One of my favorite indie/rock/happy bands, Minus The Bear, have decided to post their new EP titled Hold Me Down for free download (see below for link).
The EP features the title track (off of OMNI), three live tracks recorded at the Dangerbird Records studios, a b-side titled “Broken China” and a “My Time” remix.
Did I mention it is free? I think I did. You know what to do…
Your friends and mine, The Menzingers, are probably doing a happy dance today as they were just signed to Epitaph Records. Congrats guys. You deserve it.
This Scranton, PA band impressed me with their release last year entitled Chamberlain Waits as well as blew me away when I saw them live when they opened for Swingin’ Utters last summer.
I’m looking forward to what happens next for this young, amazing punk rock foursome.
A word from Epitaph about the news:
Epitaph Records is thrilled to announce the signing of up and coming Scranton raised, Philadelphia based punk rock outfit The Menzingers.The band’s fiery early releases and dynamic crowd pleasing live performances on tours supporting Anti Flag and Against Me! have created a serious buzz and landed the group on several best of lists. Their high energy sound features crashing power chords, rock steady drumming and anthemic sing-along choruses alongside poetic salt of the earth lyrics in the vein of Against Me! and Gaslight Anthem.
Epitaph Founder and President Brett Gurewitz proclaims, “These guys play the kind of pure punk rock that I grew up with. They are seriously talented songwriters and I’m happy to welcome them to the Epitaph family. I think the band is a great fit here.”
Stay tuned to www.epitaph.comfor upcoming news and futher details.
I am seriously in an old school punk rock overload as of late these days and could not be happier. It seems as if all these bands I used to adore as a kid are coming out of the woodwork and are releasing albums as well as touring in support of them. In the last week alone I have seen live performances by some amazing bands from the 80s and 90s including Bad Religion and Strung Out. There is one band though that I was most excited for, a band that I was more or less obsessed with in my high school years.
Seeing Face To Face live completely blew me away. I saw them last summer at the Warped Tour and they sounded great, but their set was so short it was almost depressing. For more on the show check out the review I posted last week.
Let’s talk about Face To Face…
Trever Keith and company may have stated that Face To Face was done back in 2004 due to indifferences, but just four years later the band decided to regroup but had no plans on releasing new material. Featuring Keith (the only original member), Chad Yaro, Scott Schiflett, and Danny Thompson, the California punk rock act is back in the scene. Not only have they been hitting the roads, but they have also decided to drop an all new album titled Laugh Now, Laugh Later on Antagonist Records. This is the band’s first album release in almost eight years.
“Should Anything Go Wrong” opened the album off strong and almost sounded as if the band never took a break. With a catchy chorus and fierce guitar playing, the song reminded me why I have loved this band for so long. “It’s All About You” follow and was a little less intense, but Keith’s lyrics just made the song as well as the fun guitars throughout, especially midway through. Just two songs in on the album and I was already impressed.
“The Invisible Hand” was an instant classic to my ears. With lyrics of trying to grasp on to what you can not have, the track immediately was lodged in my mind. Although I liked the bass lines in “Bombs Away”, I felt the song was a little too Ignorance Is Bliss for me and I just could not get into it. “Blood In The Water” was a good track though and begged for another listen as was “What You Came For”. “I Don’t Mind And You Don’t Matter” really could have been left off the album as it just did not fit in with the rest.
“Stopgap” was a nice harsh track with Keith repeating “you got something you want to say to me / so what’s your story better get it straight / don’t waste my time with your apologies” throughout carried by some great guitar work and drumming. In a more positive feel, “All For Nothing” was a decent love song that had a couple Social D-sounding notes thrown about.
“Pushover” tried hard to hang on to the old school Face To Face sound. While the track sounded great, I felt the bass riffs could have been faster and heavier. They seemed to hide behind a lot of the track on the album, especially this one. The track was also incredibly short and just dropped off leaving “Under The Wreckage” to close things up on the album.
