Reviews

Tony Party

Demmers / The True Faith split 7″

Council Records in recent years has become a trusted name in underground music. Wherein, whether you like what they release or not, the underlying thread is one of quality craft and toned to a mature listener. TRUE FAITH’s side is a perfect synth rock song akin to HOME FRONT, 1985–1990 CURE, TALK TALK’s “It’s My Life,” FLOCK OF SEAGULLS’ “Space Age Love Song,” or those first few HUMAN LEAGUE LPs. The DEMMERS side is more of a 1981–1983 CURE vibe, starting from the first rhythmic bass through to the very last ringing guitar note. Both songs could easily slide into any mid-’80s mixtape that your art school friend recorded off their college radio station, and I say that in the best, most delightful way possible.

Lidské Zdroje Pedalling Through (…Part 1) LP

Dang, duder! Anyone that knows me can attest to the fact I hold my “dang, duder(s)” for only the most outstanding things. From the cover alone, I could tell this band was into physical fitness, and that dedication to self-help and preservation will always be paramount to a successful band. Musically, you are pulled into a lo-fi garage, which is where I imagine their home gym is located, with instantly hummable and toe tapping tunes not unlike SO COW, or HEAD. I could see this on Goner, Dirtnap, and Rad Girlfriend. Some of the tunes have a charming BUZZCOCKS feel, and others have a charming early BLACK FLAG feel. As the record moves on, it gets a bit more refined and loses some of the rustic feel, but still a very solid record that I will be spinning frequently.

Another One Never Again EP

Eleven songs are on this 45 repress that originally plopped out in 2014. There is a strong LEGENDARY WINGS, BIG DRILL CAR, and DOC HOPPER impression to the songs. I really wish there would have been a lyric sheet instead of a bunch of almost legible writing on a bedroom wall; I’m certain they didn’t get their security deposit back. I heard a bunch of “she” and “her” and the one line I made out clearly on the first pass was “My sex drive’s lacking and she wants to get fucked.” If you like any of the above-mentioned bands, then you will most certainly enjoy this platter as well. I think there are only 50 of the splattered version, so act now while supplies last. Or don’t act now. Free will, baby.

Saidiwas Saidiwas LP

SAIDIWAS was a “vegan straightedge band that was influenced by the Revolution Summer DC bands’ politics and violent dancing,” from Northern Sweden from 1995 through 1999. File this under Fans of USA Basement Emocore. If you are a fan of ORDINATION OF AARON, NATIVE NOD, STILL LIFE, CAR VS DRIVER, STRUGGLE, quiet/loud, talk/yell, and then a lot of people yell, and the “someone pulls out a trumpet but thankfully they never play it” type of thing. This is perfect for being a snapshot of the “if you were there” category, but it isn’t a new perspective or missed gem.

Empired Finding Calm in the Chaos CD

EMPIRED kicks off this LP with a catchy little number called “Unite,” and it has the same clean and catchy sound of the best JIMMY EAT WORLD songs. The record’s sequencing is a bit disjointed. Also, just because a band is from SoCal, it doesn’t mean you have to toss in Long Beach ska upstrokes at all, or ever. I feel like this is a trap. A lot of good bands try to overextend themselves and could have used a producer, or a friend, to let them know that it is better to do fewer songs that are great versus putting songs in to fill an LP. By the time you get to “Fences” and “Paradise,” tracks four and five, the songs anneal in a way that brings out more sense of a good band staying in their lane and writing great songs—specifically with the song “Fences,” and bringing in Brenna Red (the LAST GANG) for backups completely catapults the song and band to the familiar late ’90s No Idea Records era of RADON and BITCHIN’, and I even hear some of the MUFFS in her delivery. Overall, this is a great start for a band. This would have made an outstanding four- or five-song EP.

Zephr Past Lives LP

Oh man, I’m a sucker for when the whole band sings, and they hooked me from the first tune. This record has a very No Idea Records feel. Through these songs, you can also feel that these folks like each other and have a lot of fun hanging out. I think they are actual friends. For fans of RAGING NATHANS, GRABASS CHARLESTONS, RADON, a little bit of HOT WATER MUSIC, DEAD BARS, a little DILLINGER FOUR, and so on. You get it.

