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The
Damned
"Grave Disorder"
Nitro Records
Grade:
B
Posted 8/28/01
This new record comes to
us 25 years after The Damned got their start in the music world and
already it’s being compared to some of the bands earlier recordings that
shaped the sound and style they’re known for.
Although I don’t think it compares to those earlier
groundbreaking records, I do give the band credit for keeping their sound
and visionary style up to date and for not falling off to the wayside.
This is a typical record for The Damned, but instead of fading fast into
obscurity; they packed this one full of their trademark dark anarchy for
all the 3rd generation Punks to educate themselves on.
The best description I could give about this record would be
Machine Gun Etiquette + Strawberries + Phantasmagoria = Grave Disorder. If you’re a true fan of The Damned you won’t be
disappointed. Go out and buy
this record now!
• Official
Damned Site
• Nitro Records
- Goth Brooks
Pinched
& Buckled Vol.1
"Pinched
& Buckled Vol.1"
Cease-N-Desist Records
Grade:
A+
Posted 8/28/01
Straight outta Snoop Town
comes the first release, and the first of the Pinched & Buckled series
of compilation discs from fledgling record label Cease-n-Desist Records.
This disc features 16 bands contributing between 1 and 3 tracks
each. Most of the bands here
are up-n-coming, or more established Long Beach and Orange County bands
w/the exception of Portland, Oregon’s very own 8 Foot Tender, and the
Applicators from Austin, Texas.
The music
contained within the tracks of Pinched & Buckled Vol. 1 ranges from
krusty, to new school punk, to plain dirty raunch-rawk, yet maintains a
cohesive vibe throughout. Standout
bands on this disc include Harms Way, Secret Hate, C.T.W., The
Applicators, Spider, Amerikan Made, and Shythouse Ratz.
Shythouse Ratz pay
the ultimate tribute to Johnny Ramone buzzsaw guitar with their song
“Junk”, Secret Hate wants to be like a big fat Buddha on “Kevsadic”,
and Adolescent offspring Frank Agnew Jr. makes Pops proud with C.T.W.’s
cover of The Adolescents “No Way”.
One of the true
highlights of this disc comes 70 minutes into it on track #28.
It’s a punk rock junkie acoustic called “Ugly” by an artist
unknown. The song sounds like
Johnny Thunders through and through, even though it’s not.
What it is though is a perfect ending for an excellent first
release from Cease-n-Desist Records.
- Goth Brooks
Tongue
"Sweet Meat"
Hello Records
Grade:
B+
Posted 8/16/01
• MP3 Site For Tongue
- Jeana With A "J"
The Real
McKenzies
"Loch'd & Loaded"
Honest Dons Records
Grade:
B+
Posted 8/16/01
This
modern day Celtic bards known as The Real McKenzies come straight from
Vancouver, BC and sport a mix of ’77 street punk and traditional Celtic
folk music. Although some
people have told me that they remind them of Dropkick Murphys I would have
to totally disagree. I think the only thing similar about them is fact
they both use Celtic music mixed with a type of punk and some bagpipes .
Where Dropkick uses bagpipes every now and then, the Real McKenzies use
them practically in every song. The Real McKenzies I think sound more
traditional and have a smoother sound to them. Were Dropkick uses a more
recent style of punk The real McKenzies have that punk groove only found
in 1977. But what the two bands do have greatly is the fact that they both
kick ass. My favorite song on this cd has to be Whiskey Scotch Whiskey not
only because Im an alcoholic but it is a very upbeat strong punk riff that
dominates over the rest of the album. This CD is simply too much fun to
pass up. It’s a well-balanced mixture of sing-along drinking songs,
traditional Scottish folk songs and straight-ahead punk rock. Even if you
don’t have an ounce of Scottish blood in you (which I don’t) you
can’t help but raise your fist (or mug) in the air and shout along with
songs like “Gi’s Us a Dram”, “Flower of Scotland” and “Bonnie
Mary”.
• Official Real
McKenzies Site
- Frank Rizzo
The
ReducersSF
"Backing the Longshot"
TKO Records
&
The ReducersSF
"Crappy Clubs and Smelly Pubs"
TKO Records
Grade:
A
Posted 8/16/01
HELL
yeah, thats what I needed today, 2 CD´s packed with alot of good
songs....
I was soo excited to get the stuff from the
ReducersSF, i read
alot in other
zines and on webpages so i was so interesting
in their music..
Now Im listening to the CD´s all day and
night long,
wow guys I´m so impressed about it, a bunch
of good stuff,
"Mr.Glen Mc.Henry" Im glad to hear
such a good voice again,
arent we all
tired of this Kiddie-Bullshit-Voices??
His voice is special, really cool, I like it,
it sounds strong and with
the
rest of the guys singing a good fuckin
packet, maybe its the beer
what the
guys are drinking in Crappy Clubs and smelly
Pubs .........
We all know that TKO has a bunch of good
bands, so I think you
wont make a
fault to buy stuff or order it from them..
You can be sure I wont lie about this, my
heart is open for
Streepunk and
shit like that forever, this is "coooooole
scheisssse" Streetpunk..
Really powerful melodies, infl.by the 77ČnglishPunk,
it drives me
crazy to
hear bands like the ReducersSF, I can sing
the songs and relax
and just freak
out if its time for it
They opened for a lot of cool Bands like (the
older ones) The
Gonads, Peter
&
Test Tube Babies, Frankie Flame and the
Angelic Upstarts, and
sure the new
ones like Dropkick Murphys, One Man Army and
my fav. the
Swingin Utters...
