Friday, April 30, 2010

The Honor System

There once was a mighty band called Slapstick. I am fairly certain that they are in some way responsible for 90% of the great bands from the Chicago-land area. Wikipedia has a really good family tree for slapstick.

I have written about The Broadways before, I think I transferred that posting to this. Following the slapstick split, The Broadways made some amazing music. Once they called it a day, we were lucky enough to have The Lawrence Arms and The Honor System. The Honor System followed the same political-punk lean that was started with The Broadways. The instrumentation was tighter and more complex, the vocals and lyrics were more mature. Heck, most of these guys went to my high school. I remember being a middle school kid hearing guys that were then seniors play in jazz band. I had heard they were in a band called slapstick then I heard about the Broadways. When they graduated and we moved up, we had some pretty big shoes to fill.

The Honor System had 3 "official" releases. Single File, 100% Synthetic (which I was only able to find on vinyl for a long time" and Rise and Run. I loved the first 2 albums. "Rise and Run" never really did anything for me as a whole. Bits and pieces of Rise were fun, but overall, I felt it seemed too heavy-handed. It was almost too blatant of an album. This however does not diminish the straight up badass earlier records.

When I heard that The Honor System were going to be putting out their "Demo Tape" album, I was pretty excited. This would be the first time the recorded output of the initial incarnation of the band could be heard "officially." This initial lineup featured Dan Hanaway, Rob DePaola, Nolan McGuire, who all appeared on the first 2 albums, but the last member of the band was Tim McIlrath, who later formed Rise Against. That's right, TIM MCILRATH.

The demo tape has 3 songs on it. "Fool's Gold" and "Facelift" have Dan singing and both songs appear on the album "Single File." There is one marked difference and that is that Tim does the backing vocals which bring an entirely different sound to the overall mix. The second song on "Demo Tape" is the missing title track from "single file" called, surprisingly, "Single File." Tim takes over lead vocals on this track. This single track really has something special to it. No, it is not just a Rise Against song, it is something more. There is just some kind of melodic difference to the song that makes these 3 tracks completely rock. Like, the keystone at the top of the arch, it is a piece that makes this demo tape worth owning. The alternate versions of the other songs are rockin' but alone, they are only for diehards. However, you add this unreleased track into the mix and you really have a 3 song album that is completely worth owning.

I ordered mine from interpunk and got a free button and patch with the vinyl. If you are a music nerd like me, that rocks.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

after such a long drought...

We finally have plenty of great music that has come out or will be coming out soon. April has been pretty rad up to this point for music.

I have already talked about a lot of the music I have picked up over the past couple of weeks, but I have grabbed some new things that I have been quite happy to have picked up.

Circa Survive:

The new Circa Survive album "Blue Sky Noise" is very much more of the same from this popular, proggy band. I am going to be honest, for the past Circa albums, I have had to be "in the mood" for it. I have always liked their musical output, but it does not always fit the right sound for every situation for me. But this new album, this is something a little different. It almost seems more accessible, at times, more catchy. None of this is a bad thing. I think the album starts off a little slow, it is almost hard to discern track to track what is going on, but as the album starts climbing through the tracks, there are definite increases in the amount of tap your foot moments. One thing I love about this album is that Anthony Green is known for his beautiful falsetto and higher range, but on "Blue Sky Noise" you can hear him slip into the mid-range and the result is a much more raw and powerful effect. There are hints of rasp, strain and power that you can not achieve in the higher registers. I recommend you pick up the bonus track version, the extra tracks are really worth the couple of extra dollars and they are way beyond just b-sides or tracks that don't fit with the album. I could easily see these extra tracks as a stand-alone ep.

The Slackers:

The Slackers are a band that I have heard a song here and a song there on "give 'em the boot" compilations and other various places. About this time last year, I found out that Whatevski Records had a booze cruise live concert recording for $5. You know what? It rocked. So, hearing all of the buzz and good reviews for "The Great Rocksteady Swindle" I had to pick it up. I am not sorry I did. It is a nice little piece of groovy, moody midtempo ska/funk whatever. It is really great music to listen to at work.

The Wunder Years/Sorry About the Fire

I picked up an old recording recently as well. It is a split album by 2 bands I had heard of but not heard; The Wunder Years (yes, there is a U and not the WONDER YEARS with an O.) and Sorry About The Fire. The album is called "On Behalf of Rock n Roll." This comes from reading the Bad Sandwich Chronicles blog "The Story of Coco" and the comments that followed it. I am happy I did too. This is a great album of early 2000's punk. Strong album. Apparently, the one available on Amazon is a reissue or something with extra songs. That would account for the live, acoustic performances, which are just cool anyway.

