The melodic hardcore of Canadian Rifle, the "epic but eminently melodic" French Exit, and the funny punk of the Headies top Paul's picks for this column, but there's lots more punk, indie, singer/songwriter, major label crap, and even some emo screamo to check out: Scott Barkan, Cults, Divided Heaven, Galactic Cannibal, The Melodic, Octagrape, Pantaleimon, St. Lucia, State Faults, Strike to Survive, Turin Brakes, and Xiu Xiu. Also: Crazy, laidback, bluesy, jazzy, and folksy, Minneapolis' Patches & Gretchen cover a lot of ground sonically but always deliver with a compelling listen. The equally innovative and unclassifiable Joan of Arc released a limited edition vinyl album which you might be able to snag if you catch them on tour. Read Paul's column here...

British retro-rockers Asomvel, Aussie death metallers I Exist, and the heavy Brooklyn rockers Tidal Arms lead off Eric's new column. He also reviews albums from Darkhaus and Protector, then marvels over the latest from ageless metal gods Motorhead, and reviews new releases from Skeletonwitch, Terminus, Tragodia, and Lumbar, as well as the latest from industrial icons Ministry. Read his column here...

NYC's the Graveyard Kids impress with II, their second full length that takes the band from pop-punk upstarts to post-psychedelic experimentalists. NYC's orchestral pop combo Sharp Things impress with their latest release, Gainesville's ageless Less Than Jake delivers another winning collection of ska punk, and NYC's The Harrow delves into the ethereal real of Eighties cold wave.

Read Jim's reviews here...

Deb Draisin caught Kansas City's Architects on their recent NYC tour stop and was blown away by both the headliner and the opening bands, NJ's own Scandals and former My Chemical Romance member Frank Iero's new project Death Spells. Read her review here...

Congratulations to the winners of the 2013 Hoboken Music Awards

River City Extension has spent the last several Thanksgiving Eves celebrating at their home base, the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, with a benefit called Simple Gifts. This year, the show on Wednesday, November 27, will include Kevin Devine, Those Mockingbirds, and Harper's Fellow. Tickets for the all-ages show are only $13.99 in advance, or $17 at the door, and the band will be requesting that fans bring donations to the Double Blessings Food and Clothing Drive of Ocean and Monmouth Counties.

We caught up with lead singer Joe Michelini, who was eager to share what's been up with Tom's River's most popular exporters of Asbury Americana. Read his interview with Jim Testa here...

New documentary profiles one of rock's great cult bands, the timeless and ageless Mekons

Stephen Gritzan reviews "Revenge Of The Mekons," the new documentary about one of punk's great overlooked bands. Read his review here...

Most of the staff here at Jersey Beat won't even eat sushi, but our reporter Deb Draisin and her friends love one delectable Japanese import, the iconic metal band Dir en grey. Deb reports from the group's recent show at Irving Plaza here...

REMEMBERING JIM RENSENBRINK

Kevin Devine has released two new albums, the more acoustic Bulldozer and the more rocking Bubblegum (recorded with his longtime backing group, the Goddamn Band.) Jim Testa and Stephen Gritzan give both an unqualified thumbs up, plus you can read Jim Testa's interview with Kevin about his successful Kickstarter campaign that funded these albums here...

Click On Banner For Your Free Download

Mint 400 Records' new tribute to the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds both updates and honors the classic album, and the Gingerlys emerge from Mama Coco's Funky Kitchen with an effervescent pop sound that blends chill wave with power pop. Editor Jim Testa then grades some of the many releases that have come our way recently, including new albums by Dr. Skinnybones, Battleme, the Creepshow, Dismemberment Plan, Ezra Furman, Karyn Kuhl, Los Campesinos!, Lovers, Marc & Shane, Patches & Gretchen, Swellers, and Upset. With apologies and all respect to Robert Christgau, check out the Guide here...

Jamie Frey remembers Lou Reed, who passed away at age 71 after more than five decades of being one of the most innovative, influential, and controversial figures in rock 'n' roll. Read Jamie's remembrance here...

Anytime Motorhead releases a new album, it's an event, so we had two of our crack reviewers tell you what they think about it. Read ourreviews by Rich Quinlan and Eric Walls.

Stephen Gritzan reviews the new release from Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and his new band the Dust, Last Night On Earth. Read Stephen's review here...

Finnish rockers HIM recently rocked the Williamsburg waterfront, unleashed a well-received new album, and will soon be embarking on a U. S. tour. Deb Draisin caught up with the group's lead singer Valo to ask about the music, the band, and curiously, why there was a bottle of Febreeze sitting in their dressing room. Read her interview here...

Volbeat, HIM, and All That Remains live at Williamsburg Park

Deb wangled her way backstage to interview Valo...and then couldn't get out to see most of the show! Read about her adventures on Planet Williamsburg here...

With a new album about to be released and a national tour on tap, the gods of South Jersey Hard Rock are back and in a big way. Jersey Beat's Metal Editor Eric Walls had a chance to chat with MM's main man Dave Wyndorf on the new album, his demons, his love of comic books, and the current state of music. Read it here...

