The return and H2O "California" (2011)

Well, it's been a hell of a long time since I've written anything for this blog, and I figured it was about time for me to make a (not-so) triumphant return. I've been listening to a shit ton of music recently, but haven't had much of an urge to write anything. I'm not sure if that's because of laziness or because I've just been in one of those weird places that it's hard to dig myself out of. Either way, I'm back and I'm going to try and go back to letting this be an outlet/distraction/worth while hobby. With all of that out of the way, let's get on with it......

Part of my motivation for finally writing something is that H2O released a new 7 inch two weeks ago, and Skarhead just released a new record. These are both two bands I thoroughly enjoy listening to, so I've been pretty amped for both of these releases. However, they're cover records, which I've been hard pressed to find one that I've enjoyed listening to. Today I'm going to focus on the H2O 7 inch, "California", and tomorrow I'll tackle the Skarhead record, "Dreams Don't Die".

A little background on this record, for those of you who don't know. Along with this 7 inch, H2O is releasing two more (Washington, DC & New York City) as pre-cursors to their upcoming full length cover record, "Don't Forget Your Roots" (release date: 11/15). Each 7 inch has a track that won't be on the full length.

As I said not that long ago, more often than not, I'm not a fan of cover records. They always seem like too much effort was put into doing someone else's songs that could have been put into doing your own tracks. Since I'm not a musician, that's probably ultra-judgmental and me talking out of my ass, but generally they seem like a waste to me. That being said, I've already listened to this 3 track 7 inch about 8 times, and have enjoyed it more and more every time. It kicks off with a the Circle Jerks "Beverly Hills" (this track will not be on DFYR) and it's phenomenal. They're take on one of my favorite Rancid songs, "Journey to the End of the East Bay", is on point. Don't get me wrong, Tim Armstrong is an amazing vocalist, but it's a whole lot easier to understand what Toby is saying. They wrap it up with Social D's "Sick Boy", and once again it's another tight track. In both of the last two tracks they change up the lyrics a little bit, so on the first couple of listen it sounded strange and caught me off guard. However, they work. The new lyrics fit H2O and in the case of "Sick Boy" update the song. I'd definitely recommend trying to get your hands on this 7 inch if you can, but from what I gathered from their Facebook page, there are virtually none left. You might just have to wait for "Don't Forget Your Roots"

1. Beverly Hills (Circle Jerks)
2. Journey to the End of the East Bay (Rancid)
3. Sick Boy (Social Distortion)

Defeater "Dear Father" 2011

Yesterday marked the release of Defeater's "Dear Father" EP. It previews their upcoming full length, "Empty Days & Sleepless Nights". From what the information I found on Bridge Nine's website, "Empty Days & Sleepless Nights" is going to be 10 of the heavy hardcore tracks that Defeater is becoming known for, as well as 4 acoustic tracks.

This whole EP carries on the narrative style of Defeater's other releases. It's difficult for me to say which song I like more. The styles are drastically different. "Dear Father" is the heavier of the two tracks, but the story doesn't get lost in needless guitar riffs or breakdowns. "I Don't Mind" is one of the acoustic tracks, and it's amazing. It's a complete change of pace from "Dear Father", and it works well. The storytelling in both of these tracks is fantastic, and I'm seriously eager for the release of "Empty Days & Sleepless Nights" on March 8th.

Track Listing:

1) Dear Father

2) I Don't Mind

Madball "All or Nothing" Video Premiere

Last week I saw that BlacknBlue Productions posted Madball's new video for their song "All or Nothing" off of Empire. I didn't have a chance to actually watch it until today, and I'm glad I did. "All or Nothing" was definitely one of my favorite songs on the album, and the video doesn't disappoint. Michael Distelkamp and Freddy Madball did a fantastic job with the direction, and the video fits the song perfectly. Vinnie Stigma makes a cameo appearance that works very well. You should definitely check it out.

BlacknBlue Productions in association with Convoy Films

I plan on posting at least 3 more reviews this week, lets see if I stick to it

Wisdom in Chains "Pocono Ghosts" (2011)

Remember a couple of days ago how I said that Wisdom in Chains has a new 7 inch coming out in a month or so on Reaper Records? Well, since then a couple of things have happened. First, Reaper Records finally put up a pre-order. The pre-order is available in a gold or a red vinyl, and the three tracks that are on the record were put up on Stereokiller.com.

While I’m sitting here writing this post, I’m listening to all three songs over and over and over and over. From the second “In Case You Forgot” kicks in, you’ll tell that this isn’t going to be anything but a great fucking listen. The lyrics are amazing. It’s hard to say what exactly the song is about because the lyrics can be interpreted a few ways. That is absolutely NOT a bad thing. Everyone has someone in their lives that they can relate this song to, whether it’s a significant other, a best friend, or children. It’s the type of song that I’ve come to expect from these guys. Meaningful, thought out lyrics with the aggression and intensity that gets the point across without any filler nonsense. “Spit It Back” is just as intense. Again, lyrically it’s a fantastic song, and the driving aggressive guitar riffs mesh well with everything else going on in the song. They finish up the 7 inch with a cover of Motorhead’s song “R.A.M.O.N.E.S.”. While it’s not an original, it was a great choice. I’ve heard the Motorhead version and the version the Ramones actually do of this song, and it’s done justice here. In my opinion it’s a perfect mesh of both versions. Musically it’s got the bouncy punk feeling the Ramones gave it, and Mad Joe’s vocals capture the grit of Lemmy.

