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JAYA THE CAT – ‘FAKE CARRERAS’
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[youtube v=US8CDs4-Qlo]
Originating from Boston and currently based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Jaya The Cat are one of the premiere bands on the European live circuit.
The quartet, who coin their style as “Drunk Reggae Punk” have shared the new video for ‘Fake Carreras’, taken from the 2012 album, ‘The New International Sound Of Hedonism’.
Speaking on the video, vocalist Geoff Lagadec says, “So, we took a little time off from working on our new album to make this sweet tour video for ‘Fake Carreras’. We hope you love it as much as we love you!“
PEARS – GREEN STAR – OUT APRIL 1!
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(San Francisco, CA, January 20, 2016) –PEARS laid siege to the punk world with their 2014 debut release, Go To Prison, and have been on a buzz-generating rampage ever since. After spending the better part of two years turning the hardcore scene on its ear, PEARS continue along the warpath with their hotly anticipated second full-length, Green Star, out April 1st (no joke!). Green Star rages with 16 tracks that are loaded with blazingly fast spurts of aggression. Re-recorded versions of “Snowflake” and “Anhedonia” (previously heard on last year’s Letters to Memaw 7-inch) take on new life, thanks in part to A Wilhelm Scream guitarist Mike Supina, who helped engineer the album. Alongside Supina, James Whitten, who also helped produce Go To Prison, works his magic on 14 new tracks of unstoppable hardcore.
To elaborate on how PEARS approached recording their latest full-length, singer Zach Quinn says, “The biggest difference was Go To Prison was a fast thing—we just threw it together. This, we slaved over it. We wrote songs and cut songs and cut parts of songs and put them into other songs. It was a nightmare, but I’ve never been more proud of anything. Even though it was a completely different process, it feels like the next step.”
PEARS are already tackling 2016 with vigor. Expect PEARS to continue to bring that energy to stages around the world, starting with Australia in March, followed by North America and Europe.
Tracklisting:
1. Christmas ‘91
2. Hinged by Spine
3. Cumshots
4. I Love My Kennel
5. Anhedonia
6. The Flu
7. Green Star
8. Bug Aware
9. Partridge
10. Dizzy Is Drunk
11. Snowflake
12. Cloverleaf
13. The Tile of St. Stewart 14. Doorbell
15. Jump the Fuckin’ Ship 16. Great Mt. Ida
You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll!
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“You Can’t Kill Rock ‘N Roll” is a fund-raising compilation for Supersuckers’ frontman Eddie Spaghetti’s fight against stage three oropharynx cancer. It features unreleased tracks from Mudhoney, ZEKE, Jack Endino, John McBain, the first track that The Derelicts have recorded in 25 years and many more! It’s a limited release and only available on CD (No digital download).
All profits go to the Spaghetti family. Orders can be made through: http://www.capacitorrecords.com/shop/you-cant-kill-rock-n-roll
Best of 2015
In terms of volume of writings, 2015 was a lackluster year here at good ol’ !upstarter. I’d like to say that I tried my best and things came out as good as they possibly could have. That simply isn’t the case. Motivation has been low. It’s not for lack of great submissions and tons of quality content out there in the music world. Simply put it was a trying and tiring year. That said, of the paltry amount of reviews, there is one standout.
Leftover Crack – Constructs of the State
If you haven’t yet checked it out, please do. It’s an incredible album.
Here’s to hoping that 2016 is a more productive and positive year.
Cheers,
Jerry Actually
RIP Lemmy Kilmister
Rock and roll has lost a legend today. http://www.spin.com/2015/12/motorhead-lemmy-dead-ian-fraser-kilmister-70-rip/
Bankrupt – Party Capital.
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Bankrupt have released a lyric video for their new song Party Capital. The song (which shows influences like Teenage Bottlerocket and NOFX) is about their hometown, Budapest, a popular destination for (bachelor/ette) party tourists.
Joe Strummer
The world lost Joe Strummer 13 years ago today. His work with The Clash, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, and his individual contributions to punk and the world at large continue to be sorely missed.
-Jerry Actually
[youtube Q2PHGyOCVqg]
Bankshot EP
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© 2015 Bankshot
[rating:8/10]
At this very moment, I’m listening to a new EP from a band called Bankshot. They are a ska punk band outta Davenport, IA. The five tracks on the self-titled release bring me back to the sweet 3rd wave days when all of my favorite bands came out of the Midwest and college towns, and sometimes from Midwest college towns. As I listen I’m reminded of old Mustard Plug, Los Rudiments, new acts like I Voted for Kodos, and the combined roots of multiple generations of punk and ska.
The music on the whole is energetic and upbeat the way in the way that you’d assume if you knew anything about skapunk. In keeping with the nature of the genre, track length is short (generally) and the songs are rather rapid paced. The tracks can, at times, seem a bit busy and perhaps careening towards falling apart. That’s not a bad thing per se, as within those same attributes, there’s the raw urgency of youth. a quality which rarely transcends later years. The production is sparse and suited to the material. There’s a very garage rock / old school sound to the recording. I think it provides a sense of how the band might sound live.
With only five tracks, it is a brief introduction into what has the potential to be a very promising band if they can keep on refining and defining their sound.
You can listen to the Bankshot EP here.
Cheers!
Jerry Actually
Leftover Crack – Constructs of the State
© 2015 Fat Wreck Chords
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[rating:8.5/10]
There’s a warm feeling that overcomes some people when certain sounds, something familiar and inviting plays. I’m getting those kind of feelings now as I listen to the new Leftover Crack album, Constructs of the State. It’s been the better part of a decade since the controversial and exceptional Fuck World Trade was released. Just in time for the holiday season, for your gatherings with kith and kin are the crack rocksteady sounds both old and new to warm your cold dead hearts.
The new release stays true to form with 13 scathing salvos against a broken system, what’s new is more sonic diversity. Track five, Slave to the Throne is a brutally metallic track with speed metal thrash riffs more akin to Slayer or Obituary than more common ska-punk outfits. There’s also a wider range of instrumentation in play with folkish sounds of banjo and possibly a washboard on track six, Bedbugs and Beyond.
Many of the tracks feature film or tv soundtrack backdrops to frame the context of the lyrics. “Of course I’m dangerous, I’m police. I can do terrible things to people..with impunity.” from True Detective sets the tone of the track Corrupt Vision. In addition to the tonal variety of the individual tracks, there’s plenty of guest vocals including track four, System Fucked featuring Jesse Michaels of Op Ivy.
The album continues in a consistent manner, lashing out at broken systems of finance, patriarchy, healthcare and prison systems. The sounds of the songs may change from track to track but the tone is the same. There’s something very broken. I don’t know if an album can provide solutions to the complex problems that we face as a society, but if it can make people think it’s a start.
The album does get to a point where I believe that it’s almost too overproduced. It’s a fine example of production, but the it serves to burnish the raw edge that I’m missing. Between that and what I think is an imbalance of more ska heavy content I’ve had to knock the score down a bit. All aside it’s a fantastic album, fit for a time when things are in constant threat of being ripped apart at the seams.
Final note: I’ve been going over this release for about a week now. Initially I didn’t feel quite so strongly about it as I’ve become over successive listens. The more times I hear it, the more the music sinks in and the impact of the band’s rage takes hold. We’re living during some incredible times, but we’re also living through some incredibly fucked up times. If you ask me, it’s times like these that music is the best weapon against a war to which we’ve all been blindly conscripted.
–Jerry Actually