(Label) [Original Publication]
UNSACRED HEARTS, THE: In Defense of Fort Useless: CD
It sounds like these guys listen to tons of Operation Ivy. Granted, this isn’t really punk, and I can’t really say that it’s as good as Operation Ivy, but I mean come on – that would just be silly. It’s not bad. – Joe Evans III (Serious Business) [Jersey Beat]
VARIOUS ARTISTS: And You’ll Spin: A Tribute to Big Drill Car: CD
I’ll be honest, I’m not the most knowledgeable guy about Big Drill Car, but I love me some Descendents, ALL, and similar stuff ( often jazzy, etc.). Not to mention I already know of two of the bands on here that are local to me (Amber Jets and Groucho Marxists) that go nuts over all that stuff. For a compilation, it flows pretty smoothly as all the covers are pretty straight forward, which is impressive since some of these recordings are a few years old. I’m going to say if you haven’t checked them out yet, this isn’t a bad way to get into Big Drill Car. –Joe Evans III (Itchy Korean) [Razorcake]
VARIOUS ARTISTS – Anti-Disco League vol/ 1: CD
Yikes, this looks like an Oi! comp, and my last experience with Oi! was getting a boot to the head while watching Hard Skin. Anyway, it’s an old 70’s street punk/Oi! style comp, there’s some ok songs, there’s some bad ones, you know the routine by now. – Joe Evans III (Temple Comb) [Jersey Beat]
VARIOUS ARTISTS – “Black on Black: A Tribute to Black Flag” CD
Tribute records are often questionable, this one’s in the middle. Not that I’m a first hand witness, but most of Black Flag’s edge came from the fact that they were most likely a bunch of completely insane individuals. However, most of these bands sound as if it’s a “Who can play faster/with more distortion/more growling” competition, and seems like it’s missing the point. There are some decent tracks with good grooves though. I’d say this is geared towards modern Flag enthusiasts, who still buy records made after 1988. – Joe Evans III (Reignition) [Jersey Beat]
VARIOUS ARTISTS: New York VS New Jersey Punk Rock Battle Royale!: CD
I’m so torn on this. On the pro side: This is a great comp. The point is to listen to the songs (with bands from both states, including The Ergs!, Unlovables, Hunchback, Steinways, and more) and vote on which ones you like best (with the winning bands from each state doing another 7” of their own, and will then “square off” from there so to speak). It makes this more than just another product for people to buy, offering incentive for people to really take some more interest into this sort of thing. It’s very Minutemen-esque in my opinion. On the con side: I’m going to have to listen to so many New Yorkers telling me why they’re so much better than everywhere else in the world, it’s not even funny. –Joe Evans III (Crafty) [Razorcake]
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Spastics Music Volume One: CD
I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure this is a collection of bands from the Midwest. I couldn’t find any label info (the website they provide didn’t work for me), but there’s a number of weird indie rock/post punk bands (some that sound a lot like Girls Vs. Boys, one that sounded like Against Me! by way of Hootie and the Blowfish), as well as one of my favorite Modern Machines songs. Other than that, the other highlights to me were the Crossed Wires and PB Army songs. I’d be interested to hear what else the label’s up to, if I could find any info on it. –Joe Evans III (Spastics) [Razorcake]
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Under The Radar: Volume 1: CD
From the looks of the cover, I initially thought this was going to be all sorts of crazy metal, but as the old saying goes, I was wrong. Here are 22 different bands that actually span a decent variety, from trashy rock, to some acoustic stuff, to weird noise. There still seemed to be a long block of “I love drugs and murdering people” songs, which I couldn’t really get into on account that I don’t do either. This is more of a “See if there’s anything you like” kind of record. – Joe (Antidote) [Razorcake]
VARSITY WEIRDOS, THE: Fly Me Up To The Moon: 7” EP
“Don’t Back Down” by The Queers paced pop punk, only the singer isn’t trying to cop Brian Williams. I’ve mentioned it before, if you’re into pop punk, watch It’s Alive, because this came on colored vinyl, with a poster, and fancy CDR, so you know they don’t mess around. Also, I’m going to point out that one of the dudes on the cover of this is wearing nearly the same Soviettes shirt as I am now, so I like the cut of his jib. –Joe Evans III (It’s Alive) [Razorcake]
VENA CAVA: Weapons Of Mass Communication: CDEP
Vena Cava accomplishes something great; they manage to take the weird, quirky, yet interesting musicianship often found in post punk bands (like Hot Snakes, for a quick example) and put it into some damn creative DIY punk. This EP is another perfect example. –Joe Evans III (ADD) [Razorcake]
WELCOME HOME
This 7” came with a note mentioning “members of the Soda Pop Kids and From Ashes Rise”. Well color ME intrigued. This is some garage tinged power pop, that’s pretty awesome. –Joe Evans III (Gone Home) [Razorcake]
XASTHUR: Subliminal Genocide: CD
Yeah yeah yeah, “most earsplitting record ever”. I’d agree, if it weren’t the most boring thing ever. I’m not even sure how this can be considered metal per se; musically, it just sounds like weird, creepy atmosphere for some haunted temple or something. The vocals (which are often sparse) are so over the top “rawr rawr rawr” growl-y that they not only don’t even sound human (and this is coming from a Spazz fan), BUT they sound like the microphone was in one room, and the wild animal that made the noise was in another. Don’t try to pull the “oh, you just don’t UNDERSTAND it” card on me. Oh, I understand it, it’s supposed to be all scary and intimidating. That doesn’t keep it from being boring as hell. – Joe Evans III (Hydra Head) [Jersey Beat]
XXXMANIAK: Harvesting the Cunt Nectar: CD
Grind/”We’re dirtbags”-core: It’s all blast beats and samples from weird snuff porn. I can’t say I know for sure, but I’d be willing to bet if you called them up they’d be all “Why hello, how are you today?” – Joe Evans III (Self Made God) [Jersey Beat]
ZATOPEKS, THE: Damn Fool Music: CD
The latest release from these prolific Europeans, who are known for their take on pop punk crossed with rock’n’roll. They seem to try to take things a little further on this one as well, with some subtle indie rock and jazz influences (especially on “Daily Mail”, which is one of my favorite tracks on the record). Other miscellaneous thoughts that popped into my head while listening involved wondering if Sonic Iguana had moved to overseas, and that the vocals sounding like a pop punk cross between Jello Biafra and Leonard Graves Phillips. –Joe Evans III (Whoa Oh) [Razorcake]
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