Allister @ Reggie’s, Chicago
If you’re reading this, there’s a pretty good chance you are a fan of pop-punk. If you’re anywhere near Chicago or even the Midwest, you should head to Chicago this weekend. On March 9th, pop-punk veterans Allister are celebrating the 10 year anniversary of their sophomore full-length Last Stop Suburbia by playing the album in (Read more…)
New Sounds: Kinder Words
Who: Kinder Words Where: Cincinnati, Ohio How: Bandcamp What: Kinder Words is a really good pop punk band that likes to keep a low profile. The two songs on their newest demo remind me of stuff within the genre that’s a little more East Coast and indie but there’s still a healthy amount of upbeat (Read more…)
Mixtapes – Even On The Worst Nights
If this album doesn’t bring Cincinnati, Ohio’s Mixtapes fame and fortune (at least within this tiny little world of punk music) it’s just proof that most people have terrible taste. You see, Mixtapes’ second album, Even On The Worst Nights, comes out on June 26th (that’s next week) via No Sleep Records and it features (Read more…)
The Bouncing Souls – Comet
Comet is a powerful album that rips the curtains off the walls with its crushing palm-muted Les Paul riffs and evokes internal sing-a-longs without even knowing all of its story-like lyrics. But this record also stops to catch its breath amongst the fury. The instrumentation on this release stands out both technically and audibly. Pete (Read more…)
Joyce Manor – Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired
Upon hearing the new Joyce Manor release Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired, the first reaction from almost everyone will inevitably be, “That’s it? Where’s the rest of it?” Guaranteed. Every time. It was for me. The “album” clocks in at just a tick over 13 minutes which is almost 6 minutes shorter (Read more…)
Shambles – Shambles EP
I got a tweet from the dudes in Shambles about a week ago pestering me about (probably an email that I deleted) listening to and reviewing their debut EP. Lucky for them (and me, I guess) I actually took the time to listen to 15 seconds of the first song on the EP and liked (Read more…)
The Gooningtons
A few nights ago I was driving around downtown Chicago with Ryan (he was actually driving though) and he said something like, “Have you heard the Gooningtons?” I hadn’t, so he proceed to play Welcome To Goonington Beach! and blow my mind. He also explained verbally what’s documented on this pop punk message board thread. (Read more…)
August Premier – Happy Miserable
With all the high-profile punk reunions of the past few months and years combined with the band’s relative obscurity, it would be easy for most to overlook the reunion of Chicago’s own August Premier. And that, my friends, would be a bad thing. I’m not really sure of the whole story about the reunion, but (Read more…)
The Boogers – Let’s Go! Review & Giveaway
On their website, The Boogers claim to be “the world’s most dangerous kids band.” They don’t play death metal so that might not be 100% accurate, but The Boogers do play some of the finest punk rock for kids I’ve ever heard. The band’s 2nd album Let’s Go! is filled with 13 songs of fast (Read more…)
