(c) 2008 The Waffle Stompers
[rating:4/5]
Lets hear it once again for New Jersey. From the state that gives you Catch 22 and Streetlight Manifesto, may I present The Waffle Stompers. This seven piece outfit–straight outta New Brunswick–brings an infectious blend of ska and punk that makes me wax nostalgic for the 3rd wave. Sounding like a Thomas Kalnoky protoge with a mix of old LTJ, Black on Black is a fun, albeit short, walk through the ska punk park. This is the band’s 3rd EP since 2005 and though I don’t have any reference to the prior material, I really like what I’m hearing on the new release. On another continual note, bands that both rock and rock for fun and unity are all good in my book. Head on over to their myspace page and buy some of their stuff, ok. The Waffle Stompers
–Jerry Actually
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.
The Real McKenzies are to Scotland what the Dropkick Murphy’s are to Ireland. That is punk rock music with strong ties to cultural heritage. Like Dropkick, The Real McKenzies are displaced from their roots, but those roots still run deep. The new release, “Off the Leash”, will have you swearing that, “If it ain’t Scottish, it’s crap!” Though these fellows hail from the land of DOA and Michael J. Fox, their music still has the rebellious power of William Wallace. “Off The Leash” delivers 13 tracks of Scotted up punk, all of them totally sweet. If you like your punk anthemic and Celtic culturalocentric, don’t hesitate to let your self off the leash and go buy this disc. Ha! I made a less than humorous reference to the title of the CD in the review itself. That makes it a good review; kinda like movies that use the name of the movie in the dialog of the movie. I win! One to nothin’