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Ani DiFranco

Educated Guess
Righteous Babe (2005)

Ani DiFranco is, without a doubt, one of the most active singer/songwriters in music today. Since her 1990 debut, she's put out about 20 other releases on her very own label. Needless to say, she's a very hard worker and an even better writer. Over the years, her albums have featured a vast array of other instruments to help transform … Read more

None More Black

File Under Black
Fat Wreck Chords (2003)

Somewhere around the turn of the millennium, Fat Wreck Chords decided it wanted to be the best punk label around. File Under Black, None More Black's first full length offering is a perfect example of how Fat has come to be just that. The band is fronted by longtime scenester, Jason Shevchuk, front man of the legendary melodic hardcore band … Read more

Fantômas

Delirium Cordia
Ipecac (2004)

Fantômas is a musical group whose sound can best be described as a schizophrenic adventure through the world of an Alfred Hitchcock thriller. The music of Fantômas is both unstable and methodical as well as beautiful and chaotic. Multitalented brainchild Mike Patton and musical cohorts Trevor Dunn, Dave Lombardo, and Buzz 'King Buzzo' Ozbourne return with a masterpiece of ambience … Read more

In Control

The Truth Hurts
Indecision/Martyr (2003)

When I first got into hardcore, I was exposed to the old shit'you know, Bad Religion, 7 Seconds, Minor Threat, DI'the stuff from when people still realized that hardcore IS punk. Slowly, as metal began to invade the scene, hardcore and punk split into, what seem today, two completely different genres. In Control bring it back to the old school, … Read more

Envy

A Dead Sinking Story
Level Plane (2003)

There're plenty of bands in the world, but the ones that really stick out are the ones that leave you scratching your head, unsure of what you've heard, but a little bruised, beaten, and fulfilled because of it. Japan's Envy is one of those bands, a flurry of sound that differentiates only in extremes, from pummeling assaults to lush, gorgeous … Read more

Bones Brigade

I Hate Myself When I'm Not Skateboarding
Fight Fire With Fire (2003)

In a time where skate boarding is about as punk rock as a walk through Disneyland, where skateboarding movie soundtracks are infiltrated by hip hop and pop punk, Bones Brigade skids in just in time to skate hard and rock even harder. Everything about this will make you want to get off your ass and plunge down a hill, unless … Read more

90 Day Men

Panda Park
Southern (2004)

It's hard writing about a band who's been around for a while that you're just hearing for the first time. Describing how they used to sound is crucial in ultimately describing how they sound now. Maybe it's not crucial, but it certainly makes the job a lot easier to have a point of reference through past records. All I know … Read more

Far From Breaking

The Identity
Youngblood (2003)

Every once in a while, a band comes along that reminds you why you ever got into hardcore music. Far From Breaking, a five piece outfit from San Antonio, TX, plays upbeat youth-crew revival hardcore similar to Floorpunch, Chain of Strength, and Ten Yard Fight. It is an album filled ot the brim with fast-paced punk influenced hardcore. There is … Read more

North of America

Brothers, Sisters
Level Plane (2003)

There's an alternate universe somewhere out there, one in which Steve Albini moved to Guelph, Ontario, hooked up with members of the Rapture and Hot Cross, and made some intense, danceable, abrasive rock music. Unfortunately, we do not live in that universe, but we may have one up on that equation, as we have North of America, another band that … Read more

The Cocker Spaniels

Withstand the Whatnot
Artbreak (2004)

The notion of a one-man band has always seemed like a bit of a novelty to me. Whenever I used to hear or read of an artist who supposedly played every single note on his or her recordings, the image I conjured would be something along the lines of this: That, or Prince. It wasn't until one fateful day in … Read more

Premonitions of War

Left In Kowloon
Victory (2003)

What can I say about Toledo, Ohio? Honestly, I never found anything about the city to be remotely appealing at all. Then again, I might be a bit biased against the city after the time I got a flat tire on my way home from a show in Detroit and was stuck repairing my tire in the rain while being … Read more

Sun Kil Moon

Ghosts of the Great Highway
Jet Set (2003)

If this album were being reviewed by a sportswriter the scoffing would begin within it's first 10 seconds. "Cassius Clay was hit more than Sonny Liston"...what the hell is this guy talking about? What is he some kind of sports conpiracist? "You're not duping me, Kozelek!" And even though Mark Kozelek seems to have a mild obession with boxers throughout … Read more

Keelhaul

Subject to Change Without Notice
Hydra Head (2004)

Remember when you and your friends formed your first band? It didn't matter what kind of music you were going to play. As long as you had a really awesome sounding name. So when a band takes the stage and screams "We are Keelhaul, from Cleveland, Ohio," I bet the first thing that pops into your head is what the … Read more

The Black Dahlia Murder

Unhallowed
Metal Blade (2003)

There seems to be a horrible trend sweeping the lands of America like The Plague. Kids everywhere are going to salons to get their hair done, wearing silly white belts, and whining more than the emo kids we all used to hate two years ago. This trend has been labeled with the misnomer "metalcore." It seems that these bands fail … Read more

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