 
By Tony B.
 Street
Eaters - Rusty Eyes and Hydrocarbons (BAKERY OUTLET RECORDS)
We’ve all seen countless bands try to incorporate the
Lookout!/East Bay sound into their music since its inception,
some successful, some not -so successful. Street Eaters can
be listed in the former. They’re only a two piece, Megan
March on drums and John No on bass, with the pair sharing
vocal duties. I scoffed when I first read that they were a
bass and drum pop punk sounding band on another review, but
they make it work.
No distorts his bass to make it sound like a guitar, even
occasionally playing power chords on it, and it gives them
a sound somewhere between JEFF The Brotherhood, Lost Sounds
and Dirt Bike Annie. They’re gritty, lo-fi and minimalistic,
but they manage to carve out their own sound. Each song has
its own personality. I can’t say that about many bands,
let alone songs. They know how to write melodies and layer
their harmonies, and that’s really what carries their
songs. No’s riffs are unique; he avoids the cliché
pop punk chord progressions and he knows when to switch things
up. March matches him beat for beat on drums, and they both
contribute their own things vocally, having their own distinct
melodies and singing styles, al. Check them out if you’re
into lo-fi and pop punk.
 By
The Throat - Riders of Boards (www.bythethroat.com)
By The Throat songs have an old school hardcore feel to them,
ala Fear and the Circle Jerks, but they aren’t quite
as rough and unhinged as those bands were. The sound quality
on the cd is awful; you can barely hear the drums and the
bass might as well be nonexistent. The lead guitar work ranges
from technical and unoriginal to melodic and unoriginal, their
melodies are bland, and they really lack their own personality.
They’re a rehash of the atypical orange county punk
band. I do like the guitar weaving (guitar weaving=two rhythm
parts on guitar going on at once, for those of you who don’t
obsessively read every Keith Richards interview ever conducted
like I do.) they did on the first track, though.
 Follow
You Home - Save Yourself (www.followyouhome.com)
Follow You Home has a neo pop punk New Found Glory meets
screamo sound. If that’s your type of thing, this
band’s for you. They’re fronted by a pink haired
girl with a terrific voice. I hate screaming music and mallpunk,
but her voice alone makes this EP bearable for me. The screaming
on this release takes place on the harmony vocals, which
complement Kayley’s hooks well. They have some really
tight production and they aren’t half bad musicians,
either. They don’t try to be anyone but themselves;
they have a variety of influences noticeable in their music,
ranging from post-hardcore to pop punk to ska. I’d
name some bands, but I made a concerted effort to repress
my knowledge of this kind of music after I escaped high
school. Honestly, I’d describe this band as a combination
of every genre of music that made me want to hurt helpless,
woodland creatures in high school. And they’re damn
good at it.
 Purple
Melon - Henry’s Rocket (SplitPigeon records L.A.)
Purple Melon sounds creepily similar to Queen in almost every
aspect of the band. They have that hard rock drive with pop
sensibilities, and they’re not afraid of incorporating
elements of opera into their music. Everything from the harmonies
to the guitar licks reeks of Queen. The singer sounds like
Freddie Mercury, though he has nowhere near his range, as
the autotuning will make clear. They aren’t the most
original band, but they do a great job at being Queen’s
Oasis.
 1,2,3
- New Heaven (Frenchkiss Records)
The first song on New Heaven, "Work," is
pretty telling of how the rest of the album will go. Two guitars,
a lead and rhythm, both high in pitch and reverb (possibly
using a chorus pedal, but my ears aren’t talented enough
to be sure), give the song an upbeat start and Nic’s
soulful vocals (I have no idea if he really sings lead, but
there’s only two guys in the band so I figure I have
a 50/50 chance.) reign everything in together. They’re
very polished and sound like they’ve spent a lot of
time in the studio. They don’t follow the traditional
“bass/guitar/drums” setup of your average rock
n roll n band, incorporating violins (I think they using an
echo effect on their violins, and that kinda puts me off.
