NIGHT BIRDS:Self-titled:CDEP-R- There's a part in Get In the Van, the Henry Rollins literary opus about his time in Black Flag, where he describes how gnarly and vicious the surfer punks from Huntington Beach, CA were. They board a bus without paying the fare, anyone who looked their way got spat on, they were generally mean and unpleasant etc. If Night Birds came out in 1982 instead of 2009, I could imagine their logo scrawled in marker on one of said surf punks denim jackets. Current and ex-members of the Ergs!, Hunchback, Psyched To Die, and For Science invoke memories of Agent Orange and Adolescents at their most breakneck and Dick Dale-inspired best. Looking forward to a full length.-(Self-released,myspace.com/nghtbirds )
RUINER:Hell Is Empty:CD- Baltimore’s Ruiner pick up the slack left by the departure of Modern Life Is War by returning with another slab of emotionally wrought hardcore. The audio equivalent of someone collapsing into a sad heap of anger and frustration. Baltimore hardcore bands (Deep Sleep, Pulling Teeth, Trapped Under Ice) seem to have the market cornered on that kind of stuff. It ain't all designer cakes shaped like Model T Fords coming out of the Charm City nowadays.- (Bridge Nine, www.Bridge9.com)
SANDWORMS:It's a Fucking Demo:CDEP-R- A sandworm themed tour with Shai Hulud should definitely be in the works, but I feel like the Dune reference would go over most of the audience’s heads and Sandworms would just wind up playing for confused hardcore kids every night. Either way,this demo is a fun vision of things to come for the New York pop punk scene. Although Sandworms feature an ex-member of the Steinways in their ranks, the band's sound seems to draw more from the Replacements and the Gaslight Anthem than say, Screeching Weasel. It's still just as catchy and I await the impending growth of these Sandworms with far less horror than if they were actual sandworms.- Andy Conway (Time To Operate, www.timetooperate.com)
WEEKEND NACHOS:Unforgivable:CD- Well, Weekend Nachos would definitely win the award for Best Juxtaposition of Wacky Band Name With Disturbingly Brutal Cover Art at this year's Thrashies (the award show for thrash bands that I just made up). Unforgivablesports a gruesome cover shot of what appears to the severed head of a young girl lying in rubble, which doesn't exactly make me think of a fun Saturday spent eating tortilla chips covered in melted cheese and refried beans. Luckily,their music (which will definitely please fans of heavier crustier bands like Assuck, Skitsystem and Tragedy) more than makes up for their zany nomenclature in the brutality department.-(Relapse, www.relapse.com)
CONVERGE:Axe to Fall:CD- When Converge basically gave birth to the genre of metalcore (whether they meant to or not), there's no way they could have predicted that it would be reduced to the sad state we see today. It's clogged by bands with generic,uninspired chugging breakdowns, abstract sentence fragments for names, and neon vomit splattered t-shirts sold at Hot Topic. That's why it's always refreshing to see Converge come back and annihilate all the phonies and pretenders with another in their series of boneshitting facemelters (albums). Songs like “Dark Horse” and “Reap What You Sow”combine frantic riffing with crazy breakdowns the way Converge do best. This is highly recommended to people who want to hear top notch heavy music; I feel like Converge fans already have this and are working on replacing the lamp they broke while doing karate kick mosh moves to it in their living room.-(Epitaph, www.epitaph.com)
ALEX KERNS:9 Song Demo:CD- Lemuria’s Alex Kerns steps out into the spotlight with this rather expansive demo of solo material. In Lemuria, Kerns is the primary songwriter/sometimes singer, so fans of that band really have no reason not to check this out. The material here is quirky and poppier than Lemuria tends to be. Kerns has an interesting voice, a blend of Dinosaur Jr's J. Mascis and American Music Club's Mark Eitzel. Fans of mid ‘90s indie rock like Pavement and Sebadoh could get into this. “Scar” totally pulls at the heartstrings and “The Girl That I Want To Meet” would have been a college radio hit two decades ago. I can really see Kerns scoring a healthy following as a solo artist.- (Art of the Underground, www.artoftheunderground.com)
DEEP SLEEP:Three Things at Once:CD- Deep Sleep have probably never committed laundry or suppressed flatulence. In other words, they wear their All/Descendents influence proudly on their (record) sleeves and this collection of all their recorded output to date (three 7” records to be exact- You're Screwed, Manic Euphoria and Paranoid Futures) paints a picture of a band that keeps getting better with every subsequent release. There's a heavy influence of all things early-SST here, with Black Flag and Bl'ast also figuring heavily into the equation. Deep Sleep never slack on delivering a song that pounds from start to finish, with tracks like “Textbook Timebomb” and “Let Go” being especially rollicking.- (Grave Mistake, www.gravemistakerecords.com)
PSYCHED TO DIE:Year One:CD- Psyched To Die selected a theme for their band (wanting to die) that will never get old. Good thing they didn't go with Psyched To Scrapbook or Psyched To Drink Tab, because they would have ran out of steam fairly quickly. Year One, much like Deep Sleep's Three Things At Once, compiles the hardcore punk supergroup (featuring current and former members of the Ergs!, Night Birds, Black Wine, and Fast Times) first three releases during their first year as a band. Fast, fun hardcore in the vein of early to mid 1980s bands like 7 Seconds, Black Flag and Deep Wound, a song by whom Psyched To Die is named after. I find myself singing “Five Year Plan" and “Permanent Solution” around the house quite often, which due to the subject matter is slightly troubling, but whatever. Shit's really catchy. To quote Homer Simpson, “Dying would be a stone groove”(Dirtnap,www.dirtnaprecs.com)
RUINER:Hell Is Empty:CD- Baltimore’s Ruiner pick up the slack left by the departure of Modern Life Is War by returning with another slab of emotionally wrought hardcore. The audio equivalent of someone collapsing into a sad heap of anger and frustration. Baltimore hardcore bands (Deep Sleep, Pulling Teeth, Trapped Under Ice) seem to have the market cornered on that kind of stuff. It ain't all designer cakes shaped like Model T Fords coming out of the Charm City nowadays.- (Bridge Nine, www.Bridge9.com)
SANDWORMS:It's a Fucking Demo:CDEP-R- A sandworm themed tour with Shai Hulud should definitely be in the works, but I feel like the Dune reference would go over most of the audience’s heads and Sandworms would just wind up playing for confused hardcore kids every night. Either way,this demo is a fun vision of things to come for the New York pop punk scene. Although Sandworms feature an ex-member of the Steinways in their ranks, the band's sound seems to draw more from the Replacements and the Gaslight Anthem than say, Screeching Weasel. It's still just as catchy and I await the impending growth of these Sandworms with far less horror than if they were actual sandworms.- Andy Conway (Time To Operate, www.timetooperate.com)
WEEKEND NACHOS:Unforgivable:CD- Well, Weekend Nachos would definitely win the award for Best Juxtaposition of Wacky Band Name With Disturbingly Brutal Cover Art at this year's Thrashies (the award show for thrash bands that I just made up). Unforgivablesports a gruesome cover shot of what appears to the severed head of a young girl lying in rubble, which doesn't exactly make me think of a fun Saturday spent eating tortilla chips covered in melted cheese and refried beans. Luckily,their music (which will definitely please fans of heavier crustier bands like Assuck, Skitsystem and Tragedy) more than makes up for their zany nomenclature in the brutality department.-(Relapse, www.relapse.com)
CONVERGE:Axe to Fall:CD- When Converge basically gave birth to the genre of metalcore (whether they meant to or not), there's no way they could have predicted that it would be reduced to the sad state we see today. It's clogged by bands with generic,uninspired chugging breakdowns, abstract sentence fragments for names, and neon vomit splattered t-shirts sold at Hot Topic. That's why it's always refreshing to see Converge come back and annihilate all the phonies and pretenders with another in their series of boneshitting facemelters (albums). Songs like “Dark Horse” and “Reap What You Sow”combine frantic riffing with crazy breakdowns the way Converge do best. This is highly recommended to people who want to hear top notch heavy music; I feel like Converge fans already have this and are working on replacing the lamp they broke while doing karate kick mosh moves to it in their living room.-(Epitaph, www.epitaph.com)
