699 total search results — Page 8 of 35
Future Virgins – Western Problems
Review — January 16, 2012
2011 saw me getting deeper into garage bands. What better way to close out my year than with Future Virgins, who blend garage brevity and song structures with pop punk melodies. The Chattanooga, TN band mixes up a garage influence without feeling nearly as formulaic, due in large part to …
Buildings – Melt, Cry, Sleep
Review — January 31, 2012
Buildings. Two syllables. Direct and immovable. It seems a fitting name for this Minneapolis three-piece and their second album Melt, Cry, Sleep. Their sound is tough to pin to a genre but, make no bones about it, the dudes are angry and loud. There are a lot of familiar …
Classics Of Love – Self Titled
Review — February 13, 2012
Classics of Love have a hill to climb. Considering that leader Jesse Michaels has been in bands like Common Rider, Big Rig and, oh, let’s see…Operation Ivy, there’s always going to be that inevitable comparison between 2012 and 1989. His most recent project takes a definite harder …
Mind Spiders – Meltdown
Review — February 20, 2012
Mark Ryan may not tour all that often, but you can’t fault the man’s productivity. Meltdown marks the second release from solo project Mind Spiders in a year, although the “solo” seems to be a stretch on this release. The first time around, Mind Spiders was Ryan’s project. He wrote …
Shell Shag – Fuck Society
Review — February 27, 2012
What if you could have all the great hits of the early 90s on one record: Liz Phair, INXS, Archers of Loaf all on one easy-to-manage collection? Okay, so this cover set from Brooklyn’s Shell Shag also includes DIY punk like Underground Railroad to Candyland and AK77, …
Lasting Impression – 301.9
Review — February 27, 2012
Hardcore really isn’t my thing. Still, every once and a while I like to break out of my comfort zone with something different. Lasting Impression, hailing from LaCrosse, WI, refer to themselves as “high energy hardcore.” There are a number of scenes or bands that could be name-dropped, but sticking …
Spoonboy – The Papas
Review — March 5, 2012
Do you like songs about gender issues, white male privilege, masculinity, and society in general? If not, you may want to quit reading here. Spoonboy, led by David Combs, is dedicated and upfront about these causes. Much like his other band, The Max Levine Ensemble, the general tone is preachy …
Future of the Left – Polymers Are Forever EP
Review — March 12, 2012
From what I gather, I’m supposed to love Andy Falkous and his body of work. For a man who talks so much shit, he sure has a lot of admirers. But, whatever…I’m reviewing Polymers Are Forever here, not writing as essay on ego worship. This EP is the latest from …
The Measure [SA] – My Heart And The Real World
Review — March 12, 2012
From the getgo, the transitions on My Heart and the Real World could be smoother—but that’s no surprise on a collections record. The Measure [SA] put out an enormous body of work—at least for a band with only two official full-lengths during their run—and putting them onto a single slab …
The Blank Fight – House Band Feud (Re-Issue)
Review — March 19, 2012
Aaron Cometbus, Rymodee of This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb, bikes, guitars…that seems a fitting intro for the reissue of The Blank Fight’s one and only album, House Band Feud. The cd was released in 2002 on Plan-it-X and, to steal a line from Silver Sprocket’s press sheet, …
John K. Samson – Provincial
Review — April 2, 2012
It’s already been four plus years since the last Weakerthans record. If I weren’t aging quickly myself, that would feel like a long time. While I’m not sure what’s up with their status as a band, ringleader John K. Samson set aside time in early 2011 to record his first …
The Hussy – Weed Seizure
Review — April 9, 2012
Just a year ago I was writing about Cement Tomb Mind Control. Here we are in 2012, and the Madison, WI two-piece is already dropping their second full-length,Weed Seizure, on Tic Tac Totally Records. Considering the backbone of The Hussy is to play l-o-u-d garage rock, there …
Tenement – Blind Wink
Review — April 9, 2012
Appleton, WI’s Tenement are a busy beast. The two-plus-piece band (featuring numerous guest musicians) released Napalm Dream in 2011, which I gave a heavy Replacements recommendation on. December 2011 saw the band already unleashing another record, this time the collection Blind Wink, available on varied formats from the likes …
L'Assassins – 7 PM Go!!!
Review — April 23, 2012
Big Action Records’ latest release, 7pm Go!!! from L’Assassins is definitely in line with their recent catalog. Instead of throwback garage, however, L’Assassins have a surf-rockabilly sound that’s takes inspiration from the original genre instead of the bastardized psychobilly that rules punksubgenreland today. This sounds like the kind of record …
Brendan Kelly & The Wandering Birds – I'd Rather Die Than Live Forever
Review — April 30, 2012
I’ve never thought of Brendan Kelly as much of a singer. Sure, I’ve followed his career—hell, Slapstick played at the first real DIY show I ever saw—but he’s always been in that category of “punk vocalist,” who relies on attitude far more than vocal chops. As such, I had pretty …
Off! – Self Titled
Review — May 17, 2012
This record is way too long. Nah, with 16 songs in 17 minutes, it’s shorter than a heart attack. And, hopefully, that will be my only elderstateman reference in here. For those living under a rock since 2010, Off! is a new Keith Morris (Circle Jerks, Black Flag …
Vacation – Self Titled
Review — May 14, 2012
First off, forgive me if at some point I wander off and say something about Summer Vacation or Vacation Bible School, and I keep mixing these bands up in my head. Vacation is Cincinnati-based band that sometimes gets the pop-punk label, although I would argue garage-punk if I had …
Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
Review — May 21, 2012
I’m not going to lie. I’m reaching a bit out of my comfort zone on reviewing this one. And, yes, the rating system is a bit skewed toward albums that fit into my more typical listening genres. In other words, it would take Sharon Van Etten a hell of an …
Toys That Kill – Fambly 42
Review — June 4, 2012
It may have been six years since Toys That Kill put out a full-length, but Fambly 42 sounds like it could have been released immediately after Shanked. The melodies are seamless and the precision between band members sounds like they haven’t missed a beat—maybe that’s because the band plays …