Maybe I’m retarded and it’s an entirely different
instrument. Maybe it’s an electric violin. Why are you
still reading this?) and digital sampling into their music.
They’re basically a studio band, but they still manage
capture the cohesion and chemistry live bands produce.
As far as their songwriting goes, I hear lots of Beatles and
Superchunk in it. Complex pop melodies (sometimes they can
get a bit too complex, but they’re still very enjoyable)
with an aggressive but mellow edge to them. They blend everything
together pretty well, and the bad tracks on this album are
more due to over production than weak songwriting. These guys
are pretty talented. If you’re into indie pop, you should
check them out.
 Elway
- Delusions (Red Scare Industries)
Elway is sort of atypical of the current punk scene. Gruff,
emotional, and aggressive, they don’t really add anything
that makes them stand out to me. The band is very rhythm driven,
with most of the melodies in the music handled by vocals and
occasionally lead guitar. While these guys aren’t the
most talented, they make up for a lot of that in energy. You
can reuse a lot of the same tools in punk and still make a
good album, you just have to sound like you mean what you
play, and these guys certainly do. Don’t believe me?
Listen to "Kristina’s Last Song" and try and
resist the urge to bob your head.
 Guards
- Self-titled EP (Kitsune Records)
It’s rare for me to find a lo-fi pop band that actually
knows their craft. For the longest time, the only band of
that caliber I could really list was the Barbaras. Now, that
list has two names. Whoever writes the melodies for this band
would get an A+ in the Lennon/McCartney and Brian Wilson school
of songwriting. What I mean is, they have that nostalgic surfy/dreamy
sound that you get out of the Beach Boys with a lot of the
same melodic patterns the Beatles used, and that is not an
easy thing to mimic, let alone filter your own voice through.
Hell, I can’t even think of a negative thing to say
about this release. It’s lo-fi, but done in a way that
enhances the sound of the music. It adds to a poppy and dreamy
but at the same time demented sound they go for. It’s
almost like they recorded this in an overweight, bipolar Brian
Wilson’s bedroom in the 70s, with the microphones placed
under his sheets. Yeah. Listen to this.
 Jeff
the Brotherhood - We Are the Champions (Infinity Cats Recording)
I hate this band. I hate them because they are way more talented
than I could ever be. They have so many sounds they incorporate
so well into their music that it makes me sick. From their
Ray Manzarekesque organ to their fuzzy, grungy guitars to
their hard-driving drummer and awesome melodies that the singer
can make jump out at you, even without harmonies, these guys
make me sick. They tend to change up the tempo/instruments/effects
they use from song to song. Hey friend goes from a raw grungey
rock n roll jam session to romantic, acoustic part and back
to that grunge n roll sound. They do this on a couple songs,
all songs with that gritty, in your face but mellow sound
to them. They can embrace their poppy and Roky Eric son psych/garage
rock side, too.
Damn this band to Hell. How do this many talented musicians
come in contact with each other? It’s not fair. The
lead guitarist does so many things that most are not physically
capable of doing. Do they make guitar pedals for awesome?
I think Jeff the Brotherhood uses them.
 BRICK
MOWER – Under The Sink (Viking On Campus/Stumprunner)
It’s always endearing for me to hear a band figuring
out their voice. While they occasionally play off time and
the cd is a pretty lo-fi mix, Brick Mower certainly has
their own personality. They feature generally whiny, throaty
vocals similar to those of the Dopamines (I’m half
drunk and in the middle of watching the Cubs fall apart;
I can’t remember the name of their singer. Jim, what
kind of level of professionalism do you expect in these?)
a gritty sounding guitar that reminds me a of more lo-fi
Dopamines guitar work with more leads (I imagine these guys
listen to the Dopamines a lot.), a pretty wild and creative
drummer and a bassist who does what a bassist is supposed
to do and keeps the rhythm.
