Category Archives: Review

Acoustic, Country, Emo, Folk, Indie, Music, Pop, Punk, Review, Rock

Rapid Reviews: Brett Detar, JuiceheaD, Transit, Coffee Project, The Flatliners and I Am The Avalanche

Leave a comment

Let’s face it, this site is a one man show for the most part and as of late I have been living quite the busy life.  I am continually presented with amazing music for review consideration and sadly there is not enough time in the day for me to not only get through work and school, but to also write nice things about all these awesome bands.

So today I decided to throw out a few quick reviews on a couple of bands that have been sitting in my “cool” stack.  I wish I had more time to go into complete detail as I hate writing little reviews on bands, but I am thinking this might be a good idea to just spread the word out.  If you like what I said about the band, check them out, support them, share their music and help them continue to do what they love to do.

This week proves to be a busy one for me with tomorrow’s Strike Anywhere / Dead To Me / Menzingers / Holy Mess / Signals Midwest show as well as Wednesday’s NOFX / Anti-Flag / Old Man Markley show.  I thought perhaps I should be proactive and hammer out a few reviews while I had a moment.

Enjoy and as always, thanks for wasting some of your day on my site.

Brett Detar – Bird In The Tangle

With having the history of being a former guitarist/bassist of metalcore act Zao and also the lead singer of The Juliana Theory, it came as a great surprise to me when I was told that Brett Detar recorded a country / folk album.  The solo attempt by Detar, titled Bird In The Tangle,is actually a damn good listen too (it was released almost a year ago).  Hearing this album, you would never think that Detar, who grew up in PA, could have so much outlaw in his blood.  The moment the album started with “Empty House On A Famous Hill”, I was completely overtaken by his singing and music writing abilities.  “The Devil’s Gotta Earn” was my favorite cut off this album and “Cocaine Whiskey and Heroine” was a close second.  Following the likes of Nick 13 and Tumbledown, this genre jump from a guy who used to provide fast paced ear-pounding music has captured a style of outlaw country that is welcomed in my world.  Detar reminds me a lot of Justin Townes Earle but with more of a folk feel as well as had some Murder By Death tendencies.  Want to check it out?  Head over to Brett Detar’s website and download it for free!

JuiceheaD – How To Sail A Sinking Ship

Chicago punk rockers JuiceheaD has been off the charts for a bit but have recently dropped How To Sail A Sinking Ship. This is their second full-length release since their 2007 debut The Devil Made Me Do It. Sure, 7 years is a long time in between albums, but in their defense, there are 20 songs on this new release, a rarity in today’s punk rock recordings.  Not familiar with their sound, I gave it a listen hoping for the best.  The album started out a little slower than anticipated, but things picked up during “Lorraine” and brought back an old school punk rock vibe that I enjoyed.  “Deadly Nightshade” was an entertaining track that had some nice 80’s punk rock vibes contained within.  Hoping that the rest of the album would spark my interest, sadly it did not.  It’s not a terrible listen by any means, it just lacked that extra “oomph” my ears were hoping for and was more rock n roll throughout with a good drum beat that sounded a tad under-produced.  I won’t lie, I was not stoked to see that their album was released on Misfits Records (it should be called MISFIT Records as it’s solely owned by Jerry Only) as most of their releases do not entertain me at all.  Melodic punk rock would be how I would describe How To Sail A Sinking Ship.  It is nothing beyond that to me and I really was hoping for something a little more from these guys.

Transit – Listen & Forgive

Boston’s Transit could be classified as just another pop-punk act, but there is just something about them that makes them stand out over other similar acts.  They have a tougher sound on a few of their songs that proves to me that they have the ability to attack if threatened, but overall have a soft side to them that stands out.  Regardless of how they are viewed by others, I dig this band and I really enjoyed their recent Rise Records release Listen & Forgive. Think Taking Back Sunday meets Saves The Day meets a calmed down New Found Glory.  “You Can’t Miss It” opened the track with a memorable track.  I could have done without Patrick Stump offering vocals on “All Your Heart”.  Seriously, that song did nothing for me.  “Cutting Corners” was, on the other hand, a track I dug a lot with “make every song your anthem and every night your last”, a lyric that pretty mush defined me growing up.  “Long Lost Friends” was a more aggressive track that stood out over the rest.  This band may be unknown to most music fanatics out there, but I have the feeling that will not be for long.  I hope just it has nothing to do with that song Stump was on…

Coffee Project – Concrete Boots EP

Love them or hate them, Coffee Project is a catchy and unique act that many have been talking about recently.  What you need to know about this is this: They are a duo consisting of trombonist Buddy Schaub and Rehasher’s Jake Crown, they are fun, they are catchy and they specialize in brassed out punk pop acoustic rock.  Recently the band dropped an EP titled Concrete Boots that includes their version of “Little Boxes” , the Malvina Reynolds written song turned Weeds intro that has been recorded over and over by all sorts of bands, as well as 4 brand new songs.  The opening track “”Shenandoah” was more of a bluegrass boot-stomping jam that seeming proved the duo has been taking this project seriously.  The accompanying female vocals on the title track was enjoyable although I have no idea who it was.  “Exit Stage Left” was more of an indie rock track that was not half bad while “Laid Up” led back to their standard sound – singing with acoustic guitar and a trombone.  Regardless on how far this band plans on moving in the music scene, they are fun and enjoyable to listen to.  This EP hopefully is just a sample of what they have up their sleeves for their next full length release.

