Posted on: April 26, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

The New Scheme #11 / Free / :45 / 56M / New Scheme Publishing Concern, PO Box 7542, Boulder, CO 80306-7542 /

Its been a few months since I was able to read a new issue of The New Scheme, and one thing that hit me was that Stuart has gotten eir shit together in the last few issues. The average level of writing is much higher than in the past, and we are dropped immediately into that with a hard-hitting editorial by Stuart, who weighs the possibility (tongue-in-cheek, of course) of striking out from “Jesuserica” to form “Coastal America”. Focusing on a “lighter” set of bands than in the past (Breather Resist, The Good Life, and Q and Not You), the interviews still maintain the high level of quality that was always a hallmark of The New Scheme. Andre Medrano’s “Press Sheet 101”, which I swear I’ve seen a few times before, focuses in on a few common complaints about bands’ press sheets, mainly that “Just because you are bummed about life and wear black doesn’t mean you sound like the Cure”. The humor may be lost on the fact that not many people outside of reviewers and publicity companies ever get to see the press sheets, but I believe that Andre is able to inform the uninitiated enough to drive home eir humor. The record reviews end the magazine, and they are all incredible, being well-thought out and lengthy reviews that actually give individuals information about what an album says, instead of just sounding like a blurb from someone’s press sheet. Pick up a copy of this zine, as it will be some of the best money that you’ve never spent!

Rating: 7.2/10

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