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June 29, 2007

Prozacs/Guts Split - "Sticking With it"

Prozacs/Guts Split - "Sticking With It"

We were lucky enough to get this release hot off the presses. Actually so hot of the presses that I received this copy prior to the bands receiving theirs. Cabana 1 wanted to make sure we got the album in time for review prior to the Insubordination Fest in Maryland from July 5th thru July 7th.  Neither band is trying to reinvent the 3-chord style that fans of pop-punk love. Each follows the style they’re used to playing. If you’re a fan of The Guts or The Prozacs this is a must have record. While listening it seemed like both bands followed the same pattern and chose a slower-tempo song (The Guts -"It ain't working out" & The Prozacs - "In love") a mid-tempo 50's style sing along/foot tapping song (The Guts - "Connections" & The Prozacs - "Shut You Up") and then a very poppy get up and dance your ass off song (The Guts "Adios" & The Prozacs - " You're not getting' it").

The album as a whole has a fun 50's dance party, jukebox feel. If you’re a fan of bubblegum flavored pop punk, then you will love this album.

The cd can be purchased from the bands at the Insubordination Fest  in Baltimore, MD July---thru---, from either The Prozacs  & The Guts, or Cabana 1 Records

Posted by Jonny Taint at 07:06 PM | | Comments (0)

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June 27, 2007

Dead IDentities - "Music For The Waiting"

The first song I heard on this "Music For The Waiting" was "Hanging Around" and it started with some really fast rocking riffs & beats. Next the singer (who has a fast high pitched British pop punk voice) starts spitting out the lyrics at 100 mph. It was a cool combination of fast punk rock mixed with poppy vocals. As I listened to the next few songs I noticed that the vocals seemed to sound computer enhanced or "over produced". Overall they really aren't a bad band and do seem to have it all together. The lyrics are upbeat, the instruments fast and tight, but something very phony also. After listening to the whole CD I realized they reminded me of Blink 182 right before they hit the mainstream full blast. So to categorize, I would call this Frat house or Hot Topic Punk. A few of the songs are pretty catchy, (ex "Got It Good"), but the majority of the songs are generic Frat house theme music.


Posted by Jonny Taint at 06:47 PM | | Comments (0)

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Suck-it26 - "Jengkel"

At first I thought the instrumental section of the band was a tight pop-punk style band. You know with the typical 1.2.3.4 that we endear. The vocals seemed a little unclear, so I wasn't real excited about Suck-it26. Then I listened again and really fell in love with this band. The unclear part of the vocals was actually a VERY THICK accent. Then I realized after a little research that English is their second language and these guys are out of "Serang, Indonesia" . This made me realize that good music no matter the language it sung in, is good music. Could you imagine trying to write a song in another language and making it sound good? That takes a lot of talent to pull that off. Their songs are very poppy and make you start to squirm around until you can't help but dance. Some of the songs start slow and blow up with energy or just come at you full on bubblegum punk. Suck-it26 plays one song "Masa Kecil" in their native language of Indonesian. It sounds incredible, it's fast, poppy, and harmonized great, I just wish I knew what they were singing about (They said it's about being kids).

 

 

Posted by Jonny Taint at 06:46 PM | | Comments (0)

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Piss-is-Gone - "Self Titled"

Piss-is-gone, hailing from "Hlohovec, Slovakia (Slovak Rep)"are one of those bands where the listener can barely make out what is being said, but knows that buried within those fast guitar riffs and scratchy screaming(but not screamo) vocals lie meaning. The music is fast and the vocals are scratchy & loud but the words are very difficult to comprehend. The feeling is in the music though and upon inspection of the lyrics, the songs come to life even more. The singer’s voice reassembles Blake Schwarzenbach of Jawbreaker in the early days. Every song makes you want to start a circle pit and throw down some hard punk rock dance moves. So, it's pretty safe to say ...Piss-is-gone blows my musical load.

 


Posted by Jonny Taint at 06:45 PM | | Comments (0)

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Strike Four - "Music For Your Stomach"

Ummm... yea……. Why Strike Four sent this EMO- Soft rock bullshit to Punk Rock Review I completely beyond me. I decided what the fuck, and tried to do the review anyway. That being said, I didn't get very far. About 30 seconds into the 1st track I found myself pressing the skip function on my Ipod to rid my ears of the whiney EMO vocals crawling through the speakers of my headphones. I think that the key to the suicidal aspect of EMO is that it is so bad that the people listening want to kill themselves to escape the awful whine of this sad excuse for music. I tried a few more times to listen, but really I couldn't do it. Musically they seem to be talented at playing their instruments, but other then that unless you like Lite-Rock crybaby shit, stay away from this, far, far away.

