(c)2008 Animo Music
Rating: 
I saw these guys at Warped Tour last year and thought they were a perfect fit. They’ve got a high energy live act and were adored by the throngs of screaming girls in the audience. While giving Blood in the Water a first listen, I browsed other review sites to see what was being said…sigh.
I fully believe MC Lars when he tells us that “Hot Topic is not punk rock,” but there’s no need to slam the kids who like the music they promote, or the bands who capitalize on the sound. Animo perfectly capture the summer fest’s style, and Blood in the Water is a very decent, albeit short, album. While I agree with the general web consensus that these guys don’t fit the classic definition of punk, they’re poster children for pop-punk. Their songs are amazingly catchy, their lyrics don’t drag into the total emo-therapy downturn that lesser Warped acts have. They’ve got a brilliant drummer, great guitar hooks, slappy bass support, and amazing vocals. Radio pop-punk isn’t disrespectful to the pioneers of the 70′s, it’s a natural progression supported by America’s youth who are bound to adore Animo.
-HK-47
Bosterdamian group Jaya the Cat deliver a unique fusion of punk, reggae, rock, and ska that took a few listens before it gelled into awesome. More Late Night Transmissions With… bounces across the Atlantic like Cannabis Cup winning weed followed by a dram of 20 yr barrel aged Glensomething whiskey — oh-so-hazy and smoother than a mo’fo’.
The Psycho Nubs are a great duo with an odd name. This album is fun, energetic, creative and overall awesome. Their style swings around from political-themed glam-tinged rock over to basement punk and around the corner to psychobilly. Impressively, they show no hesitation and rock all 17 tracks with a pure, musical passion that’s often lost in mainstream bands.
Oooh! Shiny! Honor Bright is everything that I love in radio music today, with none of the crap. That r-word might be enough to deter many, but I’m a big fan of Warped Tour sounding artists, and these guys are some of the best.
This is the kind of music that makes people want to punch babies. I’ve never been a huge fan of babies (except for yours, of course), so it’s more telling to say that this cd made me want to kick puppies. 18 tracks of useless, casio-keyboard-fueled, Ernest Borgnine referencing lyrics — I was sobbing with relief when the cd was over.
Sometimes you watch an action movie and you leave the theater feeling like a badass, humming the Mission Impossible theme, hoping your car’s transformed into a James-Bond-mobile. You know that feeling… I just had a Fast & Furious movie marathon, so it left me in one of those post-car-chase-movie moods. Had I been looking for a soundtrack to keep that “I’m a misunderstood rebel car guy from SoCal” feeling alive, I’d throw in the Kottonmouth Kings new disc, “The Green Album”.
Add two parts Go-Go’s one part teen angst, smack ‘em together and label ‘em Made In Japan and you’ve got the power girl punk from Japan’s latest export Softball. I don’t want to come across as sexist, but I generally don’t listen to a lot of “girl” music. But damnit I like Softball. They have spunk and energy and punky Clash like sensibility. throughout the entire CD I’m kept marvelously entertained. the tunes are very heavily accented so that I can’t make out a majority of the lyrics, yet I find myself wanting to sing along even if only phonetically. If you like your punk a little on the poppy side and you’ve ever found yourself singing along to the Go-Go’s, add a little international flavor to your life and listen to softball. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
The Dram Club offers, yes, you guessed it, DRAMA! … They are the soundtrack to whatever crappy new MTV reality show du jour. This disc is pretty damn milk toast. If you have sold your soul to the devil, listening to this is the price that you must pay! Maybe when you do what you can to get played, that feeling projects out from you where ever you go … if ya know what I mean.
Heavy Water Experiments’ (formerly Imogene) new self-titled release is a dense swirl of 60′s prog and psychedelic rock. The lush sonic swirl and non-standard instrumentation (eight string as well as four string bass, vintage keys and drums) definitely pays homage to the psychedelia of years past, however the bass heavy progressions are often reminiscent of Morphine. The mind altered musical melenge aside, Heavy Water Experiments still have a decidedly subtle rock and roll feel. The new self-titular release proffers up 12 groove heavy, jam length (mostly) tracks. I suggest listening to it in the dark with headphones on so you can pick up all the nuances, and if you have one, fire up the lava lamp and let the trippy jams play on.