I have a new home... The Punk Site

So guess what!  I'm now reviewing over at The Punk Site!  Don't worry though, I haven't sold out to corporate America - nothing will change - I'll still be brining you the most transparent reviews I can, only now more people than ever will be able to use my reviews to make informed decisions.  The Punk Site is a great place, run by Bobby Gorman, who is one of the most dedicated individuals I have ever met.  The site is also based out of Canada, so it's really easy to get review copies mailed right to my front door!  This is fantastic because I never know what I'll be reviewing until the package arrives!  So my reviews will likely be all over the spectrum, instead of just the albums I have personally bought (although I can assure you that I'll keep reviewing things I love so that you can all get in on some great underground tunes).  This does mean that my reviews won't necessarily always be on Tuesdays though, so you'll just have to check back regularly to see when something new pops up - but rest assured, I'll be aiming for one per week for as long as my schedule permits, and my free music blog will remain as active as ever.

cheers!

Trophy Scars - Bad Luck

Artist: Trophy Scars

Album: Bad Luck

Label: Self Released

Read my review at thepunksite.com

Pulley - Time-Insensitive Material

Artist: Pulley

Album: Time-Insensitive Material

Label: X-Members

Pulley has, and always will, perfectly embody 90's melodic hardcore skate-punk.  Their 2004 masterpiece, Matters, kept the dying genre alive and well.  I still find myself humming memorable tracks like "Insects Destroy" and "A Bad Reputation."  But then the band just sort of faded away.  Their dismissal from former label Epitaph likely didn't help matters, since the band had to find a new home before releasing new material.  But freedom can also be liberating (The band refers to themselves as "FREE AGENTS" on their myspace).  So rather than aligning themselves with a new label, the band opted to form their own label, X-Members.  While their latest release, a five song EP titled Time-Insensitive Material, took time to finally surface while the band settled on distribution details, the result was well worth the wait.

As already mentioned, each of the album's five tracks sound like perfect 90's melodic punk.  Pulley has not been shaped by modern trends that have transformed "punk" into what can generously be called "power pop."  They don't sound like The All American Rejects, they don't sound like Marina's Trench, and they certainly don't sound like Fall Out Boy.  No, these boys channel the an era when the EpiFat (Epitaph and Fat Wrech Chords) regime was synominous with "punk."  Pulley has, an always will, sound like the perfect blend of Bad Religion and No Use For a Name.  Time-Insensitive Material doesn't reinvent the wheel, or even really improve on it, but it doesn't need to.  It's been a long five years since Matters, and I've been starved for the kind of punk rock I grew up with for quite some time.  So a tiny taste of new Pulley material doesn't need to do anything but remind me of how much I miss the days when the genre was plentiful and abundant.

That isn't to say that Pulley doesn't offer anything other than nostalgia.  Each song boasts only the finest melodic vocals, courtesy Scott Radinsky.  Each chorus layers the perfect balance of solo sections and shadow vocals, producing a "full" sound that keeps Radinsky' deadly consistency from becoming repetitive.  Lyrically, Pulley continues their tradition of focusing on social issues and questioning government intent.  For example, "Enemies" explores deceptive government agendas, and uses one of my favourite "Bushisms" (ill thought out, and unintentionally funny, George Bush quotes) to strengthen their point.  When it comes to politics, Pulley knows how to engage their listeners.

I'm quite aware of how biased and personalized this review sounds - but I don't care.  Sometimes I hear an album that simply reminds me why I love music.  Time-Insensitive Material demonstrates that some sounds are indeed timeless.  Fads may come and go, but Pulley lives on.

Bouncing Souls (The) - 20th Anniversary Series: Volume One

Artist: The Bouncing Souls

Album: 20th Anniversary Series: Volume One

Label: Chunksaah Records

Back in January I had often contemplated how I was going to review The Bouncing Soul's 20th Anniversary Series.  Unlike in conventional releases, The Bouncing Souls opted to celebrate their 20th year as a band by independently releasing a new single for each month of 2009.  That makes reviewing the twelve songs rather problematic, since a full review cannot really take place until December, and a monthly review of each song would be overkill.  Thankfully, the band has opted to release their singles physically in a quarterly series of 7" vinyls.  Each album contains four tracks, including an exclusive bonus track.  So for the sake of simplicity, I'll start by reviewing quarter one's 20th Anniversary Series: Volume One.

