NOFX – The Longest EP

While waiting to release a new album (of which there is no news yet), NOFX are teasing their fans with the second release filled with rare, b-sides and previously unreleased songs – after the compilation “45 or 46 Songs That Weren’t Good Enough to Go on Our Other Records”.

“The Longest EP” is filled with tracks from various NOFX EP’s that will go soon out of print, including “The Longest Line”, “Never Trust A Hippy” and “Regaining Unconsciousness” among others, so the hardcore NOFX fans will not probably find anything new on this. Nevertheless, this compilation has got some outstanding tracks as “The Death Of John Smith” and all the other “The Longest Line” songs and a few other rare tunes as the classic show opener “Glass War” and “Jaw Knee Music”, which has got some of the best guitar riffs ever. “Everything in Moderation (Especially Moderation)” is another amazing tune, with great Fat Mike’s lyrics, but some of the finest stuff comes from the early NOFX recordings, as the “S&M Airlines” version taken from the Drowning Roses split and all of the “The P.M.R.C. Can Suck on This” seven inch.

A few NOFX rare tracks still miss from this (and the previous) compilation: “The Fastest Longest Line” and “Open Your Eyes”, among others. But this is the perfect time and money saver if you don’t want to collect all the single EP’s and would rather have all the best rare NOFX songs on one single album.

Buy “The Longest EP” here.

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Big D And The Kids Table – Fluent In Stroll

After their Side One Dummy debut “Strictly Rude”, Big D And The Kids Table is back with a brand new album. If you liked he previous effort by these guys, be sure to be completely blown away with this new release. The band’s sixth full-length record is a mix between a tons of various music genres: hopscotch, double dutch, soul, ska, reggae and punk rock, a little bit differently from the other albums, which were more focused on the ska-punk side.

“Fluent In Stroll” is a record on which every song sounds perfectly just like it is, and it makes you hear how every tune is a possible hit single. Such anthems as “Not Fucking Around”, “A Kiss A Week” and the opening track “Doped Up Dollies On A One Way Ticket To Blood” are pure blessings for music lovers: there is the catchy chorus, the melodic parts and the fucking punk rock. Of course, the new direction taken by Big D And The Kids Table might not be fully enjoyed by the old school fans, but this is quite cool as the band does not care about label and keeps on releasing what they like the most. On a side note, the production by Joe Gittleman (The Mighty Mighty Bosstones) and the mixing by Paul Q Kolderie (Radiohead, Dinosaur Jr., Uncle Tupelo) is a guarantee of a great work of art.

If you enjoy good music with no borders, no labels and no fucking arounds, “Fluent In Stroll” is what you need to hear this year.

Warp 11 – “I Don’t Want To Go To Heaven As Long They Have Vulcans In Hell”

Anyone who has looked around the Sacramento punk scene or been to a Star Trek convention in the area has heard of Warp 11. They’re the punk band that dresses in 1960s Starfleet uniforms and roared to the mainstream with their hit single “Everything I Do, I Do With William Shatner” which even saw play on Comedy Central’s Roast of William Shatner. Yeah. They’re awesome.

Now, almost a decade since they first started playing, Warp 11 has seen the departure of drummer and Chief Medical Officer Jeff Hewitt and the welcoming of “Number One” John Merlino to fill in the percussion section. Also, it appears Chief Science Officer Kiki Stockhammer has taken a greater role in the music creation process.

The result: the most mature punk record I’ve heard so far this year. Warp 11 has patched together punk into every other rock genre flawlessly, evoking simultaneously the Misfits and AC/DC in the very first song, “I Make It So”. Front man and bassist Captain Karl Miller can wail like an 80s glam rocker, or croon like Joey Ramone, and shows every angle throughout the album. After a soaring first track the album takes a left turn with the bratty and poppy titular track, which sounds like the musical lovechild of the Buzzcocks and the Briefs, but with a signature style that only Warp 11 could produce.

The lead single, “Sulu”, is a first-person love-fest from the eyes of everyone’s favorite Japanese-American of the 23rd Century. It’s also got more firepower than the Defiant (for non Trekkies: a lot). But the jaunty and carefree fun of “Sulu” is quickly put aside for the heart-racing and epic “They Put Creatures In Our Bodies”, where pounding drums and ape-like chanting will make you feel like you’re on the final frontier – of rock.

