PunkRockReview.org- Band Review

Awesome and the Ass Kickers – “Shut up!” – When it all boils down to it, to like Awesome and the Ass Kickers you have to figure out if you are pretentious asshole and a punk who has a sense of humor. I don’t say that because Awesome and the Ass Kickers is a comedy act, but more because the just go out and make music about anything (See there song “Meatballs & Spaghetti”) and don’t seem to have a hidden agenda or predisposed genre affiliations. Are Awesome and the Ass Kickers are great band who will ever sell a millions records? NO! but I get the impression that they could care less about the number of units they push. They seem to hold the spirit of punk rock close to their hearts and have never forgotten what making punk music is all about. The recording quality on “Shut Up!” sounds like a slightly better than average basement recording and the lyrics to some of their songs are pretty stupid, but I really enjoy the band as a whole. Awesome and the Ass Kickers seem to be having more fun recording this CD than a majority of bands playing a live set. Their sound is like a pot luck influence from song to song, of all the influential better known raw punk bands such as; The Misfits in their song “Nasty, nasty”, The Meatmen-in their song “Crackhead Girls”, & Murphy’s Law in their song “Happy Talk”. If you have time between your scenester weekly magazine to listen to a band that knows what raw, punk rock is all about, pick this booger, it’s a winner.

Posted by Jonny Taint at 01:13 PM | Permalink

options

Mighty High – “…in Drug City” – Come on what the fuck is this? I mean I could careless what drugs people put into their bodies, shit I can’t really be a hypocrite when it come to this, but come on… With songs titles like, “Dusted”, “Buy The Pound”, & “I live To Get High” and band members with names like “Jesse D’Stills”, “TJ Whippets”, “Tommy Blow” and “Woody High”,  am I really supposed to take this seriously.  Here’s the thing whenever I see a band that is THIS over the top into telling people they like drugs, I just think their a bunch of Beavis and Butthead idiots. So I figure with a band being this over the top about something the music itself would be too. I was expecting a ridicules NOFX style pro-drug anthem punk rock that would make me laugh my ass off. Well..I was wrong! These dopeheads are completely serious and have hit the bong way too many times to think that this 80’s pot induced rock would make anyone other than a bar full of stoners excited. Instead of using ripped off stoner are from drug art icon R. Crumb, they should have used a plain black and white cover that simple said “ROCK MUSIC”, it’s that generic. They should have saved the money from recording and releasing this shit stain of a CD and bought some heroin to overdose and die.

www.myspace.com/mightyhigh

Posted by Jonny Taint at 01:11 PM | Permalink

options

The Kings Kids –“Urgency" – This CD should have just been names “Jesus Freaks On Parade”. The second you open this CD up it’s apparent that  they have more of an agenda then those annoying assholes who knock on your door to talk to you about;  Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior, who want to help you from having your soul burn in the eternal flames of Hell fire.  As most bible thumpers The Kings Kids make sure that you know they love Jesus and shove it down your throat with every song on the album. The songs are so over the top that I would have thought this was a fucking joke CD , if well, it wasn’t so over the top. Don’t get me wrong if you’re religious and follow that stuff that’s cool, but don’t try to shove it down my throat to the point of harassment. There have been plenty of bands that rock the lord (The Huntingtons & Value Pac to name a few) that never seemed to be as pushy as The Kings Kids with their religious zealous.  I mean with lyrics like; “We walk by faith, not by sight!” &  “rejoice in the lord and be glad…o you righteous… give him praise from the heart…upright is beautiful….make melody to the lord..” and tons of other bullshit churchy phrases. Here’s the thing that drives me nuts about “Urgency!”, musically as a band they’re not bad at all. The vocals have a scratchy bar room feel, while the baselines are bouncy, but not overly upbeat and the guitar is distorted and sharp. Oh yeah the church of poison mind may have found a way to infiltrate the minds of the devilish punk rock community with their harpy tones of punk rock.

www.myspace.com/thekingskids

Posted by Jonny Taint at 01:09 PM | Permalink

options

The Promdates - "Pretty in Punk" The Promdates don’t pull any punches on “Pretty in Punk”, packing a surprising amount of heart and soul into 13 tracks of  Ramones/Screeching Weasel/Queers inspired pop punk. There’s a definite Chicago punk feel (oddly they’re from Europe) to this three piece bands sound. Though the guys use their time to address various sources of relationship hardships as many of today’s pop punk bands do, instead of merely spending days passed out on the couch in front of Jerry Springer crying over the girl that got away. The Promdates are as disillusioned towards lost love as the next pop punk, but frontman; “Are Lund”, articulates his frustrations in such a direct and concise manner (coupled with his fierce and unwavering delivery) that songs come off more empowered and defiant that a whiney bitch crying about how his girlfriend fucked somebody else. Especially coupled with the minimal production, songs like “I Feel Alright” and “Still Not Over You” evoke thoughts of other similar acts such as The Copyrights or at times, Teenage Bottlerockets. Many of the songs have deep harmonizing back vocals that a reminiscent of great bands such as The Methadones or The Guts.  With most of the songs hovering around the usually 2-3 minute mark, the band provides a 30.6 minute prelude that is really all the time you need to make a big impression on fans of harmonious pop punk filled with long yooooou’s and ohhhhh’s.  If you’re a fan of any of the bigger names in Pop Punk such as The Copyrights, Teenage Bottlerocket, The Lillingtons, etc…then you will eat this CD up. www.myspace.com/promdatespunk

