Label: self-released (available at CD Baby Released: 2006 Defying the Stereotype is a bit of a misnomer for this album. Perhaps Confused About the Stereotype or Lost in the Stereotype would be more appropriate. It’s certainly not “stereotype” that I object to, but “defying,” because this record defies nothing. From the opening track, Landonband spends their time genre-hopping. True, there… Read more »
Label: No Idea Records Released: September 2006 – June 2007 For those expecting to hear the next generation of Hot Water Music, go buy the Draft’s In a Million Pieces. Chuck Ragan’s The Blueprint Sessions only shares his former band’s emotional appeal, but the music itself is far closer to the raw folk/punk that he did with Rumbleseat. This is… Read more »
After my review of the Explicits, their fellow Jacksonville band Baker Act contacted me about doing the same. After a brief listen, I agreed. It’s always nice to hear a new punk band without a trace of emo and Baker Act has the emotion without the whining. The four songs on their page all show influences from the artier side… Read more »
Label: Polyvinyl Records Released: March 6, 2007 Often a great album is one where everything comes together in ways unimagined with hooks that make one wonder how anyone could write something that instantly likable. Other times, great albums take effort. The Days and Nights of Everything Anywhere, 31Knots’ fourth full-length release, is like that. A consistently unsettling work, it achieves… Read more »
Label: Virgin Released: June 26, 2007 One would think that an accomplished artist who dedicates an entire album to covering another single artist must be both enamored and well-versed in his or her subject. An all-Dylan Bryan Ferry release might sound a bit odd considering that Dylan speaks to our hearts in warm, organic imperfections while Ferry speaks in cold,… Read more »
Label: I.R.S. Released: September 1979 Whenever I see (or make as the case may be) a list of the “Greatest Albums Ever” or the “Top 100 Albums of All-Time,” I find it unfair to include greatest hits collections and anthologies…with one exception: The Buzzcocks’ Singles Going Steady. I love the album, but that’s not the reason for the exception. Unlike… Read more »
Label: Wicked Cool Released: May 29, 2007 There’s a difference between cover bands and revivalists. The former, when done right (or as right as basing your existence on covers can be), sounds like a particular band. The latter, when done right, taps into the energy and soul of a band or a genre and brings it out for a fresh… Read more »
…at least as a good career move. Check this out. Thanks for the heads up, Chuck.
For those of you stuck buying it on the inferior compact disc format, here’s how cool the new Bad Brains album is on vinyl:Maybe I should give it another point just for a great package (and because the colors are like my dreams: red, gold and green).
“Rebel Waltz” is a forgotten song on the Clash’s forgotten Sandinista album. As the title says, it is a waltz, but with an edge. I’m not sure what war this involves or even if that’s important, but the lyrics describe the resolve in a rebel army before (or perhaps after) a battle they cannot (or did not) win. There is… Read more »