Perhaps the most interesting tracks to me were the ones where the band stepped back for a minute and sang songs about themselves. Kiki Stockhammer took lead vocals for the song “Beam Into Me”, a sexy first-person in which she cries out the trials of being a woman in a nerd punk band and the target of so much sexual attention. And the final track of the album, “Yet Another Song About Star Trek”, is sung by Miller, Stockhammer, and guitarist Chief Engineer Brian Moore in which they vocally question why they are in a Star Trek themed punk band anymore, and seem to come to the conclusion that they can do nothing else.

Luckily for them, none of us would want them to do anything else. This album is only knee-deep in these young musicians’ careers. Star Trek premiered nearly a half a century ago, seeing a critically and financially explosive success in JJ Abram’s revitalization of the franchise. Warp 11 appears to have the longevity of its cult origins. Though nerdy trendy bands have come and gone, the concentrated musicianship and energy of Warp 11 has guaranteed that you don’t even have to like Star Trek to think these guys will live long and prosper.

Youth of Today “Can’t Close My Eyes”

Youth of Today was a band that had deep roots not only in the NYHC scenes but the Straight Edge scene back in the early and late 80s. The band did in this time put out 4 total full length albums with “Can’t Close My Eyes” being the first full length release back in 1985.

“Can’t Close My Eyes” has always been the album I think of when I think of not only Straight Edge but that New York hardcore sound you always hear people talking about. Thankfully this album is still re-released every few years and can be found in many record shops that carry old school albums.

Band members from Youth of Today have moved on to other projects through out the years with Gorilla Biscuit and Limp Bizkit being two of the better known groups.

Line-up:
Ray Cappo – Vocals
John Porcelly – Guitar
Graham Philliups – Bass
Darren Pesce – Drums

Can’t Close My Eyes 7″
Positive Force Records 1985

The first version of this album was reelased in 1985 on Positve Force Records.

1.Expectations
2.Crucial Time
3.I Have Faith
4.Youth Of Today
5.Positive Outlook
6.Can’t Close My Eyes
7.We Just Might
8.Youth Crew

Can’t Close My Eyes 12″
Schism / Caroline Records 1988

1.Expectations
2.Crucial Time
3.I Have Faith
4.Youth Of Today
5.Positive Outlook
6.Take A Stand
7.Can’t Close My Eyes
8.We Just Might
9.Youth Crew

Can’t Close My Eyes LP/CD
Revelation Records 1997

This LP/CD is the most common re-release of this album. It has many more songs added and is the re-release most often found (new or used)

1.Expectations
2.Crucial Time
3.I Have Faith
4.Youth Of Today
5.Take A Stand
6.Positive Outlook
7.Can’t Close My Eyes
8.We Just Might
9.Youth Crew
10.Take A Stand
11.Stabbed In The Back
12.We Just Might
13.Wake Up And Live
14.Standing Hard

The band with the original crew did get back together in 2004 for a European tour with all original members. This was a short tour and did not follow up with a new album.

“Can’t Close My Eyes” is a must have album in any Straight Edge collection or in the collection of anyone who is a fan of Mid 80′s New york hard core.

Attack Ships On Fire “Punches are Free”

"There's no fee for the fist of fury!"

Attack Ships On Fire are a fast aggressive group with sarcastic, angry and damn funny songs. These guys don’t sing about politics (and if they did I didn’t notice!) but instead sing about Jerry Springer and the “punk rock fashion show” (Fashion show, track 12).

I really enjoyed this album though I’m sure the album dosen’t do these guys justice compared to their live shows. Studio music can just not capture the total chaos and energy a band like this carries with them when on stage in front of dozens of people to entertain. I guess that is what I really did enjoy most about “punches are free” is that it’s entertaining to listen using more humor then anything though the album.

Track Listing
1 Let Me Be
2 Punches Are Free
3 Indescribable
4 Double Down
5 Jerry Springer
6 My Bad
7 Slice Of Life
8 Back To You
9 Starting Over
10 Don’t Look Down
11 Runway Requiem
12 Fashion Show

Attack Ships on Fire on MySpace
Attack Ships on Fire official website

Have Nots – Serf City USA

The Have Nots do a great job of using east coast style punk and mixing in some reggae and a bit of ska (more reggae then ska I would say?) that gives this album a bit of a unique sound. I don’t know if its because I haven’t heard any new punk/ska albums since the 90′s or what but these guys make it sound like they have been doing it for years (and they have in other bands). “Serf City USA” Is the first release for this band and has so far been a great success!