Upstarter

The New Rivals – S/T (c) 2007 SoBe Entertainment Do I have an immediate suspicion of a "punk rock" band on a beverage based label that gives top billing to label mate Brook Hogan?  You bet your ass I do.  The New Rivals have all the trappings of a band either sourced or designed to fit a market formula.  The songs are just edgy enough, but not offensive.  The tracks are almost all within the radio friendly three minute zone.  The music is performed ably enough, but it seems like all of this ground has been well paved in the past.  That being said, if you were to score this CD with a SoBe cap or something, that would be better than some beverage cap prizes.  Incidentally, SoBe Entertainment claims to be an Indy Label: "SoBe Entertainment is an independent record label based in Miami Beach, FL." – this is right off their web site. They aren't making any claims to a connection with SoBe the beverage, but I'll draw my own I think.  On top of that, this disc came to me from Universal … not exactly independent.–Jerry Actually 

American Steel – Destroy Their Future (c) 2007 Fat Wreck Chords American Steel are back with a new record, their first for Fat, and I say it is a good one.  These veterans of the East Bay punk scene return with 12 tracks of gritty and sonically dark rock and roll.  Stand out tracks include the snarkily spiteful "Mean Steak" and the rockin' yet sad "Old Croy Road".  I may be off the mark here, but I hear a very wide range of influences, including: Leather Face, The Clash, The Lawrence Arms and Dropkick Murphys just to name a few.  I'll admit that I hadn't heard of American Steel before this disc, but I'm totally on the look out for their back catalog.  Speaking of The Lawrence Arms, American Steel are currently out on tour with their label mates, so if they happen to wander to your town, go see 'em and tell 'em I sent ya.–Jerry Actually 

Autonomadic – The Missionary (c) 2007 Bleeding Ear Music "The Missionary" is a dirty little EP from Seattle punk rock trio Autonomadic.  Don't let the cover fool ya though.  The disc isn't much at all about a rather phallic missile or the missionary position.  The Missionary contains seven track of socially aware old school punk rock swager.  They rage against complacency, corporations, institutions and assholes all to a four four beat.  I was vaguely familiar with Autonomadic from the Punks and Pints comp.  I'm glad to hear some additional material.  Pretty decent stuff over all, but I would like to see it take it up a notch.  The amount of outrage in the lyrics could be better paired with a bit more musical frenzy.–Jerry Actually 

Streets Ahead – The Album (c) 2007 Streets Ahead Like the pull of a mighty vortex, the whirlwind of America siphons away from the edges and drains somewhere towards the center.  In this case we have three musicians from disparate corners of the nation.  The three fell together in Cleveland, Ohio only to be melded together into the punk rock band, Streets Ahead.  "The Album" is full of crunchy hooks and clever and unusual lyrical constructs.  The music is punk, but not in the regurgatative ripoff sense.  Streets Ahead hold some distinctive sounds, but not so far out that they will alienate potential fans.  Think of something like Billy Corgan and TMBG colliding with Seven Seconds.  They are not trying to reinvent the wheel, but they also aren't trying to be the wheel, dig?  Either way, let me reiterate, Cleveland Rocks! and Streets Ahead keeps that rock (bad pun alert!) rolling.–Jerry Actually