April 2018 Reviews
Beta Boys – Brick Walls 7” (Total
Punk)
Total Punk
certainly does live up to its name and Beta Boys is no different. Beta Boys
plays a Germs style primitive punk and drags those songs through the scuzz and
mud. “Brick Walls” is a slow grinder, think of the breakdown in a hardcore
song, but the entire song is that breakdown. “Littered Streets” is the
punk/hardcore song that the breakdown came from, but never got added. After
releases on Goodbye Boozy and Neck Chop, Beta Boys don’t seems to be stopping
anytime soon. For fans of early LA punk meets ‘80’s punk/hardcore check it out.
– Ed Stuart
Bundles – Deaf Dogs LP (Gunner)
Boston’s Bundles
are here with their debut LP, Deaf Dogs.
I first heard Bundles on an earlier split with Dan Webb & the Spiders.
Bundles exists somewhere between Avail, Long Island punk and a touch of
Midwest. Deaf Dogs, pulling from a few
different sources, seems to be set up with a rocker and followed by a Long
Island influenced heartfelt number. This is emotional melodic punk, without the
emo stigma, that isn’t afraid to do either. – Ed Stuart
The Carousels – Sail Me Home, St. Clair LP (Kool
Kat/Sugarbush)
The Carousels
are really a throwback to an earlier era. What era, you ask? Sail Me Home, St. Clair is a mix of
folk, Americana, alt-rock country and ‘60’s California pop, that was turning
radio dials in the ‘60’s/’70’s. The Carousels are from Scotland, which isn’t
the hotbed of alt-country Americana, but maybe there is a burgeoning scene
there. Sail Me Home is the second LP
from the Scottish band that picks up where their debut, Love Changes Like The Seasons, left off. It’s like Neil Young and
The Byrds moved to Scotland or the city of Keith (where the Carousels are from)
got transplanted to California. – Ed
Stuart
Cold Leather – Past Remedy 7” (Sabotage)
Following 2016’s
demo, Cold Leather has their first proper release with Past Remedy. Berlin’s Cold Leather features members of Pretty Hurts
and Cult Values. Past Remedy is
billed as early Dangerhouse punk meets ’81 Berlin, but I don’t really get that
feel from Cold Leather. Instead the band mixes ’77-’79 punk and post-punk with
a knack for angular guitar riffs. – Ed Stuart
Faz Waltz – Julie 7” (Spaghetty Town)
The more I think
about it, this marriage of Faz Waltz and Spaghetty Town makes total sense. Hot
off the heels of Dr. Boogie, Spaghetty Town releases Faz Waltz. Faz Waltz hail
from Italy and graduated from the Bolan Academy of Music. Julie keeps this tradition going with adding touches of Slade and
Sweet guitar driven glam-pop. Faz Waltz are veterans of this scene, sound and
style and its shows since both tracks ooze ‘70’s glitter sleaze so
effortlessly. – Ed Stuart
Jeff Rosenstock – POST- LP (Polyvinyl)
After his
critically deemed magnum opus, Worry,
was released two years ago some have waited with baited breath for Rosenstock’s
follow up. Instead of releasing POST-
in a storm of hype, Rosenstock dropped the LP silently by just posting a link.
Some have deemed Rosenstock as a millennial pop-punk lifer, which seemed
arguably skewed considering he is thirty-five. Is POST- Worry part 2? No. POST- does tackle some of the same
topics, but it’s more politically focused and than Worry. While, Worry, was more
or less a pop-punk LP with seconds long songs as interludes, POST- is a meatier affair. Rosenstock
has bookended this musical sandwich with two songs that total nineteen minutes while
the middle is filled with his trademark pop-punk meets Weezer with touches of
‘80’s/90’s indie rock. “Yr Throat,” “Melba” and “Beating My Head Against A
Wall” leads the pop-punk charge while “9/10” goes for more introspective. The
long songs are a bit labored and seem a little out of place. POST- is a sandwich where I would get
rid of the crust and just focus on the middle to keep you satisfied. – Ed
Stuart
Mean Jeans – Jingles Collection LP (Fat
Wreck)
What happens
when a punk band decides to write jingles? First of all, they get turned down
by several of the companies they decided to honor with a jingle. Second, they
start getting a lot press for their failed efforts. Third, Fat decides to
package all their attempted jingles into an LP. So there you have it. Songs about
brands like “Sizzler” to “Skoal” and “Mountain Dew.” Mean Jeans channel the
Queers pop-punk and play these jingles with tongue firmly planted in cheek. – Ed
Stuart
The Number Ones – Another Side Of The Number Ones 7” (Static Shock)
Number Ones may
be the closest band to Good Vibrations sound playing today. Does it help they
are from Dublin? Sure, but it’s their sound and their songs that really make
the difference. Their S/T LP
introduced the world to their Protex meets Undertones meets Northern Ireland
sound. Another Side Of The Number Ones, released three years later, shows that band hasn’t lost a step at
all. Sure you could argue they have an Exploding Hearts rough and toughness to
hide the sugary pop underneath. “Lie To Me” is phenomenal and so are the rest
of the songs. Number Ones have announced they are back and started off
power-pop 2018 with a one hell of release. – Ed Stuart
Ruler – Ruler 7” (Secret Mission)
Yes, The Raydios
are done and dusted, but that didn’t mean Fink decided to take any time off.
