!upstarter Punk Reviews

(c)2008 Heads Held High on Crossface Records

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Hot damn, it’s good to listen to old-fashioned, ass-kicking hardcore punk!  I hope these guys have stock in bass drum heads and throat lozenges; I’m sure they go through a lot of them. 

So Say We All is an 11-track musical masterpiece. You get screamish vocals from a frontman who can also sing, classic punk guitar notched up with nu-metal riffs, staunch and strumbly bass support, and insanely exceptional drumming.  Clever nuggets of movie quotes pop up between songs with lyrics ranging from introspective, self-abasing, life-loving and regime challenging — brilliant.

Heads Held High deliver an album that makes you want to go out and drive fast, drink hard, and kiss beautiful strangers.  I can’t wait til they tour the West Coast — go get this CD, learn the lyrics so we can go sing along when they’re here.

-HK-47

(c)2008 Mute on 2nd Wave Records
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I’m kicking myself for never listening to Mute before. This CD hasn’t left my player since it was sent, but it was time to take it out to write a review. GO GET THIS NOW.  Seriously, if you like music, you should like Mute.  This an amazing album — skate-punk steeped in metal, sweetened with power chords and harmonies, served up with a twist of punch-the-air songs to quench your music thirst.

I can taste the Lagwagon flavor, but Mute takes it over the edge…like a hotdog compares to gourmet imported Italian sausage.  The Raven serves up 12 tasty tracks, amazingly crafted — both lyrically and musically — and beautifully presented.  These guys are technically proficient, crisp, punchy, and savory.  Some lyrics toe the edge of heartbreak and come back swinging, others have you banging your head or shaking it in empathy.  They sing “Can’t be slowing down…” and here’s hoping they don’t.

The Raven is perfect for an afternoon barbeque or a raging party — you may need to re-up on beer, but you can just hit repeat on this CD and be sated.

-HK-47

Cloudy Skies
(c) 2008 Horns Up Records
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Where the heck were these guys when I lived in Portland? Not around I guess. I wish I would have would have been in town though. They sound like a hella good band. Folksy and punky with songs of sailing the seas and the drinking of beer. They swagger like Swingin’ Utters and The Pogues and rock out with less melodrama than most of the rain-addled cock-n-roll than most Portland bands. Cloudy Skies contains 12.5 tracks of the aforementioned variety of rock and it does not dissapoint. If you like the drinking and the singalongs and music that may make you want to steal a boat, then this one is for you. There’s more to it of course, but the jist of it is good time rock and roll. Enjoy!

–Jerry Actually

(c) 2008 PiaRRecords
Rating:

First and foremost I’d like to point out that we (that usually being me) here at !upstarter review HQ really dig it when bands from across the world find their way to my inbox. I absolutely love the positive exchange of music and ideas from across this big ol’ punk rock community that I would like to refer to as the Earth. That said I’d like to introduce you to Bankrupt. Readers meet Bankrupt. Bankrupt meet my readers. Right now I’m listening to a five song EP from straight outta Budapest, Hungary. “Rocket to Riot City” is a catchy little number, albeit a short one, but full of substance despite its lack of duration. With a sound somewhere between the rockabilly of the Peacocks and the punk rock of Millencolin, Bankrupt’s Rocket to Riot City blasts back at a messed up world. I suspect there’s nothing like rioting and economic crisis amidst political disarray to make life a waking nightmare. (not that we aren’t becoming a frightening reflection of that here in the states) Despite all the chaos, Bankrupt has made a kick ass EP. I strongly urge everyone to do their part for their local economy and international relations and buy a couple copies.

www.bankrupt.hu

–Jerry Actually