Young Livers:

Honestly, after reading about it not that long ago and thinking what i heard sounded pretty good, I had forgotten that Young Livers had a new album coming out. "Of Misery and Toil" is an amazing release. I am reminded of "The New Whats Next" or "Never Ender" era Hot Water Music (one of my favorite bands). This is a band that really took the time between albums and got better. They refined their sound and cleaned up everything. Where "The New Drop Era" was good, "Of Misery and Toil" is great! I keep wanting to turn it up at my desk and let everyone nod their head to it. I just got it Monday I think, so I really want to sit and listen to it a few times back to back without work getting in the way, but I can tell you right now, it is a good album.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Hey, Polar Bear Club Made a video

this is quite possibly the most random video I have ever seen. Tons of references to pop culture videos of the past. Thomas Colella directed it. I dunno, there is some pretentious description of it on punknews.org which is probably intentionally sarcastic (i Hope). Regardless, it is a good song and an entertaining video


Living Saints

Polar Bear Club | MySpace Music Videos

preorder madman

so yeah, i stayed awake to preorder the new Gaslight Anthem album. I got it from side one dummy with the colored vinyl, poster and t-shirt. I am going to try for the early bird tickets on tuesday as well. I should go to bed. if I get 5 hours of sleep, i will call it lucky.

Yeeeeaaaaaaah...

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Free show...in a chapel

So last night I went to go see The Felix Culpa for free at this christian college near my house. Pretty much had zero info to go on, just an approximate start time and that it was on campus. Now, on a side, note, this is a very religious school. No smoking anywhere on campus, boys and girls are not allowed to be alone after a certain time, chaperons (sp?), curfews, strict strict strict. I have only been on the campus a few times even. I played bass for a wedding there once, the ceremony part. I was there for something with friends or family once or twice. That is probably it. Regardless, I kind of know where things are. The whole campus, educational building, dorms and what not are all kind of built out from a central point. That point is the chapel.

Now, not knowing where i was going exactly gave me a few options, drive around and look for band trailers, ask someone or just drive slowly like a creep with my window down listening for music. It was pouring down rain at the time, so being a creep was pretty much my only option. And where was the show? yup, at the chapel.

This may sound strange, but I have always believed that churches have better acoustics than most venues, and this was true for last night as well. There was a stage set up where the pulpit is, cloth covering the back walls hung from the balcony, basically, all around great sound set up.

There were 3 bands last night and the show was free. It started with a band called Daniel and the Lion. Totally thrown for a loop on this one. Bearded, longer hair guys, playing some very poppy sounding folk/rock as they described themselves. I was not totally sold on the band, but damn their singer had an amazing quality to his voice.


Suns played second. They should have some music up soon on their bandcamp page, or so the tour manager told me. I guess they are the remains of Wax On Radio, who is a band I used to own the album of, but I have no idea where it went off my computer...but I just found it. I was never in love with this band, they had some amazing music, but then some total flops that just kind of collapsed under the weight of the band. Suns on the other hand kind of blew me away. There were so many layers that fed off each other instead of overlapping and getting lost, that they painted a beautiful landscape of sound. All I can really say is if you like Sigur Ros, The Sound Of Animals Fighting, Circa Survive, or the RX Bandits' "Mandala" you will probably like this band. Plus, they have 2 drummers. They both play full sets. I have never seen 2 guys drumming on sets before that were so in sync and listen to each other to make this incredibly huge sound.

The Felix Culpa finished the show. as I have talked about this band before, I will not bore you (which i probably have already done) with the specifics of each song, but let me tell you, despite some odd technical issues, the band really played a great show. Now, getting to my talk about the acoustics of the chapel really being amazing. The show last night was pretty much raw. The only thing that seemed to be coming through the P.A. was the vocals and keyboard. Everything else appeared to be straight from the band and their amps. I wish venues in the city would follow this pattern. The sound last night was more pure, less boomy and overall just about the perfect way to listen to a band that does so much with their instruments. I could actually hear each guitar, bass and keyboard note and how they intertwined with the vocals to weave the fabric of a complete sonic experience. That is probably the cheesiest thing I have ever said, but really this is a band that you need to listen to to truly understand. I regret having waited this long to hear them live.

Friday, April 23, 2010

I keep falling asleep...

...before I get to write lately.

