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Cubicle – The Severance Package

Dec 15

Posted by Jerry Actually in Punk Reviews | No Comments

Rating: ★★★★☆

Cubicle is an L.A. based punk band, rocking out with near total corporate schtick; Songs of coffee, languishing in noward* mobility, and Ponzi Scheme greed abound. The sound is somewhat comical ala Guttermouth and certainly classic punk reminiscent of Circle Jerks. The later influence goes even so far as to include a very convincing cover of “Beverly Hills”

The band certainly isn’t a tribute band though. While harnessing much of the energy of the early California punk sound, they manage to admirably infuse their roots with a new burst of energy and a style of their own. The EP offers up five originals and the aforementioned cover. The tracks keep up the pace and remain edgy throughout without sounding either too garage-y or over-produced.

Overall a fun release with a decidedly anti white collar wage slave agenda. You can listen to some tracks on the band’s MySpace page (whatever that is)

-Jerry Actually

*noward is neither upward or downward. lateral.

Tracks:
1. Not Going Anywhere Fast
2. Brainwashed
3. Ponzi Scheme
4. Coffee Break
5. Beverly Hills
6. Yo-Yo

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Burning Streets – Sit Still

Nov 19

Posted by Jerry Actually in Punk Reviews | 1 Comment

Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
© 2011 Sailor’s Grave Records

Boston band Burning Streets has a new release. “Sit Still” is out now on Sailor’s Grave Records and with it you get 11 tracks of emotionally charged rock and roll. On the whole, Sit Still hovers in the punk rock vein, but is heavily laced with a melancholy that accompanies other similar acts like The Loved Ones or American Steel and to a lesser degree, Dead to Me.

The songs, averaging around the four minute mark, tend to be longer than what usually sits well with me. However the individual tracks have enough variety to maintain interest. The album is also well arranged, so the lengthy tracks aren’t as much a hindrance as they might otherwise be.
Nearly all the tracks are of the emotive and moody variety. In the right frame of mind I can get into this more mellow side of punk rock. The album begins to gain momentum around track five, “The Safety”. After which the velocity appears to be too much and begins to lose control of itself as it careens into the oddly Black Crows gone glam rock sounding “Let Me Go”.

Once the wreck is over “Sit Still” falls back into its more familiar, and frankly more enjoyable, paces. The disc winds down through a few more tracks and culminates into the feedback and tape hiss of its final track leaving you, I can only hope, feeling cathartic.

So as a final note, while I prefer my punk faster, a bit more raw, and a little less emo, this is still pretty good stuff and great if you’re a fan of the sub-genre. Don’t believe me? Check out some tracks for yourself over at Sailor’s Grave Records

–Jerry Actually

Tracks:
1 Distance Between
2 Disappointed
3 Blood I Need
4 Different Drums
5 The Safety
6 Let Me Go
7 Comfort In Confusion
8 Simplicity
9 Full-Time Gamblers
10 Strange Me
11 M.I.A. (Hold On)

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Holding Onto Sound – The Tempest

Nov 9

Posted by Jerry Actually in Punk Reviews | No Comments

© 2011 GC Records
Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

When you think of musical entertainment in Las Vegas, there’s a pretty good (or bad) chance that you’re conjuring up images of Beatles tributes bands, performers in drag, or heaven forbid, Celine Dion. Well, if this describes you, you can extract yourself from the turnip truck right now.

Holding Onto Sound (or HOTS) are stalwarts of the Vegas music scene and over the last eight years have honed their brand of progressive punk rock to a fine edge. The music is filled with intensity and sincerity alongside its punk rock core. The band elicits a comparison to bands like Dead to Me and American Steel, but with enough distinction that you’d not want to pass over one for the other.

The Tempest is the bands newest release and provides three tracks of the aforementioned intense and sincere punk rock. In just about 9 minutes you get a showcase of some of the best efforts for HOTS that I’ve heard to date. If you get a chance, check out their live show. The band plays fairly frequently around the West and of course, Las Vegas.

… and while I know that it is only a 7” with a sparse three tracks, and sure, that probably won’t fill you up, instead, they give you enough to leave you wanting more.

You can pre-order the new release from GC Records.

–Jerry Actually

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Getting to know 20 Bulls Each

Oct 20

Posted by Jerry Actually in Interviews | No Comments


Getting to know 20 Bulls Each

Where are you from and when did you get started?

