I avoided this album for a while. When my friend was reviewing this album nearly 5 years ago for the college radio station we had a show on, he told me I needed to check it out. I was incredibly reluctant…as the name sounded like a screamo band (a musical style that I enjoy about as much as I would enjoy catching herpes).

To my surprise (and relief), From Ashes Rise is about as brutal as they come. The vocals are heavy, the music heavier, and a must for any fan of solid hardcore. Unfortunately, they broke up in 2005, but even though you’ll never see them live, you still need this album.

MP3:
From Ashes Rise – They
From Ashes Rise – Bloodlust

For more crap that will melt your skull, read:
Raised Fist
Disfear
Toxic Narcotic Haiku
Action

Buy:
Jade Tree

Pssst! Hey kid, wanna listen to some solid pop-punk who’s biggest influence aren’t the Jonas Brothers (sadly, that’s hard to find these days). The split by Teenage Bottlerocket and Broadway Calls offers just that.

For those who don’t know: Teenage Bottlerocket plays Ramones style punk rock on speed. The best way to describe Broadway Calls? Let’s just say that I seriously thought someone switched my song to Lifetime.

Each band contributes one original and one cover on this split, (Broadway Calls covers Billy Bragg, while Teenage Bottlerocket covers The Dead Milkmen). While I couldn’t really dig the Broadway Calls side (a bit too mid-tempo, but it’s growing on me), the Teenage Bottlerocket side more than makes up for it.

MP3:
Teenage Bottlerocket – Dean’s Dream (Dead Milkmen Cover)

For more good pop-punk, read:
The Copyrights
The High School Dropouts
Teenage Bottlerocket – Warning Device
The Vapids – Most Underrated Ramones-Esque Band Around
Broadway Calls

Buy:
Official Site

Jon and Roy are what Jack Johnson would sound like if Jack Johnson didn’t suck (well, besides Banana Pancakes, that’s a solid song). As you can tell, I’m usually not a fan of acoustic folk rock, as I find it incredibly boring, but Jon and Roy keep me interested somehow.

Maybe it’s the calm, almost hypnotic voice… maybe it’s how well the guitar carries the rhythm along with the bass and percussion… or most likely, maybe they slipped something in my drink.

Taking cues from both Bedouin Soundclash and Slightly Stoopid, Jon and Roy manage to sneak in some sweet, sweet Roots Reggae sound (although not as much as Bedouin or Slighty Stoopid).

Either way, Jon and Roy are the perfect duo to bust some lazy chills with on a sunday afternoon.

MP3:
Jon and Roy – What I Need
Jon and Roy – Another Noon

For Busting More Chills, Read:
Bedouin Soundclash – Street Gospels
Desmond Dekker (Because Contrary to Popular Belief, No Doubt Didn’t Invent Ska)
The Slackers – Self Medication
5 Greatest Acoustic Songs of All Time

Buy:
Amazon

Lagwagon may be getting old, but at least they’re taking it in stride. “I Think My Older Brother Used To Listen To Lagwagon” gives us 7 new jams from these melodic punk rock legends.

Lagwagon’s sound has certainly developed over the years, and they give us the whole range on this EP: for example, the opening track B Side sounds like it came off of “Hoss” or “Double Plaidinum”, while songs like Memoirs and Landmines could have come off “Lets Talk About Feelings”.

A definite must for any Lagwagon fan, and a pretty solid starting point for anyone trying to get into the band.

MP3:
Lagwagon – B Side
Lagwagon – Memoirs and Landmines

9 out of 9 dentists also recommend these articles:
Lagwagon – Double Plaidinum
Zero Down – With A Lifetime to Pay
Greedy Guts Haiku (Sweet French Skate Punk)

Buy:
Fat Wreck

Alright everyone! Today is the day that Sasha (Midwestern Housewives long lost indie writer…get your computer fixed already!) mom graced the world 23 years ago by giving birth to one gnarly radical gal!

Lets have our usual rounds of birthday songs, shall we?

