se Dice Señiorita, Act 1: The Layman’s Lament
Sullivan release their sophomore full length album and this time they completely changed their music style. If on the previous disc they played dark, romantic and rock muisc, on the new “Cover Your Eyes” they deliver some great, catchy and harmonic melodies, influenced by the likes of Jimmy Eat World and My Chemical Romance.
Produced By James Paul Wisner (Dashboard Confessional, Further Seems Forever), the album starts with a great anthem like “F-Stop”, and the rhythms become really fast in a short time, with songs like “Goodbye, Miss Havisham” and “Florida Queen”, where Sullivan does not leave space to boredom, keeping the melodies really interesting and long standing.
“Cover Your Eyes” is a strong emo album, where you will find both the melody and the rocking guitar riffs fused with screaming vocals.
Track Listing 01. F-Stop 02. Goodbye, Miss Havisham 03. Tell Me I’m Wrong 04. Great For My Collection 05. Florida Queen 06. The Olive Branch 07. The Process 08. Dig Me Up 09. Israel Hands 10. Fire Away
Favorites
Digg
Del.icio.us
Furl
Magnolia
StumbleUpon
Google
Yahoo MyWeb
