I first heard them in 2003 (I think) and first saw them live in 2004, and somehow over the past 6 years or so Lucero has become my favorite band. I mean, I’ve seen them live a dozen or so times and my Last.fm stats pretty much echo that. At a time in [...]
Music & More Since 2005
Tag Archive: album reviews
Dummy Room – Demo
On their 4-song demo, Dummy Room plays the sort of no-frills Chicago-style punk that I grew up listening to. The songs are short, fast, aggressive blasts of punk rock that are uncomplicated and raw but refreshing to hear amidst all the overproduction in today’s so-called “punk” scenes. If you like The Bollweevils or very [...]
Snowing – Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit EP
Hailing from Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, Snowing is yet another star player in the current revival of that mid-90’s emo sound that we all love (well, at least I do) so much. The band has only been in existence for about a year and features ex-members of Street Smart Cyclist and Boy Problems and (like SSC) [...]
Venna – Even A Little EP
It must have been at least a couple months ago that I got an envelope in the mail that contained the three song Even A Little EP from Venna. The CD came in an envelope that was sealed with hand-stamped wax and a personal letter that was typed with (gasp!) a typewriter. It [...]
The Gateway District – Some Days You Get The Thunder
The Gateway District is a pop-punk supergroup from Minneapolis that features current or ex-members of notable bands like (The Soviettes, The Salteens, Banner Pilot, Dear Landlord, Off With Their Heads, Rivethead, and American Monsters). Did you just shit your pants? Don’t worry, I understand, my 4 month old daughter does the same thing. So, yeah, [...]
Transit – Stay Home EP
Transit is a Boston-based quintet that, on their latest EP Stay Home, makes me want to do just that and stay home listening to these six songs all night. These songs are filled with unabashedly passionate emotional hardcore that’s got (for good measure) one foot still in the pop punk pool. The guitars are technical [...]
The Cretins – More Stoopider
We’ve got two albums from The Cretins (courtesy of my wife) that I recently re-packed away somewhere in a box in my garage, but before doing that I ripped them to MP3’s and gave ‘em a few listens. Those two albums from about 10 years ago are full of straightforward (i.e. uncomplicated and simplistic) [...]
Victor Villarreal – Alive
It’s been a long time (seven years to be exact) since the world has heard from Victor Villarreal (of Cap’n Jazz, Ghosts and Vodka, Owls) but he is (at least sorta) back and has a new solo album called Alive. It’s an album that features mostly just acoustic guitar and Villarreal’s own voice. In [...]
American Steel – Dear Friends And Gentle Hearts
Another of the recently released albums that’s been in near constant rotation around my house has been the latest from Oakland’s American Steel. The album, called Dear Friends And Gentle Hearts, sounds more like the band’s alter-ego Communique than anything else they’ve released as American Steel, and that’s a really good thing as I was [...]
Jeff Caudill – Every Last Song
Every time I get a message on Twitter or an email from Jeff Caudill I still get a little giddy. He’s such a nice and down to earth “regular” guy, but I’ve been a fan of Gamface (and now his solo stuff) since I was in high school some 13+ years ago so it’s understandable, [...]
