Mr. Joshua Voland promised me a pizza if I reviewed his band on my site, so here we go…
I am kidding about the pizza of course. I don’t take bribes, even if in the form of delicious pizza.
All jokes aside, Voland did ask me to check out what his band recently dropped on Bandcamp and man, I am stoked I did.
Shibuya Crossing is the debut EP by Cleveland’s very own The Public. Lasting just under 20 minutes, this release is impressive as hell. Not sure why they named the EP after the busiest intersection in Japan, but I am sure stranger things have happened.
“Liquor Store” was such a powerhouse of a song to start off the EP with. This will win fans automatically with sing along qualities. Damn shame it wrapped up so quickly. I liked that track.
“The Breaks” reminded me of a certain little band from Scranton, PA that people might have heard about. I loved the lyrics “I was just too set in my old ways. Trying to pry my way out of your ribcage.” I seriously could not get enough of this song.
“No Bother” had enough breakdowns and group vocals to make this my favorite cut on the release. Maybe it was the fact that it reminded me of a Seahaven track for a moment or probably because it was just catchy as hell. “The Dogs” might have been even catchier though.
As much as I hate to have a negative comment about any song I hear, there was a part in “Mexico” that just did not sit right with me and it was mostly due to a brief group vocal harmony that lasted not even a second. Voland asked me to be honest on how I felt…
Fans of the Lawrence Arms, Menzingers, The Tim Version, Banner Pilot, and even Cleveland sweethearts Worship This! need to check out The Public.
This band just kicks so much ass. I am really looking forward to hearing their full length debut which should be out in 2015.
Check it out and pay what you will on the band’s BandCamp page.
If there is one thing about New Mexico that I miss, it is the breakfast burritos from the Santa Fe Grill located in those Pic-Quic gas stations.
Actually I am lying. I miss living down the street from the Dirt Cult Records headquarters. Chris was a rad dude and I am glad I got to know him even if just for a brief moment. His band, Low Culture, remains one of my favorites to this day.
Recently, I learned that Dirt Cult relocated to Portland, Oregon and I thought I would check in with Chris to see how things were going with the big move. He advised everything was going smooth and shared a few new releases his label is putting out in the upcoming months.
I thought I would do a quick review on all of them them. Enjoy!
Autonomy/No Sir I Won’t – Split I blame Chris for getting me into Autonomy before I even became pals with him. This split is pretty bad ass crust-ish punk act that to me sound way better than Crass. I loved the samples throughout. Autonomy’s “Ashes To Ashes” was a pretty kick ass song that just started almost psycho-garagy and turned fizzled out with a Cure-sounding bass riff. No Sir I Won’t were cool to check out and full of aggressive punk rock that reached into the 80s style I grew up loving. Definitely will be checking them out some more.
Apocalypse Meow! – Baseball and Alcohol 7″ Featuring Off With Their Heads’s Justin Francis as well as members of Sundowners, I knew I was going to adore this 7″ before I even listened to it. With songs relevant to the 7″‘s title, Apocalypse Meow take two of America’s favorite past times and mix them into pure pop-punk goodness. The track “MVP” ruled with the lyrics “all I want to be is a goddamn MVP” repeating throughout. The title track though is what did it for me. Loved it.
Blank Pages – Blank Pages LP
Straight outta Berlin, Blank Pages proves to have one hell of a release with some serious garage rock layered with a old school punk rock feel. These guys really remind me of the Marked Men in a good good way. Great song writing added with vocals that could easily fit in with the 70s/80s punk scene. “We’re All Broken” was just amazing with almost a surf-punk sound in the middle. I was beyond impressed with the clean sound throughout the release and just full on togetherness of the band. It just works so well. “All In Due Time” was another great track. I am really glad Chris threw Blank Pages my way, I am totally loving what they do. If you call yourself a fan bands like the Ramones and the Dickies, I have the feeling you will like what Blank Pages have to offer Ich bin ein Fan von Leerseiten.
For more info on Dirt Cult releases or to check out some other amazing release on the Dirt Cult label, head on over to http://dirtcultrecords.bandcamp.com.
Pop punk’s hooligan heroes, Masked Intruder, are back on the prowl with their all new sophomore release M.I. The ski-masked foursome clearly have no problem dodging the law while stealing hearts and throwing together one of the catchiest releases you will probably hear all year.
Having kept their identities safe so far, probably due to the band threatening anyone with blunt force to those who may know who all is actually under those masks, Masked Intruder remain an enigma of sorts in the punk rock world playing some of the greatest stalker-love jams ever recorded. Think Ramones and Chixdiggit!, but with plenty of obsession and missing valuables.
The album started out with a revamped recording of “I Fought The Law”, a track that originally appeared on Masked Intruder’s 2011 demo. This version clearly trumped the original and sounds even catchier than the demo version.
“The Most Beautiful Girl” is flawless when talking about a pop punk love song. In less than 2 minutes, the band manages to pack together harmonies within sing-alongable lyrics (is that even a word?) all while swooning someone special.
