Category: Reviews

All reviews

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

NOFX – Self Entitled

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© 2012 Fat Wreck Chords
[rating:8/10]

NOFX has a new album out. I’m sure you’ve all heard it by now, or at least heard people talking about it. I know I have. People have said things, and I’m paraphrasing, like “back to their roots” and “sounds like ribbed”. In retrospect, that person could have easily said, “smells like ribs”. I’m not sure. I haven’t been really paying attention lately.

At any rate, NOFX have been at it a while; not quite the elder statesmen of punk rock, but damn if their not a heartbeat or two away from that title. So, grizzled and well into middle age, the gentlemen dusted themselves off and kicked out their 12th studio album.

Self Entitled give you twelve tracks of music that sounds a damn lot like NOFX. It’s snotty punk rock with a mix of social commentary, self-deprecation and politics all entwined. So I suppose you could say, “back to their roots” or “these guys are still around?”, because the new release really kind of works on all those levels.

I guess the sum of it is that if you’re a NOFX fan, you’ll likely enjoy this. If you’re out of loop, you’ll probably stay out of the loop, unless of course you’re in faraway lands where the band seems to like to tour a bunch nowadays.

Seriously though, Self Entitle is a fine record that undoubtedly no one but NOFX could have put out. It’s got their scent all over it.

–Jerry Actually

Triple Crossed-Raised on Ice

I remember the day this album came out (November 6th), I was sitting around lamenting the fact that my son will probably never experience or enjoy music stores the way I did as a child.  Even bigger stores like CD Plus, Music World, and Sam the Record Man appealed to me.  There was always something good kicking around the store.  I added many cds to my collection that I found in these types of stores on sale for 2 for 20 dollars or something like that.  I remember when Music World was shutting down, I actually found Pennywise’s About Time and The Fuse for a deal like that. At the time I was so excited, it had been over ten years since I had first heard About Time but I had never owned it.  One thing that also sticks out in my mind is that Tuesdays were new music day.  If something came out that I wanted I usually made sure I had it on release day. 

Now, I walk into an HMV (a very rare occurrence) and I usually leave and feel ashamed because I didn’t knock over the shelves or perform some other type of vandalism.  I can list a billion things that I feel are responsible for the downfall of music stores, but I will only name one, the internet and downloading music. 

Until the release date of this particular album, I never realized the  benefits of dowloading music.  That is the ability to circumvent new music Tuesday’s and release music anytime you want.  That I am thankful for.  Recently, Minneapolis’ resident hardcore punks Triple Crossed released a 5 track EP titled Raised on Ice, and it was done on a non-Tuesday, and it was done late at night. 

That isn’t even the best part, the music is.  With this album you get 5 hard hitting hardcore tracks that all come in at under 2 minutes in length.  I’m not much of fan of the hardcore genre, but I do like these guys.  I think it is because that everytime I listen to them I feel like there is a guy holding a camcorder and another bunch of kids riding around on skateboards nearby.  When I hear music like it, it makes me feel like there is still hope out there for music, and that although I have a billion reasons to blame for the fall of music stores, there a few good reasons to like the direction it is taking.

Polar Bear Club-Live At The Montage

I have had this album kicking around since its release date and I have listened to it a few times, but tonight I finally took the time to pop the cd in and actually listen to it.  After listening, I figured while I was catching up on last week’s episode of The Walking Dead I would take the time to review the album. 

Last year, Polar Bear Club released Clash Battle Guilt Pride and it made many best of lists for 2011, including the top spot in my own.  I think I called the album the group’s “coming out party” a sort of “taking it to the next level” if you will.  So when I bought the album I thought I was mostly getting live acoustic versions of those songs.  I was wrong.  Included on the cd version are two cover songs, and the remaining 7 are songs which cover  their entire catalog. I am not saying that is a bad thing, I did like Chasing Hamburg, but not nearly as much as the record that followed.  So while these songs did not introduce me to anything new, what it did is let me experience and hear the songs in a different way.  Songs such as “Light of Local Eyes” or “Burned Out in a Jar” would not have made my favourites list from Chasing Hamburg but hearing them acoustically live gives me a new appreciation of them.  The live versions really showcase Jimmy Stadt’s vocals and bring new life to the songs.

My one issue with the collection is that it is only nine songs long, unless of course you received a digital download after buying the vinyl, in which case you got an additional 4 tracks including “Drifting Thing” and “Screams in Caves” which are two of my personal favourites from the band.  If it wasn’t for hearing the 4 additional I would have enjoyed Live at the Montage a lot less, but still it is a good live record that paints a new light on some older songs.

 

The Zeroes

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The Zeroes

© 2102 Patrick Roesle

[rating:9/10]

It’s the end of the millenium. Somewhere in the shopping mall saturated, suburban New Jersey, The Returners are riding high on the last wave of Ska. Charlie, Sal, Jack, and Joe are fresh out of high school or there about. The world is theirs and nothing stands in their way. So starts what rapidly turns to inauspicious beginnings of The Zeroes, a new novel by Patrick Roesle. At its heart The Zeroes is a story of growing up, growing apart and coming to the bitter realization that even with all the drive and all the talent and all the potential, sometimes life leads nowhere.

The book is presented in a narrative manner by a character that I can best discern remains nameless throughout. He’s Charlie’s best friend and a talented comic artist, but the storyline takes a very first person aspect and is viewed almost entirely from this lens. Charlie, of course is the brains behind The Returners a four piece, ostensibly 3rd wave Ska band with Sal on drums, Jack on bass and Joe on trombone. But this isn’t a book report.

