It’s that time of the year again folks. Eggnog, booze, maxing out credit cards on tasteless gifts, being nice to family members you would rather avoid, and also that part where I take days upon days to think about all the amazing releases that came out throughout 2013 and list them on this here ol’ blog.
This year I decided to keep my list to only 10 albums. That decision did not come too easy for me, so I am doing 11. Deal.
All can be considered equally awesome and are listed in no particular order. Trust me, this was difficult as hell to narrow down, but in the end, these were the albums that really stuck with me throughout the year.
Worship This! – Tomorrow, I’ll Miss You
Iron Chic – The Constant One
Ma Jolie – Polars
Banquets – Banquets
The Flatliners – Dead Language
Worlds Scariest Police Chases – NOFX And Out Come The Wolves Dookie
Rumspringer – Stay Afloat
Two Hand Fools – Two Hand Fools
Sundowner – Neon Fiction
Signals Midwest – Light On The Lake
Restorations – LP2
Best Group Effort:
Tony Sly: A Tribute
Props to all the bands out there that released albums in 2013. I can not wait to see what 2014 brings.
This is too good to not share. From now until you pass out in public on New Years Eve, Cleveland’s very own Escapist Records are offering up all their goodies for free download.
You can also grab the awesome tribute to Integrity for zero cents! Of course you can name your price too, but I am sure most of us are broke right about now…
Punk rock has been saved folks and it is all due to this Pittsburgh-based, cop adoring, pizza loving, beer swigging group of working class gentlemen. In a non-serious attempt at making fun of quite possibly everything in only 24 minutes, Worlds Scariest Police Chases have dropped quite the deuce of an album that is sure to offend some and entertain the rest. The title you ask? NOFX And Out Come The Wolves Dookie.
Yes, that is the album title. The cover for the album is even better. Seriously, just look at it for a second:
Brilliant.
Taking jabs anyway they can at punk rock, the 7-piece chose to name their debut full-length release NOFX And Out Come The Wolves Dookie. The cover alone is a clear derivative of the classic Dookie album artwork complete with some rancid-looking dude and a farm animal being more than just friends. I am still curious to see what feedback is received from all of this.
“Blackin’ In” started off the album talking about blacking out, and I am not talking about anything pertaining to electricity. “Robocop” gave crazy amounts of nods towards a cop who clearly has a coughing problem and does not necessarily hail from Detroit.
“5000 years ago, when the earth was covered in snow, Jesus and Moses wore fur coats, and rode around on god damned dinos” started off the hilarious track titled “Gay Jesus For President”. Obviously those who huddle up in houses of god on Sundays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and maybe Saturdays are going to absolutely love this jam, and when I say love I mean hate, and when I say jam, I am talking about strawberry preserves. If you dig this track as much as I did, then you need to scroll to the bottom of this post and check out the video. Watch it with an open mind please.
“Punk Rock Ruined My Life” clearly was all about the art of selling out. With shout outs to Ian MacKaye and the artist previously known as Tommy Gabel, the band is all about letting everyone know that they make music because they want to and not because they want to fatten up their wallets.
“You’re Only Punk Once” cracked me up when I heard, “when life hands you horses, you make fucking glue”. Needless to say, it stuck with me (pun intended). Aside from that line, the song was about being a self-sufficient, DIY, human being who may still live in their parent’s basement and enjoy microwavable foods.
Released on A-F Records, NOFX And Out Come The Wolves Dookie reminds me of a less pop, more punk Guttermouth mixed with Propaghandi, D.F.L. and maybe even some Leftover Crack sans the gutter. Now that I have typed that I am now asking myself if kids these days even know who D.F.L. is.
Anyways… Listening to WSPC really reminded me of the fun and careless hardcore punk of the 80s and 90s. Apparently my aging ass has been missing that.
Having played the Playstation 1 game and wasted my life on the television show, it is no surprise that I am a fan of WSPC the band as well. Their fast and fun punk rock approach is just what I needed in my ears. If you are tired of all the bullshit and need something to just make you feel like there is hope for humanity in the punk rock world, then perhaps you need a quick dose of NOFX And Out Come The Wolves Dookie.