I have to admit, when I found out that the Souls were bringing back producer Ted Hut, the mastermind responsible for watering down the Souls on 2006's The Gold Record, I was a little skeptical.  While many songs were more than listenable, others like "Lean on Sheena" tried making the Souls into something they weren't.  In other words, their larger than life east coast hardcore sound had been replaced with cookie cutter pop overtones.  Thankfully Hut's return hasn't meant the return of The Gold Record.  Rather, Volume One acts as if The Gold Record never existed.  The opening track, "Gasoline," feels like a throwback to How I Spent My Summer Vacation.  Thanks to lead vocalist Greg Attonito's commanding presence, "Gasoline" has a particularly Anthemic feel that any long time Souls fan will welcome.  

For the next track, "Airport Security," the band takes a step back and calms things down with a slower tempo, and surprisingly, a love song.  Greg writes in regard to the subject matter: "Its a love song from me to my wife with a slice of a political statement/comic relief...but hopefully when the songs starts you forget about me, my wife, politics, comedy and yourself.  If you do...it's a good love song."  Does the song overcome this risk?  The simple answer is yes.  While it edges on the quieter side of the Souls' sound, it provides some nice recovery time countering "Gasoline's" in-you-face aggression.

The third, and final monthly song, "We All Sing Along," returns to the high energy, anthemic feel that "Gasoline" opened with.  The song unquestionably contains one of the Souls most explosive, sing along choruses since Anchors Away's "Sing Along Forever."  The entire track is one big energetic escalation that builds, and builds on, momentum from start to finish.  In fact, it's the perfect track for the disc to end on, making the reserved acoustic set that concludes Volume One in the bonus track, "A Life Less Ordinary," a satisfying fade out.

Volume One's four tracks are great throwbacks to The Bouncing Souls' glory days.  The choruses are anthemic, the highs are high, and the lows and sincere and passionate.  While the tracks were released independently, the first three (and the bonus track) fit together for a coherent and complete experience.  If Volume One is any indication, the 2oth Anniversary Series is going to make 2009 feel like a great year from start to finish.

Passenger Action - Self Titled

Artist: Passenger Action

Album: Self Titled

Label: Smallman Records

Read the review at thepunksite.com

What I'm Listening To - April and May Edition

It's been a busy  few months, but somehow I manage to still keep this place alive.  I even found time to write two reviews for the brand spank'n new releases by The Brains and The Dreadnoughts.  Not bad eh? Where do I find the time...

April was a pretty good month for me.  Specifically, it was a hot month for new punk releases.  Vetran Hellcat Records Street Punkers Left Alone put out their new self titled album to positive critical response, as did British psychobilly group The Grit.  Melodic punk rock group Unit F released their debut full length, and the Montreal country punks in Yesterday's Ring finally released their followup.  NOFX came back after a three year absence with Coaster, and Asian Man Records introduced a new band, For.The.Win., to the world.  I also finally got around to listening to a great little debut EP from Higher Giant, and finally remembered that I wanted to listen to the debut album from a great new, highly passionate street punk band known as The Have Nots.  The indie front was kind of slow, but I found myself really getting into "I Said Stop!"'s lively debut CD, Save the Dinosaurs - definitely worth checking out.  

May, also a little lighter, was also quite good to me.  Red Scare Records finally put out the great new Menzingers EP they had been boasting about, I found out about Alberta's folky country Rum Runner through their latest release, and got my hands on a new album by Dusty Rhodes and the River Band.  I also picked up the latest two Stomp Records releases, the first being a rather enjoyable second effort by The Real Deal, and the second being a reassuring followup by Vancouver's favourite sea shanty quintet, The Dreadnoughts.  In terms of indie I indulged in Electric Owls' long awaited full length debut, and was introduced to long time electronic group Fischerspooner.  

The Dreadnoughts - Victory Square

Artist: The Dreadnoughts

Album: Victory Square

Label: Stomp Records

The Dreadnoughts have the lofty distinction of being the first band to take top honours as this site's "top 20 albums of 2008" champion - so to say that they had large shoes to fill going into this review is an understatement.  I raved about their debut night and day, and nary a friend of mine has yet to be exposed to the shanty tales of Vancouver's newest celtic-punk quintet.  In fact, one of my new year's resolutions was to see The Dreadnoughts live, and in early March that became a glorious reality.  

