Nuclear Family – s/t LP (Loud Punk)
High energy, Dangerhouse inspired punk rock from Albany. Ex-members of Limp Wrist and Acid Reflux. Posthumous release, bummer town. “Believers Voice of Victory” needs to be played loud so you can soak up all the guitars and unwavering vocals.
Getting Even – s/t 7” (One Percent)
Debut EP from this Minneapolis band with ex-members of Kill Sadie, Holding On and The Real Enemy. Built on the spastic wall-of-guitars sound pioneered by later era*Black Flag*, Poison Idea and Swiz, but with it’s own distinct style that is all Twin Cities. Four killer tunes, all with the kind of lyrics that can only be found in the gasoline soaked notebook of singer Jason Aaronen. Really psyched to hear what this band is capable of. EP comes with a free download of the record along with demo tracks and rehearsals.
Coldstream – South Island CD-R (Under The Spire)
Instrumental ambient drone from UK. Four songs that all clock over ten minutes, each with it’s own unique set of tension as well as organic harmonies. Super dense, but so much buried treasure. Not for the timid.
Crawl – 2009 Demo (Self Released)
Low-fi noise punk from Denver, 9 song cassette. Volatile and combative, but delivered with pinpoint accuracy in a way that might (or might not) engage you. Seeing them live is a bit like watching a car accident, and I mean that in the best possible way. Conceived by former and current members of Dethbox, Hot White and Expiation. More info here
Veronica Falls – Beachy Head 7” (Captured Tracks)
Fun two song EP, female fronted UK psych rock with lots of reverb and lots of vocal layers. Their other 7”, “Found Love in a Graveyard” is just as good as this one. Brilliantly executed.
Chrome – Half Machine Lip Moves (Lilith)
1979 classic, reissued on vinyl on Lilith Records, CD included. Also has three bonus tracks from the Subterranean Modern compilation. Experimental acid punk that is strangely catchy and highly addictive. The songs are hard to classify, they try and succeed at everything from percussion driven waltzes to heavily processed electronic noise collages.
Teenage Fanclub – Bandwagonesque (Original Recordings Group)
140-gram vinyl reissue. One of the best power pop records ever made. Every review you’ll read of this will almost always mention Nirvana and Big Star, two amazing bands who have little to do with what’s happening on this record. Essential!
Youth of Today – A Time We’ll Remember (Super Soul)
Hour long spoken word from Ray Cappo, singer of Youth of Today, a band formed in Connecticut in 1985. The band released several records and toured extensively before calling it quits in 1990. YOT pioneered east coast straight edge, and are often credited (and blamed) as the creators of positive hardcore. Since breaking up, the members have never strayed too far from the path that they forged inside that scene, in fact a reformed YOT recently wrapped up a European tour. This spoken word set goes through a lot of stories about the beginning of the band, as well as some funny tour stories. If you like YOT, you will love this. If you are one of those people who just makes fun of them and never took the time to listen to what they were saying, then this isn’t going to change your mind.
Fungi Girls – Owsley Knows 7”
Dense and lazy surf / psych rock played by three high school kids from Texas. Instinctively I’m wary of young bands with a ton of material that release a lot of records in a short period of time, but sometimes your instincts get proven wrong.
Discharge – Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing (Havoc)
Classic punk LP from 1982, reissued on Havoc Records with a gatefold cover. So many bands have copied and stolen from this record, it’s hard to accept it for the artifact that it’s become. Each bit of minutea on this record has been recycled time and time again – the lyrics, the graphic design, the guitar sound, the vocal arrangements. But don’t let the cheap imitations fool you, there is a very good reason why this is still the blueprint for crust, metal and grind.