MP3:

Groovie Ghoulies – Happy Birthday

The Vandals – Happy Birthday To Me

The Vandals – Bad Birthday Bash

Atom and His Package – Happy Birthday General

Big D And The Kids Table – Running Young

7 Seconds – Young ‘Til I Die

Big D And The Kids Table – Good Luck

Bouncing Souls – Born Free

Low Budgets – Born Before The Internet

Kid Dynamite – Birthday

NOFX – New Happy Birthday Song

Kemuri – Birthday

Buy:

Amazon

Interpunk

Smartpunk

Everyone knows Ian MacKaye (well, probably not on a personal level, nor the biblical sense.) Indies love the work he’s done in Fugazi and The Evens, while punk fans indulge in all of his old bands.

Minor Threat was THE best band that Ian was part of, period. The songs are short, fast, and notoriously pissed off (pretty pioneering for a band that existed in a time when hair metal was the big thing… god I hate the 80s sometimes).

MP3:
Minor Threat – Think Again
Minor Threat – Filler

Other Housewive reads you’ll love (or else):
A Housewive Hardcore Mix (bunch of really good songs)
Fugazi vs. Atom and His Package

Buy:
Dischord Records

(photo courtesy of PUNK CORE records)

I believe it was Abraham Lincoln who once said “Some mornings you just really need some heavy ass street punk to help you get through the day”.

Action is fast, furious, yet doesn’t star Vin Diesel (thank god). Featuring pit inducing riffs, wailing guitar solos and rough as hell vocals, Action plays street punk the way it was meant to be played.

MP3:
Action – Suicide Squad
Action – Rise

Also Read:
Violent Society
Adolf and the Piss Artists

Buy:
Punkutopia

Here’s a joke for ya: What do you get when you toss World/Inferno Friendship Society, Against Me!, and Johnny Cash into a blender? A “Mischief Brew” HAHA har em… It’s not funny? Well, at least I’ll take refuge in knowing that I’m still funnier than that Dane Cook guy.

Political, acoustic folk punk songs you can’t help but sing-along to the sweet Flogging Molly influenced beats of Mischief Brew (unless of course you don’t know the words, which won’t be a problem once my patented “Karaoke Ipod” finally catches on. Man, I can’t wait until I could sing along to Swallowing Shit’s “Pro-Abortion, Anti-Christ” on the morning commuter train).

MP3:
Mischief Brew – Thanks Bastards
Mischief Brew – Coffee, God, and Cigarettes

Also check out:
Mischief Brew live
World Inferno Friendship Society
Defiance Ohio

Buy:
Mischief Brew’s official site

Holy Nebra-SKA! Who ever thought that the state that is famous for giving us… uhh… corn (and herpes) would produce one hell of a young, unsigned ska band.

The Heat Machine is a female fronted band by two girls whose voices completely complement and harmonize each other. The songs are catchy, skankable, and just all around fun.

Unfortunately one of the vocalists left the band like… today to pursue a college degree. Regardless, any fan of ska should definitely check out this band, definitely a hidden treasure.

MP3:
The Heat Machine – I Just Wanna Have a Good Time
The Heat Machine – 10 Things I Hate About Your Boyfriend

Also Check Out:
Identity #1

Buy:
The Heat Machine Myspace

“Oi! music? Isn’t Oi! the music where skinhead bitch about their jobs and labor unions while stomping around furiously?”

Ok, a let me say something real quick, because people still don’t understand: not all skinheads are racist. In fact, the majority are against racism. It’s a really small faction.

“You still didn’t answer my damn question.”

Err… anyway, I’m usually not a huge fan of Oi punk, but Sham 69 (often considered the godfathers of Oi) are pretty damn amazing. While never reaching the fame as contemporaries such as The Clash or The Sex Pistols, Sham 69 influenced just as many bands (Dropkick Murphy’s early work definitely comes to mind).

The songs are incredibly anthematic, and have been covered numerous times. Definitely check out if you’re a fan of 70s punk (their early stuff, after about their 3rd album, they went on to be more like the band “The Who”).

MP3:
Sham 69- Borstal Breakout
Sham 69- If The Kids Are United

Also Check Out:
The Damned
The Nipple Erectors
Anti-Pasti

Buy:
Sham 69