Weekly Shopping List

AFI - Crash Love
Hatebreed - Self Titled
Evergreen Terrace - Almost Home
Lovehatehero - America Undererwater

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday

Here's the shopping list:

Brand New - Daisy
Billy Talent - III
Despised Icon - Day of Mourning
Ruiner - Hell Is Empty

Stoked.

If It Ain't Broke, Why Fix It?

Last week Buffalo bruisers Every Time I Die released their highly anticipated 5th full length album “New Junk Aesthetic” to rave reviews and impressive sales, but is the latest offering from everybody’s favorite metalcore jokesters really all it’s cracked up to be? Of course it is. Sure, ETID don’t exactly stray too far from their tried and true formula of crunchy southern fried hardcore dipped in metal sauce, but they still manage to make it sound fresh. Hey, Bad Religion have been making the same album for 25 years and they’re still one of the best punk rock bands on the planet. The recipe to ETID’s rock lies within their three core members, guitarist Andy Williams and brothers Keith and Jordan Buckley, who play guitar and sing, respectively. Williams and Jordan create a dirty, down-tuned wall of noise with their guitars, and Keith spray paints witty prose on top. Keith especially has a certain charm to him. He sounds like your older, smarter brother that happens to be in an awesome metal band. The elder Buckley oscillates between a throaty roar and a borderline sensual croon, all the while spouting lyrics about the end of the world and other such metal topics. “There is nothing to see here and nothing gazes back at me” he laments on “Who Invited the Russian Soldier?” Buckley’s extensive vocabulary and increasingly excellent singing voice have made Every Time I Die the darlings of the metalcore movement over the last couple years, and it definitely seems they deserve it. Their last two albums, “The Big Dirty” and “Gutter Phenomenon” racked up so many five star reviews and album of the year list appearances it’s hard to imagine “New Junk Aesthetic” not carrying through with the accolades as well. Unsurprisingly, NJA starts crushing skulls right off the bat, when opening track “Roman Holiday” elbows you in the throat with some serious feedback and a heavy helping of Buckley’s cigarette and beer soaked howl. The unsung hero of the album however, is new bassist Josh Newton. Newton, a former member of the now legendary From Autumn to Ashes and fantastic Kansas City noise rock band Shiner, brings a hefty and refreshing thump and rumble to the ETID rhythm section. The album’s first single, “Wanderlust” is a catchy romp through hell which finds Buckley throwing down some of the best lyrics he’s penned. When he sings “I can’t say where I’ve been and only God knows where I’ll be, but there must be a place for a wretch like me”, you can’t help but wonder if Keith might be one of the better lyricists of our time. “New Junk Aesthetic” is just one awesome, bone snapping dirge after another. So Every Time I Die aren’t undergoing any kind of identity crisis, but what they do works, and that’s more than most bands can say. “New Junk Aesthetic” is on sale at Best Buy this month for $9.99, and is worth the price if only for the hilarious DVD and awesome artwork that accompany the album.

SYG Get By WIth A Little Help From Their Friends

Bay Area sextet Set Your Goals finally managed to release a follow up to their genre defining debut album “Mutiny” this summer. It was a long wait, but for the most part it was worth it. “This Will Be the Death of Us” is an excellent album; these guys have really nailed down the perfect hybrid of hardcore and pop punk. These San Franciscans took their favorite hardcore bands and combined them with their unabashed love for New Found Glory and the Movielife, and they have come up with a sound that is all their own. Vocalists Matt Wilson and Jordan Brown deftly trade lyrics back and forth in a way that at times feels like hip hop. “This Will Be the Death of Us” is a dangerously catchy record with a ton of sugary hooks and catchy guitar lines. These are definitely the kind of songs you hum while you’re walking to class. The album kicks off with the title track, one of the heavier songs on the album. It features an awesome guest vocal from former Movielife/current I Am the Avalanche vocalist Vinnie Caruana. Anyone who knows anything about either of Vinnie’s bands knows that his passionate voice can stop you dead in your tracks, and he manages to do so here even on another band’s album. The song is followed by a rather pointless interlude which segues into the excellent sing along “Look Closer” and the aptly named “Summer Jam”, which sounds like the perfect Warped Tour barbecue song. “Summer Jam” is also special because Wilson and Brown actually recount the band’s entire history in the song’s lyrics, which is a unique topic to tackle. The album really picks up speed in the middle. The one-two punch of “The Fallen” and “The Few That Remain” absolutely make the album what it is. “The Fallen” is the “youth anthem” song stereotypically found on hardcore albums, but Set Your Goals manage to make a stale topic sound like an absolute battle cry. “I can’t stop feeling love, for this place we both came from, may I never lose my youth and if I do may I be forgettable” Brown sings. The only thing that really hurts Set Your Goals is their high profile guests. In addition to Caruana, New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert adds some excellent screaming and Paramore’s Hayley Williams absolutely runs away with her cameo on “the Few That Remain.” While entertaining, the guest appearances take away from the performance of the band as a whole. All told, this is an extremely impressive album. Set Your Goals are a very important band right now. In a music scene where garbage like Lady GaGa wins Best New Artist awards and Three Days Grace top the charts, Set Your Goals bring music with heart and conviction to the table. They are part of the last line of defense between music that actually moves people and music generated by pop star robots, songwriting teams and pitch correction software.