Sufficed to say, things get bad. Nothing goes as planned and the best intentions fall to pieces. Despite the best efforts, people get out of high school and leave town. Relationships drift apart. Dreams are dashed. People snap. People become cynical and jaded. Inevitably there are those that remain behind.

The Zeroes is a fantastically depressing read. It is perhaps an epitaph upon the dying embers of the last wave of Ska or more likely, it is a somber note that not everything works out. For those of us that lived through the turn of the last century, especially ones who were into Ska, Punk and Hardcore, the book reads like a chapter out of life anywhere in the USA. The bands, the shows, the friends, the triumphs, and the failures could have all happened to any one of us.

The stark, visceral reality, combined with the sonic backdrop of my relative youth makes this one hell of a book. It reminds me of what life would be like a bit less than a generation after Salad Days. A little more jaded and a lot more East Coast, but still a wild ride that doesn’t always work up where you wanted to go.

-Jerry Actually

(Oh, for the record, Permanent Revolution is a brilliant record.)

Tiny Fighting Trees – Bath Salts

(c) 2012

[rating: 8.5/10]

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Richmond, VA punkers Tiny Fighting Trees have a new EP out. “Bath Salts” will fuck you up, make you bight someone’s face off and shit!

I’ll keep the review short and sweet like the songs. Punk, check! Fast, check! Kick ass, check! You get four tracks and they are all pretty damn rad. You, current reader, should click this link and check this band out, ok? https://tinyfightingtrees.bandcamp.com/ (be careful. My browser said this sight was dangerous. OK! You’ve been warned.)

At any rate, cheers to the Tiny Fighting Trees for keeping up the fight.

–Jerry Actually

Lili Champ – Vientos

(c) 2011

[rating: 8/10]

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Did you know that there is punk rock in Chile? Seriously! It is fucking rad. I’ve said it before, but I’m so glad that I can be a part of it. I can’t travel the world nearly as much as I like, but when bands like Lili Champ are kind enough to send their music to me, I feel like I am a much bigger part of it than I really am.

Vientos is an eight track of upper mid-tempo punk rock in somewhat of a Social Distortion vein, musically but with vocal lines and sing-a-longs that are much more resplendent of bands like Millencolin or … you know, I don’t really know. It is a punk rock sound that I dig and I’m not sure that I need much more than that.

The songs are a blend of Spanish and English language. Some I get. Some I do not. My Spanish is at about an ADD two year old’s level, so that isn’t the most helpful. I’m pretty sure track five, “Entrecerros” is a cover, but I can’t quite tell. That isn’t really the point though. The point is. I’m rocking out in San Diego to punk rock from Santiago! That is pretty much fate, isn’t it?

Bottom line is some kick ass new tunes for you and your amigos to rock the hell out too, right? http://lilichamp.bandcamp.com/

–Jerry Actually

The Pink Elephants – We Hate You

(c) 2011

[rating: 8.5/10]

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We Hate You is an album that clocked in late 2011 from Spanish punk rockers, The Pink Elephants. This new disc is the follow up to the 2009 release of 100% R&R Liquor. On the new album, this Barcelona band offers 13 tracks of punk / pop punk blend in a manner similar to a lot of early 90s punk (at least to my American ears) The accent brings a nice new spin to it that keeps it fresh.

The tracks are mid-tempo and clocking in around the late two to three minute mark. A bit lengthy for me, but by no means a stretch of the attention span. The sounds are familiar (hard to not have that anymore) but the band is plenty able to make those familiar sounds their own.

At the end of it all, what I get from this is the grand idea that if I ever visit Barcelona, and The Pink Elephants are playing, I know I’m going to try to catch that show.

–Jerry Actually

Lay It On The Line – A Lesson In Personal Finance

Lay It On The Line – A Lesson In Personal Finance

(c) 2012

[rating:8/10]

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A Lesson In Personal Finance is the new EP from South London Hardcore act Lay It On The Line. This four track follow up to Midnight In The Bellagio shreds through those tracks with a mighty fury. The music is intense with elements befitting both the hardcore and metal monikers.

Short, sweet track length for the short attention span and more than enough aggression to rock the room. I’d recommend playing it about six times in a row to get the full dosage. Fans of Snapcase and those who enjoy a subtle hint of Maiden in their Hardcore should definitely check this band out: http://layitontheline.bandcamp.com/

–Jerry Actually

One MIle Left-Behind The Story

So a while back I asked Jerry if he had anything that he needed reviewed, he told me he would send me something over.  He sent me a link for a German pop punk band named One Mile Left. I didn’t have anything else I wanted to write about, plus Jerry buttered me up a bit by telling me they liked my Pennywise review.  So I took a listen without knowing anything about them, and not reading their bio. From the first few bars all I could think was Blink 182 circa Enema of the State. The guitar and vocal melodies were eerily reminiscent, and I could only picture the webcam scene from American Pie where Jim is trying to get it on with Nadia and the guys from Blink 182 are watching with a monkey.  Well the funny thing about that is that I later went back and read their bio that they sent and they mentioned being inspired by the pop-punk of The same time and actually mentioned American Pie as being an influence.

Don’t get me wrong, these guys aren’t carbon copies of Blink or anything like that, in fact they don’t  have the same use of humor in their music, but when you listen to the music there is no doubt about the bands and time that the music was influenced by.

With all that said, I like them, maybe it is just nostalgia and longing for my younger years considering I turned 32 today but this is something I could listen to.  I have loved pop-punk since the first time I heard “Longview” and this brings me back to those earlier years. Check them out, for fans of those late 90’s pop-punk years they are definitely worth a listen.