Deb Draisin checks in with Japanese metal powerhouse Dir En Gray as they release a new album and embark on a major U.S. tour. Read her interview here...

RIOT FEST CHICAGO:

Riot Fest Chicago 2013 brought together a who's who of punk rock greats, from Blondie to Iggy & The Stooges to the Violent Femmes, but the band everybody was talking about was the reunion of Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson as The Replacements. Jersey Beat's Jamie Frey was there, and he tells you all about it here...

Our fearless metal editor Eric Walls took his life into his hands and trekked to the wilds of Antarctica to confront Oderus Humungus, Scumdog of the Universe and frontman of the world's greatest intergalactic jizz-spewing metal band, GWAR. They talked about world domination, of course, and also a bit about GWAR's 13th album, Battle Maximus, here...

We're got a new feature for records that flew under the radar, got passed over the first time, or that we somehow just never heard about. It's called Overlooked But Awesome and in this first installment, we catch up with music from Edelweiss, Dead Mechanical, The Brooklyn What, and Bright Primate. Check it out here...

Click here for listings...

NO FX - "Stoke Extinguisher" EP

THE SONGS OF TONY SLY: A TRIBUTE

THE MOIST BOYZ - V

NINE INCH NAILS - Hesitation Marks

DAVE HAUSE - Devour

BRICK + MORTAR - "Bangs" EP

MY HOMETOWN: A Tribute To New Jersey (Various Artists)

Editor Jim Testa checks out the latest album from New Brunswick's Sink Tapes and the debut EP from Two Strike Mark, as well as reviews of Boxed Wine, Quincy Mumford, and the new collaboration from Jeffrey Lewis and Peter Stampfel.
Read his reviews here...

by Joe Wawzyrniak Joe welcomes the debut album from Jersey City young'uns Perennial Bliss as "seven songs worth of deliciously sunny sonic bliss," then goes on to rave about new releases from the Paper Jets, Englishman, the Appleseed Collective, Gatsby's Green Light, NYC's orchestral pop group Sharp Things, veteran punk rocker Andy Shernoff, and a beautiful compilation that benefits underserved students called You Be My Heart. Read Joe's column here... The melodic hardcore of Canadian Rifle, the "epic but eminently melodic" French Exit, and the funny punk of the Headies top Paul's picks for this column, but there's lots more punk, indie, singer/songwriter, major label crap, and even some emo screamo to check out: Scott Barkan, Cults, Divided Heaven, Galactic Cannibal, The Melodic, Octagrape, Pantaleimon, St. Lucia, State Faults, Strike to Survive, Turin Brakes, and Xiu Xiu. Also: Crazy, laidback, bluesy, jazzy, and folksy, Minneapolis' Patches & Gretchen cover a lot of ground sonically but always deliver with a compelling listen. The equally innovative and unclassifiable Joan of Arc released a limited edition vinyl album which you might be able to snag if you catch them on tour. Read Paul's column here... Rich freaks out over the latest from punk/metal progenitors Motorhead and reviews new albums from Young Turks, Isolated, and Mickey Melchiondo's long-dormant Stooges-esque duo Moistboyz. Jersey Beat's Paul Silver has revived his long-dormant label Radius Records and Rich has nothing but good things to say about its first release, a split EP from Gentlemen Prefer Blood and Hands Like Bricks. Rich also reviews new releases from "one of hardcore's most authentic scene veterans, Terror, and the latest from Jersey City's Black Numbers Records, an album from Placeholder. Read Rich's column here... The Bongos broke up nearly 25 years ago but magically they've unearthed a never released album called Phantom Train, and Stephen says it was well worth the way for the Hoboken combo's fans. He also dissects the new release from former Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo & The Dust, and the electro-pop debut from The Bynars. Renowned record collector and Iris Records owner Stephen Gritzen joins JerseyBeat.com as our newest reviewer. In his first column, he reviews the FDR Records compilation My Hometown: A Tribute to New Jersey and the buzzed about new album from Speedy Ortiz here... British retro-rockers Asomvel, Aussie death metallers I Exist, and the heavy Brooklyn rockers Tidal Arms lead off Eric's new column. He also reviews albums from Darkhaus and Protector, then marvels over the latest from ageless metal gods Motorhead, and reviews new releases from Skeletonwitch, Terminus, Tragodia, and Lumbar, as well as the latest from industrial icons Ministry. Read his column here... By Tony B. Chicago punk rock has no greater godfather than Marc Ruvolo, from bands like No Empathy through his landmark punk label Johann's Face to his sci fi/fantasy book store, Bucket O'Blood. Now Marc is back with a solo acoustic EP, and Tony B. reviews it here... You might know Jamie Frey as the garrulous frontman of local garage-punks the Brooklyn What, but now Jamie joins us as Jersey Beat's newest reviewer. His take on the new album from Bellerose, NY's Butcher Blind is here...