The vast majority of these punk and indie rock reviews were written by me, Chris Auman, although Mike Dixon wrote a couple, and Tom “Tearaway” Schulte wrote a couple as well.
A18
foreverafternothing (Victory)
With song titles like, “Scars Upon Scars,” and “Bury Me Breathing,” suicide-themed packaging, and a very cryptically written press release (which I didn’t understand any of) compels me to dub this A18 release the “feel bad album of the year.” It’s like a thirty minute trip to Bummersville, man!—Irresistible Frank
THE ADVENTURES OF JET
Muscle (Suburban Home)
The concept of this record is muscle cars. Pretty tuff, huh? Kinda gets you in the mood for flames shooting up the side and dual exhaust and ram rods and what not. But instead of being a high octane, sideburned, rock and roll outfit, AOJ is a keyboard driven pop band that is about as far from muscle cars as a Yugo. If I had to listen to this CD in a car I would prefer that it was parked in the garage with the engine running. AOJ make The Cars sound like freakin’ Motorhead—Joey Germ
ARMOR FOR SLEEP
Dream to Make Believe (Equal Vision)
Music for sleep, to make you sleepy, to put your ass to sleep—Muggsy “The Sandman” McMurphy
ATOMIC 7
Gowns by Edith Head (Mint)
It’s nice to hear something like this after hearing a bunch of modern day hardcore/emo shit. No vocals, what could be better than that? Nuthin’ I tells yah. Atomic 7 is a good old fashioned surf/country instrumental band in the vein of Shadowy Men from a Shadowy Planet and even features Brian Connelly, a guitarist for those fellow Canadian rockers. It’s a nice change but I don’t think I could live on a steady diet of this either. Thank god for diversity, eh?—Malcolm Tent
AVAIL
Front Porch Stories (Fat Wreck Chords)
One hundred years of Avail and counting. Back with more anthemic (not a word), fistpumping punk/ hardcore, for the kids. Keep it comin’ brothers—Irresistible Frank
BAD ASTRONAUT
Houston, We Have a Drinking Problem (Honest Don’s)
Poppy, space rock (not really space rock but it keeps in theme with the whole astronaut thing). Sounds at times like Lou Barlow in an in-the-bedroom kind of way, and in the harder rockin’ sort of way as well. The good kind of rockin’ downer—Jayne Wayne
BANG BANG
4 song CD (no label)
This is a little four song sampler from Chicago’s Bang! Bang! From the tight, paranoid guitar ala Gang of Four on “High Speed Romance” to the garage rockin’ hijinks of “Spank,” Bang! Bang! give you some bang for your buck or in my case for free—Joey Germ
BREAKER BREAKER
Out of Service (Marty)
Breaker Breaker break out five slabs of intense hardcore. Out of service? Not today—Malcolm Tent
THE BYGONES
Circles (Derailler)
Down home, knee slappin’ urban altcountry, roots rockin’ music with clever lyrics and good songs that tell a story sometimes. It’s catchy, it’s good, it’s from Columbus—Otis E. Lee
C.D. TRUTH
Chemically Dependent (Foot In Mouth)
If you want the truth, the CD Truth that is, then I’ll tell yah, Akron, OH’s CD Truth play some exciting rock music. Follow them to Akron—Gee Whiz
CONSUMED
Pistols at Dawn (BYO)
I’ve consumed a lot of pop punk rock like this in the last couple years: crunchy guitars, check; familiar hooks, check; sing-along chorus, check; guitar solo in the right spot, yep, got it. It’s been done. It’s been in my stereo—Joey Germ
COPELAND
Beneath Mediocre Tree (The Militia Group)
As the press sheet says “Copeland explore some pretty heavy emotional terrain.” That pretty much sums it up. And you know what? I’m just not strong enough for it, physically or emotionally—Drunk Bill
COUNT THE STARS
Never Be Taken Alive (Victory)
Count the Bad Haircuts more like. Pop punk? Baby, you guessed it. I bet they jump around on stage with a lot of energy and the girls really dig them. Good for them. I wish them luck and better haircuts in the future—Joe “Bad Haircut” Germ
CREEPY D
Workin’ Tryin’ (no label)
