Punk – Page 22 – Upstarter

Bust – Suck Kuts

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[rating:3/5]
© 2010 Cassette Deck Media

As per the !upstarter m.o., this review is rolling in a little on the late side. I’ll go ahead and blame the holidays. At any rate, here is some manner of review.

Behold Suck Kuts (No seriously behold that cover; chick-son-of-bitchin-magnet says I.) the new release from the dynamic duo of Kyle Stembaugh and Jon Olson, heretofore known as Bust. Suck Kuts flings forth with 10 (suck) cuts of punk bombast at the fever pitch that only garages and their related ilk can generally thrust forth.

The diddys are short and sweet and laden with the disenchantment of boredom and life of better laid plans. As I alluded to above, the sound is classic “garage” punk rock, raw and gritty. You know the sound I’m talking about. A band on a mission. A band without 80 brazillion dollars in studio gear and engineering. Don’t get me wrong, I like the occasional ultra-polish, but I believe a band is best heard in the raw and Suck Kuts is done the way I prefer.

For the vinyl aficionados out there, Suck Kuts is carved onto white vinyl and includes a mp3 download code for the kiddies. The liner assures me that Bust would like to thank “Cool Bands, Cool Dudes, and Cool Zunes”, so all you Microsoft mp3 players out there that fit some of that bill, cheers. Oh, and rumor has it that if you purchase the vinyl, “You also have a 1 in 500th chance in finding Matt Skiba’s cell phone number scribbled inside.”

Bottom line: 10 tracks of duo-istic punk rock served old school on white vinyl

Tracks:
1. The Whinery (Merlot Blow)
2. Who Wants to Fuck Bill Rogers?
3. Pear At Heart
4. High on Life, Drunk off Mouthwash
5. Push Ups
6. That Don’t Impressuh Me Much
7. Talk Nerdy To Me
8. First Bench
9. Unsmooth Moments
10. Sascrotch

For more info: www.bustbustbust.com/

War Dogs of the Pacific – Publish or Perish

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© 2010 War Dogs of the Pacific
[rating:3/5]

I’m listening to War Dogs of the Pacific right now. Don’t be fooled peoples. They are totally from Kalamazoo. You know, that place where Elvis would be dead at right now, if he were still alive. Geography notwithstanding, they also happen to be a fastish, sing-yellin’ kinda rock and roll band. Some may want to call them punk. I won’t disagree, but I don’t think there is that much need to pigeonhole. Ok, if I must, they are punk.

At any rate, Publish or Perish holds nine tracks or so of punk rock, intriguingly laced with a diverse range of musical deviations. Honestly it is refreshing. I get a bit of a Replacements feeling, or perhaps less specifically, a felling of the energy of the early alternative movement combined with a more modern punk sound.

The disc hovers around the half hour mark and is a good introduction into the fresh rock sounds coming outta Kalamazoo, MI. So if you’re curious, you can check ’em out here: www.myspace.com/wardogsofthepacific

-Jerry Actually

The Spoilers – Loaded to the Gunwales

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© 2010 Vaccaro and the Spoilers

[rating:3:5]

Here’s a fun little EP. Punkish yet poppy; assuming but not precocious. Ok probably a lame little lead in. I’m ok with that. I feel the way I said.

The Spoilers have nice rock chops and the songs are catchy and danceable. I have said in the past that I’m not a big fan of female fronted rock, but I think The Spoilers make it work. There is no obvious attempt to force things into place that need not be there (vocally). On the other hand, I think that some of the guitar work seems a bit show-boaty and may be unnecessary, but hey that’s just me. I’m pretty sure the world knows that I’m anti solo.

What it all boils down to is a pretty catchy punk rock EP with a lot of rock edge. I was going to go into a big thing about how its hard to not draw comparisons and things like that, but here’s the truth: I like this EP. I would listen to more.

As a bonus, I think the cover on the end is likely the anthem to kick ass drunks everywhere, and damn well done!

–Jerry Actually

NOFX – The Longest EP

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[rating:4/5]
© 2010 Fat Wreck Chords

Do you even remotely enjoy NOFX? Have you? Might you? … If you’ve answered in the affirmative to any and/or all of these questions, then what is not to like about The Longest EP? I know that I’m a bit tardy in getting this review out, but better late than some other thing, right?

At any rate, The Longest EP brings together a career-spanning collection of many of the best EP’s the band has offered up to date. From the one-sheet, it contains, “NOFX’s first Fat Wreck Chords release The PMRC Can Suck On This to their latest Cokie the Clown.” As an added bonus, you also get 8 tunes that have heretofore been unavailable on anything but vinyl (or maybe cassette).

But I digress. If you’re in anyway a fan of NOFX and would like a 30-pack of classic (old and new) tracks on one damn fine compendium, than The Longest EP is the shizzle for you. … I won’t break down the original source material. You can check the track listing below and back-reference on your own if you’re so inclined. … but wait there’s more. It also has a monster of an insert w/ lyrics some that you’ve barely understood until now.

