Label: Motley RecordsReleased: June 24, 2008 What should we expect from Mötley Crüe at this point? They’re 25 years past their prime and they certainly didn’t continue to release material worthy of their recent resurgence over the years. On the other hand, they did manage to bounce back once and make a decent album with 1989’s Dr Feelgood after a… Read more »
Label: Jericho Beach Released: July 29, 2008 When I was 16, my parents took me on a trip out West. On that trip, we spent three days at the Grand Canyon. Oddly enough, it wasn’t the most striking thing I saw on that trip, not because it wasn’t amazing, but because it was just too much to take in at… Read more »
Label: Epic Released: June 17, 2008 By basing their latest album on the life of the famous 16th Century French clairvoyant, Judas Priest opened themselves up to a wide variety of clever (and not-so-clever) quips. In anticipation of the release, I think I’ve gotten most of that out of my system over the last few months. Nonetheless, I will do… Read more »
Label: Ares Records Released: June 24, 2008 The Feelings Mutual take off where 90s alt rock left off, adding some hard rock riffs to hints of both darkness and pop gloss around each turn. They open with the riff-heavy rock of “Monolith,” but quickly scale that back into slower guitar-driven pop. At times they hint at Queens of the Stone… Read more »
Label: MVD Entertainment Group Released: June 10, 2008 Recorded 24 years ago in England, The Nottingham Tapes finds Hanoi Rocks at the time of their major label debut, but don’t expect any of that Bob Ezrin slickness to be a part of this live show. This is more along the lines of a home video. When the lights go down,… Read more »
Label: Temporary Residence Limited Released: August 5, 2008 I hear enough Prince on Just Thoughts to make me wonder if Prints is really a clever play on the Purple One’s name. Either way, the four tracks on this EP show both similarities and key differences between Prints and Prince. Prints does manage to find a similar ability to find solid… Read more »
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 »
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 »