Posted by Jonny Taint at 01:08 PM | Permalink

options

Hathor - "I need this a much as a hole in my head"- I guess when the titled “Intoxicated”, they mean Intoxicated to the point of passing out. God damn it,  is this CD boring. Listening to CD’s like this make it hard to write a review, if their bad it can be fun to trash the hell out of them and when their good the reviews write themselves. It’s the boring CD’s like this that take the most time. The music is cookie cutter, the vocals are a little to alternative rock for my taste, it’s just Blah and I feel like I’ve heard this faceless band 1000 times before. It’s almost like there isn’t any personal emotion put into it. Yeah…. there are a few hooks and variance in the singer voice at time, but it’s like their going through the motions to make a record. Maybe it’s the fault of the mastering or production and Hathor is really good live, but this CD isn’t worth even getting for free. The one good thing I can say is that if it was playing in the background I wouldn’t make an effort to turn it off. I just wouldn’t even pay attention to it, I guess the best way to describe “Intoxicated” is that it’s not good or bad, it’s just there.

www.myspace.com/hathorpunk

Posted by Jonny Taint at 01:05 PM | Permalink

options

The McRackins - "Eggzit"- Yes sirry bob The Mcrackins have hatched out a new CD, this time incubated by the musical farmers known as Cheapskate Records. It’s been a while since we’ve heard any new chirps from the egg heads and it’s been worth the wait. “Eggzit” is like a trip back in the Delorean to 1995 when The McRackins ruled the roost of Canadian pop punk. This time around, the CD is more of what we have come to expect from McRackins from the early days with heartfelt lyrical ballads and a solid instrumental experience. The difference this time around is that the songs have gotten tighter and the vocals go down much easier then ever before. Gone are the days of their lower level recorded releases. Here we have more of the melodic hooks and catchy choruses we’ve came to expect from their earlier albums. With all that being said this is in no way one of those albums that are supposed to show that the band is now serious and uptight like some other great pop punk bands have release **cough** Ben Weasel**cough**. There are songs such as “Junk In The Trunk” and “Mom Always Liked You Best” to let you know they haven’t changed their mentality, but also great love lost ballads like “Heartache and Mistakes” and “Divided In Two” that make you well aware of their solid musicianship and song writing.  Eggzit is probably The McRackins most solid release to date and I just hope that the title of the CD isn’t hint to the end of a great band that might have made a great new record that just kick started the second phase of their musical careers.

www.mcrackins.com
www.cheapskaterecords.com

Posted by Jonny Taint at 01:03 PM | Permalink

options

Angleworm - "Post Rock" - I’ve been talking about Angleworm for sometime now and still haven’t been able to understand why they haven’t taken the punk rock community by the proverbial horns yet. It’s not often that a band comes out of nowhere and blows you away with their level of talent and passion like Angleworm has done for me. Their newest release “Post Rock” is a well rounded example of what these guys have to offer. Specializing in the kind of scratchy voiced Berkley styled street punk that was to the masses by Operation Ivy, Angleworm creates a memorable punk rock anthem. Their obvious enthusiasm and talent make this album stand above many of the other punk rock offerings that have come out this year. Songs like “Debt or Glory“ and ““are simple songs that have the feel of  pop punk and street punk at the same time. All while deep seeded personal feelings towards the failure of our government and society are felt in great songs such as “Steal this song” & “The Kids Are Getting Dumber”. Anyway you say, “Post Rock” provides a fine cornucopia of punk noise to stimulate your ears and your mind. Angleworm has deep street punk political view, but come across with more intelligence and well thought out lyrics than the typical Right-Wing elitist. Their delivery really makes their song stand out above all others who are currently trying to pull this sound off. The difference is that Angleworm puts so much passion and instrumental talent into every song that you can not only feel what they’re singing, but envision the words as they enter your ears. They definitely realize that it takes a certain amount of seriousness crossed with personal self awareness to put across great songs that transcend the snobbiness of the punk rock genre.  Angleworm’s singer (Christopher Clark, *I think*), really puts his all in the vocals, ending up somewhere between Jesse Michaels (of Operation Ivy) and Ian McKay (of Minor Threat). The guitar/ bass interplay adds the little personal touches that gives Angleworm’s music the depth it needs, ‘a ‘la, Operation Ivy and/or early day Rancid. With all of these comparisons, it may seem as though Angleworm is unoriginal or just another decent band. Luckily, Punk Rock provides itself bands such as Angleworm, and they throw enough of their own personality into the music to give it their own individual stamp that can be recognized immediately. Overall this album is a fantastic DIY digital release that has buttloads of potential, but just hasn’t had the opportunity to prove itself to the punk rock community. I can’t wait until the day when to world is in love with Angleworm and I can sit back and say “I told you so!”

