Month: March 2014

The Lumber Jerks – First Three E.P.

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© 2014
Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆

lumber_jerks_first_threeWhat’s up friends? Craving something new in your ear holes? Bam! Done. I’ve got a tasty little EP here from Joliet, IL (yeah, like as in the prison town, and Joliet Jake for you older kids) band The Lumber Jerks. I humbly present the “First Three E.P.”

As you might expect, there are three full tracks. All of which are fast paced punk rock. The songs are sweet and short and chock full of the fervor that is rarely found outside of youthful three piece combos. Not coincidentally, The Lumber Jerks are such a combo.

If I were to try to compare the sounds being kicked down by this EP, I’d mash it up somewhere around 7 Seconds, Newbomb Turks and The Humbers. It’s a great effect. You should check it out.

I guess the fellas recorded on full analog reel to reel. That’s pretty sweet. As much as I’m a proponent of the modern digital studio, there’s something just so straight up badass about rocking the analog. Of course, I’m listening to mp3s on half good PC speakers, so a lot of that is likely falling on deaf ears.

Anyways, here’s some brand new fresh faced punk rocks for you all to get your grubby little hands on.

http://www.thelumberjerks.com/
http://lumberjerks.bandcamp.com/

Cheers!
-Jerry Actually

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

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Diva_Cover_200

Tour Dates:
03/18/14 Los Angeles, CA at House of Blues w/ Bad Cop/Bad Cop
03/19/14 San Francisco, CA at Slim’s

In that mythical era known as the 90’s, five brave young men emerged from the legendary halls of some of the mightiest bands on Fat Wreck Chords with a single mission: make all the rest of these dildo punk bands covering popular songs obsolete. They crowned themselves Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and the world rejoiced. Now, seven records, scores of singles and nearly a thousand years later, having tackled every genre under the sun, the bold young knaves known colloquially as the Gimmes have ridden their success hard, and decayed into desiccated, old divas. Yet, the diva, she is immortal. And thus, imbued with the old-world, Mystic Pizza-esque swagger of Cher, the modern pop-art sensibility of Lady Gaga and the enthusiasm-for-drug-consumption of Whitney Houston, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes have returned from their beauty rest, busting out of their sequined gowns, and throwing vases at their assistants in order to present you with their latest opus, entitled Are We Not Men? We Are Diva!, slated to be released on May 13, 2014 on none other than Fat Wreck Chords. And you’d best believe, whether because of their tantrums or their virtuosity, once you hear these fat ladies sing, there’s not gonna be a dry eye in the house.

For the uninitiated, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes consist of Lagwagon frontman Joey Cape on the guitar, Shiflett brother (and Foo Fighter) Chris Shiflett on the other guitar, Lagwagon drummer and Fat Wreck utility superhero Dave Raun on the skins, and are rounded out by Fat Wreck-head-honcho/NOFX main-dude Fat Mike, and incomparable crooner Spike Slawson. Together, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes—an outfit that has always operated more like a beer-hall Pussycat Dolls than a regular mortal band—contain so much hot air, so much pomp, so much attitude, that it’s a wonder that these guys can still manage to pull their five individual tour buses into the same parking lot, put their differences aside and belt out the ballads without clawing each other’s eyes out. But they do, for the love of the fans, the music, and of course, the applause.

Continue reading Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

Braincell Graveyard – The F*cking EP

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Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

braincell_graveyardYou may recall (you likely don’t) that I reviewed a previous release by Braincell Graveyard. Well, I get the distinct (dis)pleasure of coughing up some more words for this new(er) release. “The F*cking EP) came out about a year ago and I’ve had it sitting on my desk. To be honest, I wasn’t even going to review it, but at the band’s insistence and/or persistence, I gave it another listen.

This new recording doesn’t deviate far from the thematic elements of the previous “Drunk Punk Anthems”. Shooting pornos, blowing loads, and rampant sex are the topic du jour for the “The F*cking EP” as well. I’m certainly not surprised given the title. At this point though, I’m past the sophomoric schtick. It’s kinda the Andrew Dice Clay of punk, only less funny and with far more misogynistic overtones.

The “EP” offers eight tracks (which is a lot for an EP) running between 30 seconds and three and a half minutes. Maybe it’s like an maxi-EP? At any rate, once again, the talent of the performance far outpaces the quality of the concept. I was hoping that the lads had perhaps matured a bit, but alas it’s not to be. Maybe I’m missing out on this whole “Porn Punk” thing and I just don’t get it.

They made the effort, so I appreciate that, but overall, I was left feeling like this is just something that I can’t subscribe to.

If you’re curious, you can find out more about the band here: http://www.facebook.com/braincellgraveyard
–Jerry Actually