DEAD
TO ME – “Little Brother”
EP (Fat Wreck)
This is the long awaited offering from San Francisco’s
Dead To Me. The band features includes a dual
vocal attack from Jack Dalrymple of One Man
Army and Chicken of Western Addiction, and plays
fairly straight-forward punk rock. This record,
which is a follow up to 2006’s debut full
length titled
Cuban Ballerina, was
initially intended to be a full length, but
was shortened to an EP so that the band could
afford to tour Europe. The five songs found
on “Little Brother” are easily some
of the best songs that the band has released
thus far. A few of these sound similar to One
Man Army’s material, while the title track
seems to be a pretty capable take at a Clash
style reggae tune. If they keep putting out
stuff of this quality, they’ll get a lot
more attention from me than they have in the
past.
PSYCHED TO DIE - Demo 2008 (self released)
Psyched To Die is a few (three on the demo,
and a guitarist that was added after the fact)
dudes from your favorite Jersey bands (Ergs!,
For Science, Hunchback) playing SST-style
hardcore songs about fucking up and dying.
I feel like this style has been done to death;
but when it’s done right, it hits the
spot, and this is one of those times. While
it may just be a demo, the four songs found
here are fit for a proper release, both in
terms of quality songwriting and quality songwriting.
Grave Mistake and Firestarter Records are
co-releasing PTD’s first 7-inch titled
“Sterile Walls” soon, which will
be followed by a Midwest tour with Baltimore’s
Deep Sleep in March.
BE
MY DOPPELGANGER – “Sonic Annihilation”
7-inch EP (It’s Alive)
Be My Doppelganger play fast, fun pop-punk with
dueling vocals. I’ve been hearing this
name thrown around for quite a while, and while
some of the conversations they’ve been
brought up in lead me to believe that this was
going to be some pretty derivative pop-punk,
I was pleasantly surprised when I threw this
on. Sure, there are some standard elements of
pop-punk to found (songs about girls and pizza
parties) but it goes above and beyond the formula.
There’s plenty of decent leads and hooks
to be found throughout the four songs on this.
This will certainly be getting a few more plays
from me.
THE
FAKE BOYS - Pop Punk Is Dead (Cheapskate)
This Massachusetts trio plays pop-punk that
could be pretty easily compared to Everything
Sucks-period Descendents. Normally this type
of stuff is right up my alley, but nothing here
is really grabbing me. It comes off a bit slick,
and the vocals began to rub me the wrong way
after a couple of songs. If you’re a fan
of the Descendents or Screeching Weasel then
you may want to give this a shot, but it’s
just not doing anything for me.
BANNER
PILOT - Resignation Day (Go Kart)
This new full length picks up right where
2006’s “Pass The Poison”
EP left off. Minneapolis’ Banner Pilot
effectively blend pop-punk such as Jawbreaker,
Screeching Weasel, and Dillinger Four into
a mix that is head and shoulders above the
majority of the bands that can be described
as such. The EP and 2007’s split 7-inch
with Monikers were both met with praise, and
I’m fairly certain that this will be
as well. Gruff vocals singing of heartbreak
and loss (not at all in a whiney manner, however),
bountiful hooks, and expert bass lines can
all be found here. My only beef with this
album is that the drums are way low in the
mix. The tracks that stood out most to me
are “Empty Your Bottles” and “Absentee.”
This is only out on CD for now, but in the
coming months you’ll see vinyl versions
of both this and the Pass The Poison EP.
IRON CHIC - Demo Tape 2008 (Dead Broke)
Huntington Station, New York’s Iron
Chic is starting off strong with this tape.
Iron Chic is a bit of a Long Island all-star
line up, being that it’s made up of
past and present members of Latterman, Small
Arms Dealer, and Jonesin’. They play
melodic punk that certainly combines some
of the best elements of the member’s
current/former bands. Every time I pop this
tape into the deck, it ends up being played
over and over again. There are loose plans
for these songs to be released on a 7”
sometime in the coming months, so keep an
eye out for that. It is also available as
a CD-R, if you don’t have a tape deck.
