Every Time I Die
New Junk Aesthetic
Epitaph (2009)
There's always a lot of different opinions surrounding the band Every Time I Die. A lot prefer the more chaotic, unpredictable sound they had in the early days of Hot Damn! and Last Night in Town, while a lot seem to enjoy their more riff-heavy metalcore sound they've developed since Gutter Phenomenon. Their last album, The Big Dirty was arguably … Read more
Everyone Everywhere
A Lot of Weird People Standing Around
Evil Weevil (2009)
Everyone Everywhere is a relatively new group from Philadelphia that loves to wear their influences plainly on their sleeve. Sounding somewhere between Nothing Feels Good-era Promise Ring and the bouncy guitars of Braid, they bring us four tracks of this 90's style that I don't hear very often anymore. This seven-inch turns out to be an interesting exploration of a … Read more
Explode and Make Up
Some Kind of Diplomat
Underground Communiqué (2009)
Any band that names themselves after a Sugar song automatically wins major points with me. And it doesn't hurt the band's cause when you hear names like Dag Nasty and 7 Seconds batted around in reviews either. Explode and Make up features the singer of 88 Fingers Louie as well as members from The Bomb and The Suicide Machines. And … Read more
Eyes Averted
Eyes Averted
Independent (2009)
Eyes Averted return with a four-song EP that the band is once again self-releasing, something they're used to after self-releasing their debut album back in 2006. These four songs continue the band's display of technical abilities but with a slightly different approach than what was displayed on their debut. The four songs still boast a technical hardcore sound akin to … Read more
Face Reality
Positive Change
Dead End (2009)
It's nice to see in 2009 that's there is still youth crew hardcore bands out there. Face Reality is from Michigan and play fast hardcore with plenty of fun breakdowns. The vocals remind me of Ray Cappo with a cold. Musically it's a cross between Ten Yard Fight and The First Step. The lyrics are positive and on the straight-end … Read more
Fake Problems / Ninja Gun
Split
Sabot Productions (2009)
This split 7" from Sabot teams up two punk sensations for one exclusive track each. Fake Problems offer up "The Manliest Man of All Men," which is very much in tune with their preceding full-length, It's Great to be Alive. The band builds on their quirky punk sound with a hint of bluesy rock and roll and indie rock flavoring; … Read more
Fall of Efrafa
Inle
Halo Of Flies/Denovali/Sound Devastation (2009)
Fall of Efrafa proves further that there is still a great deal of inventiveness in existence within the underground music scene by basing the entire concept (from band name, to topical song material, to artwork) around a singular work of literature by exploring the themes and moods and the mythology within Watership Down. Inle is the final installment in a … Read more
Felt
Felt 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez
Rhymesayers (2009)
It's refreshing to put in a hip-hop disc and not have it bogged down with guest spots featured on every track. In fact, none of the songs on Felt 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez have any star appearances - besides the rapping duo of Slug (Atmosphere) and Murs, combined with producer, Aesop Roc - as the pair returns with … Read more
Final Fight
Half Head, Full Shred
Gobias Industries/Panic (2009)
Final Fight finally return with their second full-length. After releasing the acclaimed Under Attack in 2005 the band signed to Deathwish Inc. with promises of new recordings. They soon released a split 7" with Life Long Tragedy but then the wait for the band's next studio effort seemed to last forever. After parting ways with the label, Final Fight finally … Read more
Fired Up
Doomed to Repeat
Youngblood (2009)
Doomed to Repeat is a posthumous release from Fired Up. Fired Up plays extremely fast youth crew inspired hardcore and gained a little bit of notoriety for being a band that played this style of hardcore...but they weren't straightedge. Whoopee-do. Doomed to Repeat is the type of record you'd expect from Youngblood Records. There's plenty of sing-a-longs, parts to point … Read more
Fireworks
All I Have to Offer is My Own Confusion
Triple Crown (2009)
Ah, the full-length record that so many of us have been waiting for. After the disappointing lack of new material found on last year's Adventure, Nostalgia, and Robbery, fans were certainly ready for this record to come to light. Now on the more widely distributed Triple Crown label, Detroit's Fireworks are only now appearing to garner the attention that I … Read more
Florence and the Machine
Lungs
Island (2009)
In a U.K. pop scene increasingly dominated by uncertain female electro-pop princesses or paltry imitations of Rihanna or Beyonce, it's refreshing and exciting to see the dominance of a genuinely interesting and invigorating talent. Twenty-three year old Florence Welch and her four accomplices - The Machine - present us a gift wrapped collection of thirteen buoyant, ethereal and enormous songs. … Read more
Folsom
Hammer Lane
Ghost Town (2009)
Since hitting the scene with a monstrous demo, Folsom have kept themselves busy with a full-length, couple of EP releases, and sporadic touring. The Las Vegas hardcore group return with LP number two, which follows up their 2008 EP, Neon Light Nights. Folsom continue to churn out punishing metallic hardcore that mixes in a little bit of the beatdown flavor … Read more
Food
Food
Molsook (2009)
Do you know the old bit of folk wisdom that goes something like "Never judge a book by its cover"? Well, substitute record for book, and the old axiom becomes apt the same way. Food's self-titled record is an example of this axiom working in this situation. At first, I completely mistake the cover image for something else because at … Read more
For.The.Win.
The Black & The Blue
Asian Man/Solidarity (2009)
The Bay Area has always been known for producing some great punk acts. One up-and-coming band is the newest addition to the Asian Man family, For.The.Win. This three-piece play a pretty solid mixture of melodic punk and positive hardcore on their debut album, The Black & The Blue. What we have here is about twenty minutes of sometimes hardcore, sometimes … Read more
Foreign Cinema
Non-Synchronous Sound
Parallax Sounds (2009)
Moody, dark, atmospheric rock from this two-piece based out of San Francisco will send a shiver down your spine with this release. Think Peter Murphy backed up by members of The Cure and Mission UK on holiday. There's a definite Faith influence here which I am being drawn into after repeated listens. The last song on this release is a … Read more
Forensics Sonic Victimization Unit
Deathscream
Magic Bullet (2009)
About the only comment that I could muster when I saw the existence of this release was an extremely emphatic, "NICE! A new Forensics record," before promptly heading over to the Magic Bullet web store and ordering the extremely limited CD (only 88 copies and a few additional that did not meet the artistic standards of the group). Even though … Read more
Foundation
Chimborazo
Paper + Plastick (2009)
I like to refer to Foundation's self-titled record as campfire punk. It takes basic punk songs (often from the Ann Beretta catalog) and strips them down to the acoustic basics. In the process, Rob Huddleston doesn't run them through the genre-grinder and spit out new alt-country or folk versions of old songs so much as he creates Ann Beretta Unplugged … Read more