But, Brendan Kelly from The Lawrence Arms has an amazing blog called "bad sandwich chronicles" and he has been friends with Brian Fallon from the Gaslight Anthem for apparently a long time and has written a pretty great post on him, definitely a good thing to read.

I am going to try and go see The Felix Culpa tonight at this school near my house. It is allegedly a free show but the exact details of where have been hard to find. So yeah, that's all I have for right now.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Red City Radio

Today I bring you one of the new bands that I am kind of keeping my eye on. One of the best things I can say to describe them is the new Hot Water Music. I really get the same kind of feeling listening to these guys as I do listening to them. They have an ep that came out in July, 2009, called "To The Sons and Daughters of Woodie Guthrie." I sometimes forget that I have had the album that long, but when I put it back on, I get the same kind of excitement that I get when I hear "Trusty Chords" from Hot Water Music. I Really want to have some clever kind of statement or what not like most reviewers do, but honestly, this band speaks for itself. Watch and listen, if you are not tapping your foot, wanting to listen to more of their songs, well, then I really don't know what to tell you.



Red City Radio: "We are the Sons of Woody Guthrie" from Punknews.org on Vimeo.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Boy Howdy, it has been quite a week for music

I wanted to shoot this one off kind of quick before I left work just because I really wanted to share some of the amazing things I have been talking about all week.

First off, the new Riot Before album "Rebellion" is absolutely a great album. The lyrics are sharp, the songs are great and overall there is a definite great feel to the album. They know how to craft the right kinda song. Upbeat tempos with the right changes in feel to them at just the right time. This is really a great album to be coming out in the spring. It just has the feel. I read this week that comparisons to these guys and Against Me! are inevitable, which is true. But honestly, that is not a band thing. Imagine the early albums of AM! without the politics and slightly less rough. There is that jangly, upbeat feel to the music. It feels almost familiar, while being new and exciting all at the same time.

Speaking of Against Me! their new ep "I was a teenage anarchist" is really a strong offering. The songs to me sound like a band that has grown up. There is still that bite to the lyrics with clever lines spouting up, but the music has changed a little. Not in a bad way, just less of a hectic pace and more of a "midwestern punk" feel to it. I feel almost like bits and pieces could find a home on any alkaline trio album. There is just a different sound to this band than "new wave" I am having a hard time explaining it, but for lack of a better word, the songs just sound like they were made by a band that is happy and having fun.

Hands down the best album I have heard this week and so far this year is the new Menzingers album "Chamberlain Waits." I really have nothing more I can say about this album. It fucking rocks. There is a little something for everyone; catchy singalongs, screaming, music that makes you want to tap your foot, nod your head and move around. This is really a band that has come into their own and I would not be surprised if they started really taking off thanks to this album. I really, really love this album.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

New Against Me! ep "I was a teenage anarchist" is out early

iTunes and Amazon mp3 have the new Against Me! ep out 2 weeks early. Freakin' iTunes has it for $5.16 and Amazon has it for $3.96. Guess i have to wait until i get home so i can save a dollar instead of using my iphone. Bastards!

Anywho, I am psyched for this. Regardless of what others say. I get this early, i got to have the menzingers album early. Now this. All i can say is that after a rather depressing bunch of weeks in regards to new music, I am not in new music overload.

I saw a show last night, bought lots of new music lately, listening a lot, reading a lot. I need to get some time to be awake and write more, and I am going to make it happen

Thanks for reading and get your friends to.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

New Menzingers is available on iTunes

Well, I hope my pre-order gets here soon, but those of you who do not buy physical formats much anymore, "Chamberlain Waits" is now available on iTunes. From what I have heard, the album rocks and you are definitely in for a great listen. I think it really shows off what a strong band they have become. So yeah, go get it.

come on pre-order....I'm waiting.

this week's A.V. Undercover....

...pretty much sucks. Cursive are one of the most talented group of musicians out there playing music. I mean, really really really talented. They decided to play "we built this city" and somehow made a dumb song sound ever worse. How can that even be possible? I have no idea. But that was awful. Adding a strobe light just makes the disaster as hard to watch as it was to listen to.

New Alternative Press

after the somewhat disappointing "100 bands you need to know" issue last month, AP has a nice strong mix of reviews this month. There are almost as many bands, if not more, this month that I want to check out than there was on their feature of bands to check out last month. The Lawrence Arms even get name checked on not 1 but 2 reviews of bands. Which, 1 of them does not surprise since the album is the Menzingers who are their friends and on the label Brendan is closely associated with.