 

 

Posted by Jonny Taint at 05:53 PM | | Comments (0)

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June 15, 2007

The Unlovables - "Heartsickle"

Sugar, spice & everything nice (almost)... is what The Unlovables "Heartsickle" is made of. The Unlovables have provided us with another wonderful female fronted bubblegum-punk classic. Hallie has one of the sweetest and mesmerizing voices in punk rock today. Her style of vocals reminds me a lot of the early Belinda Carlisle vocals of The GO-GO's, but with more attitude. The lyrics are incredibly written with perfectly placed subtle and sometimes sarcastic metafore on every song. The Unlovables are more then just a great singer. The rest of the band compliments Hallie's incredible voice with just as bubbly sweet addictive riffs, broken heart pounding beats, and hypnotizing bass lines. There is not one song on this CD that isn't great. My personal favorite is "Crazy Tonight" - Just listen to the lyrics closely and you will understand.

 

What more can I say except this sugary gummy & gooey sweet album is nothing less than the icing on my cake.

 

 

Posted by Jonny Taint at 01:16 PM | | Comments (1)

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June 14, 2007

Chuck Ragan - "Los Feliz"

Former Hot Water Music singer/guitarist debut For a live acoustic album, the production quality is pretty solid and the musician is talented. Other then that I think this CD would have been better suited for a country/folk music radio station then this punk rock review website. Is Chuck Ragan talented? Sure, but it doesn't mean I want to hear this honky tonk crap. If you're looking for an acoustic sound with any touch of punk influence then start looking else where. Honestly I'm not at all interested in Hot Water Music's work either. Rather then waste anymore time then I already have. Avoid this hillbilly bullshit at all costs!

 

Posted by Jonny Taint at 10:15 PM | | Comments (0)

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June 12, 2007

Middle Class Trash - "Self Titled"

Who needs coffee, red bull or speed when you have this self titled CD from Middle Class Trash? There is an over used phrase which has become a cliché due to its presence in hundreds of reviews, articles and school boy references; "Punk As Fuck". However, in the case of Middle Class Trash, not only does this phrase apply, it is virtually the only way to adequately describe the anger, power, and full-on raging hardcore contained on this spinning disc of political charged harmony. This CD is blasting old-school NYHC style for new-school punks who missed it the first time. Pretty soon, everyone's going to have a Middle Class Trash patch safety-pinned to his or her army jackets and be slam dancing in a huge angry circle. Listening to this album will cause you to use the word "fuck" at least twice per sentence, and will make you want to start a full-scale riot.

 

 

Posted by Jonny Taint at 12:19 PM | | Comments (3)

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June 03, 2007

Blue Collar Convicts - "Self Titled"

Really their name says it all - They have that blue collar, bar room, bottle throwing, punk-n-roll sound you might expect from a band of this name. There are the powerful riffs, thick bass lines, and raspy vocals that you expect from North Eastern rock-n-roll based punk band.  They aren't trying to reinvent punk rock, their just playing what feels right without polluting their music with nonsense political stands or tales of high school beer parties. Blue Collar Convicts are just Real or just as they say - "working man's band" who are "imprisoned by the walls of society" ... the system is [their] prison. ~ The more mature or veteran punk rocks can truly relate with this band because Blue Collar Convicts are just like everyone listening to them.

 

Posted by Jonny Taint at 12:58 AM | | Comments (0)

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June 02, 2007

The Wish You Weres - "Left For Dead"

The Wish You Weres, were one of the first bands I reviewed about a year ago. Fuckeddy, Fuck, Fuck have they progressed since then. I previously reviewed "Punishment" a 5 song disc and really enjoyed it. This time though this Kentucky Fried Motherfuckers really showed me something.

 

"Left For Dead" - is a 24 track entertaining blast of every form of Punk Rock you could ask for. While listening to the entire CD I couldn't put my finger on any one sub-genre of Punk to "label" for review purposes. There are a few 50's-ish sounding songs that reminded me of Ponyboy & Soda-pop (ex.,” Scum of the Universe"). There is the classically raw and powerful punk anthem - "Fuck The Neighbors" that I always enjoy. There are a few Rockabilly-ish, (but not quite) sounding songs that (because of Bryan's Voice & slight southern twang) reminded me of revved up, 8 cylinder, Elvis tunes (ex., Next Time Around) and finally there are just some I can't label other than P.U.N.K. Rock (ex., "On My Back") As a music reviewer this type of musical range can be difficult to describe or "Label" a sub-genre (for comparison purposes).  As a Punk Music Fan this CD is the kind that you can listen to anytime, anywhere, all day long. The best way to categorize this great CD would be....  Grade A, no filler Punk-n-Rock.

 

 

Posted by Jonny Taint at 11:49 PM | | Comments (0)

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