This is definitely cool shit, Pub-Punk-Street
RocknRoll, a unique
sound..
So I write Thanx Boys for sending me this
stuff out, Keep up the
good work
and see ya soon live on our german stages....
Im sure it will be a blast.
Kids go and buy it, its special......
"I cross my fingers for you guys"
• Official Reducers Site
- Astra The German Chick
The
Partisans
"So Neat"
TKO Records
Grade:
B-
Because there are only 3 songs!
Posted 8/16/01
The
Partisans are back and on TKO Records! Yup these UK punksters are at it
again. Now, even though this
is the first release in 17 years, all the songs on the CD fucking rule and
it’s released on one of my favorite labels, I still have a major beef
about this new release. It only has three fucking songs?!?! Yeah I know
it’s an EP but the fact is these three songs kick so much ass it totally
sucks to not have more of them to listen to. The people want more! Anyway,
these 3 songs are well recorded and keep the sound that these critters
have had since the days of the “Time Was Right” album. If you were a
fan of them back then, you will still be a fan of them now. But as the cd
was short so will this review. Lets just hope that this is a prelude to a
full length.
• Official
Partisans Site
- Frank Rizzo
OZMA
"Rock and Roll Part Three"
KingFu Records
Grade:
C-
Posted 8/16/01
Ok I have to say that
Kung Fu Records is a great record company that exposes the world to great
bands like Useless ID, and Big Wig so when I got this cd I thought
“Cool, another great band”. Well fuck that! I was wrong!
I don’t like bands that have keyboards in them that sound exactly
the same on each song. I don’t like bands that have long drawn out
intros that only lead up to a badly written song. I don’t like bad
songs. I don’t like guys that sing in a wimp like fashion that only
girls like. I don’t like bands signed on labels that put out good punk
music but are nothing near punk. I don’t like Ozma. Am I being harsh?
Maybe, but I’m really not into these guys. You might be….so go to Kung
Fu record’s web site and sample some of the songs for yourself. As for
me, well let’s just say I don’t need to go out and buy any more
coasters for my beer soaked coffee table.
• Official Ozma
Site Of Bad Music
- Angry Al
The
Distraught
"The Distraught"
Self Release
Grade:
B+
Posted 8/16/01
Gritty
punk rock at its best. This foursome of punks spit out gems of revolution
from the streets of hemet! It’s all about punk when it comes to
The Distraught. Nothing but raw chords mixed down with slappy beats built
strictly for pitt’n and stage dive’n.
Taking the music back to the bare roots of punk, The Distraught put
off a sound only compared to bands like DI, the Circle Jerks, DOA and the
Angry Samoans. Their lyrics also remain true with stories about
unemployment, drug use and the government bullshit that condemns our
world. It also should be noted that these guys have been smashing it up
for quite sometime now and it makes me wonder why more labels aren’t
interested in them yet. I have seen them jam on several occasions and all
I can say is that the only thing better than listening to their cd is to
see The Distraught live. 7
near flawless chunks of old-school Southern California punk meets well,
old-school Southern California punk, one can't help but blare the living
shit out this cd. It’s best played loud….very loud!
- Scott Harding
The
Bolides
"Live @ B>I>R>T"
Self Release
Grade:
B
Posted 8/16/01
Just when you think the
world of music has reached the limit of creativity and all bands seem to
be doing the same thing, a band like The Bolides come and fuck everything
up! The Bolides are a Long Beach based group of scientists and researchers
affiliated with B>I>R>T (the Bolides Institute of Research
Technology. ) No I’m not entirely sure what they research but Ill bet
it’s along the lines of what Dr. Frankenstein would do to music if he
were alive today. You see, The Bolides take the computer music of Devo,
the garage rockabilly twist sounds of The Cramps, what seems to be sci-fi
music, chemistry, and dump
them all into a test tube. After adding some heat for about the length of
6 songs you get this CD and you get The Bolides. So if you like to
experiment with chemicals and music, then might I suggest you take a trip
to www.thebolides.com
and listen to a few patient sample units of their mp3s !
• Bolides Institute
of Research Technology
- Scott Harding
Blueline
Medic
"The Apology Wars"
Fuled By Ramen Records
Grade:
B
Posted 8/16/01
Wow, this cd is pretty
damn good! I have never heard of these Aussies up until I got this cd from
Fuled By Ramen records. For some reason, maybe because of the title, I
thought that this band was going to be some crying, whining boy band punk
band along the lines of Blink 182 but when I heard the first song I knew I
was very wrong. So my surprise Blueline Medic is a refreshing turn back to
bands like Husker Du and the Psychedelic Furs. Not a very fast passed band
but they are extremely tight and melodic.
These guys have a lot of potential to become one of those rare
bands that make it to the fame without sucking. They rock out with a manic
fury, as if holding back Armageddon itself. Every member of the band seems
to be bleeding his soul into his instrument. My favorite thing about this
record is the singing. There is actually singing. There's plenty of
screaming, but the gritty, rusty voice of singer Donnie carries more
passion and calmness when he is just singing along softly. Now one thing I
don’t get is when I ask around about this band they are considered to be
Emo. But I have to disagree. You see I hate emo. I don’t hate Blueline
Medic.
• Official
Blueline Medic Site
- Scott Harding
Faggot
Kings
"Ignition Factory"
Self Release
Grade:
A
Posted 8/16/01
• Official Faggot Kings Site
- Astra The German Chick
420 Koma
"Ignition Factory"
Self Release
Grade:
A-
Posted 8/16/01
• Official 420 Koma Site
- Jeana With A "J"