Blanket of M Fever on Front Street… CD

Not to be confused with M BLANKET, BLANKET OF M plops out a bouncing live album that leaves you with a good understanding of what the band is all about. Although they hail from Tyler, TX, there is a heavy East Coast and WESTON sense to their pop punk that comes off more on the non-live tracks on their Bandcamp page. The slower tunes have a definite RAMONES vibe with a side smile to the MISFITS. I usually hate live punk recordings as they tend to sound horrible, muddy, and the band, overall, is far, far less interesting than in their recorded material, but this stands out. Great crowd sounds with tons of tight friends, a few inside jokes, and probably jumping around and such. I would most certainly go check them out if they ever played within 40 minutes of where I live.

Power Pants PP7 cassette

I love this. With my whole heart, I love this. For me, it is checking all of the right boxes: sounds like it’s recorded in a bucket at the bottom of a well under 3/16” of water, they got a keyboard down there, the SPITS and LUMPY & THE DUMPERS botched a cloned baby experiment, could be on Total Punk or Goner Records, bouncy like some and creepy like others, and on and on. I would wish this tape would be my valentine for Valentine’s Day. I bet we’d chug Yoo-hoo and talk shit all evening. I’ve heard people call this style egg-punk or DEVO-core because of the satirical lyrics, quirky structure, and lo-fi sound with high-tech equipment. Call it whatever you want, as long as you allow it to find a way into your ear holes. This isn’t something that is going to change your life, but it is something that you would probably play once a year to reset your own botched clone baby brain.

2Amature / The Snorts DCxPC Live Presents, Vol. 32 split LP

The DCxPC concept is simple: two friends who want to capture what is happening in their tiny spots on the planet, this case Central Florida and Upstate New York, and give back to the fans and bands that trickle through their area. They do limited pressings of live bands, which ensures that everyone who was at the show has the option to take home more than just a memory; they get to have a physical piece of something that they’d helped create. From the DCxPC records I have heard, the quality has always been clear while still maintaining the feeling of being inches from the band. With this volume, the SNORTS kick off Side A and musically fall in line with SIDEKICKS, CARPENTER, or JIMMY EAT WORLD—I think all five songs on here are about being broken up with and being bummed out. They probably have songs about other things too, but these are all about that. At least one of these people needs a hug, and it is a bummer that the band isn’t there to do that for him. On the flip, 2AMATURE blasts out six songs of snotty hardcore not unlike the VINDICTIVES, musically chaotic and landing somewhere unpredictably between LOVE SONGS and BLACK FLAG. This is another delightfully, unsurprising DCxPC Records release. Everyone who was at these shows should grab a copy of this ASAP.

Chance to Steal Learning to Be Sad CD

Politically conscious and kinetically-charged Epitaph/BAD RELIGION-styled hardcore pop punk. These folks can certainly play their instruments in a way that reminds me of early PROPAGANDHI. I feel like CHANCE TO STEAL, for some, could be gateway punk to deeper scene involvement in the same way that GREEN DAY was. Their lyrics are thoughtful and it’s easy to understand where they stand on cops and other things. Each of the ten songs are three-minutes or longer, which was immediately intimidating to me. The song length had me convinced this was going to be physically draining to sit through. Let’s be honest, three minutes is a long time for a hardcore pop punk song; however, these CHANCE TO STEAL people manage to keep the listener involved sonically as well as reading along with the lyrics, which is what a record should do.

Action Park Bum Ticker LP

“Pressure Cooker” blasts right in with a definite nod to Rad Girlfriend and Dirtnap Records. I would plop this right in between the RAGING NATHANS and DOPAMINES, with a sprinkle of mid-period DAG NASTY and early DOWN BY LAW. The sequencing of this LP takes you on a white-knuckled ride, and then out of nowhere comes a perfect note-for-note cover of the BIG BOYS’ unforgettable classic “Which Way to Go”. The ten original songs are well-crafted and arranged perfectly together to make this a great listen. To me, one of the more charming aspects of this record is that it isn’t overproduced and the songs take on a collaborative and holistic impression, giving way to a cohesive-sounding record. I get the feeling their practices are a hoot and they talk a lot of shit to each other. I am excited to see what is next.

