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Saints Never Surrender

Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst
Blood & Ink (2007)

Every once in awhile I use the Internet's greatest invention, Youtube, to get a feel for a band by either watching live performances or perhaps a music video if one is provided. Fort Wayne's Saints Never Surrender had a low budget video in which they show the band eating at Taco Bell, someone two-stepping everywhere, and some live footage where … Read more

Hayaino Daisuki

Headbanger's Karaoke Club Dangerous Fire
Hydra Head (2008)

Ah, the long awaited return - at least among Discordance Axis fans - of Jon Chang the vocalist of the regrettably extinct grind outfit Discordance Axis. Hayaino Daisuki is one of two new groups (Gridlink being the other) for which Chang is providing vocals and words. And if these lyrics are anything like the sci-fi reference filled nerd out that … Read more

Arsonist

Eat Shit
Independent (2007)

Eat Shit is just over five minutes of some of the most angry music I have heard in a long time. Although I didn't expect myself to say this for a long long time, this demo is so angry that it is refreshing. Arsonist is a genuinely pissed off band with something to say, along the lines of classics like … Read more

Wolves & Thieves

Demo
Independent (2008)

Wolves & Thieves play melodic rock n' roll-inspired hardcore seeping with East Bay flavor. In the same way The Suicide File and Hour of the Wolf play music definitively rooted in hardcore punk, albeit with a heavy rock n' roll influence, Wolves & Thieves unquestionably sound like a hardcore punk band. They simply refuse to be fettered with the frustrating … Read more

The Black Hollies

Casting Shadows
Ernest Jenning (2008)

The Black Hollies feature three-fifths of Jersey City's Rye Coalition, but don't expect Casting Shadows, the trippy-covered Ernest Jenning release to match Rye Coalition's dirty rock. The Black Hollies play a blend of psychedelic and 60's garage-pop, complete with flowery imagery, sweet harmonies, and fuzzy guitar interludes. The album shifts between fuzzed out psychedelic and group harmony pop, with the … Read more

Capsule

Blue
Robotic Empire (2008)

Right off the bat, Capsule's Blue - their first full length and first record for Robotic Empire - is visually stunning in a way that immediately draws one's attention to it, No, it is not all bright colors, but Blue is blessed with a much more subtle example of artwork which effectively utilizes negative space on the cover in the … Read more

Braintoy

Vehicles
Independent (2008)

Whether the music a band presents is groundbreaking or not, it's undoubtedly an awesome accomplishment when its members learn and develop much quicker than expected - as such is the case with Braintoy. Like most young artists just starting out, they saw it fit to hone their sound almost footprint-to-footprint with their influences. Braintoy's 2005 EP, Tremors, saw the crew … Read more

Carnal Knowledge

Demo
Independent (2008)

Carnal Knowledge deliver a nice blend of fuzzy guitar-driven punk that is reminiscent of the nascent riot grrl records crossed with the East Bay bounce that anyone growing up punk in the 90's grew to love. And to top it off, they have dual vocals - something I've been a sucker for ever since I first heard Blatz. While their … Read more

5ive

Hesperus
Tortuga (2008)

A two-piece band before the format became de rigueur in hipster circles, 5ive (from Massachusetts not the boy band from the UK) play an instrumental doom-like style that incorporates psych elements to create a true sense of atmosphere and other worldly sounds - an impressive feat coming from just a guitarist and a drummer. Hesperus is the band's third full-length … Read more

Rocket from the Crypt

R.I.P.
Swami/Vagrant (2008)

It was a sad, sad day when I learned that Rocket from the Crypt had called it a day. Seriously, here was a band that attempted to put the swagger and brashness back into rock and roll with a panache and flair still unrivalled to this point. They have been gone now for several years with only their massive back … Read more

Ride Your Bike

Bad News from the Bar
Deep Elm (2008)

Bad News from the Bar serves as a soundtrack for a screenplay that Ride Your Bike member Mike Getches wrote. In the supposed movie which I shall entitle Emo Schlock #24564, he tells the story of childhood friends Lillian and Elliot drifting apart due to Elliot's big city dreams. Apparently they find each other again through police interrogators, druggie neighbors, … Read more

Lair of the Minotaur

War Metal Battle Master
Southern Lord (2008)

It is now five years into Lair of the Minotaur's existence and I think its safe to say that this band is not a gimmick or a novelty act in the least. Sure, their lyrics are based on Greek mythology and their sound harkens back to the 1980's, but Lair of the Minotaur is the real deal. This three-piece is … Read more

She & Him

Volume One
Merge (2008)

She is Zooey Deschanel, the actress and apparently all around talented individual. I remember the moment that is etched into my retina whenever I think of her is in the movie Almost Famous when she grasps the protagonist (her character's little brother) by the shoulders and proclaims to him, "One day, you will be cool" while staring at him with … Read more

Baby Guts

Gasoline
Guilt Ridden Pop (2007)

The profound influence of punk on the grunge movement should not be understated. By the time it had reached national recognition, that lineage wasn't as obvious as it was in the beginning. But my point is that when stripped down to its bare essentials, grunge is, much like 80s hardcore, loud, fast, angry, and an embodiment of youth. This brings … Read more

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