I have to be honest, 2012 did not blow me away when it came to music. It almost disappointed me, I couldn’t even bring myself to listen to, let alone buy, the three records from one of my all-time favourite bands. The year started off well, and there were some releases that I really enjoyed, but there were some lulls at times. I may have missed a lot, but the ones that made my list would have probably made it either way.
1) Jesse Lebourdais-I Go By The Sound. I reviewed this one when it came out, the record is awesome. He’s a Canadian singer, and definitely doesn’t receive the fanfare he deserves.
2) The Menzingers-On The Impossible Past. I liked this album instantly. While this album isn’t in constant rotation, I put it on when the time is right.
3) The Gaslight Anthem-Handwritten-I will be driving along sometimes and just catch myself saying “*&%$, this guy is cool!”
4) Cobra Skulls-Eagle Eyes 7”-“Eagle Eyes” has to be my favourite song this year. I wasn’t even a fan until I read a blog post about them, then took a listen for myself and got hooked.
5) Teenage Bottlerocket-Freak Out! This was also an album that turned me on to this band. I always liked them, but I couldn’t say no to this one.
6) The Magnificent-Bad Lucky. I really enjoyed this album, and out of all the ones to make this list, it is one that deserves more air time than it gets.
7) Pennywise-All or Nothing. As a big Pennywise fan, I was skeptical of this one at first, but Zoli Teglas filled in wonderfully. With that said, I am more than excited for Jim Lindberg’s return to the band.
8) Anti-Flag-The General Strike. This is also a good album, that deserves to be taken off the shelf more than it is.
9) Operation Ivy-Hectic and Energy. I know these aren’t technically albums from 2012, but to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the group’s inception, Epitaph reissued both records, and these albums still hold up nicely in today’s musical landscape.
10) Riverboat Gamblers-The Wolf You Feed. I bought this when it first came out, out of loyalty and not really hearing much. Up until about 6 weeks ago, I would have considered this for a worst of 2012 list. But I put it on, and got into it a bit more. It isn’t what I expected from them, but it is a bold evolution for the group that doesn’t cheapen the final product.
Month: December 2012
Top 10 of 2012
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Wow, would you look at the time? Just do it, ok? By it I mean take a look at a calendar. It is almost 2013. Seriously, what happened to 2012? I’m old. I comment on the passage of time. Get over it. Truly though I wish I had been a little more productive here at !upstarter in 2012. I’m sure that a great number of awesome tunes slipped through my tenuous grasp.
Sometime between a day job and a band project of my own I managed to squeeze in time for 25 reviews this year. That’s one per fortnight, I guess I shouldn’t sell myself short on production. I’m sure that last year wasn’t much different. But down to the guts and glory, if you made the list, a big round of applause. If you sent something in for review and I missed out on something awesome, there is no penalty for re-submission. Without further adieu, I present the best of 2012:
1. Morning Glory – Poets Were My Heroes
2. The Downtown Struts – Victoria!
4. The Atom Age – The Hottest Thing That’s Cool
6. Harrington Saints – Pride & Tradition
7. The Real McKenzies – Westwinds
8. The Ducky Boys – Chasing The Ghost
The Caulfield Cult – Winter Tour 2012
The Caulfield Cult formed in early 2011 and are influenced by bands like Alkaline Trio, Hot Water Music, The Promise Ring, The Get Up Kids, etc. , and self-released our debut full length “Leaving Cemetery Junction” on October 29th 2011. We have toured south east asia extensively and also the UK earlier this year in march and april.
Here are the dates:
13th December 2012 – Cornwall, UK
14th December 2012 – Brighton, UK
15th December 2012 – Brugge, Belgium
16th December 2012 – Amsterdam, Netherlands
17th December 2012 – Hengelo, Netherlands
18th December 2012 – Hamburg, Germany
19th December 2012 – Nuremberg, Germany
20th December 2012 – Geneva, Switzerland
21st December 2012 – Paris, France
22nd December 2012 – Gloucester, UK
all venues are on and will be updated on www.leavingcemeteryjunction.blogspot.com
Masked Intruder
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© 2012 Red Scare Records
[rating:8.5/10]
I’m big time late to the game. That generally seems to be the case. I’m finally getting around to listening to Masked Intruder. I’m speaking, of course, about the self-title release on Red Scare. I know they have some new stuff coming out in cooperation with Fat, but I’m not talking about that right now ok?
Anywhat, this new release busts 13 tracks of pop punk that is way too Descendents for a band named Masked Intruder, especially a band bedecked in a rainbow of ski masks, with songs of felonious intent. I was seriously expecting to hear some Blood for Blood style hardcore come pummeling out of my speakers. Instead I was gently assaulted by pleasant pop punk sounds that have a feeling of Descendents, Queers, Teenage Bottle Rocket and other bands that in essence sound zero like hardcore.
This is not a bad thing by any means. I’m fully digging on this disc and like the subtle trickery that I really brought on myself by making name based assumptions. I, as usual, like the fact that the songs are geared for short attention spans. Nothing hits the three minute mark, though some do come damn close, but never at or over … that is the key, right?
Ok, so bottom line, pop punk as only pop punk can be. The legacy of Buddy Holly and the Beach Boys lives on in a new form that has more distortion and guitar riffery, yet charmingly still has coordinated outfits, which as we all know, is critical.
–Jerry Actually