!upstarter Punk Reviews

(c) 2010 People Like You Records

Legendary Psychobilly band-deluxe, Mad Sin, is back with a brand new release.  Burn and , released on 04/23/2010, marks the eleventh release from these German born psychos.  It has been twenty three some odd years since Mad Sin was born out of youthful ideals and punk rock attitude.

Twenty three years appears to be the magic number for breathing new life. While 2005’s Dead Moon’s Calling was no slouch of a release, it lacks that vitality that is apparent on Burn and Rise. It appears that unlike a lot of bands who somehow keep trucking over the years, spewing out increasing blandness and living off their past, Mad Sin keeps getting better and stronger. I think that it is fair to say that Burn and Rise is my favorite release yet.

From what I understand, 2009 was a rough year for Mad Sin, including the death of friends, infighting amongst the band and a brush with death for Koefte Deville. Life in general and a hard living rock-n-roll lifestyle were taking their toll. Yet after all the hardship, the band persevered. They rallied and came back to record a power-house of a release; a true testament to the idea that what doesn’t kill you just makes you stronger.

The nineteen tracks in total (with intros and outros and all that rot) don’t fail to impress with speed, intensity, demon fueled guitar riffs, characteristic vocal inflections and a very full solid sound. Despite the darkness and gloom that is so closely associated with the genre, Burn and Rise is spewing forth with brand new life.

The last word is this, Mad Sin is an integral part of the core of Psychobilly today and Burn and Rise is a juicy bit of blood red icing on a coffin shaped cake.

–Jerry Actually

(c) 2010 Pee Records

Queensland, Australia’s Promises have only been playing together as a band since January 2010, but have still managed to get into the studio, and get signed to a label. This, their first EP, was written and recorded in two months. A week after they’d finished recording, they were signed by independent label, Pee Records.

Right from the beginning it’s clear this isn’t going to be true, old-school hardcore. Realistically, it’s metal- whether the band or the fans like it or not, that’s the truth. Yeah they’ve got the image right, but their sound is nothing like the original heroes of hardcore.

As soon as the vocals kick in on opener ‘No Story Left Untold’, the thing that strikes you is Zaca’s, unusual style. Though it’s not unusual in a good way. He seems to struggle in between the traditional hardcore scream/growl and normal, albeit angry, singing. It becomes unbearable at times, with the voice changing so frequently, with each word comes the ups and downs of growls and singing.

Then there’s ‘Flint Soles’. Only certain bands can pull off really short songs (Agnostic Front’s ‘Victim in Pain’ or Good Riddance and their ‘Overcoming Learned Behaviour’ for example) and even they aren’t as short as this one. It’s not even like it carries on into the next song, or is an outtro to the one before it- it’s just 19 pointless thrashy seconds.

Instrumentally, they’re adequate. Just the typical (so called) hardcore, nothing out of the ordinary.

The drastically varying track lengths add to the disappointment of this CD too. It’s so hard to tell whether this is meant to be heavy, fast hardcore, or verbose metalcore, it’s like even the band don’t know.

Unfortunately, this type of music is becoming increasingly popular the world over, with scene (destroying) kids thinking they know decent music, when they really don’t. If you’re a fan of real hardcore (Agnostic Front, Sick Of It All or even Black Flag, etc.) stay clear of this band.

-Frankii

© 2010 Fat Wreck Chords

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I’ll admit that I’m not super familiar with Good Riddance. Ok, sure I know who they are. I have a couple discs but I was never that into them. From this singles collection that I’m listening to right now, I’m thinking that I have been quite remiss. Capricorn One is some seriously sweet punk rock that spans a career that I intend to spend more time looking into. The earlier more hardcore material easily evolves into the tighter more articulate punk rock that I am more familiar with.

My lack of familiarity notwithstanding, Capricorn One dishes up 21 track of to-the-point punk rock and leaves you wanting more. I’d like to note, however, that this disc, thankfully doesn’t leave me wanting more of a “Phenomenon of Craving” … not my favorite Good Riddance.

At any rate, if you’re a fan, get this. If you’re not a fan, start.

-Jerry Actually

There is an art to brevity. There is an art to punk rock. Vaporizer has both. drugs are good, cold beer is good (thank goodness I know that my parks will be safe) Ya know what though, I’m gonna go out on a limb and recommend Vaporizer as a good buy w/o the full review. The music rocks. straight edge sucks! S0me day we shall share beers!

(c) 2010 Spartan Records UK

Ubermanoeuvre are a five-piece band, from South East London, UK. They have been compared to Rage Against The Machine and Enter Shikari, to name a few, and dub their own style as high energy rock.

There’s so much going on, and so many differences between each track, that it’s only fair to mention (nearly) every one.

Kicking off this, their debut album, is the title track, with an electro intro, leading into a hip-hop (with underlying synths) verse and shouty chorus, I guarantee you will never have heard anything like this before. And it will be a total mind fuck. There’s so many different elements to the one song, but don’t dismiss it yet.

Track two, ‘If I Were You (I Wouldn’t Be Me)’ opens with a very brief piece of acoustic guitar, then it’s straight into the (quite heavy) thrashing guitars. There’s also a creepy keyboard riff, adding an eerie element to the track. Even though there’s not as much going on, it’s still hard to place under a specific genre.

‘Call To Arms’ marks another change in sound, this one’s more emo, but still electro. Think HelloGoodbye meets Taking Back Sunday- cheesy cheerful, but screamo. Adding to this is the piano breakdown and the screamy choruses.

Track four, ‘Apathy Loves Company’ is one of the catchiest on the record. It’s still really odd, but by now you’ll have got used to the sheer weirdness of it all. Track five is more guitar driven, which suits them more, but then it’s back into the crazy mix with ‘Never Bring Your Girlfriend Flowers’- jazz piano under a hip-hop beat. But, somehow, it works. ‘9am: Monday’ is more hip-hop-y, with a emo/screamo chorus.

Then there’s track eight and 10, (‘Now! That’s What I Call Karma, ‘2378′) that are more downbeat and simple hip-hop rock.

As it’s so unusual compared to anything you’ll have ever heard, it’s impossible to really sum it up- so just check it out and decide for yourselves.

But, to recap, Ubermanoeuvre play screamo- electro- hip-hop, with synths- a- plenty.

There’s way too many dashes in that last sentence.

–Frankii

© 2010

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Fancy Blood is the new EP by Los Angeles band Scarlet Grey. I find the disc to be an overly produced, consumer driven, radio oriented product designed for heavily marketed to, radio baited consumer rats.

So you’re like, “ok then, what’s in it for me, the guy (or gal) you, in so many words, called a total knob douche?” To that I say, “It ain’t a total wash there buddy. I mean you can still buy some cool shit at Hot Topic, right? You just don’t tell anyone. It’ll ruin your street cred.”

Ok, but really aside from my preferential jackassery, the songs are a bit on the catchy side and they’re well played and recorded if a bit over produced. I can see how people that like emo-esque non-threatening alterna-punk could very well like this sort of thing. The question is though, do you trade eternal fame for being tomorrow’s Alphaville?

Ok, enough of my bashing. Track five, Naomi is easily the winner on the EP. It has a rather retro 60’s synthpop sound and I actually kind of like it in spite of myself.

I’ll also waste precious little time telling you about the guest vox from none other than Davey Havoc. Yes, little baby Danzig lends a hand (or throat) to the fellas of Scarlet Grey. … Remember when AFI was punk?

The bottom line is this: If you are a radio friendly rocker, don’t listen to me. Go ahead and rock this for yourself, just don’t come crying to me when your mom won’t buy you tickets to the show.

-Jerry

© 2010 Sailor’s Grave Records

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New releases from some bands are like Christmas, immediately after the preceding one you get super excited for the next. The Kings of Nuthin’ are like that for me. I’ve been looking forward to Old Habits Die Hard since before I even knew it was coming out.

The disc doesn’t fail to impress either. The now familiar sounds of booze infused 50s rock and roll hybrid with punk guts and speed and vocals like a Dicky Barrett and Tom Waits shouting match are all intact. This time around you get to enjoy 18 new tracks and revel in the level of depth that The Kings of Nuthin’ have developed over the last several years.

Funny thing is, as much as I enjoy this disc, it wasn’t immediate. Maybe it was environment or situation or my mood at the time, but I wasn’t immediately taken. Some of the more, for lack of a better term right now, “doo-wop” moments threw me. The duet seemed wrong and out of place. Then again, I tend to be the type of person that likes sophomore efforts; the kind of releases that are the gangly and often awkward ones in a bands career.

Successive listens, however, convinced me that Old Habits Die Hard has a lot more going on musically than I initially gave it credit for. The songs are tighter now and a bit more complex. Time signatures swerve and careen but magically remain upright. Instruments weave in and out and always fall back in line. The duet really has some charm … I’m still not sure about the “doo-wop”

I think though, the overarching reason why I like this release and this band is that beyond the rockin’ they craft songs that I can relate to. At some point I can’t tell if the tracks are about someone I know, someone we all know or if they, in some strange twist of fate, started writing songs about me. I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel pretty damn connected to the music.

Cheers!

–Jerry

© 2010 Fat Wreck Chords

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Call me confused. When I saw this CD in the ‘inbox’ I was super excited that I had some new psychobilly from “Thee Flatliners” … turns out that an extra e makes all the difference in the world. Immediately I was disappointed. Have you ever gone to take a drink of soda or beer or whatever and grabbed someone else’s beverage instead? Even if it isn’t something bad, the initial confusion of it not being what you expected can leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Well that is what I was experiencing with The Flatliners right off the bat. I’m glad that I stuck it out. I’ve been listening to Cavalcade for the last few days on my way to and from work. Over these last few days I’ve found a lot to enjoy. I also found some things to be concerned about, but I’ll discuss that later.

The disc provides 14 tracks of surprisingly diverse punk flavored tracks, each one with its own distinct flavor. There is a subtle Lawrence Arms quality as well as touches of Bracket. I think it speaks wonders for the roster consistency of Fat, no? Aside from the label mate similarities I hear bits of Bruce (Springsteen) and the other Bruce (Dickinson). Maybe I read too much into things though.

Aside from my initial disenchantment and eventual rock and roll epiphany, I can offer these words for The Flatliners – Cavalcade: Don’t be like me by almost not giving it a chance. That is wrong and I should know better and so should you.

A final word for the band, while I now appreciate what you’ve got going on, you’re flying dangerously close to the radio rock sun. Be careful Icarus. Be careful.

–Jerry

© 2010 Sailor’s Grave Records

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Generally speaking, I don’t gush. I’ll take a small exception this time. I cannot stop listening to this CD. The Hollowpoints are one of the most energizing bands I’ve heard in a quite some time and quite possibly the best band I’ve heard so far this year.

Outside of my personal accolades (slightly), this disc offers 12 tracks of punk rock combined with solid songwriting ability. Perhaps I’m getting older, maybe my tastes have changed, but I appreciate quality arrangements and songwriting more than I ever used to. The Hollowpoints have both. (Maybe it’s because I listen to music on headphones before I review it now.)

What makes someone like something vs. something else? I often wonder this when I’m trying to put pen to paper (so to speak)  … well here’s my amateur psychoanalysis of the phenomenon. Certain sounds correlate to how you feel. The affectation that you get when you listen to things that enforce how you are feeling making them rise above the others.

Outside of my minor league pontification, this is one quality disc from start to finish; Great riffs, intelligent lyrics, quality instrumentation and a lot of references that I just can’t help but think might just be about me. As a point of reference (for those who need it) The Hollowpoints remind me of the following: American Steel, The Clash, Dead to Me and Cheaptrick … so there.

The bottom line: If you buy one punk rock CD this year, make it The Hollowpoints – Old Haunts on the Horizon.

–Jerry Actually

(c) 2010 New York Taxi
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If New York Taxi goes on to be a hugely successful band, fans will probably look back at The Calm Before and say “Hey, their second album wasn’t bad. It’s kind of nice.” The punk/folk/acoustic duo isn’t there yet, but they’ve got a nice sound that suggests potential.

The Calm Before is only five tracks. The songwriting is solid, and the duo gets a lot of mileage out of only one guitar, two voices, and a little looping. There’s an occasional keyboard in there, too. The male-female alternating or layered vocals are nice, and there’s never an unpleasant measure. But there’s nothing memorable, nothing you have to play again, nothing that gets your heart beating.

It’s nice though. It’s a nice album.

Track 1, “And Now Our Feature Presentation” opens with a George W. Bush sound clip and rambles a bit before a not-very-insightful chorus of “We’ve been misled, we’ve been shut down… we’re going to stand up, we’re going to fight back…” Certainly not a unique or otherwise fresh perspective. Maybe that’s the problem with the album: a slight lack of maturity in the lyrics and overall sound.

(On a similar note, as a former US history teacher, I cringed when in Track 2 they referenced “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as being guaranteed in the Constitution – rather than the Declaration of Independence.)
Track 2, “Jennarita” opens nicely with a sharp guitar riff underneath a little piano ditty. Ryan’s raspy verse complements Shannon’s cute-punk-girl chorus well, and it’d be a much more memorable song if not for a weak, abortive attempt at a grand finale in the track’s closing seconds.

Track 3, “Apartment1111,” contains flashes of brilliance, especially in the chorus with Shannon joining Ryan in a soulful ode to their bankrupt state: “On my way back home…to California…screw California…”

The last two tracks are nice. Track 4, “Firefly” would be nice background music for the montage in a high school movie where the guy is alone at a bus stop and the girl is at a party, distracted and looking at the moon while she thinks about the guy at the bus stop. Then the guy doesn’t get on the bus, heads back to the party, and it starts to rain just as the girl comes running toward him on the street. Track 5, “Humble,” would start playing when they see each other. Then they start dancing in the rain and go back into the party hand in hand.

Which would be nice. It’s a nice album. And it’s short, which is nice. Three stars for being nice.

-Ozymandias