BRIDGE
AND TUNNEL - East/West (No Idea)
This is the first full length release from
this noisy Long Island quartet. The dueling
male and female vocals of Bridge And Tunnel
sing socially conscious lyrics over a slow
(yet energetic), reverb filled brand of punk
rock that one may associate with Fugazi or
Cursive. I appreciate the tenacity of their
DIY ethics and their want to educate their
listener on things such as urban gentrification,
working class struggle, and the dangers of
political apathy, but this album isn’t
really up my alley. They’re clearly
good at what they do, however, so give this
a shot if you think you may enjoy it.
THE
RIOT BEFORE - Fists Buried In Pockets (Say-10)
This is normally something that I’d
send right to the used bin, but it isn’t
offending me the way I‘d expect it to.
The Riot Before play punk rock most heavily
influenced by Eternal Cowboy era Against Me
and The Gaslight Anthem, but it comes off
as much more passionate than the majority
of the rip off bands that are currently popping
up left and right. While the majority of the
folk punk tunes that this Richmond quartet
puts out could mostly be filed under “energetic,
politically charged, anthems,” they
also have an idea of when to slow it down
for little while. These guys are certainly
good at what they do, but whether or not this
album holds up though time remains to be seen.
DUSTHEADS
- Collected Sounds (Don Giovanni)
This CD compiles the original recording of
the Little Pieces LP and the Tall Tales I
and Tall Tales II 7inches. I’ve heard
Dustheads on comps and have seen them live
once, but since receiving this album for review,
I’ve become obsessed. This band is a
straight-forward assault of old school hardcore
a la Black Flag and the like, but the guitar
work, at times, (especially on the intros
to the songs “Passive Aggressive”
and “Save Our Souls”) bares a
resemblance to that of Black Sabbath or even
stoner metal such as Eyehategod. Don Giovanni
is advertising this as the “feel bad
punk rock record of the year,” and for
good reason: This is, lyrically, the most
tortured stuff in the genre. Singer Jared
Jones shouts and wails over the music, which
can be as fast as it gets but never falls
apart. The Little Pieces LP has since been
rerecorded with whiz Chris “Gobo”
Pierce, and was just released last month on
Don Giovanni Records. Can’t wait to
hear it! - Dave Dillon
THE
VETERANS - Self-titled (It’s Alive)
Andrea Carreda, the front man of Italy’s
The Manges, made this record with the intention
of putting out a collection of surf inspired
pop-punk songs. Andrea sought out members
of pop-punk bands from all over the world,
including members of Italy’s Supermarket
and The Popsters, England’s Surfin’
Lungs, and The Leftovers from the USA to help
him with this project. I can’t say that
I listen to stuff this poppy too often, but
if you’re a fan of the people/bands
involved in the creation of this record, like
I am, then this is a fun one to add to your
record collection. Pick it up on either CD
or vinyl from your favored distro. - Dave
Dillon
HEAVY
HEAVY LOW LOW - Turtle Nipple and the Toxic
Shock (Ferret)
I’ll admit that I’ve, perhaps
unfairly, always harbored a distaste for this
band. I’ve never heard them until now,
but I’ve always seen their t-shirts
worn by people who wear Underoath sweatshirts
over them, and their sweatshirts worn by people
who wear From First To Last shirts under them.
If you’re like me, seeing people donning
merch from these bands is a warning flag,
a flag that tells me that their tastes cannot
be trusted. I’m now on track fourteen
of their as-yet unreleased full length album.
I began listening and determined that this
was hardcore that could be described as “experimental”
and perhaps “artsy.” Not really
my interest, but this isn’t as bad as
I had expected. By the time the eighth track
rolled around, it was still “experimental”
and “artsy” hardcore with some
other genres thrown in, but I had had more
than my fill. The only redeeming value of
this album is a B- cover of Black Flag’s
“Wasted.” I’ll let the Warped
Tour crowd keep this one. - Dave Dillon
THE
TIM VERSION - Decline of the Southern Gentleman
(No Idea)
This is fantastic Gainesville punk rock from
a band that’s been putting out records
and traveling the world for years. Make up a
whiskey-soaked mixture of Hot Water Music, the
Replacements, and a classic country influence
and you’ve got The Tim Version. Decline
of the Southern Gentleman is stacked with songs
about the hopelessness of life, the ups and
downs of drinking, loss, the work force, politics,
and life on the road. The majority of these
songs are straight-forward ragers, but the finest
points on the album come around when The Tim
Version take it down a notch and catch their
breath; they don’t miss a beat between
the powerhouse “Bitter Greens” and
the ballad-like “Mark’s Albatross.”