I interviewed Keith a few years back and remember him saying that they missed playing shows and he had no intentions on recording new material. It did not sound like he was that excited to create a new album as much as he was with playing older material, but I am pretty sure the tables have turned. Laugh Now, Laugh Later may not be the best thing I have heard come from Face To Face, but there are a couple gems in there. I am just more thrilled the band is back and doing their thing.
As previously mentioned, I saw them live about a week ago and they killed it on stage. Throughout their set their played three of the new tracks and, to me, they fit in just fine with all of the classics they created years ago. The one thing though that impressed me the most though was how happy Keith and crew were on stage. They were having a good time doing what they love best and as a fan, I could not ask for anything more.
I am sitting here trying to figure out how to start this review about an Oi!/Street Punk/Folk band that has been around for over two decades. They are one of the O.F.W.C. (Original Fat Wreck Chords – I made that up) members and have been a huge influence to my punk rock ears ever since I was a teen.
The band I speak of is none other than the Swingin’ Utters and after eight years, the band has dropped Here, Under Protest, perhaps the best thing I have heard ever from the San Francisco band. Seriously, I can not stop listening to this album, it is amazing.
Where do I start? Could it be that the band sounds more polished than ever? Could it be that Johnny Bonnel, Spike Slawson (Me First & The Gimme Gimmes), Daris Koski AND Jack Dalrymple (Dead To Me) share singing duties throughout the release without any sort of conflict? With all the elements making up the Utters these days, one would think they are a modern day punk rock superband, one I should add that is not a complete joke.
Orson Welles is heard at the beginning of the CD saying “here under protest is beef burgers.” This line comes from the historic film icon when he was narrating a advertisement for a British company called Findus. Yes, I searched the internet to find that out. I knew it was his voice the moment I heard it, but wanted to know more.
“Brand New Lungs” started off the album and I knew right then that the album was going to be an instant gem. Granted I already had heard the song last summer when the band dropped a 3-song 7″ to tide fans over till the full-length released, the fact of the matter is that the song is solid and perhaps the catchiest track on the entire album. Bonnel’s raspy voice has never been more welcomed to my ears during this song.
“Taking The Long Way” followed and just kept that great sound continuing to impress me. The lyrics were interesting as they spoke of basically planting your feet. “Kick It Over”, featuring Koski on vocals, was a great track that shied away from the usual Utters sound and hinted back to the earlier days of punk rock. “Good Things” was a little heavier with Bonnel just giving reasons throughout to get hammered. They don’t call him Johnny “Piss Pants” for nothing you know… “Heavy Head” was just a smooth track – Nothing more, nothing less.
“(You’ve Got To) Give It All To The Man” was the heaviest, old-school Utters sounding track on the entire album. Fast paced and to the point, this song screamed 90’s punk rock all the way through. “Time On My Own” had Koski back on lead vocals and continued with that fun punk rock vibe that took me back to a teen.
The folky “Scary Brittle Frame” may have sounded like nothing else on the album, but it was my favorite track. I really wish the Utters would just drop an all folk album one of these days. They do such a great job creating songs here and there that can be found throughout their catalog it would just make sense a full length.
The final track on the album, “Effortless Amnesiac”, was another catchy as hell punk track with Dalrymple taking over vocal duties. After hear this track I really hope, should he stick around with the band, that he be featured on more future tracks seeing how his singing fit in so well with the music.
It amazes me that a band that has been in the game for so long still has no problem creating such a great release. Here, Under Protest is good, wholesome punk rock from a group of guys who know exactly what they are capable of.
This new Utters mateiral may not be as Oi!/Street Punk/Folky as they used to be and rub off more as Filthy Theiving Bastards at times, but that is ok by me. Here, Under Protest, hands down, is one of my favorite punk rock albums so far in 2011. 20 years in the business is never an easy feat, but the Utters have no problem continuing onward.
This is a great video from Alexander, you know, that bearded happy guy in Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Very unique video if I do not say so myself. The song is amazing too.
Alexander released a solo album back in March titled Alexander. I have yet to dig into the entire album but did check out the song “Lucky” as well as “A Million Years” and really enjoyed what I heard. Check them out: