THE DEAL
Never Give Up... Never Give CD
In All right. First Op Ivy mixed Ska and punk. The Pogues, Irish Folk
and Punk, The Deal have mixed good ole Hardcore with Oi (Streetpunk) These
are 8 tracks of riveting cords and singalong chorus with hardcore esq.
singing style, plain and simple rocks. The singer could be Mark Noah's
little brother. The walking bass lines give a little Rancid like fill.
The back ups vocs come straight and powerful. Nice use of sound clips
to. "Songs Of Yesterday" and "Tell the Truth" are stand outs. BrianBOMB
Facedown Records
BULLDOG FRONT
Upturned Demo
Bulldog Front? What the hell is this. What it is....is a gem of a demo.
No their not a fascist band. What they are is KC's first Mod band. I think.
Anyway take Elvis.... no not the fat one.. Costello ad some distortion
mix in the pop fun of HairCut 100 peppered with The Jam as flavor and
you get BULLDOG FRONT. You just want to dance around with the cast of
Valley Girl, or Sixteen Candles. 13 little pop gems in this cd. My favorites
so far are Billy Budd and Upturned. If you like the Strike/ the Jam/ Elvis
Costello you will need to pick this up when it comes out. BrianBOMB
THE CLASH
Rockers Galore CD
Im not sure if this was ever for sale to the public. This is a definitive "GREATIST HITS" cd of the Clash. What I like about it is the interviews that intertwine each song. Nice little stories on the song or time peroid of that song. This is a most for the Clash Fanatic like me. BrianBOMB Epic
THE VIGILANTES
No Destiny CD
The
Vigilantes have fast stabilized themselves in the American punk scene.
Their first release on GMM: City Lights That Lead The Way was definitely
one of the best CD's to hit the streets last year. The boys have followed
it up with No Destiny on Flat records, 6 tracks of the boys solid style.
Again the vocals are what sets this band apart from the masses, you see
this little guy with his spiky hair and think to yourself, high and screechy,
but alas Jasper McGandy vocals resonate with a power matched by only a
few in the scene, namely Shawn Stern of Youth Brigade and Raybo of Bonecrusher.
The production is not as strong on this release as it has been in the
past, but don't let that deceive you. Dutch Flat
THE HIVES
Veni Vidi Vicious CD
Flat out the best disk I've heard in the last six months. The big, boomin' rhythm section of Dr. Destruction and Chris Dangerous (I shit you not) lays down the muscle while driving, straightforward-but-not-simple guitar work keeps you engaged through scorchers like "Hate to say I told you so" and "The Hives introduce the metric system in time." They damn near make you think they're the Second Coming of Cheap Trick -- but in a good way. Besides, anybody who covers a Jerry Butler tune and actually pulls it off is destined for greatness. They have dumb names, they wear matching suits with white shoes, they're Swedish, and they kick serious ass. (Lex) Epitaph/Burning Heart
LUCKIE STRIKE
Future is turning CDEP
At first listen "Future Is Different" has everything in place to garner some buzz among the majors. It's got an angry song, an anthem, and even a nifty cover that gives you a nice feel for the singer's range. Unfortunately, if you give it more than a token listen, the wheels come off quick. The lyrics on the original songs feel in places like they were lifted from a dumpster outside Kevin Seconds' place, the read they do on Elvis Costello's "Radio, Radio" is all wrong (It's an angry song, not a vocal showcase), and, worst of all, their drummer, who I'm sure is a nice person (she's got a cool belt in the photo), has a wee little problem keeping a beat. MTV will love them, but you won't. Save your dough. (Lex) Tomato Head
THE CHORDS
So Far Away CD
The Captain Oi - written liner notes for this re-release use a great deal of real estate trying to convince us of this bandŐs pedigree, dropping names along the way like The Jam, John Peel and Sham 69. They could have saved the effort because the music--at least some of it--speaks for itself. Anthems like "Happy Families" and "Tumbling Down" have kept their vitality and Mod sensibilities intact in the 20-odd years since they first hit the racks. Unfortunately, the very strong original 12-song release is bogged down by another eleven "bonus" tracks that just aren't up to snuff. Next time keep the chaff in the archives and just bring the goods. (Lex) Captain Oi
BONECRUSHER
Followers of a Brutal Calling CD
If there ever was a bandwagon to jump on, the Bonecrusher express has arrived. As it stands Bonecrusher is taking the states by storm, infecting everything they touch. But what the fuck, these guys have been tearin' shit up since `92 and it seems that no one outside of Orange County has heard of em. They gained national exposure with the release of their Singles Collection on Outsider Records and we've been eating them up ever since. So to continue their slow but sure take over of the world they have released Followers of a Brutal Calling, 15 blasts of both old and new. A brutal honesty seeps from this band, it gets into their songs and leaves you wanting more. In this day of punk Irish bar songs Bonecrusher are the swift kick to the ass this scene needs. Dutch Outsider
PUNCHLINE
Break Your Necks
Low Maintenance Records 7 (not enough) but a Lucky 7 tracks of late 80's
Hard Core. Nicely package into what the 4 boys from Kansas call "Garage
Core" Strong vocals by front man Ryan Leach. Think HR's growls with Harleys
power and delivery. Sammy and Jeff pound out the rhythm like a early 60's
V8 power plant. Never at such break neck speeds that is typical but these
beats force you to move. Brett Whitacre guitar riffs are short and tight
almost like he wants to be the nitrous of this Hard Core Muscle Car. Great
thick and meaty. To all the "hardcore" kids who think korn/limpbizkit
are hardcore, you are wrong this KC HARDCORE! BrianBOMB
ADOLF AND THE PISS ARTISTS
Zero Hour CD
Chet, Stuart, Lionel and Warren aka APA, have recorded a great Charged
Punk CD. Chets growls, along with Warrens screaming back ups set the pace
for "Zero Hour". This is striaght forward Punk. GBH, Blitz, Exploited,
Discharge all come to mind when I hear these songs. 14 great tracks, including
Bowies "Suffragette City". Nice very nice. Also "Heros?", "False Idols",
"You Dont Want to Know", are stand outs in this CD of great songs. BrianBOMB
GMM
ONE MAN ARMY
Last Word Spoken LP
One Man Army have definitely progressed as a band since its First lp,
"Dead End Stories". With "Last Word Spoken", their 2nd release, they get
more artistic and defined with their sound. On some tracks, the same old
San Fran streetrock a la Swingin Utters, is still apparent. However, on
over half of the tracks (The Tune of the Leisure Pace, The Lonely Road
Nowhere, The Holidays, etc..) the guitar's distortion is almost, if not
completely, dropped. This could have been done terrible, but One Man Army
pulls off the country/streetpunk sound perfect, with amazing lyrics to
boot. Jack Dalrymple's singing has also progressed as uniquely as his
songwriting. One of those albums you can definetly listen to over and
over without getting tired of it, no matter what mood your in. Jimmy Adeline
OLD SCARS AND UPSTARTS
2001 CD
Following up the Old Skars and Upstarts CD put together by Disaster records
CEO and not to mention frontman for the U.S. Bombs and D.P. And the Hunns
comes another glorified mixed tape. Ah the power of your own label, being
able to spread the joyous sounds that you are into at any given time and
sharing them with thousands of impressionable kids and jaded adults, that
my friend is power. So did Duane use his powers for good or evil? 31 tracks
of trash, punk, glam, oi and good ol rock-n-roll. Duane does a good job
pushing forward bands that you may not consider other wise. A couple of
favorites of mine represented here Darlington, the Pushers, the Vigilantes,
and Throw Bag. Dutch Disaster
MIDGET HANDJOB
Midnight Snack Break At The Poodle Factory CD
The crime here isn't that this is a bad album (and trust me, this is definitely a bad album. Bad, bad, bad.). Unfortunately, bad albums are not a criminal offense. The crime is that nobody told Keith Morris "No." All it would have taken was for some kid over at Epitaph to say, "Keith, if you want to proceed with this post-Beat, post-Bop, masturbatory horseshit, you're not going to do it here." But they didn't because he was in The Circle Jerks. And see, that's the crime. Celebrity of any ilk buys so much indulgence in this age that we end up with Midget Handjob on the shelves of retailers across the country. Doesn't anybody read Nietzsche anymore? Smash your idols, people. If you don't, this is the album you end up with. (Lex) Epitaph
THE DICKIES
The Incredible Shrinking Dickies CD
There was a time when this kind of stuff went over really big. It's roughly the same era in which Julie Brown (the other one) rose to the heights of her celebrity and people owned ties that had piano keys printed on them. I didn't like it then and I donŐt like it now. The music is adequate, though in every case it seems to be one or two counts faster than the band is comfortable with, the vocals are grating at best, and the lyrics try really, really hard to be witty and yet fall short of the mark. Seriously, you have better things to do with your money. (Lex) Captain Oi
THE
DRUNKSRuin it for Everyone CDEP
Flat has taking the reins of the upper East coast scene. The Drunks are the latest band to join their stable. The CD opens strong with Let It Out, a power driven blast to ensure you know the bands intentions. Followed by a hoakie but adorable infatuation with Elvira Queen of Darkness, showing the bands lighter, more sensitive side. After those initial tracks the CD loses momentum until the Ballad of Cougar aka "I fought authority and authority always wins". Keep it up boys. (Note; DO NOT PASS OUT AROUND THE DRUNKS) Dutch Flat
OXYMORON
Best Before 2000 CD
If you haven't received the cold boot to the head of Oxymoron you haven't
been trying. For the past 8 years Oxymoron has been on a quest to make
themselves a household name here in the states and they have done a damn
good job. Their music practically speaks for itself, each track a finely
tuned blast of energy. Best Before 2000 encompasses the bands 7"s
catalog and compilation appearances, 18 tracks in all. A special treat
for anyone reading this (assuming you have a sound card) the CD contains
a full length video for the cut Run From Reality. It's a bit cheesy but
would do any aspiring video director proud. Dutch Cyclone