Puddy Knife Flowers cassette

There are eight songs on this lo-fi, four-track, sweaty ’90s, “I know a basement in Kalamazoo we can play,” charming, “bring a change of clothes” cassette. I love this. The energy oozes. ASSFACTOR 4, ACTION PATROL, and UNION YOUNG AMERICA are bands that PUDDY KNIFE songs catapult me to stylistically, and not in mimicry. Like, these fuckers are invested; what I mean is, I bet they put on a killer show even if the room only has a couple teenagers making out and a hobo dancing in front of them. Imagine if DROPDEAD and BORN AGAINST did a pop punk band with ORDINATION OF AARON kinda thing. I have no idea what they are saying, but I feel like they mean it, whatever it is. I hope it’s a good pizza dough recipe or a song about a puppy on a turtle’s back. Look, whatever they are going on about is something they also feel deeply about. Maybe by song five out of eight, you want to read along so you can pump your fist and sing “Half-cup yeast / The fluffy pup licks the shell / Add the water / This island turtle delivers me to better smells” or something—again, I have no idea what they are mad at or happy about, but I really like all of these songs. I hope when PUDDY KNIFE reads this, they will send me lyrics or pizza dough recipes or pictures of their puppies riding their turtles.

Florida Men Dive Bar CD

This band is from the Netherlands, and they spell it out as plainly as possible—RAMONES-core, heavily influenced by SCREECHING WEASEL, the QUEERS, CHIXDIGGIT, TEENAGE BOTTLEROCKET, et al. Let’s be honest, by the bands I mentioned above, you already know if you want this or not. There is zero chance that you are on the fence with the FLORIDA MEN at this point. Here’s the question, though: in twenty-plus years, will FLORIDA MEN be the kind of significant band that will be mentioned as an influence and peer to the list above? The answer is “I don’t know.” The impact is for you to gauge. These twelve pop punk songs time out in just about twenty minutes. For me, the FLORIDA MEN’s Dive Bar album is undoubtedly a faultless example of what they say they are, with entirely no surprises.

On the Cinder Heavy Handed LP

Tucked under the surface between fast-shouting hardcore band parts and indulgent ’90s pop emo sections lies a thoughtfully formed album. For easy comparisons, I’ll plop in STRIKE ANYWHERE, LAGWAGON, A WILHELM SCREAM, and I‘m not sure why, but “Coffee Achievers” by 76% UNCERTAIN comes to mind. I’m certain that kids will drive around at night, scream some of these songs, and hit the steering wheel during their favorite parts. The LP’s cover is a home being torn in half during a party thus dumping the kids into the basement, and I think the sleeve completely captures the spirit of the record. The music is energetic, musky, damp, probably smells like cigarettes and stale beer, lots of friendly smiles bumping into each other, all with equal parts of hope and regret but in a familiar way.

Rad Gnar Rad Gnar cassette

This tape brings to mind SIDEKICKS, the GET UP KIDS, SOMOS, JIMMY EAT WORLD, and SIGNALS MIDWEST, but with far less intensity and instantly forgettable. I researched this band and they have a covers LP, and by looking at their choice of covers (GUIDED BY VOICES, DINOSAUR JR, DEAD MOON, SEBADOH), I feel like they think they are something that they are not. This band is very musically competent, but overall, these songs sound compromised, which in this case has led to diluted songs being plopped along by bored people. I say this with the best of intentions; this band should break up and go start four new bands. I have been in bands like this before, and I know that half to three-quarters of the people in this band are bored and don’t want to compromise anymore, they want to make their own thing. I’m being 100% honest when I say that I will be the first Bandcamper to purchase whatever their new bands become, but this will be a thing I listen to once and then file with stylistically similar bands that don’t feel like their songs are muscle memory or gap-fillers. This cassette is ten regular songs of medio-core.