I don’t want you to think these guys are Dopamines
knock-offs, though. In their intros, bridges and between
some verses you can hear these guys sort of jam out in a
way that gets your attention but stops short tarist could
do well to study his scales a bit more, but I respect it
nonetheless. So manof pretentious. That’s really where
I see these guys’ personalities come out the most.
The guiy pop punk bands limit themselves to 4 chords and
a handful of melodies they rework over and over. Brick Mower
sounds like a band this isn’t afraid to go out there
and do what they want to do. There really weren’t
any stand out tracks on this LP for me, but I wouldn’t
be surprised to see these guys write some real good songs
if they continue to grow as musicians and songwriters. (brickmower.bandcamp.com)
 MAN
THE CHANGE – Weather The Storm (manthechange.bandcamp.com)
The first thought that entered my mind when I put Weather
the Storm on was “this sounds so much like Hot Water
Music” Hot Water Music’s brand of pop punk has
never really been my thing, but if it were, you could be expecting
some Lester Bangs on cough syrup style rants from me about
this album. I don’t listen to this kind of music often,
but these guys know how to play.
Weather the Storm, their first LP, is a very strong first
effort. The general tone of the band is gruff and aggressive
but very well polished. The mix is pretty good; lots of well
layered harmonies and a great sound out of the guitar and
drums, my only complaint being how quiet the bass is. The
lead vocals range from gruff and in your face to a softer
(I don’t wanna say soft, because nothing I’m hearing
on this cd is soft) and introspective style, which provides
some interesting contrast in the music. In the vein of a lot
of Fat Wreck bands, they play leads over their verse parts,
which they complement the vocals well; which is refreshing,
because so many lead guitarists tend to overdo it and sort
of overcrowd the song.
The songwriting on the album is also very developed; I’d
imagine these guys have been writing music for awhile. For
the most part, they keep to a simple verse/chorus structure
but they’re certainly not afraid to deviate from that
and do their own thing. The rhythm parts can be get complex
at times, using many riffs throughout a song and changing
tempo (though the drummer seems to have problems playing anything
that isn’t fast and in your face) which keeps things
fresh in my opinion. It’s a short listen, only 8 songs
and 25 minutes, but all the songs are pretty well put together.
The only filler track on the album is “Put Stevie at
Second”. I’d recommend this for any fans of that
Hot Water Music/Fat Wreck Chords sound.
 GRAY
YOUNG – Staysail (307 Knox Records)
If you’re put off by reverb and jam bands, Gray Young
isn’t for you. It’s a hard thing to pull off and
these guys do it tastefully, mixed in with good lyrical melodies,
on some tracks, but on a few tracks they tend to get pretty
repetitive and dull. Don’t let that sway you, though.
As far as technical musicianship goes Gray Young is up there
with the best of them. Yes, they use lots of reverb, but they
have to talent to back it up. Each member of the band knows
what they’re for and they do it well.
While I’d consider them a post-punk jam band, they aren’t
afraid to walk outside of their genre, as shown on the 4th
track of the album, Unbound. It’s a mainly acoustic
folk jam with some very well placed electric leads, showing
some signs of Elliott Smith along with a more dreamy, mellow,
Explosions in the Sky kind of personality, which tends to
dominate most of their work. Vermillion, another acoustic
track, has the same kind of Elliott Smith sound but leans
more towards their jam band sound. That contrast is one of
the bands bigger strengths. If you’re an indie pop fan
who doesn’t mind some jamming out, Staysail is for you.
 CAIN
MARKO - At Sea (cainmarko.bandcamp.com)
Cain Marko’s another one of many bands that has embraced
the style of Hot Water Music or Leatherface. Like many bands
in that style of pop punk, their lyrics are melancholy, vocals
gravelly, melodies upbeat and guitars fuzzy but bright at
the same time. This band adds little to the genre in terms
of creativity, but this band has a lot of energy and passion
which makes this EP a good listen.
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