Happy Fuckin' Tuesday.

Really stoked about this one. Lots of cool shit going on. Here's my shopping list.

Every Time I Die - New Junk Aesthetic
The Black Dahlia Murder - Deflorate
Shadows Fall - Retribution
Thrice - Beggars


Also kind of contemplating the Kid Cudi record. Anybody heard the whole thing? yay or nay?

New York Hardcore Dudes Get (More) Sentimental

Upstate New York’s Polar Bear Club are one of the bands leading the charge in the recent revival of earnest, emotion evoking punk rock that has been permeating the underground music scene as of late. Last year they released their debut full length “Sometimes Things Just Disappear” on Red Leader Records to rave reviews and toured the world with bands like the Gaslight Anthem and Ruiner, gathering up a slew of new fans along the way. The album blended the passion punk of bands like Gaslight and 90’s Epitaph Records stalwarts Hot Water Music with the song craft of alternative rockers Far, and just a little touch of east coast hardcore thrown in for good measure. Songs like “Convinced I’m Wrong” and “Burned Out In A Jar” became sweaty sing along scene staples, and all of a sudden Polar Bear Club found themselves on respected Boston hardcore label Bridge 9, with a deadline for their follow up record approaching and big name producer Matt Bayles behind the boards. It was make or break time for Polar Bear Club, and I’d say they have definitely beaten the sophomore slump.
PBC emerged from Bayles’ Seattle studio with “Chasing Hamburg”, ten well rounded pop-hardcore songs about life on the road. While “Sometimes” was so well received because of its’ scrappy charm and lead singer Jimmy Stadt’s raw throated hollering, “Hamburg” is special for its’ cleaner, more refined sound. Stadt seems to hold back a lot more, opting for more delicate harmonizing in songs like “Take Me to the Town” and “The Old Fisher Burial Ground”, where he sounds more like Bayside’s Anthony Raneri than Hot Water Music’s Chuck Ragan. Bayles adds his own touch as well, most noticeably in the guitars of Nate Morris and Chris Browne. The producer, famous for his work with heavier bands like Norma Jean, the Deftones and Mastodon, brings a little of that hardcore buzzsaw sound to the background of the songs, which nicely offset Stadt’s newfound croon.
Stadt has stepped up his lyrics on this album as well. He has clearly been inspired by all the traveling he’s done in the last year. In the song “Light of Local Eyes”, he laments “There was a time, when this city shined, the lights in the parking lots would lead us through the night and to sunrise.” There is something very poetic about his tales from the road. This is the kind of album that makes kids want to start bands and tour.The album’s crowning achievement however, is the closing title track. Stadt really lays his heart out on this song. This is a fitting ending to a true road record; you can almost hear the band’s van humming along the highway in the background. The album ends with all five members of Polar Bear Club harmonizing “There is no more room for love!” together as the instruments fade out and all that’s left is their tired, road weary voices.