Lord, I gotta keep on creepin’! Creepy D and Crüe are back creepin’ with a new twelve song, full-length CD about tryin’ to talk to your teacher whilst stoned, raising your hand in school, getting it right (the first time) and just plain old workin’ and tryin’ in general. You gotta admire their attitude and gumption and the great hooks on this CD. Keep on creepin’ Creepy!—Joey Germ
THE CUNTS
La La La (Disturbing)
The Cunts are back with another yeasty batch of garage/punk rock tunes. From the 70s going forward the Cunts remain the pride of the Sout’ Side. The album cover is a painting of two pink poodles doin’ it. Brilliant! A local rag recently labeled the Cunt’s name and choice of artwork as two missteps, yeah two missteps in the right direction!—Jayne Wayne
DARKEST HOUR
Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation (Victory)
Don’t know where Darkest Hour is from but I do know that they went to Gothenburg, Sweden to record this record thus making sure their mix of metal and hard-core was as authentic as their favorite dark bands. And it’s dark all right, hit the lights!—Malcolm Tent
DAYCARE SWINDLERS
Heathen Radio (Go-Kart)
Fast, tight, hardcore from D.C.. Yeah, that’s right, D.C. hardcore. Not generacore with the same riffs and some dude barkin’ pseudo political lyrics, just good old fashioned, fast, at times melodic, hardcore punk rock from D.C.—Joey Germ
DEAD END KIDS
Demo #1 (no label)
These guys are literally kids and this is their demo CD-R, and on behalf of Reglar Wiglar Magazine, I’m honored to have received it. Sadly however, it would not play in my DVD player, nor would it in my CD Walkman, and alas neither would my computer accept it as a worthy format. I am sorry things turned out so badly for these guys but I can see now why they are called the Dead End Kids—Irresistible Frank
DEATH IN GRACELAND
Come on, Touch Me (Formula 47)
This is pretty aggressive, driving punk rock with a desperate vocalist. Reminds me of the Murder City Devils in that respect. It’s pretty engaging to mine ears—Chrispy
DECIBATORS
Get Some EP (Decirecs)
Get some? Already had some, thanks. Just kidding. I kid the Decibators and you wanna know why? ‘Cause the dBs ain’t afraid to rock the ‘stache…or the mullet for that matter—P.C. Jones
THE DIPLOMATS OF SOLID SOUND
Let’s Cool One (Estrus)
Oh yeah, I’m hep to this sound, baby. Brings me back to those crazy summer backyard jams, eating pork chops and barbeque ribs right off the grill. Speaking of chops, these Iowa City cats are down. Like a tall, cool drink. Dig that if you can. Come on now—Smooth Daddy
THE DONNAS
Spend the Night (Atlantic)
Atlantic didn’t actually send us a copy of The Donnas’ latest record, Spend the Night, but they did send a 60+ page press kit with pretty much every mainstream press clipping they’ve compiled in the past two or three months (it being January right now). I’m sure the record is brilliant. In fact, I wish they had sent a copy so I could form my own opinion about it. Anyway, I hope this review of their press kit makes it into their press kit—Joey Germ
ELLIOTT
Song in the Air (Revelation)
Elliot is a rock band in the broadest sense of the term. They’re a rock band like Radiohead and U2 are rock bands, they go into the studio and throw everything at a record and the result is a pretty good, if overly indulgent, record. Lot’s of stuff going on, and layered on, and on top of. Not my usual cup of tea but it ain’t too bad in a Rock Band sort of way—Muggsy McMurphy
ESTROGENOCIDE
Estrogenocide (no label)
Kind of a one trick pony. Seven “shocking” and amateurish techno songs about child molestation, mutilation and miscellaneous misogyny. Booooring—Drunk Bill
FAIRVIEW
We’ll Dodge It on the Way Back (Sidecho)