I will state this though, there is a feature article that shows the "Class of 2010" and has a quick statement from a bunch of frontmen for bands. Whatever. But there is absolutely zero fucking content in this section. It is literally full page pics of singers, in various stages from looking like complete asshats to somewhat normal guys. But that is all it is, pictures and maybe 10-15 words. In the past, there used to be at least a paragraph.

Which leads me to something else i have noticed, and that is that amount of full page pics with little content and the full spread ads that are every other page. I understand that people seem to have an aversion to reading words lately, poor souls do not even understand what they are missing, but come on, is readership down so much that you have to bank on neon shirt scene kids buying the mag for the pics? Every month there is a letters section and more and more it is written by what I can only imagine as screaming girls saying "OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG look at who is on the cover! it's (insert shitty band name here)" I understand that there is a need to try and turn a profit, shit I would not have a job if people did not advertise, but really, do you need to sacrifice content in order to do so?

I admit, I will probably continue to read alt press for a long time, but the amount of skipping around keeps increasing. I read almost half of the entire thing in under 30 mins, just due to the large number of ads and full-page nonsense. I almost worry that I am missing out on some band that could be amazing, just because they need a full-page shot of some near shirtless singer from a band that I have never even heard.

new menzingers song, streaming, right here

Alternative Press has done another amazing thing by streaming a new song from the new Menzingers album "Chamberlain Waits"

I will say that this has officially gotten me excited for my preorder to arrive. This album should be amazing!

The Menzingers - "Home Outgrown" (Altpress.com exclusive) by altpress

Monday, April 5, 2010

not sure how i did it....

...BUT I forgot to mention the new Murder by Death album, "Good Morning Magpie" comes out tomorrow.

If you have not heard this band, you should really give them a go. I would call them a cross between Johnny Cash, traditional rockabilly bands, nick cave, with a little doom and gloom thrown in. Beautiful cello, deep (as in pitch) vocals, powerful instrumentation and some great melodies really combine to give a unique band. I have seen them play a few times and they really put on a strong show.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

upcoming albums, this week i think or next

This is my shitty, Sunday post that has little to no value other than just my short list of upcoming albums that I am excited for.

The Riot Before "Rebellion"- There is a lot of comparisons to Against Me! for this band, but that is not a band thing at all. Folky-punk at some of its best.

Sara Blackwood "Wasting Time"- As lead singer of rockabilly band Creepshow, Sarah has developed a strong roots sound to her solo stuff. Her previous album was great so I am looking forward to this new one.

The Menzingers "Chamberlain Waits" after hearing the new single as i talked about in an earlier post, I can not wait to hear the new album.

Happy Easter

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Amazon $5 for April

Well, Amazon have their April albums up for $5.

I hate to say it, but nothing really strikes my fancy on there right now, with the exception of the Legendary Sun Classics, which i am kind of on the fence on. I have some of these songs already, and while the new ones on here really are great, it is not driving me to hit "buy" as much as I would like. Maybe I can sleep on it and see how i feel.

SOOO John Nolan is back in Taking Back Sunday

I am not really sure how I even SHOULD feel about this. Everyone seems to think it is such an amazing thing. I will be honest, the TBS records I think have been getting better overall. I loved "Tell All Your Friends" but I thought the overall band was stronger on the later releases. Fred brought something to the band that I felt really showed how much one person can add. But again, it was just a more mature sound. I loved straylight run, they had some great songs. But, near the end of the run for them, I felt like it was too much of a vanity project where they were just doing it for themselves as individuals and not really as a band. Although, the last TBS record was kind of the same thing. I do not think it had the staying power and the middle 2 records. I dunno. That is just me. I got really burned out on the poppy-esque post punk whatever very fast. Bands like TBS and Fall Out Boy and Brand New just don't hold up to me as much now as much as they did when i first heard them. I love the older FOB stuff, can not stand the new. I like the newer TBS stuff over the old, despite the old still being catchy as hell. And Brand New, I am not even sure what to think about them.

There is a lot of music today that just sounds like everything else and it does not seem to grab me like it used to. But, time will tell. John Nolan is super talented, but his more recent work does not lend itself to what TBS used to be. I guess I will need to see what i can hear of the new output before I can really have an opinion.

Shameless friend promotion

so a buddy of mine worked on this really badass looking zombie movie. I love zombies, so I am sidestepping music on this post.

A Chance In Hell - Teaser from Crispy Power on Vimeo.