British Boys Come Through With the Debut Album of the Summer

One of the most pleasant surprises of the summer came in the form of album “The Best In Town”, the new album from Welsh emo metal band The Blackout. “The Best In Town” is The Blackout’s second album, but their first to be available in the United States thanks to their signing with American indie powerhouse Epitaph Records. For those of us who remember the early days of the Used and bands like Finch and Glassjaw, the Blackout will be a welcome throwback to the beginning of the decade, before brutally screamed verses and beautifully sang choruses were a dime a dozen.. The best way to describe the band’s sound is that they sound like the perfect love child of St. Louis emo dudes Story of the Year and California metalcore band A Static Lullaby. The Blackout utilize two vocalists: screamer Sean Smith, who howls just like ASL’s Dan Brown, and singer Gavin Butler, whose soulful voice echoes that of SOTY front man Dan Marsala. If you like either of those two bands, it’s a pretty safe bet you’ll enjoy “The Best In Town”.
The wonderful thing about the Blackout is the fact that they are clearly not blazing any new trails, and they are perfectly aware and comfortable with this. There’s no use in painting this record as something it’s not: you have heard the sing/scream/repeat formula a thousand times before. However, the Blackout do it particularly well. They throw in just enough bells and whistles to stand out from the pack, like the chorus of young kids in lead single “Children of the Night” and the infectious radio-ballad-out-of-nowhere “Silent.” Not to mention that while Butler’s singing voice is certainly more than competent, Smith sounds like an absolute demon on songs like “We’re going to Hell, So Bring the Sunblock.” There are enough curveballs on this record to keep even the most jaded music fan interested.
The album’s standout track is it’s fourth song “The Fire.” This one is a monster. If you listen to one song on this album, make it this one. The band tears through the verses and slows the pace just long enough for you to learn the words to the sing along chorus. Then they segue into what could possibly be the breakdown of the year, with Smith bellowing “I am the fire!” at the top of his lungs. Throw in an excellent guitar solo and you’ve got yourself one hell of a rock n’ roll song. “The Fire” also features the album’s greatest moment, where Smith is screaming his lungs out during the breakdown and the entire song stops dead in its’ tracks. Smith inhales deeply and desperately and then launches back into his assault on your eardrums.It is impossible to get bored listening to this album, which is really saying something in 2009. In the age of singles it’s great to see a band put out such a cohesive body of songs.. Nobody experiences music anymore. The Blackout are here to change that.

Happy Tuesday!

Light day today, here's what I'm grabbing.

Lovehatehero - Fight Or Flight
Polar Bear Club - Chasing Hamburg


What did you pick up?

The Return of the Mark, Tom & Travis Show

Finally. On August 29, 2009 at the New England Dodge Music Center in Hartford Conn., 30,000 filed into their assigned seats to witness the return of the kings of pop punk. Blink-182 had been gone a long time, but they were back and ready to rock Hartford. Rumours had been swirling all summer about the band: naysayers said the band had reformed strictly for money, that members weren’t fully committed to the reunion and that the band members were traveling in separate buses and using separate dressing rooms. Despite all the drama, the kids came. They came in droves. It was a strange scene gazing out into the sea of faces; there were grizzled Blink veterans, parents and kids, high schoolers, frat dudes, punks and jocks all gathered under a cloudy New England sky. Yes, tonight was going to be amazing. But tonight almost never happened.
Just over 24 hours before the doors opened, it had been announced that popular DJ and close Blink friend Adam Goldstein, aka DJ-AM, had been found dead in his apartment. Would the show go on, or would the bereaved band cancel their scheduled appearance?
Opening acts Taking Back Sunday and Weezer left a little to be desired. The once great Taking Back Sunday appeared as a shadow of the band that burst onto the scene so many years ago. It’s hard to believe watching today that they were once the must see band of the moment. There were three of the members who crafted Tell All Your Friends all those years ago, standing with two hired hands and going to through the motions. Only new guitarist Matt Fazzi shows any sign of gusto, as bloated frontman Adam Lazzara struts around halfheartedly singing songs he’s so disconnected with it’s probably hard for him to believe he wrote them. As the band has put out increasingly poor records over the last few years, Lazzara’s ego seems to have grown. He treats the crowd as if they are blessed to be in the presence of his greatness, and no one seems terribly upset when they make their exit.
Weezer were a slightly better experience, taking the sage in matching fluorescent yellow hazmat suits and blowing through an hour of greatest hits. It seemed a little trite however, as frontman Rivers Cuomo opted out of playing guitar in favor of being a free roaming lead. Everything was tight and sounded excellent, but with drummer Patrick Wilson playing drums instead of guitar, it didn’t feel like an authentic Weezer set but more like Rivers Cuomo fronting a Weezer karaoke cover band. Their set went over well with the enthusiastic crowd, however, and 15 year old songs like “Say It Ain’t So” and “The Sweater Song” sounded as fresh as they did back then. The addition of a new single and a strange one man version of “Island In the Sun” slowed the pace of the set a little, but all in all it was an enjoyable precursor to Blink.
After what seemed like eternity,Tom Delonge, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker, all present and accounted for, finally took the stage. The band wasted no time ripping through “Dumpweed” and “Feeling This”, and the crowd went insane. Delonge was clearly stepping into the role of lead singer for the evening, covering for the grieving Hoppus. When all was said and done, Delonge sang lead on 14 of the 18 songs played, strange for a band famous for splitting time equally between two singers.
The set was pretty evenly spread throughout Blink’s six studio albums, including songs from each. The greatest hits, like “What’s My Age Again?” and “All the Small Things” were played with great energy, and a few more obscure cuts like the b-side “Not Now” and “Violence” were peppered in as well. Hoppus pogoed around like he was 27 instead of 37, and Barker pounded his drums furiously, adding extra fills here and there. Delonge raced back and forth strumming and swaying, often dropping to his knees in a song’s climax. As expected, Delonge handled most of the in between song banter for his saddened bandmates. It was painfully obvious to everyone that Blink-182 did not want to be in Hartford that night, but they were pulling through and playing to the best of their ability for their fans and DJ-AM. Delonge tried his best to keep the mood light, making jokes about Oprah and Brad Pitt and spontaneously breaking into dance. However, at one point Hoppus asked that the lights be brought down so he could say a few words. He struggled to tell the crowd what a horrible day yesterday had been, and much Goldstein had meant to he and Barker. “He was an innovator, and he was a genius, and above all, he was a great friend” Hoppus told a near silent crowd before bursting into tears. A moment of silence was held, and a kind of eerie, uncomfortable feeling settled over the crowd. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that performers are people too, and it’s hard to imagine performing for 30,000 people the day after the loss of a close friend. Hoppus dedicated “Down” in Goldstein’s honor. Blink’s famous anti-suicide anthem, coincidentally titled “Adam’s Song”, was noticeably absent from the set.
The trio closed their set with 2001’s “Anthem Part 2” before retreating backstage for a few minutes. They returned for a two song encore, “Carousel” and the perpetual closer and fan favorite “Dammit” off of 1997’s Dude Ranch. All in all, it was a triumphant, if painful, return to Connecticut for the band. After all the harsh words and time apart, after all the rumors of strained friendships and money earned, there was a moment that said it all. Returning for the encore, a visibly shaken Barker seated himself behind his drum kit and wiped away the tears that were streaming down his face. Delonge walked back to the drums from his side of the stage and lightly rubbed Barker’s arm, saying something to his bandmate. Barker looked up woefully and nodded, and Delonge walked back to his side of the stage. It was quick, the whole thing took maybe 10 seconds. No one knows exactly what was said between those two, and probably no one ever will. But some things are just better left between friends.

