I was always the guy that made mix tapes for everyone. I thought the music I listened to was criminally underrated and deserved to be shared and enjoyed by as many as would listen. So doing this blog and reviewing records for you all to read is sort of my way of still doing that. Hopefully you'll find something cool to listen to here. There are a lot of real gems, something for everyone it seems. With summer coming to an end soon, you're going to need some savory tunes to get you through that long stretch to Halloween! - J Castro
Black
Panties – Dirt From The Mop 7” (Total
Punk)
Black Panties play 100% bonafide fuzzed
up, blown out, torn down punk rock that’s reminiscent of first album era Reatards. I don’t know where this band is from but
wherever it is, wherever they gather to record or to consume sustenance I fear
for their neighbors or whatever poor patron happens to be next to them when they
finally blow. Rest assured that it will
happen too. It may not be tomorrow or next week but it will happen and when it
does they will try to take as many innocents as they possibly can with them. Back to whatever pit of hellfire damnation they
clawed their way out of. - JC
The
Bombpops – Dear Beer EP (Fat Wreck
Chords)
Four new songs from this Oceanside,
CA quartet. I don’t listen to too many of the new Fat Wreck Chords bands much,
at least not on a regular basis (except toyGuitar, Night Birds and Masked Intruder of course!) and The Bombpops
are also one of them. There’s something about those hard driving melodic power
chords, thundering drums under Jen Razavi and Poli Van Dam’s vocals that really
works for me. Their songs as a whole are kind of your typical “Fat Sound”
though. In some ways The Bombpops remind me a lot of bands like Tilt and
Discount, good stuff!. - JC
Color
Me Wednesday – Counting Pennies in the
Afterlife LP (KROD)
The first thing I noticed about
this band is that they describe themselves as being political, feminist, and vegan.
However you would never really know just by casually listening to their music. Color Me
Wednesday deliver their message on a sweeping, melodic bed of indie pop that
goes down easy. Their music is not
abrasive or in your face. In a time when
it seems everyone is shouting their political stance from their social media
proverbial roof tops, it’s nice to hear a band that quietly puts out their
message instead of smashing you over the head with it. You can choose to hear it in the lyrics or you
can just let these dreamy pop songs help you escape for a while. – JC
Counter
Intuits – Vietnamese Lighter 7”
(Total Punk)
If you want to get somewhat of a
feel of this record, try to imagine what it would sound like if Jonathan
Richmond, Lou Reed and Mike Hudson got together in the basement of an old
burned out house. Now also try to think
of what it would sound like if these guys started playing instruments that were
partially burned in that same fire and recorded that session. Now you’ve got a faint scent of what the Avant
fractured pop Counter Intuits bring on this here new 7”. It’s disdainful, it’s contemptuous, its Total
Punk! - JC
Dark/Light
– Dark Slash Light 7” (Dirt Cult)
Dark/Light play a shadowy yet urgent
brand of punk/post punk reminiscent of fellow Portlandians The Stops and Red
Dons but also have the scrappiness of bands like Piss Test. Listening to Dark/Light’s
is similar to watching masked ninja marauders moving and weaving in the darkness, closing in on their prey. The
music is energetic and captivating but also has an air of uneasiness to it as
well. The standout track for me is the
last tune called “Rotting” which is a relentless, full frontal audio assault of
screaming guitar pummeling. If you’ve
never heard this band, this 7” is the perfect place to start. - JC
Future
Girls – Motivation Problems LP (Dirt
Cult)
This band had me by the throat form
the very first song! The band compares themselves to Superchunk and calls
themselves “bummer punk” but that may not me entirely fair. Future Girls have a
brilliant energy and they do have Superchunk style guitar riffs but they also
have a tremendous presence to them. Try
to imagine a band from the Lookout Records heyday (like Monsula, Fifteen, MTX)
of the 90’s with a post punk/Joy Division production and you’ve got just a
taste of this LP. I find what Future
Girls do to be quite magnificent, this is definitely going in the contenders
pile for record of the year! - JC
Hollywood
Sinners – Khome Kakka LP (Dirty
Water)
Hollywood Sinners have now
unleashed their 4th LP out among the masses. These guys play scrappy, energetic, 1960’s
style garage punk like The Sonics, Question Mark & The Mysterians, or like early
90’s Makers. The band is from Spain so yes the songs on here are all sung in
Spanish. The title itself is a play on
words meaning “Eat Shit”. It doesn’t