Just in time for the holidays, your favorite pop-punk band Teenage Bottlerocket has announced an upcoming 7″ titled American Deutsch Bag”.
Featuring tracks like “Ich bin Auslander und Spreche Nicht Gut Deutsch” and “I’m the One Smoking Marijuana Motherfucker”, this album is sure to be a family favorite. At just under 4 minutes long, I think it is safe to say that TBR have put together a masterpiece.
Actually, the songs have nothing to do with the holidays, but everything to do with Germany. Well, sort of. The band, after falling in love with Germany, decided to pay their own homage in a humorous way. I know I enjoyed their new tracks.
The band also threw on their appropriate cover of the late Tony Sly’s “Via Munich”. This is the same track found on the Tony Sly tribute that dropped just last month.
TBR’s very own Ray had this to say about the idea of the German friendly tunes:
On Teenage Bottlerocket’s last tour in Europe, we made friends with a dude in a Lethal Weapon 2 hat. We referred to him as a Deutsch bag. He was a good sport and found the insult endearing. I’ve always loved Germany. I took German in high school and we sang alot of songs. One of the songs was entitled “Ich bin Auslander und Spreche Nicht Gut Deutsch”. This is roughly translated “I’m not from here and my German sucks”. We decided to make it a pop punk song. If I screw up any of the pronunciation it’s because my German sucks, it’s a pretty good excuse to fuck up the words. We also included a new song about smoking reefer and a song by our dear friend Tony Sly called “Via Munich”. We recorded the 7″ at the Blasting Room with Andrew Berlin. Everything seemed to fall into place. The 7″ will be available on our upcoming European tour with VOLBEAT and ICED EARTH. Guten tag.
Wait. Did Ray just say they were touring with Volbeat and Iced Earth in Europe? Bad ass.
Dead Language, as expected, has blown me away and turned me into an even bigger Flatliners fan.
I am not even sure I need to write more than the above sentence when talking about The Flatliners most recent release on Fat Wreck Chords. It has been three years since the punk rock band have put out new material and the wait was well worth it.
After making music and hitting the road for most of their 10+ year career, Dead Language really showcases the band in a mature, collective way without missing a beat. Having been on the Fat roster for a good part of their existence (this is their 3rd release on Fat), many music lovers are well aware of them and cherish everything they do.
Opening with “Resuscitation Of The Year”, the album started off strong with the band taking no time to get down to business. With heavy drumming, appropriate gang vocals, and fun guitar playing (that at times reminded me of 90s Fat Wreck songs), I couldn’t help but think that this really was one of the best tracks on the album.
Although carrying a slightly slower tempo, “Birds Of England” was just a solid track to listen to. I really dug the lyrics that hinted about the band’s extensive touring during their career. This is one of those songs I feel would be fun to see the band play live. “Hounds” was another song that I feel the band would really have fun playing live with all the sporadic shouting and crazy guitar playing.
“Drown In Blood” continued with Chris Cresswell just giving it his all vocally. I was seriously impressed listening to him clear his throat throughout. Just wait till the gang vocals pop in. This song was one of my favorites on the album.
“Sew My Mouth Shut” was the track that really had me thinking to myself how much this band has grown together. Everything just sounded so right on this track and I just loved it when Cresswell crooned “sew my mouth shut so I can’t say a word, just gets me in trouble, trouble I’m not worth.”
The one song on here that I even remotely scratched my head at was “Quitters” and honestly I think it is because it was just a lot to take in. At just over 2 minutes, I think song could have been stretched out in some parts. Overall, still a good jam, but there were a couple of drumming moments that seemed overly compressed.
“Brilliant Resilience” closed down the album with as much fury as the opener did. Once again the gang vocals were fun to listen to. Non-stop drumming, fun guitar playing, and of course Cresswell doing what he does best.
I will say that Dead Language is no Calvicade, but it is damn close and who knows, maybe after I listen to it about 15 more times, I’ll change my opinion. Still, I’m pretty sure The Flatliners were not looking to repeat Calvicade, but rather continue forward with it. For a band that started more of a ska band and then changed their sound because they wanted to, I would have to say they are matured and exactly where they want to be. Dead Language really proves that.
