Month: November 2009

Dead To Me – African Elephants

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© 2009 Fat Wreck Chords
[rating:4/5]

dead_to_me_300Somehow along the way I missed the bus when it comes to Dead To Me. I’m not sure how, but that is in the past now and we don’t have to dwell on it, do we? I can’t help but be curious about the prior LP and EP that I missed, but what if I listen to them and it takes away from how I feel about the new album African Elephants? I think I’ll hold off for now and bask in the glory of what is currently my favorite disc. San Francisco punk rockers, Dead To Me, have crafted an album that is at once both familiar, yet novel. The band wears their influences on their sleeve. The Clash, Police, Nirvana, perhaps even Violent Femmes? The effort, however, is far from cookie cutter or pandering to fans of their influences. Instead it is 13 tracks of diverse and unique punk rock. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but there is something about trios. When done right, as it is here, they are a musical powerhouse. Flat out, African Elephants has the guts and sincerity to be a serious contender as one of my all time favorite discs.

–Jerry Actually

Alkaline Trio – New Release

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ALKALINE TRIO FORM HEART & SKULL LABEL; NEW ALBUM TO BE RELEASED EARLY 2010 ON EPITAPH / HEART & SKULL

Alkaline Trio has announced the birth of Heart & Skull, the band’s own label formed in partnership with Epitaph Records. The band will release its seventh album through Epitaph/Heart & Skull in early 2010.

Commenting on the formation of the new imprint, named for the band’s longstanding logo, Alkaline Trio singer/guitarist Matt Skiba said, “We made the decision to form Heart & Skull to put out our own records after having been through every kind of label deal in the industry, big indies, small indies, majors. We knew it was time to adapt to the shifting tides of the music industry and we could not be more thrilled about doing that in conjunction with the team at Epitaph. Taking control of our own label situation was something we always wanted to do but never thought was possible, but now thanks to Brett Gurewitz and the fine folks at Epitaph, it is. All three of us in Alkaline Trio have always had the utmost respect for the music and the work ethic of the Epitaph, Anti- and Hellcat family and now we’re honored to be working together under one big happy roof. Heart & Skull/Epitaph is truly a dream come true for us.”

Alkaline Trio bassist/vocalist Dan Andriano added, “For our band at this time it really makes sense to release our own records, but we wanted to make sure we could partner up with good people who we would want to share in something very special to us. When Brett called and said he wanted to be involved, that was it. Epitaph is a label I’ve admired and supported for more than half of my life! I couldn’t be more excited for how this is turning out!”
Alkaline Trio first emerged from Chicago in 1996 and has since released the full length studio albums Goddamnit, Maybe I’ll Catch Fire, From Here To Infirmary, Good Mourning, Crimson and last year’s Agony & Irony, which was the highest charting record of the band’s career to date. The band is comprised of Skiba, Andriano and drummer Derek Grant, all of whom are partners in Heart & Skull.

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For More Information:
www.alkalinetrio.com
www.myspace.com/alkalinetrio
www.epitaph.com

The Psycho Kid – Hypocrite Land

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© 2009 Logan Ave Recrods
[rating:3.5/5]

psycho_kid_hypocrite_land_300I’ve got to stop moving apartments. Once again I’ve lost the one sheet that came with “Hypocrite Land”, the new CD release by Chicago area trio The Psycho Kid. Thanks, however, to the modern miracle that is the Internets, I have their bio up online. Here’s the rundown: Glenn Brandt (vocals/guitar), Julia Zap (vocals/bass), Chris Morrow (vocals/drums)started in 2005, developing material for their next album, playing music, playing well, making people grit their teeth (not dentist friendly) and making people dance. I say these are all admirable goals, except maybe the teeth gritting part, but I am not a dentist, so I don’t really know. Ok, now that you know who the hell I’m talking about let me tell you a bit about the disc. 13 tracks of poppy punk rock with a good amount of crunch, not to say that the music is crunchy, but the instrumentation is very crisp, it’s snappy if you will. The vox have an interesting sort of talk-sing sort of thing going on with a decent amount of complimentary backups going on. Here is the weird thing though, I almost get the feeling that this disc was recorded at 78rpms and then down-shifted to 45 and then pitch corrected. I’m sure it wasn’t, but I get a weird impression that some of these songs want to be faster … ne, need to be faster. Perhaps I’m just impatient. I tell you what though, I like The Psycho Kid. They are a hard working 3-piece combo keeping the DIY spirit alive and well in Chicago. Rock on!

-Jerry Actually

Loudog – Kito

(c) 2009
[rating:3/5]

loudog_kitoLoudog hails from Braunschweig, Germany. Formerly known by the less appealing moniker “cumshot”, the band changed names in honor of their appreciation of Sublime and late (Sublime) singer Bradley’s dog. Kito delivers 11 tracks of upbeat roots ska with a bit of punk edge blended in. If I had to draw some comparison I would say that Loudog sounds a lot like a more ska oriented Millencolin. I’d also say they remind me of another band and I’m not sure who it is. I’m gonna go out on a memory loss limb and say that they sound like Umbrella Bed. Prove me wrong. If they do or don’t sound like someone else, what the do sound like is enjoyable. As usual it is refreshing to hear sounds from outside of my continent. Of note, Kito is released under the Creative Commons license. So maybe some enterprising young sound systems can mash some of these tracks into a wicked dub mix, no? It’s your call, but I like it. That said, I would have scored it a higher than a 3/5, but I think some of the tracks could have had a bit more pep.

-Jerry Actually