really matter if you can’t understand the lyrics, I speak Spanish fluently and
I still can barely understand them. Khome Kakka explodes with bravado,
swagger and a charismatic vitality that is essential when playing this type of
music. I bet these guys rock HARD live
too! After all, that’s what music like this was invented for. – JC
Krang
– Singalong LP (Bird Attack/Melodic
Punk Style)
This band is from the Czech
Republic and plays a pretty straight forward skate style punk rock riddled with
pop culture references. Krang sound like they’d be right at home on Fat Wreck
Chords or Side One Dummy touring with bands like Lag Wagon and Good Riddance. The drums beat at an almost superhuman speed
and the songs are tough yet melodic. The
snotty factor is set to a minimal on the vocals, buy there’s plenty of guitars
and harmonized backing vocals to go around. If you’re getting tired of the old records you
used to put on while playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater then check out Krang. – JC
Brad
Marino - Four Track Attack 7” (Beluga)
The
Connection’s front man strikes out on his own on this new 7” of all original
tunes. Brad’s songs here have a similar good time rock n’ roll/Buddy Holly-esq
vibe to them as his band The Connection does. All of these songs are fun,
guitar driven tunes that sound like they could have been on The Rolling Stone’s
Tattoo You record. Brad Marino’s songs have no politics, no
social commentary they’re just pure, untainted, top shelf rock n roll. That may
sound simple to do but it isn’t, not as good as this guy does it anyway. If it
is in fact that easy, I wish more people would make records like this. - JC
Bruce
Moody – Get Fresh 7” (Meanbean)
Bruce
Moody plays a similar style of power pop as The Nerves used to. The kind that’s
derived from the same blueprint as a lot of the bands from the 1960’s like The
Hollies and Herman’s Hermits. Bruce Moody’s music is refreshingly quaint and
irresistible. If you’re a fan of power pop at all and you aren’t acquainted
with Mr. Moody’s music, I recommend you remedy this immediately. From the two
Bruce Moody 7”’s that Meanbean has put out previously I have yet to hear a
shabby tune from him and this record is no exception. Living in such turbulent
times it’s so nice to turn on records like this and just let the catchy melodies ease all your tensions. - JC
Pandemix
– Rank & File 7” (Dirt Cult)
Fantastic 7” from this political
hardcore punk band causing a commotion out in the Boston area. Apparently this band has
only been around for a couple of years but already have a full length and
released their much sought after demo they put out in 2016. Pandemix kind of
fall into the East Coast crust punk realm of The Pist or Aus Rotten but their
songs have catchier riffs and they have the urgency and charisma of fellow
Bostonians Showcase Showdown (one of the most highly underrates bands
ever in my humble opinion). Both songs on this 7” are
certified gut punchers, highly recommended! - JC
Please
Stop – Built To Die 7” (No Front
Teeth)
Just so you all know, this 7”
actually contains 11 songs, an LP on an EP! This band’s core consists of
another phenomenal No Front Teeth band I liked a lot called The Ills who were
active a few years ago. They tweaked
their roster a tad, tuned up everything that was awesome about The Ills and
voila – we’ve got Please Stop! This band
would have fit perfectly on Kill Rock Star Records back in the 90’s Olympia Riot
Grrrl scene among bands like Excuse 17, The Frumpies and Heavens to Betsy. Comparisons
aside, Please Stop do have their own unique brand of raw, ferocious, minimalist
punk with a force that these days is hard to parallel. Awesome record, another
one that’s going in this year’s best contenders list. - JC
Predator
– No Face 7” (Total Punk)
Predator are a band from Atlanta GA
who play a mean, tough, blunt force trauma to the face style of punk rock which
reminds me a little of NJ’s Wretched Ones in that way. You can’t put easy
prefixes like “pop” or “post” in front of Predator's description and try to put them
in a can. They’re just simply a punk
band and that’s enough when done right. The two songs on this here 7” fortify
my above testimony to this band. The
B-side has a slight new wave feel to it but rest assured it will still send
your teeth down your throat quite easily. - JC
Prey
Drive – Tabula Rasa EP (KROD)
This Norwich based quartet plays
crisp, clean, tunes that are as dynamic as they are moody. Their sound is not
unlike 30 Seconds to Mars or Taking Back Sunday. I know there’s probably been
more current bands that have taken on this style of music and ran with it but
those bands mentioned above are the few I still like. I guess back in the day
this would have been referred to as an “emo” record but that seems to be a
dirty word these days. This four track EP also happens to be the band’s debut.
