Blurt #3 / $1 / 64M / http://www.geocities.com/vinylagogo/vinylaprintprint/ Lew is one of the most interesting zinesters that I have a chance to read every few months. This time, the stories of Lew going to concerts, selling copies of eir zines, and having out with friends are blocked off with a number of different sketches. Â This is a good thing, as the stories that Lew tells are quite a few pages…
Metal Mind Productions presents re-release of classic material from Roadrunner Records’ archives – two albums from Optimum Wound Profile, one of the most fascinating industrial/hardcore projects that emerged in the 90’s. Formed in 1991 in Ipswich, UK, the sextet proposed a powerful combination of metal, crust punk, hardcore and sampling technologies, sealed tightly in a cage of pure condensed madness. Coming out during the industrial spree, when groups such as…
Today in their blog, Fat Wreck Chords band The Loved Ones announce their new members. The blog is available at http://www.fatwreck.com/band/index/82 . The text of the blog reads: Dave Walsh and Chris Gonzalez are officially LOVED ONES…
Maylene and the Sons of Disaster – II / 2007 Ferret / 11 Tracks / http://www.mayleneandthesonsofdisaster.us / http://www.ferretstyle.com / Maylene and the Sons of Disaster is a band that blends together Corrosion of Conformity (“Deliveranceâ€-era) with Marilyn Manson, and puts it in a way that listeners in the current period can love. “Memories of the Grove†is the first track on “IIâ€, and it shows the band as being very…
THE ACADEMY IS… ANNOUNCES DATES FOR “SLEEPING WITH GIANTS” FALL HEADLINE TOUR; Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen recording group The Academy Is… has unveiled details of their eagerly anticipated fall tour. The coast-to-coast headline trek – dubbed the “Sleeping With Giants” Tour – will take off September 5th in Milwaukee, with dates running non-stop through a Chicago hometown finale on November 24th (full itinerary below). The pre-sale will begin thru the bands…
Scott Cossu Trio – Islands / 2007 MVD / 60 Minutes / http://www.mvdb2b.com / Scott Cossu has been around in the jazz scene for longer than I have been on this earth. Ey started in 1981, I entered this world in 1983. That’s pretty impressive; this footage is as well. It is impressive not only for the cuts that are present, but rather because it is so sharp and well-recorded.…
Kiss The Gunner – Why Are We So Dead? / 2007 Harvest Earth / 9 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/kissthegunner / http://www.harvestearth.com / While Kiss The Gunner does a very hard-hitting brand of hardcore that verges on metal a great deal of the time, “Why Are We So Dead?†does not sound like the same thing that a number of artists in a similar genre try to pander their listeners. There is…
Jerry Lee Lewis – Last Man Standing / 2006 Shangri-La / 21 Tracks / http://www.jerryleelewis.com / Jerry Lee Lewis is an individual whose time had came and left by the time that I started listening to music in the middle nineties. This does not mean that ey does not have anything left in the gas tank, but that I had never heard anything more than a few singles from Lewis…
Andromeda – Playing Off The Board / 2007 MVD / 205 Minutes / http://www.musicvideodistributors.com / This Swedish progressive metal act has been around a relatively short time, providing their own take on the prog scene since 1999. The band has been able to cut four albums in that time, and this DVD shows the band touring in support of their last album – 2006’s Chimara. Instead of merely focusing on…
Suburban Pastoral / $? / 1:00 / 44M / http://www.voicesnewjersey.blogspot.net / Suburban Pastoral is a collection of poems by Hank Kalet, who spends most of eir time editing newspapers in the New Jersey area, along with writing columns for The Progressive Populist. This is a chapbook containing Kalet’s works over the last few years. Voices of Reason, the imprint under which Kalet released this chapbook, “is an arts collective that…
Sasha & Shawna – Siren / 2007 Blue Note / 12 Tracks / http://www.sashaandshawna.com / http://www.manhattanrecords.com / I feel so un-educated when I get an album like “Sirenâ€. For example, I was not familiar with Sasha Lazard, Shawna Stone, or Grammy-award winning producer Peter Asher. This album is a blend of classic opera tracks along with the duo’s reinterpretation of popular songs. These songs include Radiohead’s “Fade Outâ€, which opens…
Rachel Margaret – Buena Vista Park / 2007 Self / 4 Tracks http://www.myspace.com/rachelmargaretmusic / “Landfill” is one of the focal points on “Buena Vista Park”, and while the instrumentation is softly-stated and meanders around the vocals, Margaret here comes correct and creates a brand of modern pop-rock that is just as honest and impressive as anything released by Fiona Apple or others of her ilk. “Someday Soon” is a slightly…
OBITUARY EXCLUSIVE I-TUNES PROMOTION  Candlelight Records together with I-Tunes will premiere the first song from Obituary’s upcoming new album Xecutioner’s Return via an advance single. “Evil Ways” will be available for purchase starting July 31 and for fans will be the first and only advance listen of the album set to hit North American stores on August 28.
The Christine Spero Group – My Spanish Dream / 2007 Self / 9 Tracks / http://cdbaby.com/cd/christinespero2 / One of the first things that is heard at the beginning of “My Spanish Dream” has to be the entirety of The Christine Spero Group weaving their instruments together to come up with a coherent and cohesive sound. Hints of Latin arrangements and jazz spontaneity immediately confront listeners during the disc’s first track,…
Paris Luna – City Lights / 2007 Self / 11 Tracks / http://www.parisluna.com / Paris Luna start out their “City Lights†in a way that reminds me of Sixpence None the Richer. The first track on “City Lights†is “Having a Hard Timeâ€. “Having a Hard Time†is a rock track in the same vein as a Kelly Clarkson; the bass and drums make for an easy listening track, one…
Street Dogs – Fading American Dream / 2006 Brass Tacks / 13 Tracks / http://www.street-dogs.com / http://www.drt-entertainment.com / Street Dogs’ first album was fucking amazing. Simple as that. Their second album was still decent, but it had less of the fury and fun style that “Savin Hill†had. Street Dogs are back with their third album, “Fading American Dreamâ€, and it might just be the best of the three. The…
Albert Hammond, Jr – Yours To Keep / 2007 New Lie / 10 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/alberthammonjr / http://www.newlinerecords.com / Albert Hammond does not sound like much of a rocker. However, for those individuals that do not know, ey was one of the integral parts to the seminal band The Strokes. The opening track on “Yours To Keep†is “Cartoon Music For Superheroesâ€, and it does not sound like the hard,…
Music Nation (www.musicnation.com <http://www.musicnation.com/> ) has today announced the release of Friend Finder – a web tool that allows Music Nation artists and fans to seamlessly send out invitations to contacts in their pre-existing Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail address books.  In order to encourage artists to utilize this new functionality, Music Nation has launched a contest in tandem with the release of Friend Finder.  Artists who bring in the most…
C-BO TEAMS UP WITH THE AND 1 STREET BALL TOUR FOR EXCLUSIVE PERFORMANCES AND HOSTING In support of the recent G-Unit South signing, and the release of the highly anticipated WESTSIDE RYDERS 3 compilation (IN STORES NOW), C-Bo has joined the AND 1 Mixtape tour this summer for a string of exclusive performances and official after party hosting. With over 2 million records sold, and 17 solo albums, C-Bo has…
Bittersweet Dream / $? / :45 / 28M / [email protected] / Bittersweet Dream; I have no clue where I found you, but I am glad I found you. This is a zine that is a communal project, more so than most other small-market magazines. There are poems, cartoons, and ideas for how to create revolution, all contained within 28 pages. There is simply something for everyone here. I may not…