Not what you’d expect from Orange County, not what I expect from Orange County anyway. This ain’t no skate punk or ska. It’s more on the pop side only kind of melancholy and…maybe a little boring actually. Good news though, the one sheet for this CD (under the heading “marketing/selling points”) promises that promotions for this record will include “tour shadowing,” and “lifestyle promotions.” Now what on earth does that mean? I have no idea. Do I really need to know? Should I even be made aware of the fact that Fairview is an “Aggressive Development Artist” and this CD will be priced at $11.98? (priced to move, I think is what that means.) I don’t think, as an unthanked, unpaid, combatant in the indie trenches, that I need to see what the top markets are or how, or to who, the product is being targeted. I’d rather not know ’cause it kinda makes me hate music. Anyway, I remain yours, irresistibly—Irresistible Frank
FAIRWEATHER
Lusitania (Equal Vision)
I got a sinking feeling about this band. GET IT? Fairweather are a little too loose to fit into the emo genre and thank god for that because between you and me and that tree over there I think we’ve all had quite enough. Fairweather’s music is a little more spread out and airy yet still maintains that element of poignancy and earnesty (not a word) and-emotion(!) that makes emo feel so important and so urgent—Joey Germ
FALL OUT BOY
Take This to Your Grave (Fueled by Ramen)
Cool packaging and slick production can’t save this debut from Fall Out Boy from slipping into the emo-pop-punk sludge pile. This sounds like so much of the rest of stuff that has found its way into the review stacks around here. This horse done been beat, ya’ll—Muggsy McMurphy
FATAL FLYING GUILLOTEENS
Get Knifed (Estrus)
Get knifed. Yeah, let’s get knifed tonight! Let’s get totally
fuckin’ knifed, man! Actually, I’m gonna pass on the gettin’ knifed proposal, although I wouldn’t mind having my head lopped off, but only if it was done by the Fatal Flying Guilloteens. Those suckers be flyin’ man and if that isn’t enough, well…it had just better be enough—The Lopper
FEDERATION X
X Patriot (Estrus)
After repeated listens, I can’t tell if Fed X done redesigned their attack and refined their sound into a more groove-oriented beast or if it’s exactly the same as American Folk Horror. Either way, this B’Ham trio deliver the unmistakable Fed X double guitar attack and serve up the fat chunky riffs that you can really sink your tooth into—Otis E. Lee
THE FIRST STEP
Open Hearts and Clear Minds (Livewire)
Barking fast farking hardcore. Farking? The First Step is the last word in keeping the ‘core alive and keepin’ it straight edge. Mostly live stuff on this sixteen track LiveWire offering. If you miss the energy and positivity of your youth spent listening to Minor Threat and the like, then take the first step—Joey X Germ
5IVE’S
Continuum Research Project (Tortuga)
Really cool packaging. This looked cool, like some kind of sick prog rock but alas, it arrived unprotected without a jewel case and was cracked and unplayable. I hope you enjoyed this review anyway. Thanks for reading—Jayne Wayne
FLESHIES
The Sicilian (Alternative Tentacles)
More mayhem from Oakland’s Fleshies. 133 straight days on the road probably haven’t made these guys any saner. Same spazz rock with a few surprises thrown in to keep it interesting. I love the departures from the punk rock on tracks #3 and #6. Check it out, yo!—Irresistible Frank
THE FORGOTTEN
Control Me (Hopeless)
These guys are so old school, they got a song on their CD protesting “The Social Security Act of 1935”! It’s called “Social Security.” Now that’s old school! They may be throwbacks to another, perhaps “old school” era, when punk rock belonged to the kids in the street, but they’re not ashamed. Nope—Joey Germ
DAVID FRANCIS
David Francis (no label)
Not the standard Wiglar fare by any stretch of any imagination, i.e., it ain’t punk, pop-punk, emo, or hardcore, but we got no rules here. Francis is a New York singer/songwriter in the folk-pop/balladeer tradition (see what I’m sayin’?). Not without its charm and endearing in its own way and thus will be spared the wrath of the Reglar Wiglar reviewers…this time—Management
GATSBYS AMERICAN DREAM
Ribbons and Sugar (Rocketstar)