ALEX KERNS:9 Song Demo:CD- Lemuria’s Alex Kerns steps out into the spotlight with this rather expansive demo of solo material. In Lemuria, Kerns is the primary songwriter/sometimes singer, so fans of that band really have no reason not to check this out. The material here is quirky and poppier than Lemuria tends to be. Kerns has an interesting voice, a blend of Dinosaur Jr's J. Mascis and American Music Club's Mark Eitzel. Fans of mid ‘90s indie rock like Pavement and Sebadoh could get into this. “Scar” totally pulls at the heartstrings and “The Girl That I Want To Meet” would have been a college radio hit two decades ago. I can really see Kerns scoring a healthy following as a solo artist.- (Art of the Underground, www.artoftheunderground.com)
DEEP SLEEP:Three Things at Once:CD- Deep Sleep have probably never committed laundry or suppressed flatulence. In other words, they wear their All/Descendents influence proudly on their (record) sleeves and this collection of all their recorded output to date (three 7” records to be exact- You're Screwed, Manic Euphoria and Paranoid Futures) paints a picture of a band that keeps getting better with every subsequent release. There's a heavy influence of all things early-SST here, with Black Flag and Bl'ast also figuring heavily into the equation. Deep Sleep never slack on delivering a song that pounds from start to finish, with tracks like “Textbook Timebomb” and “Let Go” being especially rollicking.- (Grave Mistake, www.gravemistakerecords.com)
PSYCHED TO DIE:Year One:CD- Psyched To Die selected a theme for their band (wanting to die) that will never get old. Good thing they didn't go with Psyched To Scrapbook or Psyched To Drink Tab, because they would have ran out of steam fairly quickly. Year One, much like Deep Sleep's Three Things At Once, compiles the hardcore punk supergroup (featuring current and former members of the Ergs!, Night Birds, Black Wine, and Fast Times) first three releases during their first year as a band. Fast, fun hardcore in the vein of early to mid 1980s bands like 7 Seconds, Black Flag and Deep Wound, a song by whom Psyched To Die is named after. I find myself singing “Five Year Plan" and “Permanent Solution” around the house quite often, which due to the subject matter is slightly troubling, but whatever. Shit's really catchy. To quote Homer Simpson, “Dying would be a stone groove”(Dirtnap,www.dirtnaprecs.com)
MUNICIPAL WASTE:Massive Aggressive:CD- The beer soaked champions of the crossover thrash revival return in fine form on Massive Aggressive. All the things you might already love about Municipal Waste are still firmly intact- songs about stuff that could be plots from cheesy ‘80s horror movies (“The Wrath of the Severed Head”, “Wolves From Chernobyl” ), circle pit ready fast parts, killer breakdowns that will rip the bullet belt right off your waist. Municipal Waste do their thrash forefathers- The Accused, Anthrax, D.R.I- very proud. Seriously,“ Horny For Blood” would be the clear winner for Best Metal Performance at the Grammys, if they weren't such bullshit. When it comes to hearing the best of the new school of thrash, Municipal Waste are easily the place to start.- (Earache,www.earache.com)
DINOSAUR JR.:Farm:CD- I would so live and work on Dinosaur Jr's farm! The bountiful harvest of sweet guitar solos and beautifully earnest songs about life's many bummers would be enough to keep me happy as I worked the land. It's been really awesome to see the original lineup of this legendary band come back together and produce great albums as if there was never that really ugly split between J. Mascis and Lou Barlow all those years ago. I guess sometimes conflict fuels really good music- just ask the Kinks or EPMD. Easily in my year end top 5. I could listen to this all day! I'm gonna go try to plant a guitar tree! - (Jagjagjuwar,www.jagjagjuwar.com)
DINOSAUR JR.:Farm:CD- I would so live and work on Dinosaur Jr's farm! The bountiful harvest of sweet guitar solos and beautifully earnest songs about life's many bummers would be enough to keep me happy as I worked the land. It's been really awesome to see the original lineup of this legendary band come back together and produce great albums as if there was never that really ugly split between J. Mascis and Lou Barlow all those years ago. I guess sometimes conflict fuels really good music- just ask the Kinks or EPMD. Easily in my year end top 5. I could listen to this all day! I'm gonna go try to plant a guitar tree! - (Jagjagjuwar,www.jagjagjuwar.com)
