Can You See the Sunset? » punk

Nothington – Roads, Bridges And Ruins

Eric — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:36:46 +0000

Nothington’s 2007 album, All In, was good and ended up taking the #12 spot on my best of list for that year, but I wasn’t expecting the band to mature and progress as much as they have here. Every single song on Nothington’s new album Roads, Bridges and Ruins is a goddamn sing-a-long anthem. Seriously, it’s almost unbelievable just how good this (and that’s a 100% hyperbole-free statement). It picks up right where All In left off and finds the band continuing to play the raw, melodic, unpretentious anthemic punk that made us all love ‘em in the first place. Hints of rootsy Southern rock sneak into the songs and just up the ante even more. It’s like chasing shots of whiskey with Social Distortion, Hot Water Music, and Sludgeworth. Guitarist Jay Northington’s vocals are as coarse as 24 grit sandpaper and his lyrics are biting but guitarist Chris Matulich also contributes lead vocals to a couple songs and (along with bassist Tony Texeira) serves up some killer backing vocals as well. The guitar leads are amazing, the songwriting is tight, and there is virtually zero filler anywhere to be found. This little band from the Bay Area that started off as ex-Tsnuami Bomb and ex-Enemy You has become something of a force to be reckoned with. Roads, Bridges And Ruins is a powerhouse of an album that hits like a punch to the gut but has melodic hooks to make you keep standing in round after round and is out now on BYO Records.

MP3:
Nothington - A Mistake
Nothington - The Ocean

Like Bats – Demo EP

Eric — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:37:24 +0000

After reading what Will over at Sound As Language wrote (even though it seems to now be gone from his site) about these guys I knew I had to check ‘em out. Like Bats are a trio from Northwest Indiana that plays bouncy and melodic pop punk that’s melodic without being the least bit saccharine. Their Demo/EP has a treble-heavy fuzz that reminds me of listening to old 7″ records when I was 17 years old and is played with a Midwest charm and innocence that comes from (well) coming from the Midwest. Even the acoustic song at the end is cool in a Lawrence Arms/Falcon sort of way. The vocals are scratchy and Crimpshriney (yeah, that’s now a word) and sound (at times) crazily like my friend Joey Housewrecker (of Montgomery Burns, The Risers, and No On 15 fame). This was originally self-released by Like Bats but was recently re-released by Traffic Street Records. Overall this is super good and has me hoping for a full-length at some point!

MP3:
Like Bats - Lousy

Police & Thieves – Amor Y Guerra

Eric — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:29:15 +0000

Amor y Guerra is a collection of Police & Thieves’ three EP releases up to this point along with a few previously unreleased songs. The DC band features ex-members of Worn Thin and plays straightforward hardcore that’s a little melodic without really being melodic at all. Not that there is anything wrong with that, right? I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this while cleaning out my garage. So yeah, there’s really no “singing” at all but the vocals aren’t screamed either. They’ve also got some rock-and-roll undertones that are evident in the music as well making for a something a little more varied. Really (though) it is well-played and aggressive with plenty of gang vocals too. Amor y Guerra isn’t groundbreaking but is good enough that if you like bands like Dag Nasty, early AFI, or even In My Eyes, I’d suggest you check this out.

MP3:
Police & Thieves - False Parades
Police & Thieves - ...Like A Trainwreck

An incomplete history of Chicago punk rock (vol. 26)

Eric — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:14:05 +0000

Wow, it’s be quite awhile since I’ve dug into my crates of old records and posted anything in this series, but it just felt like the right time for a little Chicago punk rock. I thought I’d share a little something from a little known band called Thirty Seconds Deep. I won’t go into detail on their history (you can read that here) but I will tell you what I know. The band started in 1990 in Chicago’s Western suburbs as a ska fusion band. I also know that their singer Geoff went to my high school but was a few grades ahead so I never met any of the guys in the band. After thinking a bit about it, I’ll have to admit that Thirty Seconds Deep is the band responsible for getting me into the local punk scene as they were the first real “local” band that I ever went to see live. I saw them in places like church basements and the Elmhurst VFW and from there it just exploded for me.

I liked ‘em but never loved Thirty Seconds Deep the way I loved bands after that but I’ve still got all their releases (the demo tape, the Stereo Sound 7″, the Banana 7″ and (most importantly and most significantly) their awesome Hot Carl 7″). That record was released by the great Harmless Records in 1996. Strangely enough, I was exchanging emails with Scott Harmless last week and he commented, “I feel like every label has that one ‘hidden gem’ in their catalog, and the 3SD 7″ is definitely mine.” I couldn’t agree more. The four songs on that 7″ stand the test of time and sound as good today as they did some 13 years ago. The band broke up shortly after this record came out. It’s a bit of a shame, but that’s what happens. Members of Thirty Seconds Deep went on to play in bands like Lando’s 45, The Story So Far, Racecar, and AM Radio. I also recall seeing AM Radio open for Braid in DeKalb, IL on their Frame & Canvas tour and thought they were pretty good too. Oh well…

Here are a few songs from Thirty Seconds Deep including the whole Hot Carl 7″. If you want more, the band’s entire recorded output is available here.