When deciding on which concert to attend I made sure it was the "CD Release Party" for the band's followup release, Victory Square.  So I set out from my sheltered suburban home to the heart of downtown Vancouver, to a little dive that The Dreadnoughts had come to call home.  But when I arrived at the release party, Victory Square was nowhere to be seen.  Upon talking with violinist Seamus O Flanigan (undoubtedly the highlight of the evening) I learned that the band had just signed with Stomp Records and would be holding the album back until May.  Needless to say, with the delay my anticipation only grew.  

But as the release date grew closer I began having doubts, and I couldn't help but think that I was setting myself up for disappointment.  I couldn't get into the preview songs featured on the band's myspace, and when May 19th rolled around, the clips on iTunes were far from satisfying.  But alas, I reserved judgement until my copy finally arrived in the mail.  What I found upon my first listen was both terrifying and exhilarating.

I soon learned that despite mere months separating their debut from Victory Square, that The Dreadnoughts are a dynamic band who aren't afraid of pushing their musical boundaries.  While their self titled debut featured a pretty speedy tempo, it pales in comparison when placed alongside the intensity, and complexity evident throughout Victory Square.  In fact, the most aggressive songs boast Seamus' fiddle as you've never heard before.  In the opening track, "Hottress," the strokes are absolutely unrelenting, and four tracks later completely steal centre stage in "Samovar."  But the difference isn't merely one of frequency, it's also one of influence.  To expand their sound the band now draws inspiration from eastern european influences, giving the band a slight gypsy tinge reminiscent of Gogol Bordello.  For example, the poetically read "Boneyard" walks a fine line between celtic and gypsy music.  And to further complicate thing, they even have a traditional instrumental polka half way through the album.  There's no doubt about it, The Dreadnoughts have ambition.

But that isn't to say The Dreadnoughts have abandoned the shanty roots that put them on the map.  Rest assured, The Fang's vocals sound as rough and passionate as ever, and songs like "The West Country," "Grace O'Malley," and "Victory Square" all sound like throwbacks to the larger than life tracks that kicked off The Dreadnoughts' career.  Even the tin whistle makes several welcome appearances and provides an almost maritime-like feel.  With the fiddle taking centre stage in many of the most frantic tracks, a slower tempo provides a great opportunity to reintroduce Seasmus' moody accordion back into the mix.  If I have one real complaint about the stylistic changes, it is that with more fiddle comes less accordion.  It's a small gripe, but one that was likely at the root of my initial scepticism when listening to clips and promotional songs.

Being familiar with The Dreadnoughts' hometown, much of Victory Square's lyrical content really hit home.  While the bulk of songs still hark grand voyages and epic encounters - "Samovar" and "Amsterdam" come to mind - many of the pub anthems have explicit and well developed references to Vancouver's notoriously rough east side.  The band inserts a social consciousness that balances sorrowful realities with vibrant and lively lifestyles.  Specifically, songs like "Ivanhoe" explore Vancouver's pub culture by contrasting the pompous, overpriced (19 dollar beer anyone?) offerings of west side locations like Granville and Robson with the excitement and cheap thrill of Mainstreet dives like the Ivanhoe Hotel.  Meanwhile, the final track, "Victory Square," uses a slow tempo and thoughtful, drawn out fiddle strokes when exploring the visible class divide that quite literally separates Vancouver's lost and forgotten from mainstream society. By employing a balance of celebration and hardship, The Dreadnoughts tactfully capture Vancouver's class struggles without victimizing its east side residents.

So what we end up with a vibrant, socially conscious album that easily helps justify The Dreadnoughts' quick rise to fame.  Despite my initial skepticism, a few listens washed my worries away.  Put simply, anyone who fancy's themselves a Dropkick Murphys, Gogol Bordello, Flogging Molly or general celtic punk enthusiast needs Victory Square.  And now for a cheesy promotional pun that I mean with utmost sincerity - don't let The Dreadnoughts set sail without you, for Victory Square is a journey you won't soon forget.