-Jerry Actually

For fans of: NOFX, Punk, Everything that’s good.

Track listing:

1: The Death of John Smith
2: The Longest Line
3: Stranded
4: Remnants
5: Kill All the White Man
6: I Wanna Be an Alcoholic
7: Perverted
8: My Name Is Bud
9: Hardcore 84
10: War on Errorism Commercial
11: 13 Stitches (Acoustic)
12: Glass War
13: Jaw Knee Music
14: Concerns of a GOP Neo-phyte
15: Golden Boys
16: You’re Wrong
17: Everything in Moderation (Especially Moderation)
18: I’m Going to Hell for This One
19: I’ve Become a Cliché
20: Cokie the Clown
21: Straight Outta Massachusetts
22: Fermented and Flailing
23: Codependence Day
24: My Orphan Year (Acoustic)
25: S&M Airlines (7″ version)
26: Dueling Retards
27: On the Rag
28: A200 Club
29: Shut Up Already
30: The Punk Song

Them Damned Young Livers – Psalms of Ill-Repute

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[rating:3.5/5]
© 2010 Them Damned Young Livers

Kansas City’s finest cow punks are back with a new one boys. Time to circle the pickup trucks, tap the kegs and have one hell of a throw down. I assure that it is exactly what Jesus would do. Psalms of Ill-repute picks up off where 2008’s Let The Sin Begin Leaves off, more or less hung over praying to the lord while drinking booze hoping to avoid that next DUI.

Where the current release takes a departure from previous material is in the raw DIY 60’s garage sound. This new, more rough hewn, sound is readily picked up on the first track. The swirling Hammond sounds on “White Bride Escort Service Inc.” primes the listener for a different TDYL experience. This is further augmented by the 70s rebel outlaw rocking of track 8 “Armed and Crazy”. But don’t fear, the same rowdy, drunken, preaching and rocking is still very much present in Psalms of Ill-repute.

The new disc delivers on 13 solid tracks of pasture-inspired booze-fueled rock and roll, the nefarious evil of which can only be tempered by desperate prayers and even more liquor. As a testament to the power of either the former or the latter, the songs of “Ill-repute”, while definitely more raw, are also better crafted. The combination of tighter composition and gritter production lends to on fine drinkin’ CD.

-Jerry Actually

For fans of: Hank III, Georgia Satellites, Reverend Horton Heat, Beer

Track Listing:
1. White Bride Escort Service Inc
2. Love Fight
3. Devil Out The Back
4. All Hell
5. Baby I’m Gone
6. Drinkin (Again)
7. Please Help Me Jesus (I Don’t Wanna Get Pulled Over Tonight)
8. Armed And Crazy
9. Please Stay
10. Georgia On A Fast Train
11. Bus Broke Down
12. Theme From Them Damned Young Livers (Another Song)
13. That Hip Hop You Speak Of

The Enders

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[rating:2.5/5]
© 2010 The Enders

Here’s a five track demo by Lafayette Indiana’s The Enders; a blend of Punk and Metal and a smattering of Rock. The disc’s tracks are performed admirably by the power-trio. The band is comprised of Ben Hagood on guitar and vox, Sam Kock on bass and backing vox and Kyle Martin pulling percussion duties.

The songs, in general, are fast paced. However, the center tracks of the demo: Track 2 Martyr, Track 3 Split Decision and especially Track 4 What If I are considerably shorter and more raw sounding than the intro and outro tracks. I have it on reasonable authority that the shorter punkier sound is the more current direction of the band. I certainly approve of that. While I’m not gonna bag on the more metallic tracks, they are seriously over my three minute attention span mark.

Musically speaking the vocals remind me of a strange mix of Nuclear Assault and Sacred Reich, which is odd, but works with compact, punchy riffs and the minimalist drums. Guitar solos in some of the tracks are a bit much, but that is the anti-epic metal in me talking again. If you’re down with solos, so be it. That’s your problem.

The bottom line here is that The Enders have busted out a solid demo, but I knocked of a few points for the excesses of the first and last track in both duration and unnecessary filler. With that, the middle three tracks are like the delicious center of the tootsie-pop. So support your local Midwest punk-metal-thrash-rock bands and go see The Enders, buy this demo so they can make more music like tracks 3, 4 and 5.

A couple notes: if you have cross-fade turned on, you might want to turn it off. The tracks end and start rather abruptly. Oh, and make sure you listen all the way to the end of the final track to get the wicked sweet thrash breakdown.

–Jerry Actually

Track Listing:

1 Role Model
2 Martyr
3 Split Decision
4 What If I
5 Inkblot

Mall’d To Death – Can’t Make A Living

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[rating: 4.5/5]

What’s all this then? Mall’d To Death? Can’t Make A Living? Yes, that is exactly what it is. “Right”, you say, “What should I make of that?”. I’ll tell you what. Mall’d To Death is a Twin Cities power trio that brings to the table what I can only think of as Popcore. (That’d be what you get if you took the pop portion of pop-punk and the hardcore portion of, well, hardcore)

“Can’t Make A Living” is the band’s new release, out now on GC Records and I’ll be damned if it isn’t the best thing I’ve heard in the last few months. I might go so far as to say it’s my favorite of 2010. (I might. I might not. You’ll probably never know)

The lowdown though is that it has everything that I like: The songs are brief. They often clock in at less than a minute. The lyrics are clever, missives against consumerism and the defense industry as well as tributes to J. Church and driving like a maniac. How can that be bad? On top of the academic breakdown of song construction aspects, the progressions are hardcore tough but laced with nice ska-esque breaks and fancy melodic guitar lines.

