Arms Aloft
What a Time to Be Barely Alive
Red Scare Industries (2016)
Midtempo punk sounds like such a boring idea.And sometimes it really is.But when it works, it’s hard to top. The chords are still powerful and concise, the frustration and fury still present, but it’s more tempered when the tempo drops down a bit and more powerful when it rises to the top. The vocals need to sneer and snarl instead … Read more
Billy Liar
Some Legacy
Red Scare Industries (2019)
I don’t know much about Billy Liar, but Red Scare has rarely turned out a bad release so I picked Some Legacy out of the pile with some hope -- and it delivers. Liar is a Scottish musician who has been playing under the moniker since 2006. Sometimes he tours solo, sometimes with a band.On Some Legacy there are shades of solo musicians like Billy … Read more
Brendan Kelly & The Wandering Birds
I'd Rather Die Than Live Forever
Red Scare Industries (2012)
I’ve never thought of Brendan Kelly as much of a singer. Sure, I’ve followed his career—hell, Slapstick played at the first real DIY show I ever saw—but he’s always been in that category of “punk vocalist,” who relies on attitude far more than vocal chops. As such, I had pretty mixed feelings coming into his solo project Brendan Kelly & … Read more
Brendan Kelly & The Wandering Birds
Keep Walkin’ Pal
Red Scare Industries (2018)
Does the world really need a ska-tinged surf song about waterboarding? How you answer that question will probably answer how you feel about this record as a whole. Not that such a concept is really a surprise for those who have followed Brendan Kelly’s musical output and sense of humor over the years. While I personally think “Boardin’ USA” feels like … Read more
Broadway Calls
Meet Me On The Moon
Red Scare Industries (2020)
Meet Me On The Moon is a teaser single for the new LP, Sad In The City, which also happens to be Broadway Calls’ first new full-length in almost a decade (which will release close to the time this review publishes). While I knew of the band, I’d never really spent any time with their records. On this short-player, I like what … Read more
Broadway Calls
Sad in the City
Red Scare Industries (2020)
Sad in the City doesn’t mince words. Opening with the lines of “If my country collapses/ can I crash on your couch…” in “Never Take Us Alive.” The band play super melodic pop-punk that focuses more on singalong harmonies than kick, punch and bite, but the lyrics give a little more attitude than you might guess just listening to the beat … Read more
Derek Grant
Breakdown
Red Scare Industries (2015)
Chances are, most listeners have would heard everything on Derek Grant’s 2015 solo album Breakdown before - it seems to imitate everything from the driving road music of Jackson Browne to the ballads of Guns ‘n’ Roses while frequently capturing an alt-country vibe that might be unexpected coming from a musician undoubtedly best known for drumming in punk group Alkaline … Read more
Elway
For the Sake of the Bit
Red Scare Industries (2018)
Elway kick off their latest with “Inches,” a middle finger at those of us listening to and writing about their music. So, well, I’m not the type to throw fuel on the fire so I’ll leave it at that. They’re entitled to their opinions. Tim Browne even shared some great points in an SPB guest column. The notable point in “Inches” … Read more
Elway
Hence My Optimism
Red Scare Industries (2012)
Following a name change from the audibly slick 10-4 Eleanor and absurd legal debacles with John Elway of the Denver Broncos comes the follow-up EP from the Colorado 4-piece’s Red Scare debut. Hence My Optimism shows little progression from Elway’s previous efforts but proves there’s little merit in fixing what isn’t broken. Packing enough energy and rambunctious attitude to rival … Read more
Elway
Leavetaking
Red Scare Industries (2013)
Listening to Elway’s debut Delusions there was a lot of promise. It’s a solid record, nice songwriting, big hooks and memorable choruses. It’s modern Midwestern punk but with a greater ear toward emotion and even a bit of drama, more Lawrence Arms in tone than, say, Banner Pilot. Where Delusions hit a wall was in just how similar it could get to Larry Arms songs, particularly those … Read more
Good Friend
Ride The Storm
Red Scare Industries (2016)
I’m a fan of a select little niche of pop punk. The cleaner the voices, the more I tend to dislike it or just not connect. However, Red Scare Industries has been capturing a nice little segment that hits right in the middle between my proffered gruff stuff with the more up-front and happier sounding ilk (on the surface, anyway). … Read more
Good Friend
The Erin Rose EP
Red Scare Industries (2020)
And the prize for hardest to search for online bandname goes to Good Friend from Belfast. Nah, just kidding, I can think of harder to find bands. No comes to mind or On. As if they don’t want you to know they exist at all. We are not discussing other bands though, we are gathered here today to discuss the merits of The … Read more
Heart & Lung
Twistin' The Knife Away
Red Scare Industries (2021)
Heart & Lung released their debut in 2017, then Red Scare reissued it last year, putting it on my radar. The band is from Cleveland, OH, playing melodic pop-punk with gruff moments. While the debut was fairly call-and-response in song structure, Twistin’ The Knife Away mixes up the songwriting quite a bit throughout its 11 songs. And, as that title suggests, it’s sometimes … Read more
MakeWar
Developing A Theory of Integrity
Red Scare Industries (2016)
One of the reasons I gravitate toward the pop-end of the punk spectrum is because it lacks pretention. The structures are straightforward and honest, often predictable to such a fault that it’s become cliché. That’s why an album like Developing A Theory of Integrity is so refreshing. The overall sound is gruff pop-punk with a verse-chorus-verse foundation and a lot … Read more
Nothington
Borrowed Time
Red Scare Industries (2011)
I’ll be honest, I missed Roads Bridges & Ruins, even after guitarist Chris Matulich said it would be quite a transition from All In. While I liked All In, for whatever reason I never got to its follow-up. 2011’s Borrowed Time is surely a reflection of the evolution in between. The Social Distortion influence is more tempered (though it’s still … Read more
Nothington
In the End
Red Scare Industries (2017)
Few things are stable in this topsy-turvy world. One constant has been Nothington. With the release of In the End, the San Francisco band’s fifth full-length, they’ve continued down the road they started with All In. It’s classic chord-driven punk with a working class, heart on its sleeve aesthetic. Early reviews compared them to Social Distortion, which isn’t horribly inaccurate … Read more
Red City Radio
SkyTigers EP
Red Scare Industries (2018)
Today’s story about wrong first impressions will be about Red City Radio, a some-kind-of-hyphen-punk band from OKC. I’ll admit I’m already behind on first listening to the band just last year – they formed in 2007. That said, I caught a solo acoustic set by lead vocalist Garrett Dale and then watched their last two or three songs as a … Read more
Sam Russo
Back To The Party
Red Scare Industries (2020)
Anytime it’s just one person on the stage, the music being created is going to be intimate and personal. Sometimes it’s so personal that it doesn’t bridge the gap from the stage to the floor. Fortunately, Sam Russo isn’t one of those artists. When he sings, you know it’s about his own life experiences, but it sounds like it’s coming … Read more
