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Hot Water Music

Till the Wheels Fall Off
No Idea (2008)

People who find this band excellent or entertaining have an intimate love affair with them and their blue collar, dirt under the fingernails, dyed in the wool punk rock. It was a sad day indeed when this foursome of the people called it quits (for the second or third time in their existence) after leaving behind a swath of full … Read more

The Out_Circuit

Pierce the Empire with a Sound
Lujo (2008)

Frodus is one of those bands that just didn't seem to get the recognition they truly deserved until after their breakup, and they're still extremely overlooked. Following their demise in 1999, bassist Nathan Burke started up his own project with friend Andy Gale. The Out_Circuit is what it became and the band eventually released its first album, Burn Your Scripts … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Final Verdict

Reaching for Something Better
Independent (2007)

Typical mid-tempo to fast metal-core that thankfully takes its queues from early 90's metallic hardcore than it does from the fashion inspired Sweden riff infested crap of the earlier part of this decade. The first track, "Cry Havok," is best of the seven songs on here with its sludgy yet melodic onslaught to the ears. It's heavy sounding, yeah no … Read more

200 Words Or Less

The Maine

The Way We Talk
Fearless (2007)

I could tell right away from the faux 60's hippie cover art to the band photo wherein three out of four members have the exact same swoop haircut that I was going to crap all over this five song CDEP. Okay, sometimes the swoop is on the left side of their acne scared faces versus the right, but still. Is … Read more

200 Words Or Less

The Mumlers

Thickets and Stitches
Galaxia (2008)

Busy! From the packaging onward, The Mumlers emit an adorably quirky vibe far too big to fit into their little debut album. The seven piece from San Jose bring us Thickets and Stitches, a blues inspired-folk fused indie rock ditty of a record. As one might expect from the aforementioned description, the disc sees a wide variety of instruments accompanying … Read more

200 Words Or Less

The Photographic

Pictures of a Changing World
Galaxia (2008)

Clocking in at just under an hour, Pictures of a Changing World is truly a cohesive release encompassing a gamut of emotions; a valiant task considering The Photographic don't have the luxury of words. Like most instrumental bands the two-piece is heavily reliant on reoccurring themes while expanding on such ideas with the help of loops. The effort comes across … Read more

200 Words Or Less

All Teeth and Knuckles

Club Hits to Hit the Club With
Lujo (2007)

This is what happens when trust fund kids with expendable bank accounts get their hands on keyboards and samplers: an album of weak dance tracks with sing-speak vocalists telling bad jokes about people they despise. I'm sure this is supposed to be a joke, but then there's some truth to it. These gentlemen thrive on bar and club culture. Imagine, … Read more

Multiple Authors

The Loved Ones

Build & Burn
Fat Wreck Chords (2008)

Build & Burn begins with what ostensibly sounds like an unsure Loved Ones. The first three tracks are throwbacks of three very different styles of punk rock. The first song "Pretty Good Year," a b-side from Keep Your Heart, finds the band treading ground already heard on previous releases, adding more of a pop element to the more rock than … Read more

Multiple Authors

The Loved Ones

Build & Burn
Fat Wreck Chords (2008)

The Loved Ones entered my radar with their first EP for Jade Tree, which converted me with "100K," a staccato blast that sounded like Hot Water Music after a handful of amphetamines. Any doubts I may have had vanished with the release of 2006's Keep Your Heart, an unassuming bucket of anthems that sounds almost like Shock Troops updated for … Read more

Sol

Let There be a Massacre
Ván (2007)

You know how to work that evil shit when you can make an accordion sound sinister. Even by the strictest of doom metal standards this is one gloomy-ass album. Like a lot of the pure metal coming out of Europe these days, Sol is the work of one man, Denmark-born Emil Brahe, who has created perhaps the quintessential album of … Read more

Wyclef Jean

Carnival Volume II: Memoirs of an Immigrant
Columbia (2007)

In 2001, Nas released Stillmatic, a direct play on his first album Illmatic, and an indicator that he was still on top of the rap world. The album's single "Got Ur Self a Gun" featured Nas reminiscing on his previous efforts, stating, "My first album had no famous guest appearances. The outcome? I'm crowned the best lyricist." Stillmatic had no … Read more

Planes Mistaken for Stars

We Ride to Fight: The First Four Years
No Idea (2008)

One might be hard pressed to envision a band that seems to exemplify a road warrior type touring ethic than that of the hard working group, Planes Mistaken for Stars. It is a sad day to see these stalwarts finally calling it a day after three albums and numerous EPs, particularly after the release of Mercy, which I still think … Read more

Souvenir's Young America

An Ocean Without Water
Crucial Blast (2007)

From the reviewer's initial notes made upon first hearing the album: Quiet + Loud + Quiet + Harmonica = Souvenir's Young America What a sad, lazy reviewer I am. And, as always, lazy reviewing makes for lazy reading, so if the above equation says it all for you, Godspeed my child. For readers with more moxie, yes, the above equation … Read more

Iron Lung

Sexless / No Sex
Prank (2007)

Why in the hell did I sleep on this record last year? Given, this did come out kind of late in the 2007, and with all the hoopla surrounding end of year lists and such, I guess it just slipped under my radar. A couple of Saturdays ago while in my local record store, the Nick Blinko (artist for Rudimentary … Read more

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