GAD is on the literary tip taking their name from an American classiic, The Great Gatsby (not that you needed help figuring that out) and writing a concept album on the English classic, Animal Farm (not so obvious). Now if that’s sounds a little pretentious for you punk rockers out there, just hold on a second and let’s get to the music…pretty pretentious too actually, but I give ’em props for being well read, or for having read at least two classic works of literature. I’ve read the classics too you know. Ever read Get in the Van by one, Henry Rollins? Brilliant—Joey Germ
THE GENERATORS
From Rust to Ruin (TKO)
Generators play some good melodic punk rock in the vein of masters, The Clash, The Jam, Stiff Little Fingers, et al. The Generators smack of late seventies/ early eighties punk. A welcome relief in a blast from the past. Keep generatin’, eh?—Joey Germ
GRAFTON
Blind Horse Campaign (Dead Canary)
If there’s a Columbus sound I think this might be it, or at least Grafton is probably a good representative of the loud and heavy rock that has come out of that town as of late. The Means being another good example of that brand of bombastic heavy load. Grafton ain’t afraid to get jiggy with it and go down the hillbilly route in places. They’ll make you forget what you’re listening to if you’re not careful—Muggsy McMurphy
HOODS
Pray for Death (Victory)
Metalcore band typical of what you might find in the Victory stable these days: tight blasts of hardcore with muted metal stylings thrown underneath aggro vocals with lyrics concerning all the pain and suffering and bullshit in the world (like we needed another reminder). Pray for death? If it was all Hoods and no Beyonce? Every night—P.C. Jones
ICONS OF FILTH
Nostradamnedus (Go-Kart)
Good songs with raspy, off-key singing from British punk rock vets Icons of Filth. It’s been twenty years since the Icons first hit the crusty scene but the passion’s there, mate, the passion and the anger, because the more things change, the more they…you know the script—Joey Germ
JEREMY
Pop Dreams (JAM)
I always thought the word saccharine had a negative connotation. Sure it means sweet, but the sound and the look of the word has always reminded me of poison. Probably because of sacharin which they used to dump into Diet Coke. It supposedly caused cancer in lab rats. Anyway, this is pretty sacharine pop music. Really, really sweet. It’s up to individual taste whether or not that’s a negative or a postive—P.C. Jones
JETT BRANDO
Jagged Junktion (Go-Kart)
Yeah, so I haven’t been able to figure out how I feel about this CD except that I’ve listened to it quite a bit. That must mean I don’t hate it, right? Yeah, I agree. So I don’t hate this, in fact I might even like it. It’s good indie pop. Sounds like it could be on K Records except this has a good voice—Jayne Wayne
KILL HANNAH
For Never and Ever (Atlantic)
I don’t blame bands for their press kits, especially when major label marketing masterminds are more than likely the source, but Kill Hannah’s press bio says that Kill Hannah is as exciting as Ziggy Stardust era Bowie. I was only seven then, but I hope that’s not true. Kill Hannah have been around a while and I don’t begrudge them their major label status and their alternative arena pop rock. It’s because they’re local Chicago dudes that I didn’t chuck this cheap-ass digitally cloned CD (which skips) right into the garbage—Joey Germ
LAMB OF GOD
As The Palaces Burn (Prosthetic)
Heavy and brutal in the Lamb of God tradition, only this record stretches a little more than New American Gospel with increasingly intricate guitar parts and short blasts of sick melody and guitar solos that sound like the death rattle of our entire civilization! Another ass kicker from the L.O.G.—Muggsy McMurphy
LOST SOUNDS
Rat’s Brains & Microchips (eMpTy)
