Consider This Your Curse, the debut full-length from Norman, Oklahoma’s Over Stars And Gutters, just may be one of the best surprises I’ve come across all year (thanks Beartrap). The band’s gruff mid-tempo punk rock fits somewhere between the likes Hot Water Music (but poppier), Polar Bear Club (but a bit more uptempo), and Dillinger Four (but thumpier). Need I say more to get your attention? Seriously, if that won’t do it I’m not sure what will. IMHO, that’s pretty good company to keep. There’s melody but nothing is overly catchy. Basically, this is beefy music for scruffy bearded dudes and their babes (that means me and my wife) that’s played like Over Stars And Gutters mean every single word. It’s so convincing that I’m now quite upset I missed the band when they played Chicago a few weeks ago. Oh well. Needless to say, even with all the other great new releases that have been playing on my stereo lately, Over Stars And Gutters have been getting their fair share of plays as well and Consider This Your Curse (if the past few weeks have been any indication) will almost certainly end up somewhere on my year-end list.

MP3 | Over Stars And Gutters – Written In Greek Ink Consider This Your Curse
MP3 | Over Stars And Gutters – Between Sinners And Saints Consider This Your Curse