The band plays an intense brand of thrash that takes into consideration the hardcore of acts like D.R.I. and earlier Raised Fist. The tracks blow by like nothing (with the average song lasting about a minute and a half), with the production of the disc allowing the band to sound a lot like they were playing all these songs live. Of course, the all-in choruses speak much to layering, but…
If your liner notes say that Conor Oberst helped you, then chances are that your album will be absolutely fantastic. Hard rocking post-hardcore music from an all-star band (individuals come from The White Octave, Bright Eyes, Desaparecidos, Lullaby for the Working Class, Cursive). All parts of this act together make pieces of art out of their songs. “Play On Words†has a haunting chorus that is completely made up in…
While I am always leery of those bands that eschew new, better ways of recording, I still try to give the bands the benefit of the doubt. The Cringe use all analogue recording for “Tipping Pointâ€, and “California†is the first track that most individuals will be familiar with when they first hear The Cringe. The track is a noisy type of rock that has hints of Blur, Goo Goo…
The intensity in which The Cringe start off “Scratch The Sruface†was really a surprise, in that there was no lead-up to the track, just Rob’s guitar leveling the audiences from the first riff. “Been Alone†is much more of the same radio-friendly type of rock that really has polluted the nation’s airwave, but done in a slightly more palatable style. There is a certain amount of musicianship that is…
Crime in Stereo come forth with the same type of open-air guitars that individuals have learned to expect from the band. Tracks are relatively quick, but the effect that they will have on a listener will not disappear quite as quickly. During tracks like “I’m On The Guestlist, Motherfuckerâ€, the band moves into the realm previously only traversed by acts like Rise Against. The guitars are still distinct, a hallmark…
The clarity in which Crime In Stereo constructs their tracks on this EP is simply amazing; everything is meshed together perfectly to allow a track with a speedy tempo and hard-hitting beats the same ease of discovery as the average pop-punk sound. The speed does not slow during “I’m On The Guestlist Motherfuckerâ€, where Crime In Stereo assumes a slightly Rise Against meets Strike Anywhere type of sound. The gritty…
With the same sort of detached-from-punk style of Fugazi, Crain looks wistfully back at the wall of sound bands to make a track that feels fit for the Nation of Ulysses-era as much as the later-Fugazi era. The vocals on tracks like “Monkey Wrench†even incorporate a little bit of Danzig to what is already a hard-edge sound. The great thing about “Speed†is that even (almost) 15 years after…
Just seconds into Cool Device’s self-titled debut, through the blistering gnash of distorted chords, its clear front man/guitarist Jason Frederick has some demons to exercise. You can’t blame the guy; the whole reason he started Cool Devices was a reaction to news that his old Columbus, OH-based group The Means were getting back together without him. Now based in Chicago, Frederick’ new band Cool Devices manages to rip through seven…
An American Affair is set in 1963, where JFK’s affair with a CIA member’s wife is seen as nothing too far outside of the norm. A stacked cast, including Gretchen Mol (Rounders), Mark Pellegrino (National Treasure), and James Rebhorn (Cold Mountain) take up this historical piece and make each of the players living and breathing. Where there has been a number of films made in the last twenty years about…
With a band name like Crackjaw, what first hits individuals during “Giants From The Stereo†is confusing, to say the least. What the band starts the disc with is “Cameoâ€, and the song shows Crackjaw as a band that mixes emo with a hardcore brand of screaming. Crackjaw may be a “Giant From The Stereoâ€, but the band has the ability to create interesting music in a musical genre that…