The Lost Sounds, having ridden the Black Wave, further explore the realm of their carnival goth, punk rock sound which some critics have labeled “jump goth.” Actually, I did a couple of issues ago, but now I realize how dumb that sounds. Oh well, too late now. (As a parenthetical side note, I’d like to apologize on behalf of Chicago for the individual who threw beer on your gear when you played The Beat Kitchen last year. We gotta name for those people here, we call ’em jag-offs and we try to stomp ’em when we can.)—Irresistible Frank
LOOSE FUR
Loose Fur (Drag City)
With the caliber of players involved in this little side project (Jeff Tweedy and Glen Kotche of Wilco and Jim O’Rourke of, well, Jim O’Rourke) you’d think this CD would be untouchable from a critical standpoint- everybody’s gonna love this record! As much as I’d like to take a piss on the parade, this is kind of a loose (and fury) innocuous, chilled out record. Not a bad hobby for some dudes doin’ some bigger and better, or at least some other things—Irresistible Frank
MANDA & THE MARBLES
More Seduction (Go-Kart)
Manda and the accompanying Marbles play a rockin’ melodious 80’s retro rock that also fuses elements of some 50s balladeering to the overall structure. I liked a lot of this. More seduction—Jayne Wayne
MANIC HISPANIC
Mijo Goes to College (BYO)
“They’re brown, they’re down and they’re coming to your town.” Manic Hispanic are back with Latinized spoofs of sixteen punk rock classics from The Clash’s “Brand New Cadillac” retitled “Brand New Impala,” Stiff Little Finger’s “Barbed Wire Love”, now “Bario Love,” and The Ramones “Sheena is a Punk Rocker” done as “Creeper is a Low Rider”. Great send up of the Descendents Milo record. Fun. Funny—Jose Germcia
MIDNIGHT EVILS
Straight ‘Til Morning (Estrus)
Garage rock has become as formulaic to my ears as pop punk and emo. Every riffs been done, every lyrical subject matter explored. Brothers and Sisters, I have officially had my fill of riff rockin’ garage rock. No more guitar solos, please—Muggsy McMurphy
MINUS
Haldor Laxness (Victory)
While there’s a certain laxness at play here, I don’t know if it’s a Haldor laxness, but nevertheless… yeah, I know who Hald—r Laxness is, I read the press kit, but I’m not telling you. Anyway, Icelandic Nobel prize winners aside, Minus has been compared to Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine, but I don’t hear it on this record. This just sounds like a rock band taking itself too seriously because they’ve been compared to Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine—Joey Germ
NINETEEN FORTY-FIVE
I Saw a Bright Light (Daemon)
Indie rock from Birmingham, Alabama, recorded in the basement. I was thinking just the other night whilst watching the State of Alabamy get a good bashing from Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, that Alabama can’t be completely fucked can it? Well, it’s not completely fucked. nineteen Forty-five play the poetic rock of the southland with male vocal leads, backed by female vocals. It’s purty—Otis E. Lee
NOISE RATCHET
Noise Ratchet (The Militia Group)
Jumping back between harder rockin tunes and pretty ditties, these guys don’t just ratchet up the noise they ratchet up the sensitive guy acoustic, rock which don’t always sit too well with me—P.C. Jones
NICOTINE
School of Liberty (Asian Man)
Seventeen songs of energetic, pop punk from a band that is not from SoCal. Nope, they’re from Japan, but you’d swear they’re from SoCal but SoWhat? Just as good though. Or just as bad. Depends on your feelings towards the genre. They do steal a few metal licks from Metallica and some Iron Maiden vocals tricks which kind of makes up for some of that—Drunk Bill
OPERATION MAKEOUT
Hang Loose (Mint)
Boy/girl/girl trio from the Canadian West Coast. The OM play a kinda poppy, kinda punky brand of rock music that has a dark underlying subtext and while I’m not really sure what that means necessarily, I still think it’s true. Not makeout music per se, more like angry at your girlfriend/boyfriend music. An Operation Makeup could be in the future followed by an Operation Makeout but it would probably have to be in that order—Jayne Wayne
THE ORANGES BAND
All Around (Lookout!)
