Hands Tied "Through The Wreckage" (2010)

Track Listing:

1) These Hands

2) Empty Words

It's not often that there is a record coming out that I know about that I get as excited as I got for this one. The only problem was it came out on 7 inch vinyl, and I don't have a record player. Luckily, I needed something to get Mark Rooster for his birthday, and I instantly thought of this. Originally the plan was to go over to his house, listen to it, and then write this review, but Revelation Records came through and sent me a code for a digital download. By the time I got it, I had other things that I needed to write about first. I'm happy to finally be getting to this.

The very first thing that I would like to say about this "EP" is something that Mark and Walt both pointed out. It should be called a single instead of an EP. It's two tracks, an A side and B side. That's the one thing I don't like about it. It's not nearly long enough. Hands Tied is playing a bunch of shows, so I'm assuming that they wanted to put something out so the fans had something in their hands other than the self titled EP. Other than that complaint, I can't say a bad thing about this. It's a bit more aggressive than the earlier EP, but it's tight all the way around. Musically it's fucking amazing. The intro to "Empty Words" is by far one of my favorite song intros ever. It's definitely something that everyone should have. Go to the Revelation page and order it. You won't be sorry, unless you're like me and don't have a record player. I can't wait to hopefully see these guys, and for the release of the full length we all (Walt, Mark, and I) think is coming in the not to distant future.

Record a Day #8- Face the Enemy "Through It All" (2002)

Track Listing:

1. Broken Dreams

2. Not a Chance

3. Through It All

4. Substitute

I'll admit that I had no clue who Face the Enemy was when I bought this EP on my trip to Double Decker Records a few months ago (mentioned previously). I've since learned a little bit and know that it's another of Tim McMahon's bands (along with Hands Tied, Mouthpiece, and Triple Threat). I know they aren't a local band or even a PA band, but all four of the Tim McMahon's bands are the reason that I mentioned I'd include Jersey bands too.

The four tracks whiz by in a fury of straight edge youth crew sound. All the tracks are well written, both lyrically and musically. The breakdown that starts 30 seconds before the end of "Not a Chance" is awesome and every time I've listened to the album has gotten my head bobbing and toes tapping. "Substitute" is by far my favorite of the four tracks. It's fast aggressive and doesn't pull any punches. I definitely recommend picking this up. It's the perfect length to listen to on quick trip (I literally mean quick, since it's barely 7 minutes long)

Check out Tim McMahon's blog (http://doublecrosswebzine.blogspot.com/). It's a good read, thanks to Mark for showing it to me.