Label: Facedown Records Released: July 24, 2007 This is not an entirely new album, nor is it a re-issue. Rather, it’s a re-recording of War of Ages’ first album with a bonus track. I hadn’t heard the original recording, but the band felt it didn’t do the songs justice and opted to take another shot. If the recording quality was… Read more »
This is a great band, but they parted ways with their singer. Anyone interested in singing for a band that streches the limits of punk rock, check this out.
Label: Australian Cattle God Released: May 15, 2007 Lozen, a two-piece from Tacoma, Washington, take their name from an female Apache warrior and prophet. The name fits, because the music is simple, making a visceral connection more akin to prophecy than science. Enemies Against Power doesn’t rely on complex rhythms or highly technical playing. Instead it sticks to simple riffs… Read more »
Label: Our Neighborhood Records Released: April 17, 2007 (or thereabouts) Not since the Minutemen has a band been able to combine such wild abandon with such a high level of musicianship. This three song EP is quite a ride, without a note of music or a second of time wasted. The pace changes are almost too much to keep up… Read more »
Rubbing Down Debbie is yet another band from Jacksonville, Florida. After writing about the Explicits awhile back, this is the second band to approach me asking if I’d do the same for them (Baker Act being the other). Something good must be happening down there, because Rubbing Down Debbie makes them three for three in my book as far as… Read more »
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 »
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: 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 »
Label: Sugar Hill Records Released: June 12, 2007 Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles do more than just channel the past. True, Diamonds in the Dark is partially images of days gone by, but the package is fresh. Touching on every raw influence of rock music, the end result is an album that is both clean and warm, touching the… Read more »
Label: Side One Dummy Release Date: August 21, 2007 Punk and reggae have a long history together. The commonality of what was the people’s music in their respective cultures was evident almost from the very birth of punk and that shared vision has been explored right up through today. Certainly some have used both genres for ill, but every time… Read more »