Archive for February 28, 2012

Mail Order Is Fun (Ska-punk Compilation)

/ February 28, 2012 / One comment

Let’s go back 10 years ago.  I was a bored punk kid in his senior year of high school, and I just needed to get out of my suburban NJ house for the day… I hopped into my car, and drove out to wherever just to kill some time.  I wound up near a mall, and decided I needed some new music since I forgot all my CDs.  I go into whatever lame music store (it was probably a Hot Topic…) and check their discount bin.  There I saw it for 3 dollars: Asian Man Records “Mail Order Is Fun!”

I owe so much to this little CD.

I was a huge punk/ska fan at this point, but this little (ok huge, with 29 songs) made me fall in love with so many bands.  Sure, there was a lot of shit on the CD and stuff I would never listen to, but for 3 dollars, there were more than enough gems.

Me listening to bands such as Slapstick, The Impossibles, Link 80, The Broadways, MU330, Potshot, Blue Meanies, and Nicotine are a direct result of Asian Man’s compilation.  If you are looking to discover some classic ska-punk bands, you can’t go wrong with this comp.

MP3:
Slapstick – There’s A Metal Head In The Parking Lot
The Impossibles – Plan B
Funsize – Pickle
The Broadways – 15 Minutes

Modern Compilations:
Punk Rock Valentine’s Mix (because I love you)
Scenester 101: How To Be A Modern Day Street Punk
How To Be A 3rd Wave Ska Dork
How To Be A Skinhead
How To Be Hardcore

Buy:
Asian Man

Category: music, punk, ska / Tags: , , , , ,

Caseracer – Self Titled EP (For fans of Kid Dynamite, Grey Area, Static Radio NJ)

/ February 27, 2012 / No comments

I’m going to be straight up, ever since Caseracer sent me their Self Titled debut EP, I’ve been listening to it nonstop.  Six melodic hardcore songs clocking in around 11 minutes, Caseracer knows damn well how to write a catchy tune.

Hailing from New Jersey and Delaware, their EP features everything you’d come to expect from a band that lists Kid Dynamite and Latterman as influences: catchy hooks, plenty of two stepping opportunities (fuck you, I dance in my bedroom all the time), and shit tons of sing-along.

Maybe it’s my Jersey roots shining through, but in addition to Kid Dynamite, I also hear plenty of influences from bands like Static Radio NJ and Banquets.  If you like melodic hardcore at all, do yourself a favor and check out Caseracer’s debut… I have a feeling it won’t be the last we’re hearing from them.

MP3:
Caseracer – I’m Uh, Fixing a Divot

More Punk Rock For You Kids:
Saves The Day – Can’t Slow Down
Kid Dynamite, And The Art Of Moshing Everywhere
Kid Dynamite – Shorter Faster Louder
Crucial Dudes – 61 Penn

Buy:
Caseracer

Category: hardcore, music, punk / Tags: , , ,

U.F.C – I Want More Beer (For fans of The Casualties, The Unseen, Violent Society)

/ February 25, 2012 / No comments

I realize it’s been a little while since we’ve posted on a solid street punk band, so after digging through the bowels of my musical collection, I rediscovered the street punks U.F.C’s album “I Want More Beer”.

An English and Spanish street punk band originally from Florida, the majority of the songs are in English (only two seem to be in Spanish).  U.F.C’s “I Want More Beer” is about as straight forward street punk gets.  Aggressive yet catchy riffs, pissed shouted vocals, this is what circle pits are made of.

Sure, there’s nothing too original about the album, but if you dig street punk at all then you can’t really go wrong here.

MP3:
UFC – Punk Rock Stars

More Street Punk For Your Gutter Heart:
Scenester 101 – How To Be A Modern Day Street Punk
Violent Society
The Unseen – Lower Class Crucifixion
The Virus – Nowhere to Hide

Buy:
UFC

Category: music, punk, street punk / Tags: , , ,

Less Than Jake – Pesto (For fans of Reel Big Fish, Slapstick, Streetlight Manifesto)

/ February 24, 2012 / No comments

So about a week ago, Less Than Jake came to Philly and I completely skipped it.  I still feel guilty about it (let’s be honest, ska is a dying breed) so I’ve been listening to my old early high school favorites for the past week (seriously, Less Than Jake used to be my JAM 13 years ago when I was just a wee freshman).

Less Than Jake has a lot of obscure vinyl releases, but one of their rarer and more interesting ones was their EP “Pesto”.  Only 3000 pressed, and while technically released in 1999, the songs were all recorded much earlier, before Less Than Jake featured a horn section.

There are only four tracks on Pesto, with two of them being rerecorded for their first studio album Pezcore.  It’s pretty cool hearing the slowed down, infant version of “Black Coffee” and “Process” we all know and love from Pezcore.  The other two songs are “Good Time For Change” which was a bonus track on one of their later releases, and “Green Eyed Monster”.

If you’re a Less Than Jake fan, Pesto is worth checking out, although you may have a hard time a physical copy.

MP3:
Less Than Jake – Black Coffee (Pesto version)

More:
Big D And The Kid’s Table – For The Damned, Dumb And Delirious
Scenester 101: How to Be a 3rd Wave Ska Dork
Less Than Jake – Greetings From…

Buy:

Out Of Print

Category: music, punk, ska / Tags: , , ,

World Inferno Friendship Society (Live in West Chester, PA 2/16/12)

/ February 19, 2012 / No comments

The World Inferno Friendship Society always have the most passionate shows.  On Thursday night, I headed out to West Chester’s Note in order to catch the cabaret punk, and due to an emergency, unfortunately missed both Spraynard and Mischief Brew.  I came close to missing part of Inferno as well but walked in right as the band began their call to arms “Tattoos Fade”.
In all honesty, I was a little bit nervous about the crowd being lackluster due to the fact it was in West Chester as opposed to Philly (even Municipal Waste shows at The Note leave me desiring a little more action) however my fears were put to rest almost immediately.  Right, this is an Inferno show, and we’re a passionate bunch.

Moshing, waltzing, and makeouts, Inferno shows are always a surreal experience.  The band played tight as usual, with Jack entertaining the crowd with his banter.  They played songs spanning nearly all of their releases, and the crowd responded positively to them all.

I may have also seen the youngest kid to ever stage dive that night, kudos to him (and to the rest of you stage divers… don’t make me come out of stage dive retirement and show you youngsters how it’s done.)

Setlist (not in order and from what I remember… pretty complete I think):

Tattoos Fade
My Ancestral Home, New Jersey
Jake and Eggers
Brother Of The Mayor Of Bridgewater
Cats Are Not Lucky Creatures
Everybody Come To Rick’s
The Apple Was Eve
13 Years Without Peter King
Thumb Cinema
I Am Sick Of People Being Sick Of My Shit
I Just Make Faces
Zen and the Art Of Breaking Everything In This Room
Ladies And Gentleman Of The Road
Politics Of Passing Out
Naughty Little Rat Makes Friends
So Long To The Circus
Canonize Philip K. Dick, OK
The Models and the Mannequins

Mp3:
World Inferno Friendship Society – Go With It Girl

More:
World Inferno Friendship Society – The Anarchy And The Ecstasy
World Inferno Friendship Society – A Demonstrational Introduction to the Astral Plane
World Inferno Friendship Society – Addicted to Bad Ideas
World Inferno Friendship Society – Just The Best Party
World Inferno Friendship Society – Red Eyed Soul
World Inferno Friendship Society – East Coast Super Sound Punk of Today

Buy:
Chunksaah

Category: live, music, punk, show / Tags: , , , ,

Signals Midwest – Latitudes and Longitudes (For fans of Menzingers, Braid, Smoke or Fire)

/ February 16, 2012 / No comments

There’s just something about Signals Midwest’s “Latitudes and Longitudes”.  I’m not usually into the particular style that these Cleveland, Ohio dudes play, and while it’s not in my regular rotation (yet), I do enjoy the album.

Signals Midwest play that gruff midwestern punk mixed with melodic emo influences that seems to be randomly big these days, but unlike 90% of similar bands, they’re able to keep me hooked.

You can hear their influences through each melody, from The Menzingers, Braid, to Smoke or Fire (shit, listen to the opening vocal pattern of “The Weight And The Waiting”, it’s the exact same as Smoke or Fire’s “Neon Light”). Speaking of melodies, some of them are just straight up addicting, particularly “Family Crest” and “The Quiet Persuader”.

For fans of people who like sticking their hands in their hoodie pockets and nodding furiously along to songs, only to take it out and thump on their chests for the really exciting parts… oh and beards.  Definitely beards.

Mp3:
Signals Midwest – The Quiet Persuader

More Melodic Punk For Your Melancholy Heart:

The Menzingers – Chamberlain Waits

The Reveling – Tributaries

Crucial Dudes – 61 Penn

Buy:

Tiny Engines

Category: music, punk / Tags: , , ,

A Punk Rock Valentine’s Mix

/ February 14, 2012 / One comment

It’s valentine’s day, that special day where single people are bitter and wish they were in relationships and people in relationships wish they were single… oh and something about Al Capone killing a bunch of people on a boat or something.

Here’s a little vday mix for all you punk hearts out there, because I’m your valentine.

