Being in high school when The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most came out, I played the role of the lovesick teenager who, although my heart was always in right place, constantly seemed to be alone. I, however, was just one of thousands of other kids playing the role which - most likely - would have been (so) impossible to do accordingly without the work of Mr. Carrabba. Those songs were not only painstakingly sad but they still had just the right hints of pop sensibility to get stuck in our heads. And so binders and notebooks across the States were defaced with Dashboard Confessional lyrics. I personally remember scribbling some lines from "Ender Will Save Us All" on a friend's notebook when my first love broke up with me during my senior year. Then a sacrilege was committed; Carrabba decided to desecrate his older works, songs that were now considered to be part of the holy scripture of all things "emo", by adding electric guitars. And so the playa hatin' began. While many cried "sellout" to this, others understood that the progression was natural and possibly his way of letting the fans know the direction he would … Read more
I will put this simply. There are too many powerviolence bands. You can find more Myspace pages with Infest and … Read more
I love Sonic Youth. I've been a fan from the beginning. So it is with a heavy heart I say … Read more
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Dark, moody, atmospheric rock from this Athens, GA four piece. Sounds like outtakes from The Cure's Pornography but if Simon Gallup was on ludes instead of acid. "Patroness" tries hard to capture the spirit of Joy Division, but somehow ends up reminding me of a Gary Numan tune. There's enough musical ability to rise above the fray, but next time the style needs to rise above 80's mope rock. Read more
Rather Ripped showcases a slight stylistic shift for Sonic Youth. Their trademarked noisy dirge rock has been subdued a bit to allow a bit of melody to accentuate the more subtle nature of their music. Quite possibly, this may be the most accessible the band has been since Goo and Dirty, which is not a bad thing. At more than … Read more
Melodic hardcore seems to be falling back into favor these days, which is a good thing in my opinion. And Massachusetts' No Trigger provides an excellent debut full-length that doesn't stray from the tried-and-true. Everything you'd expect from a melodic hardcore band is here: breakneck speeds, good ol' guitar solos, gang vocals, etc., and though it's not as fresh a … Read more
Terror is one of the hardest bands ever. Not that being hard makes a band good, but it definitely adds a sense of credibility and relativity when listening to Scott Vogel's lyrics. In a scene, no, a world full of "pussy ass fronters" (Vogelism - 6/14/2005 - West Dundee, IL), it's nice to know there is a band that describes … Read more
Hang Your Cross is déjá vu; my ears relay the message to my head, "We've heard this before... we think." The Hope Conspiracy has made some steps since their last effort, Endnote. However, it's up to the listener to decide in which direction these steps were taken. Depending on how you feel about the band - or if you are … Read more
Okay, okay, yes The Hope Conspiracy is back and Hang Your Cross is the clarion call for their abrasive take on hardcore. Keeping with the their usual revolving door of a line-up, Neeraj Kane (also of The Suicide File) is back on guitar, and Tim Cossar (American Nightmare, Bars, and Ten Yard Fight) joins as the second guitarist. In essence, … Read more
"In such an ugly time the real protest is beauty," said some smart dude once. Right now, July 17 of 2006 at 3:36 p.m. I'm living in one of the ugliest times in the history of the homo sapien. Reading any newspaper makes that abundantly clear with who-knows-what on the horizon. At the moment out of everything that I can … Read more
Unless you haven't heard Envy before, which would be a tragic mistake, then you already know how incredible this Japan-based melodic hardcore band is. This band truly is the instrumental representation of angst and sincerity that is a rare find in the crowded pool of crappy hardcore bands today. That being said, their new album, Insomniac Doze is sure to … Read more
I came to Insomniac Doze with no prior knowledge of Envy, but with a strong interest in Japanese culture. As a country, Japan isn't exactly renowned for its success in the international music scene. Its successful exports tend to be few and far between, offering only a brief glimpse into what is in fact perhaps one of the most diverse … Read more
When searching Daryl Palumbo's name on Wikipedia - a great tool to prolong pointless Internet usage - an interesting passage appears under the trivia headline: "Palumbo is an avid fan of 80's British band Squeeze and the Godzilla universe. He is considered an anglophile." After reading this last line it seems the direction Head Automatica took with Popaganda makes perfect … Read more
Metallic hardcore is easily my favorite genre of not only hardcore, but of all musical genres. My fondness of this genre is a direct result of it being the first type of music I truly immersed myself in. Bands like Integrity, Strife, One King Down, Snapcase, and Indecision among others regularly dominated my Walkman. You know, those things like an … Read more
Putting their best foot forward from the off, Soul She Said's debut record opens with what is easily its strongest track, "Sunken City." Strongly influenced by My Bloody Valentine, early Primal Scream and probably a whole host of hallucinogens, it's the prefect balance to the Icarus Line's dark back alley, class A take on The Stooges. Soul She Said is … Read more
Chicago's Yakuza, despite two previous albums and a deal with Century Media, have not received much attention for their brand of chaotic metal. Bearing likeness to bands such as Naked City and Kylesa (a very strange combination indeed), Yakuza's third full-length Samsara has and will continue to garner well-deserved attention of metal fans looking for variety. Samsara begins with "Cancer … Read more
Any band that has a song called "Gets **** Started" and has not one or two, but three pictures of their guitar player doing posi-jumps you just know I'm going to automatically fall in love with even before I listen to the CD. Luckily I didn't go and make myself look like an ass by gushing over Attitude before I … Read more
All the musically discontent who seek great screamo bands and other various awesome musical projects, surrender your soul to the beacon of light that is Level Plane Records. After four years of being a die hard fan of this label, it has introduced me to such awesome bands such as Hot Cross, Envy, A Day In Black and White, Coliseum, … Read more
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