We’re from Dublin – Ireland, not Dublin Ohio! We started in 2002, and have been at it ever since, line up has changed a little over the years and we’ve recently moved to being a 5 piece band. Hopefully we’ve improved slightly since then too as we were truly terrible at the start.

Who are you and who does what in the band?

We are.
Gar – Vocals
Gav – Guitar
Adrian – Bass
Olly – Guitar
Paul – Drums

Olly and Adrian are the new guys, who joined us recently after Gar decided that he didn’t want to play guitar anymore and our last bassist left due to other commitments. Standard issue 5 piece hardcore line up.

How would you best describe the sound?

On a good day we sound somewhere in the middle of a rumble between Sick Of It All, Misfits & Cromags.

Paul said this when I asked, he’s got a better explaination:

“Hard to describe our sound. We all bring somethign different to the band and it all gets melded together so it’s hard for us to pinpoint any one style as sticking out. I guess we sound like hardcore, heavy riffs, shouty vocals, the occaisional melodic sing along bit and some slow stompy parts too.”

Adrian had this to say:

“Journalists are the best in pigeonholing bands so it’s up to them to describe our sound.”

Thanks Adrian, very helpful!

Dream rock moment (real or not)?

Dream rock moment for me would be to play at Reading festival, it’s always something I went to as a kid. Bands would always say that their first time playing Reading was amazing. Maybe someday…

Asked Paul again:

“Real dream rock moment was for me was probably meeting Mackie and John Jospeh when we palyed with them as the Fearless Vampire Killers in the Voodoo Lounge. that was amazing and they were both really really nice blokes. Another Dream Rock moment would be being able to give up my crappy job and being able to do this full time.”

And Adrian:

“My dream rock moment, realistic one would be:to make living out of what we’re doing (is that a rock moment?it would rock for me) and unrealistic one would be playing Wembley”

Still got day jobs?

Unfortunately yes.

I work in an office, Paul works in a place printing funeral cards, Olly is a part time piercer and film / video maker, Adrian runs ReINKarnated tattoo studio in Dublin and Gar runs a pub called The Thomas House. I fully endorse these two establishments! Come and visit us in either of these places if you’re in Dublin, drink and get tattooed.

Any regrets?

No big regrets. You’ve got to make the most of what you have. Adrian wanted to add: “Only regret I have is: I wish I started earlier.”

Oh and I regret that some dick head stole my Fernandes guitar before I had even played a show with it. Bastard.

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Up For Nothing – Twelve Stories Down

Oct 8

Posted by Jerry Actually in Punk CD Reviews | No Comments

© 2011
Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

I’m listening to Twelve Stories Down, the brand sparkin’ new release from Up For Nothing. Straight away, I’m going to lead in a specific direction; I don’t know if these guys ever listened to Pistol Grip at all, but there is a serious similarity there, not in a rip-off way, but in the way that Up For Nothing is awesome like Pistol Grip is awesome. I’m not trying to type-cast, mind you; I’m just saying that there is an influence here that I dig.

The title “Twelve Stories Down” coincides nicely with the twelve tracks, stories, if you will, on the new disc. There are few epic ballads, clocking in over 3 minutes, but the rest are of the short attention span friendly < 3:00 mark. All of them, even the “ballads”, have an underlying aggression musically, yet retain coherence. A.k.a. no horrid scream-o vocals over the top of wanking solos.

I know I tend to pigeonhole and compartmentalize bands when I review them. It is solely for conveyance of what I’m hearing. To that end, and inclusive of prior references, the songs are a lot like mixing Pistol Grip with American Steel: Hardcore edge mixed with loads of punk, yet a very tangible emotional level to the songs. In other words, there are “hey heys” and “whoa whoa whoas”, but they are simultaneously rowdy and encouraging while being heartfelt and sincere.

At the end of it all, what you get is twelve tracks of punk rock, some more hardcore, some more emo, but all of it damn good. I defy you to listen to this disc and not like it. If you don’t, I think maybe you’re not paying attention at all.

–Jerry Actually

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Society’s Ills – Full Length

Sep 25

Posted by Jerry Actually in Hardcore CD Reviews | No Comments

© 2011 Society’s Ills
Rating: ★★★½☆

I don’t want to be the guy that throws labels around. Honestly, there are just too many of them, but since I’m a jerk, I’ll throw one more in the mix. Montreal’s Society’s Ills is (and you can quote me on this) “post-punk-core/hardcore/semi-melodic”

No, but really, I’m listening to the new full length by Society’s Ills and it is pretty damn rockin’. My goofy labels aside, it is 14 tracks of short burst hardcore laced punk with a lot of energy and decent amount of grit. As I listen to this, the tracks get better and better. I can see this becoming a regular rotation release on my car ride to work, ‘cause nothing makes the ride into work better than some kickass fastbreak punk rock.

So, um yeah, 14 fast tracks of hardcore punk with great guitar work, intelligible vocals, and a rock solid rhythm section. It reminds me of H2O a bit with undertones of way fast Black Sabbath, but more punk less posicore (regarding H2O, not Sabbath) if you know what I’m saying.
Bottom line is, great stuff, buy it now!

–Jerry Actually

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Sugar Louise – Everything’s Better With Sugar

Sep 17

Posted by Jerry Actually in Punk CD Reviews | 1 Comment

© 2011 Naked Hollywood Records
Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

So, I’m listening to Norwegian Pop-punk. Um, yeah, you read that right. Sugar Louise is a newer band from Norway. They’ve been around since 2009 and deliver a catchy, bono hating variety of happy poppy punk.

Everything’s Better With Sugar brings 12 up-tempo smile-inducing tracks. The songs clock in at mostly the twoish minute mark and are heavily influenced by 60’s pop. In fact, the influence is so pronounced that if you didn’t know it was a cover, Sugar Louise’s version of Henry the Eighth would feel like an original.

At any rate, the songs are quirky, catchy and incredibly likable. And while I like this band, there are a few drawbacks: 1. Guitar solos. 2. The music feels a little safe. (If you can write a song about telling your parents that you’ve become a porn star, I think there should be a bit more grit.) … My gripes are pretty minor though. Sugar Louise has a solid grip on peppy pop punk and are a great departure from the Black Metal that I generally expect from bands near and above the Arctic Circle.

Bottom line: Pop punk with a little more pop than punk. Likely a fun live band.

–Jerry Actually

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Mall’d to Death – The Process of Reaching Out

Sep 5

Posted by Jerry Actually in Punk CD Reviews | No Comments

(c) 2011 GC Records
Rating: ★★★½☆

I’m listening to the tracks off the new Mall’d To Death 7” “The Process of Reaching Out”. Mind you I’m not actually listening to the 7” because I’m some sort of dirt bag that doesn’t have a turntable. (which sucks) My audio challenges aside, I’m still digging on this band.

The new release is six short but catchy tracks, each clocking in at around a minute in length, with the exception of the opening ballad. It is 1:30 … epic! The tracks have snot filled snarl and requisite distortion. Fast breaks and short takes; That is what it is all about. It does however leave me in the position of wanting more. I guess the bonus is that you can listen to this more than eight times an hour. For you OCD kids out there, that should really float your boat. … Wash, rinse repeat. I suppose that is a damn fine marketing strategy.

Based on the brevity of the material, I will keep my review brief in kind. Mall’d To Death rocks it. Go buy yourself a copy. http://www.gcrecords.com/

–Jerry Actually

Tracks:
1. Standard and Poor
2. Migraine Belt
3. Throwing in the Moist Towelette
4. Hardcore 64
5. Guilty of Being Black
6. Spray Can Sam

For fans of: Short form punk rock and catchy hooks.

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Getting to know Blue Collar Convicts

Aug 24

Posted by teamupstarter in Interviews | No Comments


Getting to know Blue Collar Convicts:

Where are you from and when did you get started?

Keith: Where to even start? Blue Collar Convicts got started back in 2002 (I think) up in Pepperell, MA. I’m only going by copyright paperwork and it seems we started more presently than the dates the paper work reveal anyway. Most bands get rolling with a focus on something, but in this case BCC was supposed to be a side-project and nothing more. I was playing in a band with two biological brothers that hired me to play bass for them on a studio project. Somewhere during pre-production for our sophomore effort I decided I needed a break to record some of the material I’d been writing for a few years. Gratefully the brothers were willing to learn and rehearse the stuff I’d created. We rehearsed for two months and hit the studio. The sessions were brutal at first. Too much arguing and alcohol consumption left some songs far from completion. Overall the 5-song EP that came out of it received great critical acclaim nationwide but because of the bickering I finished the album with only myself and Dave Minehan (“The Neighborhoods) turning the knobs.

