Comeback Kid – Broadcasting… (c) 2007 Victory Records Much like the cover of Comeback Kid's new Victory release, the world is being buried. It is being buried under a heaping pile of banality. I largely suspect the people at Billboard were high when they said this was "hardcore" and Kerrang is off of their collective rocker if they think this is "ABSOLUTELY F***ing AWESOME". This CD couldn't hold my interest if it was the flipping World Bank. Honestly, it isn't that the CD is especially bad. It is that it is specifically not especially good. It is that everything is becoming homogenized and sterilized and horror inspiringly insipid. Remember when rock was a threat and a rebellious show of force and not a packaged commodity? Yeah, me neither 'cause this has been going on way to damn long.–Jerry Actually
Month: February 2007
A Day To Remember
A Day To Remember – For Those Who Have Heart (c) 2007 Victory Records
Damn, I had hope. The cover looked intriguing. The band is costumed in a menacing prep school nature. I thought maybe, just maybe, that A Day To Remember might be hardcore. Turns out, yet again, that I was wrong.
“For Those Who Have Heart” offers up the same screamo sound as the majority of their label mates. Droning melodic vocals over metal riffs that break into uninspired growling vocals on, as far as I can tell, each and every song. Where is the originality? Doesn’t anyone know how to rock anymore? But hey, kudos, you have an album out.
Isn’t it great what you can do with a formula! Yep formulas sure are cool, but how about an equation for you: A Day To Remember = A Band To Forget.
–Jerry Actually
The Queers [Beat Off]
The Queers – Beat Off (re-release) (c) 2007 Asian Man Records A classic punk rock favorite from quintessential pop punkers The Queers is brand new again courtesy of Asian Man Records. Originally released on Lookout back in 1994, Beat Off is once again available for all off you punks young and old that are still totally retarded for The Queers. It features all your favorites including: Teenage Gluesniffer, Ben Weasel and Live This Life. The CD also contains updated 2006 liner notes from Ben Weasel himself. The Queers – Beat Off is a refreshing blast from the past. Go get a new copy, I'm sure yours is all tore up by now.–Jerry Actually
Taste of Chaos [Tour Sampler]
The Best of Taste of Chaos Two (c) 2007 Warcon Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! This CD is a freaking screamo nightmare. Almost all of the bands on here have received poor marks from !upstarter in the past. The Taste of Chaos tour is obviously not meant for me. With a band list containing: Thursday, Taking Back Sunday, Senses Fail, Emery, Evaline and more, you can totally count me out of this pity parade. There is a very marginal amount of saving grace on the two disc set. The Anit-Flag track on the first disc and on disc two a track by Gwar. The second disc is definitley the better of the two. It is both faster and more melodic, however, it is still plagued by the sore throat that appears to have taken the music world by storm. Bottom line: I think I am going to hurl.–Jerry Actually
Senior Discount
Senior Discount – There Were Four Who Tried (c) 2006 Senior Discount So just the other day I was thinking why aren't there any bands ever coming out of Rhode Island? As it turns out I must have just been off of their radar, cause not too long after pondering this, I received "There Were Four Who Tried" from Senior Discount. Lo and behold, they are straight out of Providence. The disc offers up 16 tracks of eclectic punk, pop punk, ska(ish) punk and more punk. The more I listen to this CD, the more I thoroughly enjoy it. It has pop punk sensibility without all the emo sensitivity. It also carries enough horns to please most fans of the thrid wave. Lyrically it is largely the antithesis of the traditional pop punk with lot sof rants and comical tongue in cheek coarseness. "There Were Four Who Tried" is a bang up job by Providence punks Senior Discount. The bottom line is one kick ass record with more hooks than a pirate convention. Buy This CD Here – -Jerry Actually
Beijing to Boston