To say that I’m excited about this 7 inch would be an understatement. Since the very first time I saw Wisdom in Chains a couple years ago with Sick of It All at “The Church” in Philadelphia, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to them. Add to that the fact that they are all great guys, it was a forgone conclusion that I would be buying this as soon as possible. Getting to listen to it before it’s released is sending me completely into “fan-boy” mode.

Deviates "My Life" (1998) and "Time Is the Distance" (2001)

Here's a band that showed a lot of promise and disappeared with almost no notice. I suppose, you know, two albums, that's more than most hc/punk bands put out, so that's all right--but both albums are so good, it's just too bad they didn't stick around long enough to put out a third.

The Deviates, from southern California, put out their first record, "My Life," on Theologian Records, in 1998. Produced by Fletcher Dragge of Pennywise, it's sixteen fast songs, two minutes each on average, with lots of great riffs and very melodic choruses. "My Life," "One Day," "Classes," "I Remember," and "Land of Opportunities," are among the best tunes on the album, but really, they're all great, with the small exception of "Who's Johnny," which has such ridiculous lyrics, the music is somewhat overshadowed. Everything else, though, lyrically and musically, is fast, intense, and fun. A lot of their songs tell stories too; I like when bands do that.

Their second album, "Time Is the Distance," came out on Epitaph three years later, and it took me a little while to get into it, but once I did, and realized what a good record it was, I started listening to it even more than "My Life." The album features a very slick recording sound, which turned me off at first. Forgive the cliche, but there's something really cool about the "raw" sound of "My Life."

"Time Is the Distance" is good in other ways, though. It continues the storytelling style of the first album, and is much darker and moodier than "My Life." But that in no way means it's slower. They continue their style of fast, melodic hardcore, but there's something much more pessimistic about the album's lyrics. Kinda makes you wonder what happened to them, or to their singer anyway, in the three years between records. Standout tracks are "Come With Me," "Right Back To You," and "So I Become," but again, they're all good, with the exception of "My Crime," a lyrical misfire about how the singer likes to curse, and people shouldn't give him a hard time about it. Uh-huh. . . . Otherwise, great album.

I saw these guys a few times when they were together, and was disappointed to hear they'd broken up. I don't recall any kind of announcement; I just went on their site one day and saw that they'd thrown in the towel. It would have been interesting to see how they'd further develop their sound with a third album, but it was not to be. Check em out; definitely one of the more impressive, and rarely talked about, SoCal punk bands to come out of the late 90's/early 00's scene.

Supertouch "Lost My Way" (2011)

Today marked the release of Supertouch’s 7 inch, “Lost My Way”, on Reaper Records. I won’t sit here and pretend that I’m a big Supertouch fan, because I’m not. I’ve had the opportunity to listen to it a bunch of times, and my opinion on it is that it’s a good record. The songs are well written lyrically and musically, but I’m not real sure what the big deal is. I’ve listened to “The Earth is Flat” a whole lot, and “Lost My Way” isn’t as heavy. We’ll get back to this in a second. The title track, “Lost My Way” is in my opinion the best on the 7 inch, but just like the others it sounds like an indie rock track instead of a hardcore track. I’ve been confused as to how Supertouch is classified as hardcore. When I saw them at the Black and Blue Bowl last year, and then with listening to “The Earth is Flat” and now “Lost My Way”, I’m even more confused. Maybe one of you that actually reads this blog can fill me in, because especially now, I feel like they’re an indie rock band. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t listen to this, it’s definitely worth listening to. I just don’t see it as a hardcore record. Let me know what you think.

Track Listing:

1. Get On Get On

2. Just These Days

3. Lost My Way

4. Now That You're Far From Home

Wisdom in Chains "Die Young" Vinyl Re-issue

A week and a half ago I was on RevHQ.com, trying to figure out if I wanted to order the new Social Distortion record, “Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes”. I was looking through the list of records releasing on January 18^th, and when I got to the very bottom of the list, I immediately knew I wasn’t ordering the Social D record. Cupcake Records did a vinyl re-issue of one of my top 3 favorite hardcore albums, Wisdom in Chain’s “Die Young” (the other two are H2O’s “FTTW” and Blood for Blood’s “Outlaw Anthems”). I ordered it immediately without hesitation, and I’ve been waiting less than patiently for it to arrive, and FINALLY today it showed up.

I’ve owned “Die Young” on CD for a while, so getting it on vinyl wasn’t completely necessary, but with my new addiction to vinyl, it had to be done. I’m glad I ordered it. As great as it was on cd, the experience of listening to it on vinyl is worth it. The vinyl is missing the live versions of “Dragging Me Down” and “We’re Not Helping” and the track “Snakes” that are on the CD, but they’re replaced with “Looking Down on a Friend”. While the three tracks on the CD are great and a lot of fun to listen to, they aren’t missed as much as I thought they would be, because “Looking Down on a Friend” is a great song.

Now that it’s here, I have my top 3 albums on vinyl, and I plan on adding more. You can order the vinyl (or the CD) from RevHQ.com. Wisdom in Chains also has a new 7” releasing Feb/March on Reaper Records called “Pocono Ghosts”, keep your eyes out for that.

LP Track Listing:

1. We're Not Helping

2. Liar

3. Nowhere

4. One of These Days

5. Fade

6. Dragging Me Down

7. The Game of War

8. Pass the Cup

9. Friday Night Drama

10. Die Young

11. Fighting in the Streets

12. Too Far Gone

13. Get To Steppin'

14. Out of Season

15. Time to Play

16. Smash Your Face

17. Nothing Like You

18. Looking Down On a Friend