He’s back with his new band, Ruler. Ruler has Fink, duh, plus members of The
Raydios and Intimate Fags. Ruler is closer to Teengenerate than Raydios, which
won’t cause a lot of complaints. If you have liked Fink’s bands over the years,
then Ruler is a must have. Ruler is a
’77 barnburner of razorblade guitar riffs played with KBD meets garage meets
early Kids intensity. – Ed Stuart
Silent Era – O Horizon LP (Sabotage/Last
Hour)
Tilt meets early
Samhain with touches of early Christian Death and T.S.O.L. Silent Era, hailing
from Oakland, brings back an older East Bay sound that I haven’t heard since
the early ‘90’s. The dark tinged melodic guitar is upfront and stands out
through O Horizon. The guitar does a
lot of heavy lifting but it measured by the steadily driving rhythm and female
vocals. – Ed Stuart
Spanish Love Songs – Schmaltz LP (A-F)
According to a
couple of articles I read, Los Angeles’s Spanish Love Songs are either sad or
grouchy punks. I wasn’t sure those were punks categories, but I guess everything
is up for grabs in the sub-genre world of music. What about nostalgic? Schmaltz at its core seems like ‘90’s
emo-punk, Get Up Kids mixed with later Menzingers. The vocals are drenched in
emotion; remembrance and the stop-start hallmarks of emo/’00’s punk are ever
present. – Ed Stuart
Telephone Lovers – Two Dollar Baby 7” (Disconnected/Burger)
Telephone Lovers
have been honing their sound and chops in LA’s watering holes for a couple of years.
The Lovers, led by Teddy Too Much, feature a cast of characters from Dr Boogie,
Black Mambas, Maniac and Images. Two
Dollar Baby shows more of the Lovers Real Kids rock n’ roll side without
their tough pop. Telephone Lovers forsake their Plimsouls touches for the pop
grit of The Beat. “Two Dollar Baby” is steeped in classic ‘70’s riffs that it
could of followed Dwight Tilley or Flamin Groovies on the radio. This 7-inch is
being billed as a double A-side which I can see after hearing “Real Action” the
pop to the power of “Two Dollar Baby.” – Ed Stuart
Terminal Mind – Recordings LP (Sonic
Surgery/Super Secret)
With the amount
of stuff coming out of the so-called punk vaults, they better rent out a few
storage lockers. This time around it’s Terminal Mind from Austin. True to form
with other release of this nature, Terminal Mind’s heyday was 1978-1981, but
this isn’t an LP lost to time. Recordings
are a mix of the band’s only release EP, unheard demos and live recordings.
Terminal Mind played shows with early TX punks like the Huns and Big Boys,
which the drummer would join later. Terminal Mind is a mix of Wipers style punk,
Pere Ubu and touches of early Wire with deadpan vocals. – Ed Stuart
Tres Oui – Poised To Flourish LP (Shrimper/Revolver)
Right off the
bat, Tres Oui reminded me of ‘80’s – ‘90’s UK ranging from Smiths to Ride. I
guess now it’s called jangle-pop, but it’s very melodic guitars with upbeat
drums. Tres Oui is made of members of Literature. Poised To Flourish, the band’s debut, songwriting sounds heavily
influenced by Johnny Marr and early Robert Smith, which isn’t a bad thing at
all. Tres Oui does a fine job of not being ‘80’s worship and incorporates
touches of newer indie bands without losing their infinity for their UK heroes.
– Ed Stuart
Various Artists – Spring 2018 LP (Rockstar)
Rockstar has
issued another free compilation featuring many of the label’s bands both past
and present. Compilations are always a little hard to pinpoint especially when
there isn’t one clear direction or theme. Rockstar has no obvious theme other
than showcasing bands. One thing about Rockstar is they do like musical
diversity in bands. The comp starts out with new band Chiller and few songs
later has a song from Chip Hanna’s solo effort. Rockstar has put out releases
from known bands like Toys That Kill and Miscalculations and smaller bands like
Modern Pets. Rockstar has put a together of bands that range from ’77 punk to
arty UK ’79 to pop-punk. – Ed Stuart
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