Oh yeah this album is available for free download on their myspace page!

www.myspace.com/angleworm

Posted by Jonny Taint at 12:58 PM | Permalink

options

 The Bugs are fronted by on again / off again Queers (guitarist/backup vocalist) Dangerous Dave. It is obvious from the first to the last note that The Bugs are heavily influenced by the old Queers sound. Amidst the scabrous lyrics (such as the mock-homophobic “Lesbo!, Lesbo!“, which parodies the entire lesbian lifestyle in the least politically correct way. The fast and loud punk rock attitude, there are actually some intriguing ideas and catchy melodies played at maximum velocity filled with sneering vocals with more snot then a crying 5 year old. This EP contains no shortage of goofball humor with the constant teenage, gay and drug humor in songs like (“Never Went Gay”(which are the only lyrics in the 42 second song), “Back On The Weed”, and/or “Email From A She-Male”), The Bugs are still more genuinely entertaining that others that try to pull this snotball punk rock shit off.  The Bugs may not have put out the most well-played or perfectly polished produced album this year, but for all the gloriously un-politically correct fun, it’s difficult for a band to stay as true to their roots without selling out to the new order of politically correct, anti-attitude, love song driven pop punk then they do. My only problems with this release is that the 11 songs on disc fly by faster than a car battery charged vibrator and that when I loaded the CD onto my computer and instead of the title of the band showing as "The Bugs" it shows as “B.U.G.S.” with the title of the CD showing as "The Bugs" (this only annoys me because Christian from The Tattle Tales mocked me for referring to it this way, otherwise I would care less). Never since the introduction of the Meatmen, has a band sounded so bad, while sounding so addictively good.

http://www.myspace.com/thequeersdangerousdave

Posted by Jonny Taint at 12:56 PM | Permalink

options

Posted by Jonny Taint at 05:50 AM | Permalink

options

Posted by Jonny Taint at 05:48 AM | Permalink

options

Posted by Jonny Taint at 05:46 AM | Permalink

options

Posted by Jonny Taint at 05:45 AM | Permalink

options

Moral Crux – “Pop Culture Assassins” -  Origianlly released on Panic Button records, Jailhouse Records has released, a digitally remastered,  limited edition Blue w/White streaks, LP of  (in my opinion) the best overall record from these Washington based, politically charged punk rockers. Moral Crux is probably one of the most underrated punk bands that have been out there pounding the mean and sometimes lonely streets of punk rock for almost 25 years. “Pop Culture Assassins” lets it all hang out with more assortment then Baskin Robbins and more fundamental political opinion then CNN. This album exhibits high powered energetic songs like “American Nightmare“, pissed off yet poppy songs like “Window Shopping” and even a mellower almost indie rock song “Mr. Nobody“.  Moral Crux pull you dangerously close, willingly pound their thoughts and sound into your body, slanting their jagged, deplorable, snotty songs about social/political issues into your brain like a corkscrew.

Posted by Jonny Taint at 05:43 AM | Permalink

options

The Riptides – “Mental Therapy” - This 5 song instrumental 7 inch is a quick trip back in time to the beach party days of Gidget, Moondoggie and the surf culture of Malibu Point with impeccable instrument-ship that would make Brian Wilson flash back to his glory days. What else is there really to say other than The Riptides are just an amazingly diverse punk band that continues to amaze me with everything they do? Honestly as I sit hear listening to this record, I’m making up lyrics to the songs and in a way creating my own little surf punk karaoke dream world. As far as the records goes this is a definite must have for any wax collector. The album is a limited Rally Records release that’s an amazing beachy clear aqua blue with one of my favorite pieces by the pop punk album genius J Sauer which is just a black and white drawing of Doug Vermin in the traditional spread leg Ramones stance. If you’re a record collector and/or a fan on The Riptides order this record before you’re crying yourself to sleep because this collectable is all gone.

Posted by Jonny Taint at 05:40 AM | Permalink

options

Posted by Jonny Taint at 05:38 AM | Permalink

options

Posted by Jonny Taint at 05:37 AM | Permalink

options