This could put the youngsters in a funk not seen round these parts since The Smiths. The Oranges Band definitely have a unique sound due in no small part to singer Roman Kuebler, but the whole band has the jangly guitar pop sound down. My beef would be that the vocal inflections don’t vary much from song to song and so OB may run the danger of becoming a one trick pony. But if you dig All Around check out the On TV EP which sounds like this only more raw. That’s my advice to you—P.C. Jones
OZMA
Spending Time on the Borderline (Kung Fu)
I would imagine this band, this label and their fans are sick to death of the Weezer comparisons, well hang on there people we got one more coming; yeah, sounds a lot like Weezer. It’s good rocking pop music but you know, it’s like a Weezer B-side and outtakes compilation—Irresistible Frank
PEARLENE
Murder, Blues, and Prayer (Dim Mak)
Oh Pearlene, yer so purdy! This is some raw bluesy shit from, among others, Johnny Walker and Brian Olive from Soledad Brothers. It’s down, it’s downhome, it’s rock, blues and soul—T. Bone
PRETTYMIGHTYMIGHTY
Normal EP (Derailler)
PrettyIndieRock. Pretty like pretty, you know, like a flower. Tell no one I said that. PMM is an Athens. Ohio band that have been performing together for thirteen years. That’s a prettylongtime—Jayne Wayne
RUNNING LIKE THIEVES
Same Time Next Year (Livewire)
Running Like Thieves play a mid tempo punk rock with Lemmyesque vocals. Nothing that will reinforce your feelings about the punk rock either way. A decent punk rock band nevertheless—Drunk Bill
THE SEA AND CAKE
One Bedroom (Thrill Jockey)
You can have your cake and your sea too. Mellow, groovy, lush, SEXY! This disc sets the mood that gets me in the mood, know what I’m sayin’? I think you do—Jayne Wayne
SILVERSTEIN
When Broken is Easily Fixed (Victory)
I was excited by the cover art (Martin Wittfooth) and even more encouraged by the fact that these guys took their name from Shel Silverstein, but disappointed to find out that these guys sound like a dozen other hardcore/emo bands that do pretty much this same thing. Oh well, there’s always the new Suess record to look forward too—Jayne Wayne
SNAPCASE
End Transmission (Victory)
Sounding at times like Fugazi in the melding of the hardcore with the artcore with the emo. For over ten years Snapcase has been doing this. Smartcore—P.C. Jones
SNOWDOGS
Deep Cuts, Fast Remedies (Victory)
Snowdogs? Was that a movie with Cuba Gooding, Jr. or am I completely fucked? Anyway, these Snowdogs don’t pull sleds, they play rock and roll pretty accessible, possibly radio friendly rock and roll. Is Victory branching out? Produced by the same dude that produced Wham!’s debut album Fantastic back in ’83. This page should be burning right now. Why isn’t it?—B.S. Brown
STAIRWELL
The Sound of Change (Hopeless)
From OC. That’s Orange County, dude. Not like the rest of the Hopeless roster. Not pop punk. Just pop. Not bad. I can generally take this kind of stuff only in small doses administered at six hour intervals and Stairwell is no exception, I did make it through this CD three times over the course of a week and that kind of pop deserves props for the hooks and shit—Malcolm Tent
A STATIC LULLABY
…And Don’t Forget to Breath (Ferret Music)
Oh I won’t. Breathing is an involuntary action. But anyway, A Static Lullaby play that emo/alterna-rock hybrid which features one velvetty, earnest male crooner backed up by a guy who barks the lyrics. An interesting concept which never ceases to drive me crazier than a shit house rat. Press sheet says to file under rock/metal. Metal, hah! That’s a good one, but I don’t think so. Call me old fashioned but the only thing I file under metal is metal—Malcolm Tent
SUPAGROUP
Supagroup (Food Chain)
From the sneering press photo to the ridiculous band name, you would think I would hate everything about this supa group, and I have every right too, but it’s just such ridiculous rock and roll. A band that promises to have your ass kicked by the third song…that’s awesome. Nothing original, just good old fashioned rock and roll. What is garage rock really? Underproduced cock rock, that’s all. Supagroup is The Big Easy’s big sleazy, big dumb rock band—Irresistible Frank
THROW RAG
Desert Shores (BYO)
This is that Sailor Rock you’ve been hearing about. Aye, that’s what Throwrag calls their brand of energetic P-rock mayhem and who am I to argue? The closest I ever came to sailin’ was that riverboat in ‘Nawlins summer of ’90—Capn’ Jeremiah T. Germ
THUNDERCRACK
The Crack (Estrus)
On the CD intro this group has a technique of vocal reverb and clamorous alt-blues that recalls The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. However, “Cheap Cosmetics” is a fusion of hyperactive spy theme guitar with a shade of Elvis Presley in the vocals. “Big Fat Lady” is thunder-soul from Thundercrack with a raw primitivism that could be a side of one of the highly sought seven-inch albums from The Gories. A wide spectrum of sound and roots in the best styles makes The Crack a winning album—Tom “Tearaway” Schulte
TOKYO SEX DESTRUCTION
Le Red Soul Communitte (Dim Mak)
I can’t even begin to tell you how many bands I’ve heard this year that sound a whole lot like TSD. Most of them. Eletecric, garage, as good as any of them, but I’m officially over it—Drunk Bill
TORA! TORA! TORRANCE!