Brain Failure/Big D & The Kids Table – Beijing to Boston (c) 2007 Bad News Records Hell fucking yeah! Beijing to Boston is a split CD featuring Brain Failure—the first honest to goodness punk band outta China—and Boston's Big D and The Kid's Table. I have to say that I'm awfully impressed with Brain Failure. Their opening six tracks on the split evoke memories of Rancid, Dropkick, Social D and The Clash. Dickie Barrett (of Bosstones fame) lends a hand on the intro track “Come on Down to Beijing”. Despite the Clash reference, don't expect anything too political though, given how things seem to work in China regarding dissent, Brain Failure keeps the subject matter pretty light: songs about inviting you down to Beijing and living in a city and being brainless etc… No matter what though, it is freaking awesome to hear brothers in arms from another country breaking it out like the rest of us. Go world unity! Let us not forget our brothers from a different East. Boston's Big D & The Kid's Table shore up the final six tracks on the split. The tracks from Big D are all new and as always are nothing short of stellar. They start us out with the trippy and spacial "Faded" and then bring us back in to the more familiar and infectious ska punk that we've come to love these last 10 years. Here's the big breakdown, this disc is the mad note on a whole lot of levels. Two great bands, 12 great songs and a monumental cultural bridge. In a word, brilliant!–Team !upstarter
Beneath the Sky [What Demons do to Saints]
Beneath the Sky What Demons Do To Saints (c) 2007 Victory Records Holy freakin’ anger for anger’s sake. Spooky and demonic and you can totally tell these tough guys mean business just by looking at their scary mugs. They can play fast and bust into a pick scratch and then Azreal takes over and turns it into sucking shit. I guess if what they are trying to do is piss off the parents of angsty teens, well then sir, they have succeeded. What Demon’s Do To Saints … um, I guess they’re good at what they do. Serial killers are good at what they do too, but that doesn’t mean they ought to get praise. 666 demon thumbs down. This is freakin’ awful and pointless.–Team !upstarter
The Queers [Munki Brain]
The Queers – Munki Brain (c) 2007 Asian Man Records Hello Munki Brain! – Brand new bubble gum surf (Beach Boys style) pop punk, festive fun from perennial fav's The Queers. It is good to see a band stay true to its roots as opposed to the atrocities that could have befallen them. Let it be know that The Queers serve as a much better gateway band than say, New Found Glory. The lyrics are catchy the songs are peppy and god damn it, they're fun. As an added bonus, if you couldn't find that brand new Beach Boys or Ramone's CD that you knew that was out there somewhere, look no further, Munki Brain is it. It is the epitome of pop punk without the baggage that comes en tow with the usual tripe. Bottom line: Totally sweet! you get 13 tracks of classic Queers, only its brand sparkin' new. What a deal! (They also get an extra thumb's up from Jimmy 'cause they said, “Fuck”) –Team !upstarter
Warsaw Poland Bros
Warsaw Poland Bros – Best of Ska & Rocksteady 1995-2005 (c)2006 Invisible Mass Records Best of Ska and Rocksteady is a great introduction into what really is some of the best ska and rocksteady ala the Warsaw Poland Bros. Don't expect to be dazzled by something brand fangled and new, but do expect a grip of quality examples of up beats horn bursts and full on dancing good times. Skankable and fun and a decade worth of material, how can you go wrong with that, huh? Bare in mind that it is often hard to review 'best of' CD's – not quite as bad as comps – but still a challenge. After all, what does one say when confronted by a selection of the best. I guess, here it is. This is the best example of what Warsaw does and well, its good. It is, in fact, skankalicious!–Team !upstarter
Mittens
Mittens – Fool's on a Holiday (c) 2006 Mittens = Americana. They are classic rock in the way that rock and roll itself is classic, not in the twisted and wrong ways of "classic rock". Their sound lends more to Elvis Costello or the Psychedelic Furs than say, Bob Fucking Segar. Fool's on a Holiday also has quite an Elliot Smith feel without all the trips to the hospital. The CD is cohesive, but at the same time each track has its own distinct feel. Its upbeat and melodic and overall pretty good. Breaking it down to the brass tacks, Mittens presents a softer more gentle side to rock. It is smile inducing and familiar like warm socks or hot soup. Get it. You'll like feeling better about yourself and the world around you. –Team !upstarter