Already Dead Something Like a War CD

The first track starts off musically similar to a SOCIAL DISTORTION tune, while vocally, it has a street punk Oi! vibe. This is fine USA-styled blue collar Oi! with a little HOT WATER MUSIC and most of the No Idea Records catalog in a blender. I hear some mid-period DWARVES and Dave Hause influence as well. They have been a band for five years and have consistently put out this working class flavor of driving street punk and singing on the downstrokes. The CD has fourteen songs, some are shorter and some are longer. I think that if these folks were forced into a room for three days to write ten songs, throw all ten in the trash, and repeat this until they have written and garbage-binned thirty songs, that the next ten songs we hear could be the kind of record that inspires. That next record could be on a best of the decade(s) list, but this record, even with its memorable chunks, still has the feeling of a reporter talking about observable events, whereas they could be the stroke that makes the spectator take action, or whatever.

Shelter Cat 66 Percent Strength LP

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS, LEATHERFACE, and almost-Lookout! bands like ONE MAN RUNNING and M-BLANKET are bands I think of when I listen to this. It is hitting in all the right spots but, for me, I have a difficulty with their song “Toothlessness.” The song “Toothlessness” sounds remarkably similar to a THORNS OF LIFE (Daniel Sea, Blake Schwarzenbach, Aaron Cometbus) song called “New York is Giving Me the Creeps.” I get that there are only so many guitar chords, but this goes further than parallel thinking. The band seems to swipe the changes, the vocal cadence, and even lyrics from the song “New York is Giving Me the Creeps.” Maybe because THORNS OF LIFE didn’t ever officially record anything, it seemed open to grab. But,come on, all three of the people in THORNS OF LIFE were in some of the most known Bay Area bands of the punk scene, ranging from G’RUPS, to CRIMPSHRINE, to JAWBREAKER. Each person in the band has their own Wikipedia and IMDb page, for gosh sakes. This entire record feels a bit dishonest to me. I don’t want to be cruel, but fuck it, something smells funny. I now question every song on this LP, and I can’t un-smell it.

Norcos y Horchata Unkind Sometimes / Don’t Come Crying to Me 7″

“Unkind Sometimes” starts off with such gross, distorted, driving bass that it could be the dumpster baby of your favorite FEEDTIME or NO BAILS tune. When the song kicks in, the vocals remind me of the darker NAKED RAYGUN songs, with a little NOMEANSNO seasoning for that extra aural punch. The flipside of this lil’ spinner hits with some guitar feedback/pedal knob-twisting that pulls me back to the TRANS MEGETTI’s 1999 opening track “Rio Nexpa,” wherein it builds a tension that makes my legs sweat. It bursts into a ’77-style thug bar pounder, and out of nowhere Annie comes in delivering “Everyone hide your head, everyone will soon be dead.” She only plops in once to deliver this, which emphasizes the band’s attuned craftsmanship to impact and craving more. I mean, come on, a great song with a greater hook only one time in the song! It is both genius and irritating. I don’t know if this song is about the end of the world or the end of a friendship, but either way, it is worth a spin. This is the perfect two-sider that makes me bummed that I slept on getting their LP. I think I should mention this has folks that were in BILL BONDSMAN, BUMP-N-UGLIES, DEVIOUS ONES, the PUTZ, and many others.

Turnarounds Turnarounds LP

Musically, I hear FACE TO FACE and PROPAGANDHI in the best ways possible, if you can imagine. Although saying that this could be an Epitaph or Fat Records release will deter some readers, I believe that this record lends itself to the better side of those label’s releases. Unlike many of the bands that step into any genre of DIY, these TURNAROUNDS seem less like they are trying to purposely pattern themselves around a sound as much as they are compelled to make music that sounds like this (e.g. ASEXUALS, DOUGHBOYS, NILS, STATUES). Ten songs total, and each song feels honest and musically thoughtful in a very Canadian way that only Canadians take the time to do, methinks. I can see this record making a 2024 top ten list.