Get Into It (The Militia Group)
These guys are from the Twin Cities up dere in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Yah, hey dere. Which may explain the Amp Rep sound. Sounds like Ye Olde Steel Pole Bathtub. Anyway, I was expecting SoCal punk and I got Midwest noise, always nice surprise—P.C. Jones
THE UNSEEN
Explode (BYO)
Brutal, and yes, explosive punk from the streets of Boston. The Unseen have been grinding a combat boot into the face of the punk rock scene for nine years. Looks like nine more years comin’—Joey Germ
VARIOUS
Punk Seven Inch CD Vol. 1. 1988-1989 (Lookout!)
This is a pretty cool collection of early punk rock 7″ released on Lookout Records, a real treat for those who we’re around the late ’80s East Bay Scene and may not have any recollection where their original seven inch collection went or what they did with the money when they sold them. Also a treat for those who were not there but who nonetheless appreciate such historical artifacts. All the originalart work has been included and everything has been remastered by John Golden from the original tapes mastered by…well, John Golden. Features Yeastie Girls, Corrupted Morals, Isocracy, Kamala and the Karnivors, Plaid Retina and Surrogate Brains. So there you go, have fun—Joey Germ
THE VON ZIPPERS
The Crime is Now (Estrus)
The Von Zippers play a laid back, bluesy, swoozy rock and roll. It’s the garage rock that ain’t in no hurry to go nowhere and really, why should they? We got the time and the crime is now—Irresistible Frank
7″ Vinyl
GRAFTON
“Simbitch” b/w “Fine, Good, Go” (Derailler)
Two tunes from Columbus, Ohio’s Grafton. “Simbitch” rocks like a sombitch and “Fine, Good Go” is fine and good so go get it—Drunk Bill
GRAIN USA
“Catchy Like a Cold” b/w “Spread It Like a Virus” (Disposable Pop Revolution)
Catchy yes, but catchy like a cold? Maybe not that infectious but “Catchy” is a decent pop song. B-side, the instrumental “Spread,” is a better one—Irresistible Frank
PARADISE ISLAND
Get Up 7″ (Dim Mak)
Remember back in the mi-90s lo-fi days when bands would pretty much put anything out on a record? This is like that—Drunk Bill
REAGAN NATIONAL CRASH
Sucktastic! dbl. 7″ EP (RoosterCow/Backward Masking)
Seems like RNCD are on a new kick…gone is the self defeat and urban despair of “Ghetto Sled,” replaced by the hip and oblivious swagger of “16,” reminiscent of a Foolish-era Superchunk with a Sonic Youth outro. Somehow already fresh in these fast days. However, the real gem is the final track,”Small Song.” Picture Exene Cervenka and John Doe actually on X. Brilliant…and by the way, it looks like a million bucks—Duane Lee Hobbes
Read more indie record reviews!