Label: Lujo Records Released: May 13, 2008 The liner notes of Everything Is Alive sent me into a wonderful daydream. As the opening drum loop circled through my ears, I read the line, “We experienced the hospitality of strangers letting us spend the night on their couches or their floors.” I was immediately taken to a pleasant picture of the… Read more »
Label: Atlantic Released: May 13, 2008 You and I are about to engage in the most intimate act that a critic and a reader can share: the record review. But before the door closes behind us and I lift my shirt to reveal four stars tattooed on my chest, you need to know a secret that will color every word… Read more »
“Fort Hood” isn’t exactly an anti-war song. It’s more of a song about my own guilt for living life without thinking of the war every moment. I was invited by the USO to visit Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2006; I went over and gave CDs to wounded guys, most of them in their 20s, most missing limbs. It… Read more »
Label: Maniac Squat Records Released: March 3, 2008 There are plenty of bands revisiting the 80s, but most stick to post-punk and new wave rather than punk and hardcore. The Eruptors are certainly an exception. They avoid anything refined and go straight for the throat with noisy punk that sounds about as DIY as it can be. The downside is… Read more »
Label: Shout! Factory Released: April 1, 2008 I’ve had a bit of a stormy relationship with John Lennon, not that it would matter to John. His greatest public achievement was the band that made rock n roll matter and mine is…well…this website. Besides, John was dead by the time my relationship with him began. I was nine (almost 10) when… Read more »
Label: self-released Released: January 25, 2008 I seem to be using the word “angular” an awful lot these days and while that usually means I’m listening to something I enjoy, the post-punk influence is becoming so commonplace that it also begs the question, “What’s special about this one?” With Brass, the answer is that they take their mathy angles and… Read more »
They and the Children – New Full-Length Available for Pre-Order Order Home now – Ships May 30th Both CD and Vinyl available Official release date – July 01, 2008 on Kill Normal Records Home, the upcoming full-length from the DIY hardcore juggernaut that is Middletown, Connecticut’s They and the Children is now available for pre-order from Kill Normal Records. Go… Read more »
Label: Roadrunner Records Released: May 6, 2008 There is really no shortage of bands out there today who are mining the 70s for the source of its hard rock gems. The Parlor Mob is one such band. They’ve obviously spent some time with Zeppelin and the Nuge and they’ve certainly gotten quite a bit out of that. And You Were… Read more »
BRASS – 3 New Songs for Free Download A SMALL BREATH EP now available digitally Also download songs from debut Set & Drift Philadelphia’s Brass have officially released their new three-song EP, A Small Breath, for free digital download. For more information, go here. For instant gratification, voila!. The band will also be pressing a very limited run of 100… Read more »
Label: Rhino Released: April 22, 2008 Otis Blue is a widely accepted soul classic and for good reason. It finds Redding running through some great soul tunes, many made famous by others, yet it never makes you long for the other versions (even Aretha’s version of “Respect”). He’s just that powerful of a singer. “Satisfaction,” one of rock’s most overrated… Read more »