Various Artists “Old Skars & Upstarts 2004” (Disaster Records) Duane Hunn’s Disaster Records continues to be the bellwether label for the contemporary street punk movement. And its envoy into the retail world is the annual Old Skars & Upstarts compilation.…
Jude the Obscure “The Coldest Winter” (One Day Savior) Sometimes there’s not much you can say about a CD. Sometimes you can just say that a band is loud. And heavy. And angry. And fast. Really fast. Sometimes you can…
Kid Commando “Holy Kid Commando” (Ache) This is the Swedish dual guitar and drum trio’s debut album. Holy Kid Commando is the sound of soldiers marching in to battle with themselves. Johan Lagerlof’s hostile vocals are the shouts of the…
Killswitch Engage “The End of Heartache” (Roadrunner) Killswitch Engage is one of these brilliant bands that meld their influences so well it becomes their own machine. There is metal. There is hardcore. There is that melodic element woven in there…
Les Savy Fav ““Inches”” (Frenchkiss) Some say that the journey itself is better than the end reward. I say those people haven’t heard Inches. This is the culmination of an eight-year journey through nine different record labels, 18 songs and…
Link “The Kids are Alright” (Adeline) Alright? Kids are horrendous. Nobody likes kids. What’s the first thing that goes through your head when you see a show? I bet it’s something along the lines of, “Look at all these damn…
Long Since Forgotten “”Standing Room Only”” (Rocket Star) Long Since Forgotten are essentially punchy, melodic rock, with slick rock guitars that will surely impress the girls out there. Imagine older pre-hit Goo Goo Dolls mixed with Dashboard Confessional and you’ll…
Machine Head “”Through the Ashes of Empires”” (Roadrunner) Machine Head has returned to the crushing sound of their first two albums. Listening to ‘Imperium’ you know these motherfuckers are back to flatten you. The drums rattle like a gattling guns…
Martin Rev “To Live” (File 13 Records) Indubitably seminal, Martin Rev proves as new releases trickle out that he is a one trick pony that rode into town on a relentless, monotonic electric drumbeat. This CD is more of the…
Mike Park “For The Love Of Music” (Asian Man Records) Stories told acoustically from who else, Mike Park. There’s a cool progression of pictures showing Mike from baby almost every year to 2003. It’s kind of cool to see how…