All in all Mall’d To Death have a lot to offer. I find that they bring a refreshing element to the current spate of punk rock. (probably because they are 33.3% hardcore). Here’s a finalbreakdown: Quick paced, intelligent, articulate and not a carbon copy of the shopping mall society that we’ve all seem to become a bit more homogenized by. Bias aside (It is my current favorite release du jour), go buy this.

–Jerry Actually

Track Listing

1 Armani Needle Exchange
2 Blood for Gas Money
3 Mall’d to Death
4 Bomb the Defense Industry!
5 Live in a Dumpster Dive
6 Skateboards for Afghanistan
7 Hedge Fun
8 The Hymns of J Church
9 Mohawk Nation
10 Young Man on a Downloading Spree

The Acrobrats – Hair Trigger

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[rating:3.5/5]

Well, it’s been a little while since we last heard anything from Boston four-piece The Acrobrats. Four some years after the first review, (for us) I’m pleased to present their new EP, “Hair Trigger” The five track (one of which is totally super secret) 7” Brings more of the [previously] familiar alterna-punk-pop-rock that I enjoyed on …Go Down Swinging.

All the tracks on Hair Trigger are short and punchy and filled with just enough rock to temper the pop punk sound and make the whole release sound just a little bit more edgy than it otherwise might. Speaking of the rock and roll, The tracks really bring me back to earlier days. Maybe it is because its on vinyl? Maybe there is just a genuine old-80s vibe to it. Then again it could be track B2, “Crave”. It’s a little more aggressive than the others and really picks things up at the end.

At any rate, I dig it. Several more cheers for the boys in The Acrobrats. Keep up the good work. Incidentally, the only thing that keeps me from a higher rating is that the star scale is only broken down by halves. I would totally go 3.75 if I could.

–Jerry Actually

Track Listing:

A1 – Hair Trigger

A2 – Well Enough Alone

B1 – Simpleton

B2 – Crave

Street Dogs

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[rating:4/5]

So, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there is a new Street Dogs release out. It came out a couple weeks ago on Hellcat Records. I’ve been rolling the new release in my car for a couple weeks now more or less nonstop and it is pretty damn amazing.

The self-titled disc has 18 tracks of anthemic, workin’ man’s angry, yet sing-a-long punk rock. Seriously, the disc is invigorating; the kind of music that will inspire you to go a little bit father than you’ve gone before. Its the kind of disc that makes you think that you don’t have to abandon all hope, and I think there is a good reason for that. Not to diminish the roles of the other band members, I think that the major force for the inspiration that Street Dogs bring is from Mike McColgan. For real, the guy is a near dictionary definition of American Badass.

Before the Street Dogs, McColgan served in the US Army in the first gulf war. After returning home he was the lead singer for Dropkick Murphys (I’d imagine you’ve heard of them, right?) Inspired by family, McColgan left the promising band to become a Boston Firefighter. Pretty freakin’ badass, no? McColgan, however, still had the punk rock in his veins. After several years he started a new band. Now with five full length releases under their belt, I think that brings us up to present.

2010’s self-titled release really has blown me away with the quality of the songs, the lyrics, the musicianship the presentation is all top notch. Some of my personal favorites on the release are 2. Rattle & Roll, 4. Punk Rock and Roll and the closer 18. Poor, Poor Jimmy. Seriously, if you’re going to pick up some new music anytime soon, I’d consider this. … and to paraphrase Comic Book Guy, I say, “Best Street Dogs ever.”

–Jerry Actually

The Real McKenzies – Shine Not Burn

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[rating:3/5]

Shine Not Burn is a new 21 track live album, available now on Fat Wreck Chords, from the Scotch-Canadian folk punkers, The Real McKenzies. It is filled with rowdy booze fueled antics and 21 tracks powered by Scotts and scotch.

If you’re not familiar with The Real McKenzies, they’ve been around for a hundred years or so. Their music is to Scotland what the Dropkick Murphys are to Ireland. Is it folk? is it punk? Mostly a lot of both as well as being a lot of fun.

I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing the lads live, but by way of this disc, I can only imagine that it is a hell of a lot of positive fun. As an example of the positivity, in contrast to Flogging Molly, The McKenzies sing about the best day until tomorrow as opposed to the worst day since yesterday. Take that for what it’s worth I suppose. I like both of the bands.

At any rate, if you’re a fan of live albums, then by all means rock this one out. If not, I encourage to opt for the more polished studio discs; either way you’d be doing ok.

–Jerry Actually