“Saturday Night Alone” pretty much sums up some of my weekend nights sans spending it in the slammer like these masked heartthrobs do. Hard-driven guitar playing (that easily could have been stolen from label mates Teenage Bottlerocket) played throughout making for a fun track. I loved when the band just stopped playing and just sang and crooned for just a couple of seconds only to start jamming out again.
I loved the track “When I Get Out”, especially on how the band sang about what they were going to do when they were released from the slammer. From getting revenge to slamming ice cream and pizza, it is clear that Masked Intruder had a lot of time to plan out their freedom while locked away and incorporate it all into a fun song.
I really was hoping the band would go all a cappella again on this release, and they did in “Almost Like We’re Already In Love”. It’s like a barbershop quartet song, but different. I’m sure if the band sang this song to me in person, I would be batting my lashes and blowing kisses their way.
“Hey Girl”, was a quick, catchy jam aimed at breaking the ice with the ladies. “Don’t Run Away” followed perhaps on purpose to assure all the beautiful ladies by singing “don’t run away, I think this is it.”
“Say that I’m a freak, a geek, a weirdo” started off “Wierdo”, a track that may have been written by actual events that happened in my life. Seriously, I think these guys plagiarized my lady luck in my early 20s and threw it into a song. What the hell guys?
Another great track was “I Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye To You Tonight”. It was a pop punk love track that may or may not require a restraining order.
Ending the album was “Locked Up And Lonely”, a song that did not really sound like the others as it was a little slow starting at the beginning, but only for a moment. I could not but help think 90s punk rock on this song. On another note, can someone please tell me why I thought of Charles Manson in this song (in a comical way of course). Seriously, as this song played, I thought of an emo’d out Manson sitting in a cell looking out his cell window and writing about how lonely he is.
After listening to this album at least 37 times in a row, it is safe to say that Masked Intruder has once again dropped a solid release. I was so addicted to their debut release so much that I failed to review it, but this time I decided I had to at least say a couple nice things about their latest effort.
M.I. has the potential to make Masked Intruder appear on many Most Wanted lists. With their quest to avoid Miranda Rights as well as continue to hide their identity, this band has surpassed the gimmick stage and is going toward full-blown rockstar.
So who are Masked Intruder? Who cares. Just keep them away from my record collection and wallet. Beyond that, I hope they keep doing their thing. Those guys rule hard.
Masked Intruder is seemingly always on tour. Personally, I think it is because they are running away from the law. Regardless, they are playing Cleveland on June 20th at Now That’s Class.
Downingtown / West Chester, Pennsylvanians Panucci’s Pizza are an emo-ish punk rock duo with a heavy appreciation for pizza and straight up ridiculous song titles.
Not only were the track names entertaining, the music itself was pretty bad ass to listen to. I liked the mix of acoustic demos and just full blown chaotic jams. I did not know what to expect with each track and by the end I just wanted some more. Funny, that is exactly how I feel about pizza sometimes…
Panucci’s Pizza re-released their 2013 full length Don’t Tip the Delivery Boy on CD via Songs from the Road Records. You can order the pizza-decorated CD here. Scroll down a bit to check it out via Bandcamp.
I can not help but be reminded of my homies Cherry Cola Champions and Two Hand Fools a lot though this release. It’s definitely worth checking out.
Track Listing:
1. Holy Diver Pt. 2 2. Ladies, Welcome to my Swaggrokrag 3. You know when the Trojans got that horse and they were all “Yeah this is totally a gift” Thats how sure I am 4. Pokemon Cards and an Empty Bottle of Grape Juice 5. The World’s greatest Bowler is the World’s worst anything else 6. Nicholas Cajun (Stole the Declaration of Pizzapendence!) 7. Wait, you know who Frankie Muniz is right? 8. I still haven’t seen “Almost Famous” 9. My Imaginary Friend is STILL addicted to Pornography
I am sure I am not the first to say how much I enjoy it when Old Man Markley (OMM) decides to cover a song.
There’s just something so great about OMM throwing down their own bluegrass/punk rock style into a song.
Case in point, the OMM is dropping a 7″ next week called Stupid Today and the B side is a cover of NOFX’s “Reeko”, a track on the infamous Punk In Drublic. Can I tell y’all how awesome this cover is?
It’s awesome folks.
I especially appreciated the cover that was hidden inside the cover with a quick spoken word-type rendition of “Perfect Government”. That is correct, I said a cover within a cover. OMM is clearly a bigger fan of NOFX than you think.
The title track on side A, “Stupid Today”, revolves all around the ups and downs of being in love. It’s a punk rock ho down with plenty of opportunity to swing your partner or knock them down. I loved the harmonies throughout as much as the quick-plucking of the banjo and fiddle playing. It’s safe to say this song just adds further proof why they are so damn amazing.
Head on over to the Fat Wreck site and pre-order yourself a copy of Stupid Today.
Mr. Joshua Voland promised me a pizza if I reviewed his band on my site, so here we go…
