Category Archives: Reviews
Crusades’ debut LP The Sun Is Down And The Night Is Riding In opens with an extremely ominous and slow marching drum – very reminiscent of Fucked Up’s opener from Hidden World (which may or may not be where “Crusades” came from), except the band dwell on the dark biblical passages left behind by Fucked Up. But before you know it, “Attic” has kicked into gear and it’s time to get freaky. Crusade’s obvious influences lie somewhere between The Misfits and The Copyrights, blending dark and satanic imagery with mile-a-minute pop punk hooks, yet are distinctly neither wholly.
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Leave a comment | tags: Crusades, Fucked Up, ontario, sedatives, steve adamyk band, the creeps, The Sun Is Down and The Night Is Riding In | posted in News, Reviews
Floorboards is technically a reissue of an album that was released last year. In the updated version, however, it is paired with 2008’s The Earthling Sessions, a three-song EP comprised of the band’s early material. Merging the two releases was a logical decision on label Topshelf Records‘ part, as the record retains the feel of a cohesive full-length. The Earthling Sessions is not simply a tacked-on demo, but an essential piece of the Caravels discography that complements its full-length counterpart both stylistically and thematically. Here, the two become a potent combination. Continue reading
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The debut album from Buffalo, New York’s Lieutenant comes after a long wait. With unfinished demos and pre-mastered CD-r’s floating around the better part of a decade, all loose ends were finally tied earlier this year to finally give the band’s self-titled LP the release it deserves. Featuring members spanning a number of Buffalo bands such as Lemuria, Running For Cover, To Hell And Back, and Resist Control, current (or is it former?) members of Lieutenant have mostly moved on to their respective labels, hence the three way collaboration on the LP pressing between Art Of The Underground, Peter Walkee, and Warm Bath.
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Leave a comment | tags: Art of the Underground, lemuria, Lieutenant, Peter Walkee, Resist Control, Running For Cover, To Hell And Back, Warm Bath | posted in News, Reviews
The Copyrights’ fifth studio album, North Sentinel Island, opens up with the band’s most straightforward, hardhitting, rock and roll riff in years, and best of all, they’re completely unapologetic for it. The opening track quickly segues into a blend of crunchy guitar riffs layered on top of melodic vocal hooks. Before “Trustees Of Modern Chemistry” finishes, you can rest assured that the band hasn’t lost any of their steam in their three-year absence since 2008’s Learn The Hard Way came out.
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Leave a comment | tags: expatriate blues, learn the hard way, North Sentinel Island, pop, pop punk, punk, red scare industries, The Copyrights, trustees of modern chemistry, worn out passport | posted in News, Reviews
The independent music company, Black Numbers, has recently released a Grey Area/Go Rydell split that, while not packed, holds some really good tunes. It’s an excellent jumping on point for hardcore punk fans who may have overlooked either band or a great addition for those that are already well on their way to building their Grey Area or Go Rydell collection.
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Leave a comment | tags: face to face, fanbelt algebra, florida, go rydell, Grey Area, hardcore, kid dynamite, Lifetime, nyhc, orlando, shorter louder faster, split, the golden age | posted in News, Reviews
With thousand of miles separating Dan Andriano from his other Alkaline Trio members, he has had plenty of time to master his solo craft. Creating the new moniker and slowly releasing demo’s since 2009, Hurricane Season has been a long time coming. A labor of love from his relatively new surroundings in St. Augustine FL. This record is full of what makes Alkaline Trio great with more of an Elvis Costello vibe. While being based around Dan and an acoustic guitar,Hurricane Season has a tasteful palette of electric guitars, organs, piano, drums, and the occasional bass. In a very personal departure from his norm of the Trio, Andriano paints the picture of a traveling man searching for something he might not be heading towards. Finding little comfort in hotel rooms and late night phone calls, he searches for a cure. Whether that be a partner to share his fear with or a good nights sleep. Dan’s song writing abilities shine through his blackened insides and make for a great batch of songs.
Leave a comment | tags: alkaline trio, Dan Adriano, elvis costello, emergency room, hurricane season | posted in News, Reviews
The southern Ontario punk rock scene has been building and swelling for quite some time now, and is about to hit it’s spilling point. While neither are relics in age, stature, or output, Wayfarer and The Decay have both contributed significantly to the face of independent music and the persistence of a scene in the area. On the surface, theDecayfarer split seems obvious; why didn’t this happen years ago? The record’s sound is anything but simple to figure out; both sides of the LP feature the respective bands at their most developed. While neither band has left their roots behind, The Decay have expanded on their street punk beginnings and Wayfarer their fairly linear pop-punk origin. Decayfarer utilizes the best in writing ability from both these young and upcoming bands.
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Leave a comment | tags: canada, Decayfarer, Hot Water Music, juicebox, ontario, The Decay, Wayfarer | posted in News, Reviews
Rarely does a band’s demo sound so fully formed, but Deafheaven’s 2010 demo was. Essentially, Deafheaven emerged out of the proverbial womb as a seven foot, 300 pound behemoth. With their demo, they were already able to demonstrate a mastery of mixing many diverse genres and approaches. Their music expertly mixed black metal, post rock and hardcore in a masterful way. Less than a year later, they have released their first full length for Deathwish Inc and it is no lightweight either.
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Leave a comment | tags: Black Emperor, black metal, Blacklisted, converge, Cursed, Deafheaven, deathwish, Explosions in the Sky, Godspeed You, hardcore, My Bloody Valentine, post rock, Roads to Judah, This Will Destroy You | posted in News, Reviews
Direct Hit!’s debut album Domesplitter is a collection of what the fans voted on as the group’s most noteworthy tracks off of their first five split 7”s, rerecorded and reimagined with a new, consistent lineup and a concrete goal in sight. The band’s signature blend of anthemic pop-punk is fairly reminiscent of genre staples The Copyrights andScreeching Weasel, and when tied in succinctly with fellow pumper-upper Andrew WK creates an unpredictable slew of party punk with enough heart to keep you coming back for more. Domesplitter hits the nail on the head like none of the band’s previous short run efforts have been able to. In true Direct Hit! fashion, the listener is slapped in the face with the first “fuck you, get pumped!” before even the opening track has a chance to make an appearance, and again a mere five minutes later.
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Leave a comment | tags: andrew wk, cooyrights, direct hit, domesplitter, fuck you get pumped, joyce manor, screeching weasel | posted in News, Reviews
When listening to
No Ghost for the first time, prepare for a shock to the system because this is a pretty big departure for Capsule. The band’s music is notoriously chaotic and with the songs from their previous full length and seven inches the listener was never sure what to expect. Capsule’s chaotic nature still exists within the confines of
No Ghost, but this time has been nurtured and molded to also hold a larger sense of organization behind the madness.
Leave a comment | tags: 420, capsule, chaos, drugs, florida, grind, Miami, No Ghost, richmond, rorsharch records, virginia, weed | posted in News, Reviews