MP3:

Propagandhi – Utter Crap Song (The As Close To An Emo Song As We’ll Ever Get Song)

Bouncing Souls – I Like Your Eyes

Vandals – (I’ll Make You) Love Me

Adolescents – I Love You

Teenage Bottlerocket – Be Stag

Against Me – I Still Love You Julie

Black Flag – Bastard In Love

Bomb The Music Industry – I Don’t Love You Anymore

World Inferno Friendship Society – Velocity Of Love

Casualties – Punk Rock Love

American Nightmare – Young Hearts Be Free Tonight

Dead Milkmen – If You Love Somebody, Set Them On Fire

NOFX – Love Story

More Mixes:

Scenester 101: How To Be A Modern Day Street Punk
How To Be A 3rd Wave Ska Dork
How To Be A Skinhead
How To Be Hardcore

Buy:

Interpunk

Category: mix, punk / Tags: , , , ,

Mixtapes – Hope Is For People (For fans Matt and Kim, The Hold Steady, The Dopamines)

/ February 10, 2012 / No comments

Cincinnati’s Mixtapes have been an incredibly busy band.  In a span of less than two years, they’ve released an album, 3 EPs, and a split.  Their latest EP “Hope Is For People” is one of those albums that just immediately puts you in a good mood the second it starts.

If you’re not smiling (or at least singing along with the whoas) halfway through, I’m forced to assume you hate fun or have no soul.  With 6 songs clocking in at 11 minutes (and one of those songs are just an acoustic version of another), Mixtapes really hit their stride on Hope Is For People.  Playing dual guy/gal vocals pop-punk mixed with indie, “Hope Is For People” is poppy without being too sugary.

Songs like “Where I Live” and “The New Ride The Lightning” are your relatively straight forward disgustingly catchy pop-punk, while title track “Hope Is For People” and “You’d Better Bring More Dudes” are acoustic-turn-punk jams.

I’m usually pretty picky when a band is this poppy, but Mixtapes does it fucking right on “Hope Is For People”.  You can’t go wrong if you like your punk a little more poppy, or if you just like fun music in general.

MP3:
Mixtapes – Where I Live

More:
Mixtapes – A Short Collection Of Short Songs
Bomb The Music Industry – Vacations
The Menzingers – Chamberlain Waits
The Copyrights – North Sentinel Island

Buy:
Animal Style Records

Category: music, pop punk, punk / Tags: , , , ,

Punch – Nothing Lasts (For fans of Ceremony, Dangers, Cokebust)

/ February 8, 2012 / No comments

San Francisco’s Punch have done what I previously would have thought as impossible.  With their latest “Nothing Lasts” EP, the band somehow managed to create something even more ferocious and pissed off than their “Self Titled” album.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: while many have touted Punch as one of the most aggressive female-fronted hardcore bands around today, I want to take it a step further and say that Punch is easily one of the most furious hardcore bands around.

Their 7 song, 9 minute long “Nothing Lasts” EP is one hell of a ride.  Blending d-beat, power violence, thrash, and straight up hardcore, Punch is incredibly reminiscent of other Cali bands such as Ceremony and Dangers.

No frills found here… if you like hardcore raw, pissed, and energetic as all fuck, then Punch’s latest is a must.

Mp3:
Punch – The Chase

More:

Punch – Self Titled
Cokebust – Lines In The Sand
Ceremony – Violence Violence

Buy:

Punch

 

Category: hardcore, music / Tags: , ,

Adelleda – Herkimer Street (For fans of Propagandhi, Strike Anywhere, Ignite)

/ February 7, 2012 / 2 comments

Sometimes it seems like Canada has it all: public health care, better maple syrup, and a plethora of damn good skate influenced punk rock.  Ontario based Adelleda is the latest band to add to great canadian punk, and their 8 track “Herkimer Street” is 20 minutes of melodic skate bliss.

While I realize that it’s certainly cliche to compare a melodic punk band to early Propagandhi, I can’t help but listen to some of Adelleda’s riff’s and be reminded of the Manitoba legends (hell, their song Implausible Denial reminds me of I-Spy a bit before I even knew where they were from).  Adelleda is able to avoid pigeon holing themselves though by pulling influences from other melodic hardcore bands.  Song GBN is incredibly reminiscent of Ignite and opener Farley reminds me a bit of Vision.

If you’re a fan of melodic punk rock at all, it’s hard to steer wrong with Adelleda’s “Herkimer Street”.  Oh, and I forgot to mention they offer it up on their bandcamp completely for free… so really, what are you waiting for?

Mp3:
Adelleda – Just A Shame

More:

Housewives Interview Propagandhi
Man The Change
Strike Anywhere – Change Is Sound

 

Buy:
Adelleda

 

Category: music, punk / Tags: , , , ,
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