The brothers wanted to go back to the other gig and finish the follow up record but I bailed because I knew in my heart that the Blue Collar Convict journey was going be special. After a year off writing and playing solo acoustic gigs I decided to get it up and rolling again. I called my longtime comrade Jonny “Smash” Doty (“The Bloodsuckers”) to come aboard and start writing new material together. Coyotero and Delorenzo (drums & bass respectively) came on to help us get rehearsals going, however they left the band due to differences and the “$2 & Change” Album was finished up with only Smash and myself. BCC was effectively dead before we could even get the album a proper release party. After about 3 years of ripping through rhythm sections we came across Steve (Drums) and Dean (Bass) and the Blue Collar Convicts lineup has been the same ever since.

Who are you and who does what in the band?

Steve: Well for starters, I’m the drummer. I also handle our entire web presence and most of the bookings for the greater Boston area. Jonny Smash is our lead guitarist/vocs and does a lot of work on our flyers and merch. He’s been in a number of bands over the years and has ridiculous skills on the strings. Keith Jerszyk is our founder and lead song writer on rhythm guitar and lead vocals and covers booking for our northern MA/southern NH constituents. Dean Rider is our voice of dissent and bassist. He’s really good at getting Keith all sorts of riled up.

How would you best describe the sound?

Keith: We have many influences and desires when it comes to music. They range from our mutual love of all things punk rock to our basic foundations of classic rock, early 50′s/60′s rock & rockabilly to your staple blues and country.

Steve: We put forth a combination of all these genres that can be best described (we think) as “Garage Punk”. It’s nitty, it’s gritty, it’s catchy, the lyrics are hard working blue-collar relatable, and it hold true to both the punk and rock ‘n roll genres.

Dream rock moment (real or not)?

Jonny: I had a dream where I went to see KISS and they were old, not in makeup, and wearing their 80′s glam garb. They were at an arena but nobody was there. I just walked up to the stage and chatted them up and they invited me up on stage. We started running through their old 70′s stuff and the crowd started showing up and we really rocked the house. Everything was fine until Paul wanted to play “Lick It Up” (which I do, regrettably, know how to play) and then I woke up!

Does the time I took mescaline and watched Headbangers Ball and Gene Simmons stuck his head out of the TV and wagged his tongue in 3D count?

Steve: I am a die-hard Fat Wreck Chords fan. In that, my biggest (real) dream is to be in a band that either gets on the label or at least gets recognition from them. I think we have the sound and the ingenuity for it, but are just lacking in the notability nationwide. Now that things are moving, hopefully that will change.

Dean: To tour oversees (or anywhere for that matter) without coming home in the hole.

Still got day jobs?

Dean: While there is definitely great potential for BCC, we do have families and jobs to tend to. Keith works his ass off (10-12 hour days 5-6 days a week) has a wife and two sons that he needs to keep a lot of time for. Jonny works full-time and has a newborn son and a beautiful wife. Steve works behind a desk full-time and has to take on side-contracts to barely squeak by. I’m a truck driver with a newborn on the way (6 months or so down the line).

Any regrets?

Steve: I think our only real regret is not getting the band together as the line-up stands sooner. BCC has ripped through rhythm sections like one may cheap whores. Bassist after bassist, drummer after drummer and only 8-9 years later did we finally settle on a lineup that is all of what Blue Collar Convicts is, wants to be and stands for. The only problem now is that many of us have full fledged families making large-based touring pretty much out of the question and an ever growing shitty economy makes it hard to pay the personal bills, let alone keeping the gas flowing for local gigs, the electricity pumping for our rehearsal studio and the extra funds to cover things such as merch or studio time for a new album.

Jonny: That I squandered most of my talent for drugs. That I sold my VoxAC10TS for rent (and drugs/smokes). That I should’ve gone to Berklee on guitar instead of taking the flute scholarship. That my date with Winona Ryder fell through..frickin’ Johnny Depp…true story…

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MXRCXL – Dump

Aug 14

Posted by Jerry Actually in Punk CD Reviews | No Comments

Rating: ★★★½☆

Dump, from MXRCXL, is a two track demo that leaves me wanting more. The music is punk with indy leanings and a lot of articulation. It is modern in a very post-grunge way. Almost Helmet meats Nirvana, yet with more songcraft. … fans of King’s X might enjoy this.

It’s challenging to put forth volumes of critique (at least as far as my critique style goes) on a demo discs, but it does make it easier to be more direct. I like the two tracks and I genuinely hope there will be more forthcoming.

–Jerry Actually

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