Photo by Laura Murray.
Standing toward the back, I watched Paramore-haired teenage girls and their bro-meets-lumberjack-cowboy male counterparts stream into the main hall of the Gramercy Theater in New York City. For a second I had that feeling you get when you visit your old high school. To think that many of the kids in the crowd were born in the same year that I picked up the first Punk-O-Rama, I felt distinctly “cooldadish.”
The first band on the lineup was Title Fight, who I regrettably missed. If you haven’t spent some time listening to “The Last Thing You Forget,” please do. It features gritty vocals over melodic but unrelenting technical hardcore. It internalizes the best of Hot Water Music, Small Brown Bike, and Latterman. For an up-and-coming band, Title Fight is one of the brightest spots in the scene today.
This Time Next Year, on the other hand, was wholly unimpressive. On appearance alone, they came off as the kind of ready-made band you’d see in a teen movie–you know, when the guy goes to find the girl at the punk show or whatever. The music isn’t too far off from this impression. Too clean cut, too predictable, too vacuous. Another Found Glory. “I’m sorry I’m not sorry.” Ucht.
Thankfully, the set was short, and when the lights went down on This Time Next Year, there was a palpable change in mood. The next band up was Strike Anywhere, whose new album, Iron Front, I’ve also reviewed for A&SB. Strike Anywhere is neither clean nor cut, but holy hell they were tight.
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The summer of 2009 will forever be remembered as the summer of fuzz. Blissed-out lo-fi was – and I suppose still is – all the rage. I’ve never been a fan of the most blatant offenders (see: Wavves), but I’ve also always known that beneath all that hazy distortion are usually some pretty great pop songs. Case in point: Dum Dum Girls.
At the height of the summer craze in July, Dee Dee aka Kristen Gundred played her first show as Dum Dum Girls with a makeshift lineup. By the middle of the next week, she was signed to Sub Pop Records. Now with a solidified lineup, the band put out their first single this week Jail La La, which you can find in the A&SB Jukebox to your right. The 7-inch comes with a cover of “Play With Fire” by the Rolling Stones on the B-side. This is all in anticipation of their full-length I Will Be, due out on March 30th.
In the meantime, you can catch the band tonight at the Mercury Lounge before they head overseas. Drummer Frankie Rose’s own band, Frankie and the Outs, will be one of the openers, along with Happy Birthday and Coasting.
WEBSITE | LISTEN | PURCHASE ON AMAZON
Strike Anywhere is a melodic hardcore band from Richmond, VA with over a decade under their collective (collectivist?) belts. Since 1999, they have been churning out records of aggressive music steeped in activism and political awareness.
On Iron Front, released late in 2009 on Bridge Nine Records, Strike Anywhere continue their tradition with an album that is musically pummeling, if a bit heavy on the platitude. The band is tight as you’d expect after ten years of playing in lockstep at 200 bpm, and the production has the signature Salad Days punch. Thomas Barnett’s vocals are as strong and passionate as ever, alternating between infectious melody and throat-shredding shouts.
The record starts off with “Invisible Colony,” a blistering track that decries the influence of organized religion, the media, and war in “a glamorous, divisible United States.” At barely over one minute, the song leaves a strong first impression, portending good things to come.
Next comes the album’s single, “I’m Your Opposite Number,” which is vigorously… anti-stuff. Barnett has said that this song is about voting and remaining on guard even in ostensibly good times (see the references to “change”). In other words, it’s “against” the “system,” man. Unfortunately, the message is overshadowed by a slowed-down tempo and awkward jumps between the anthemic intro/outro and the lukewarm verses and choruses. The song comes off as designedly “the single,” with an unnecessary solo and browbeating repetition of the song’s title. I could have–and the album could have–done without it.
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The Seams are releasing their first full length record, Spanish American, through A&SB on Tuesday, March 9! The NYC duo is made up of former members of Down To Earth Approach (Vagrant), and spent the past year self producing the songs in a Brooklyn bedroom. We’re extremely excited to have them as part of the A&SB family and will be posting more release information soon. Head over to their page for track listing.
Oh and by “releasing” we mean GIVING THE RECORDS AWAY FOR FREE.
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Late last year I was fortunate enough to travel to the Illosaarirock Music Festival in Turku, Finland. Besides all of the interesting food, saunas and really great people, one of the highlights of this trip was seeing the band Disco Ensemble play in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans. Granted, I heard of the band before being I worked with their label Fullsteam Records, but not until that point did I fully grasp what the band was really capable of. Their last record, Magic Recoveries, was softly released and then buried here in the States by Universal, never really getting the attention it deserved… so yes, that is why you probably haven’t heard of them yet. The band since entered the studio in Helsinki and recorded a follow up that will take any At The Drive In fan and kick them in the teeth. A proper US release is eminent but for now you can hear their new single “White Flag For Peace” by visiting their MySpace. For those of you in Europe, I am jealous of you as you can order a copy on 7″ from their label… but for now I’ll settle for a stream. Check out video teaser after the jump.
“White Flag For Peace” – Disco Ensemble – LISTEN
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