Label: Late Bloomers Works Released: May 31, 2008 One look at the cover of Parasols and Pekingese leaves little doubt where the album is going. It mixes art deco style with the painted effects of a pre-linen postcard. As the cover suggests, Tippy Canoe and the Paddlemen look back to simpler, more honest times. There’s nothing new in that. Americana… Read more »
War of Ages continue their summer tour extravaganza as the street date for their new album Arise and Conquer closes in. On the Scream the Prayer Tour with Impending Doom and Sleeping Giant they are plowing through the north east and mid-west before ending up back where they started on the west coast. After Scream The Prayer, War of Ages… Read more »
Label: self-released Released: September 30, 2008 While the album art for Catfight’s In Stereo is totally 80s (like, totally), their music spends an awful lot of time in the sixties as well. Eschewing all that is delicate, everything about their songs is based on their simple deliberate rhythms. They don’t waste time with frivolities like riffs or solos. The album… Read more »
Label: Retroactive Records Released: June 9, 2008 I’ve liked the Misfits (a lot) since I was about 15, even if the themes never quite sat well with me since I’m not a big horror fan and I have little tolerance for the celebration of evil. But the Misfits weren’t that serious and the B-movie quality of their music always made… Read more »
Label: Triple Crown Records Released: July 8, 2008 From the piano pop of the opening track, it’s clear that rock n roll isn’t high on the agenda for Hit the Lights. Somewhere in the last decade or so, pop punk and emo took a wrong turn and Skip School, Start Fights finds itself pretty far down that unfortunate detour. There’s… Read more »
Song: Chimera ObscurantArtist: The Velvet TeenAlbum: Elysium bob_vinyl put this song on a mix CD he made a few years ago. It blew me away, and then I promptly forgot about it. Having it show up on shuffle was like having an old friend show up at my front door. You can hear it for free at Last.fm.
Label: Science Records Released: April 22, 2008 Pop punk today is a lot like new wave was almost three decades ago. A few great artists, Elvis Costello, for example, managed to both establish and transcend the genre and in their wake, literally thousands of bands tried to follow. Some, like the Cars, wrote some outstanding songs and broke the strict… Read more »
Label: Released: July 8, 2008 Totimoshi will have a hard time living down the White Stripes comparisons on Milagrosa, but at the same time leaving a description of the album at simply that is incredibly short-sighted. There’s no doubt that they’ve found that same rich, heavy groove as Jack and Meg, but from the first lead break, they start establishing… Read more »
Here’s a few videos to remind everyone that protest is patriotism. Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Fortunate Son” MC5 – “American Ruse” COC – “Intervention” Edwin Starr – “War” Phil Ochs – “I Ain’t Marchin’ Anymore” Patti Smith – “People Have the Power” Billy Bragg – “Help Save the Youth of America” Fugazi – “Repeater” Public Enemy – “Fight the Power”… Read more »
Label: The Secret of Life Records Released: June 24, 2008 The Violent Femmes return the favor to Gnarls Barkley (who covered “Gone Daddy Gone” on 2006’s St Elsewhere) with this EP containing a cover of “Crazy.” The trouble with Gnarls Barkley’s offering was that it left the song entirely too intact. It sounds fine, but simply does too little to… Read more »