MP3:
Thirty Seconds Deep - Girl Song from the Thirty Seconds Deep demo tape
Thirty Seconds Deep - Toy Queen from the Stereo Sound 7″
Thirty Seconds Deep - No Harm from the Banana 7″
Thirty Seconds Deep - Ladder from the Hot Carl 7″
Thirty Seconds Deep - Champion from the Hot Carl 7″
Thirty Seconds Deep - Gamble from the Hot Carl 7″
Thirty Seconds Deep - Abdicate My Allegiance from the Hot Carl 7″

Dummy Room – Demo

Eric — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:28:52 +0000

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 early Screeching Weasel you’re sure to like Dummy Room. The sound is (in a few words) real Quincy Shanks-y. Supposedly these guys are recording a full-length sometime soon so keep your eyes and ears open. As soon as Ben from the band let’s me know, I’ll pass that info your way. They’ve got the entire demo as well as a few covers available for download over at their site. Oh yeah, Dummy Room is playing at Reggie’s tonight for anyone who is interested.

MP3:
Dummy Room - Rebuild
Dummy Room - Demons
Dummy Room - It's Time
Dummy Room - Discard Of Life

The Gateway District – Some Days You Get The Thunder

Eric — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:38:31 +0000

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, on The Gateway District’s recently released album, Some Days You Get The Thunder, the band burns through 13 songs of gruff but bouncy and melodic female-fronted Midwestern pop punk with a bit of unexpected country twang on 2 of the album’s final 3 songs. The vocals will certainly not appeal to everyone (I can only imagine how much whiskey and how many cigarettes these ladies have consumed) but other than that, it really is hard to find fault with much (if anything) on Some Days You Get The Thunder. The record is out now on It’s Alive Records.

MP3:
The Gateway District - Lake Street Is For Suckers
The Gateway District - United Crushers

Sizzling tracks

Digital Rock Star Lyrics Space Cowboy	Delusional Lyrics Simon Curtis
Hot Mess Lyrics Cobra Starship	Next Contestant Lyrics Usher
Cool With You Lyrics Craig David	Bend Over Lyrics Lil’ Jon
Casualties Lyrics Brandy	Keep It Pouring Lyrics Flo Rida
Suicide Love Lyrics Wyclef Jean	Half of My Heart Lyrics John Mayer

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Transit – Stay Home EP

Eric — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:03:05 +0000

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 without being the least bit mathy and Transit also shows off some awesome vocal interplay courtesy of their three vocalists. Stay Home is ever on point and even the token acoustic number that closes the EP doesn’t seem cliche and/or unnecessary (which is itself an amazing feat). I hadn’t been familiar with Transit prior to this, but Stay Home hits like a punch to the face and has made me damn sure that I’ll be chomping at the bit for a full-length. RIYL: Crime In Stereo, Small Towns Burn A Little Slower, (maybe) Polar Bear Club, etc…

MP3:
Transit - Nameless (Songs To Static)
Transit - Atlas

Latest songs

Freeze & Go Lyrics Chrishan	Hard Lyrics Rihanna
Digital Rock Star Lyrics Space Cowboy	Flatline Lyrics London
Average Bitch Lyrics Lloyd Banks	Suicide Love Lyrics Wyclef Jean
Cool With You Lyrics Craig David	Gotta Love Me Lyrics Maino
Ring Me Up Lyrics Christina Milian	Love Your Sexy Lyrics Adrian Belew

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American Steel – Dear Friends And Gentle Hearts

Eric — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:50:42 +0000

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 never a fan of the pre-Communique version of American Steel. So, what you’ve got here on Dear Friends And Gentle Hearts is some really melodic and bouncy pop-punk that’s anchored down by great guitar leads and awesome vocal harmonies. This isn’t (however) bubblegum as there are oftentimes just traces of something a little darker and gothic tucked in behind the catchy-as-hell melodies. This is (yet another) great release from Fat Wreck Chords here in 2009. So, yeah, this is different than the “old” American Steel that many people loved, but dear Friends And Gentle Hearts is the band’s best record yet. RIYL: Communique, Alkaline Trio, Lookout! Records, etc…

MP3 | American Steel – Emergency House Party Dear Friends And Gentle Hearts
MP3 | American Steel – Your Ass Ain’t Laughing Now Dear Friends And Gentle Hearts

Banner Pilot – Live 9/5/09 @ Ronny’s

Eric — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:10:49 +0000

I dragged the wife downtown (and good thing since she took these videos) to see the mighty Banner Pilot on their whirlwind three city record release tour for their new album Collapser. The band played a set that was short but sweet. Here are videos of two songs:

Overwinter

Losing Daylight

After The Fall – Fort Orange

Eric — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:54:13 +0000

Did you know that Fort Orange was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New Netherland and was on the site of the present-day city of Albany, New York? Did you also know that Fort Orange is the latest blistering album from melodic-hardcore band After The Fall who (non-coincidentally) call Albany home. While I wouldn’t classify anything on Fort Orange as catchy, there’s just enough melody that After The Fall doesn’t sound like just another generic hardcore band shouting. If you like your drums played really fast, big breakdowns, and guitars that rip and shred without being overly technical or metal-esqe, you need to hear this record. Fort Orange is a focused blast of aggression that makes an immediate impact but gets better as melodic subtleties become apparent over multiple listens. This is some awesome shit. RIYL: 88 Fingers Louie, A Wilhelm Scream, Propagandhi, Strike Anywhere, etc…

MP3 | After The Fall – 1994 Fort Orange
MP3 | After The Fall – Bummer Fort Orange