Label: Red Leader Records Released: July 3, 2007 Because Dear Tonight hails from Brooklyn, I suspected they’d be at least somewhat about hipster cool cleverness and indie rock irreverence. The reality though is that there’s no sheen of cool over this band. In fact, there’s no sheen of anything at all. This is hardcore at its genuine, honest best. Following… Read more »
Here’s a big surprise from Amy Winehouse. After seeing her perform last weekend at the Virgin Fest in Baltimore, it doesn’t really surprise me that she was on the verge of collapse.
Label: Cruz Del Sur Music Released: July 2007 Though Slough Feg’s name is derived from Irish mythology, they’re really at the forefront of the NWOSFHM (New Wave of San Francisco Heavy Metal). What that really means is that they’re from Frisco and they love Iron Maiden. This is the band’s sixth release, but the first one I’ve heard. Even from… Read more »
Label: Sire Released: July 10, 2007 It’s always weird when a band you liked from their early days ends up with a major label deal and a lot of hype to back it up. Such is the case with Against Me! From the days of Reinventing Axl Rose, they showed a passion that few bands can match, but their real… Read more »
Label: Ace Records Released: August 7, 2007 Superdude seems to rely an awful lot on his reputation. Unfortunately for him, that reputation isn’t very current. I don’t even think it was ever all that substantial. His entire being seems to stem from some time he spent at the Factory with Andy Warhol. I’ve heard of the Factory, of course, and… Read more »
Label: Mystic Records Released: 1985 Punk covers albums are a dime a dozen these days, but back in 1985 this album was a pretty good novelty. Twenty mostly fine efforts were committed to vinyl under the tag line, “Our favorite bands mutilate your favorite songs.” How true that was. Some of the covers are typical choices and some are more… Read more »
Pimlico Racecourse, Baltimore, Maryland August 4, 2007 Catching Day one of Baltimore’s Virgin Fest was a bit of a surprise. A friend had tickets she couldn’t use, so she gave them to me. With that bit of kind good fortune, I headed off to Pimlico with Ray (of The Metal Minute) for 10 hours of rock n roll in the… Read more »
Label: Wicked Cool Records Release Date: September 18, 2007 The Chesterfield Kings get frequent comparisons to the Stones in their mid-60s prime. It’s pretty accurate, because the they’re a better Stones than the Stones have been in over 30 years. But it’s also only a piece of the picture, because there are plenty of Stones knock-offs, but the Chesterfield Kings… Read more »
Label: Idol Records Release Date: September 11, 2007 As Watershed well knows, a live album is a difficult proposition. Their 1994 debut (on Epic Records) didn’t pan out the way I’m sure they’d hoped and now, 13 years later, they’re trying again. The real difficulty with live albums is that it’s hard to find that middle ground between too live,… Read more »
In response to Myspace’s generic “sounds like” field, Birds of Maya state that they sound like “like a gg allin demo played through a megaphone.” It’s a fair description and it’s certainly colorful, but it leaves out an awful lot. If they really sounded like dear-departed GG, I wouldn’t be writing about them. They are loud and they are chaotic,… Read more »