Prey Drive certainly have the inspiration and musicianship to pull off this kind
of music and seem to do it with ease. –
JC
Strung
Out – Black Out The Sky LP (Fat Wreck
Chords)
You may not believe me, but I have
never heard Strung Out before until reviewing this record. Sure I’ve heard OF
them before, they’ve been around for a long time. I expected the classic NOFX/classic 90's Fat Wreck Chords type of sound but this is full on alt-metal stuff like Staind or
Puddle of Mud. The whole record is pretty slow, the only time it picks up just
a tad is on the 6th song called “Duke of Sorrow” and even then it evolves into
a mid-tempo tune. It’s very well
produced and the band sounds tight but it don't got that zip nor does it shake my hips. - JC
Regular
Guys – It’s A Secret 7” (Meanbean)
I for one am so very happy there are labels around like Meanbean Records that fish around and find remarkable old records and reissue them. I love listening to new music and discovering bands but I (and I know many will scoff at this) am not a vinyl collector. I will listen to music on whatever format I can get my hands on. There is one of the original 1980 copies of this record for sale on Discogs right now for $75. Will I ever pay that? Not on your life! But thanks to Meanbean I get to enjoy this 4 song EP with new inserts packed with band pics, show fliers etc for the modest price of $7.99! Lawrence, Kansas' Regular Guys were around in the late 70's/early 80's and recorded this here power pop masterpiece that leans more on the pop than on the power. But due to poor promotion their record fell through the cracks. But it's briefly seeing the light of day once again, jump on it now though before it goes back into hiding, Meanbean is only pressing 300 copies!! - JC
The
Thingz – Supersonic Saucer LP (Coffee Addict)
Long Beach
CA’s most beloved graveyard garage rock stompers are back with, if I’m counting
correctly their seventh LP?!? Now that’s
an achievement all its own! The Thingz play a fun mix of B52’s meet The Cramps
at the back of a Monks show type of tunes.
And when I say “back” I’m not talking about the back of the room, I’m
talking in the back alley behind the venue where one can speak of macabre
affairs more freely. This record’s 12 songs are quick, fun and slightly disturbing in
a campy, B-Movie kind of way. Tacked on at the very end is a blazing rendition
of The Count Five’s “Psychotic Reaction” which fits in quite well in the band’s
repertoire. - JC
Tommy
and the Commies – Here Come… LP
(Slovenly Recordings)
Ontario’s
Tommy and the Commies rule the school with a sound reminiscent of fellow Mods
the Odd Numbers or early Jam, early Who/High Numbers. This
band features members of Strange Attractor and The Statues. One of the hang
ups about bands like this is that the songs tend to be too long so they linger
thus becoming stagnate. Not here though, the songs are loud, melodic, and move
right along. It’s hard to believe this
is the band’s debut LP. They already sound so confident and tightened up. If we
had a rating system, Tommy and the Commies would take the tall shiny trophy, earn the 5
out of 5 whatevers or get pinned with a gold something or other! - JC
Violence
Creeps – Nephew Melting 7” (Total
Punk)
Another punk band moaning and talking smack about good
people. The first song and title track is apparently about Mathew Melton of
Warm Soda/Bare Wires fame. You know that long, kindly mustachioed fellow that
sings sweet songs with titles like “Waiting For Your Call” and “Young
Reckless
Hearts”. How can you hate a guy like that, am I right? The B-Side, a song called “Ford Go Bikes” is
calling out all the monetarily successful non-cool Oakland hipsters that have
ruined the landscape with their condos and fancy speak. I’ve been told if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. I don’t know if that’s true but an
alternative to that is writing hate songs like these about them and admittedly
this is way more fun for everyone. Except for maybe the hipstes but everyone knows they are a cold unfeeling sort devoid of any real sentiment. - JC