The Used - Artwork

Wow, that was a fucking terrible summer with no internet. Fuck my life. Back at it. Let's bitch about some music. Here we go.

Utah based rock band the used have spent the last seven years cranking out consistently strange and abrasive bursts of blood curdling screamo and radio ready grunge punk sing-along’s like “The Taste of Ink” and “Take It Away”. Their first two stellar releases, 2002’s The Used and 2004’s In Love And Death became genre defining milestones for the recent crop of Warped Tour standouts they left inspired in their wake. However, 2007’s Lies For the Liars (the only Used album to sell less than 500,000 copies), while certainly an excellent album, seemed a little to experimental for some Used diehards, and as a result the band has fallen off the map a little bit in recent years. Fast forward to 2009: The Used have released Artwork, a definite return to form and the most cohesive body of music the band have released since their debut. Part of the credit should certainly be placed on producer Matt Squire, as this is the first time the band have worked with anyone other than Goldfinger front-man John Feldmann manning the boards. Squire, mostly known for his work with pop punk acts like Panic At the Disco and All Time Low, injects a little Top 40 cleanliness into the usual rasp-and-howl of lead singer Bert McCracken. Yes, McCracken has certainly made strides in the last few years, as he now sounds like a singer, instead of a screamer trying to be a singer. The album’s lead single “Blood On My Hands” is perhaps the best vocal performance McCracken’s well worn pipes have ever produced, and “Meant to Die” would definitely not be out of place on a pop radio station. The Most Improved Band Member award however, goes to guitarist Quinn Allman. Allman’s axe work has taken a back seat on previous records, but his distorted, noodling crunch singlehandedly forms the backbone of Artwork. For once, all eyes are not on McCracken. The album’s second track, “Empty Without You”, with its’ intricate, electronic sounding picking sounds like Allman has been taking guitar lessons from AFI’s Jade Puget, while “Born to Quit” features one of the best opening riffs of 2009. If you’ve loved anything the Used have put out before, you will enjoy this album immensely. Artwork showcases a band that has finally found their sound after years of soul searching, and oh, what a sweet sound it is.