I assure you that this record will be getting
played pretty often around my place.
BROADWAY
CALLS - Self-titled (Adeline)
I’ve been hearing this name thrown around
quite a bit for a few months now, but I’m
just now hearing them for the first time. This
record was originally released along with an
EP by State of Mind Records in 2007, but was
just re-released in March of this year by Adeline.
This is a band that would normally be too poppy
for my tastes, but for some reason, I’m
really liking this stuff. It might just be the
warm weather, but what sounds like a combination
of Green Day and Dagger mouth (minus the hardcore
influences) is hitting the spot for me. It comes
off as a slick pop-punk record, but at the same
time I have no problem believing that this band
regularly packs basement shows all around the
Pacific Northwest. I’ll be keeping an
eye out for a tour from these guys in the future.
DEFIANCE,
OHIO
- The Fear, The Fear, The Fear (No Idea)
Here’s the latest effort from Columbus,
Ohio’s DIY folk-punk sextet. Let me clear
these points up right now: No, they don’t
sound like early Against Me, no, you shouldn’t
get all bunged up over them working with No
Idea as opposed to releasing this themselves,
and yes, Defiance is a real town in Ohio. Okay,
let’s get down to business. These guys
and girls employ the standard acoustic guitars
and drums as well as a violin, cello, and upright
bass. This might not sound too appealing to
those of you not yet familiar with the Plan-It-X
sound, but believe me when I say that it makes
for 10 fun, full-bodied campfire sing-along’s.
Maybe that doesn’t lend much to the punk
side of things, but it’s certainly a good
time regardless. I’m usually a little
wary of folk punk genre, but this turned out
to be a very enjoyable listen. - Dave Dillon
REGAL
BEAGLE - A Little Tied Up (Rally)
Pop-punk with HUGE Beach Boys and Queers
influences from LA. The presence of pop-punk
legends is all over this, with backing vocals
from Phillip Hill of the Teen Idols, as well
as lead & backing vocals and production
from Joe King of The Queers, and mixing and
mastering done by Mass Giorgini (Screeching
Weasel, Squirtgun) at Sonic Iguana Studios.
While this sounds like it could definitely
be a lost Queers album, this still manages
to not be boring and derivative- the mistake
a good amount of pop-punk bands make frequently.
The weather is getting warmer, the days are
getting longer, and this is a great record
to start the season off with. - Dave Dillon
NO USE FOR A NAME - The Feel Good Record of
the Year (Fat Wreck)
20 years, nine proper studio albums, and
I’ve never paid this band much attention
until I got this in the mail. I’ve never
been too big of a fan of the California skater
“got popular in the ‘90s when
the Warped Tour was ‘good’ and
Epitaph didn‘t suck” type punk
bands like these guys, Lagwagon, NOFX, Pennywise,
and others. My knowledge of their past recordings
comes mostly from tracks on compilations that
I bought six or seven years ago. If this new
record is representative of the majority of
their discography, then I suppose I haven’t
been missing too much. Overall this is melodic
punk that caters to the aforementioned type
of punk fans, the California skaters in love
with what is known as the “Fat Wreck
sound.” Other than a mid-record acoustic
track titled “Sleeping Between Trucks,”
nothing found here really grabbed my attention.
They’ve got the longevity that they
do and the Fat Wreck deal for a reason, so
I’m sure plenty of people are excited
over this, but I can’t say it did too
much for me. - Dave Dillon
MIGHTY
HIGH - …In Drug City (Mint Deluxe)
They describe themselves as a “classic
rock inspired punk/metal band dedicated to
getting loaded and playing loud.” All
this has to offer is twelve boring songs about
drugs that mostly all surpass the three minute
mark and consistently fail to differentiate
from the songs before them. I’m supposed
to be impressed that a 30something from NYC
is able to smoke a lot of weed when half the
kids in my suburban town have been doing it
since middle school? Yea, sure. Also, someone
should tell these dudes that it isn’t
smart to take pictures of your stash in public
and then post them on the Internet. If you
want to hear the same riffs and subject matter
over and over, pick this one up. - Dave Dillon
CD
Reviews by 'All Ages' Dave Dillon