The Flatliners – Count Your Bruises EP

The Flatliners are a Fat Wreck Chords band that I have adored since their early days.  Hailing from Ontario, Canada, they have this great punk rock sound that I appreciate and always seem to release the catchiest punk rock albums.  Seeing how much I dig this band so much, I am shocked to have missed the memo that they released an EP back in August.  Titled Count Your Bruises, the three song EP (also available as a 7″) straight up rules from start to finish.  The title track glided past me quickly as I immediatly found myself trying to memorize the lyrics so I could sing along.  “Sticky Bastards” really sounded like a gritty Gaslight Anthem  song but was in no was a ripoff.  The final track, “This Guy Reads From A Card”, was just as amazing as the first track and by the song’s end I just wanted more.  I suppose I will have to wait though and I will be sure to follow this band and their future releases.  The EP may have been just three songs, but they were all kick ass tracks.  Now all I can hope for is a new full-length from this great band and pray that the next time they roll through my neck of the woods I can see them live.  I caught them briefly at SXSW earlier this year, but it just was not enough.  Wishful thinking right?

I Am The Avalanche – Avalanche United

After 6 long years, Brooklyn’s I Am The Avalanche has dropped their all new album titled Avalanche United. There is no point asking what took so long for Vinnie Caruana and crew to release new material.  All you need to do is listen to Avalanche United once and it is perfectly clear that no explanation is needed as the band has dropped a superb follow-up.  With a mostly positive attitude throughout, the band references NYC and has lyrics that almost coach their friends to embrace the life they life especially heard in opening track “Holy Fuck”.  With that said, there are a couple dark spells throughout like “Amsterdam” that seemingly carries a couple of references to personal separation.  “Brooklyn Dodgers” was an anthem of awesomeness.  I loved this track start to finish.  It was a fist pumping sing along that was just refreshing to listen to.  The beer chugging invite “This One’s On Me” probably sounds a little better mixed with friends – and beers.  Bayside’s Anthony Raneri may have jumped in with some vocals on “The Grave Digger’s Argument”, the the song still just was missing something.  Perhaps I am just more into the tougher singing throughout the album.  Closing track”Gratitude” threw me for a curve at the beginning as it sounded like a 90s alt-rock song but soon picked up and continued on with a good jam that ended this album in a good way.  If you are looking for a catchy album to listen to that leans a bit on the heavy side, check these guys out.

Cleveland, Indie, Live Shows, Music, Punk, Review, Rock

Concert Review: Cobra Skulls / Nothington / Signals Midwest – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH – 10/05/2011

Leave a comment

I need to be honest with you on a couple of things.  First, I have not been that kind to my teeth for years and neglected to take them to the dentist for a long while.  Second, I have never been to a punk show at the Beachland Tavern.  Both are true statements, and both were taken care of yesterday.

After I had the pleasure of getting the shit drilled out of my teeth for a couple of hours after the paying gig, I headed out to the glorious Beachland Tavern to take in my first ever punk rock show in the Waterloo District featuring Cobra Skulls, Nothington, and Signals Midwest.  For the record, there have been plenty of punk rock shows at the Beachland ever since the venue opened its doors in 2000, I just never made it to one.

Why?

I have no freaking idea and I kind of hate myself for it.  Enough of me beating myself up over missing countless good and wholesome punk rock performances by one of my favorite Cleveland venues.  Let’s talk about last night.

Local punk/indie/rockers Signals Midwest opened the night with their fine and technical style.  1/2 of this band are homies of mine, and I am pretty sure I will charm the other 1/2 soon.  Rocking out to songs like “In Tensions” off their latest release Latitudes & Longitudes, the band had no problem warming up the crowd and other bands, for that matter, all who of which gathered around the stage to hear these guys out.  This has to be said: This band has the ability to be the next best thing to come out of Cleveland, OH.  If you have not heard these guys yet, do yourself a favor and check out their Bandcamp page.

San Francisco’s Nothington followed shortly after and hand down blew me away with their performance.  Having just gotten into these guys a couple of weeks ago, I was beyond impressed with their sound.  It reminded me of all of the good things about 90s punk rock that surrounded me growing up.  Already familiar with their recent release, Borrowed Time, I was treated to some of their older material and really liked what I heard.

Primary vocalist Jay Northington actually took a moment from their set to give praise to the local openers Signals Midwest saying that they were “the raddest local band” he’d heard in a long time.  He was dead serious too.  Later Northington commented on his last trip to Cleveland with his former band, Tsunami Bomb, when they played the old Grog shop years ago…or so he thought.  Apparently he had been to Cleveland since but was too messed up to remember.

The band cranked out a ton of foreign tracks through their set but I did manage to pick out a few I knew like “Stop Screaming” and “Far To Go” with Chris Matulich taking over vocal duties.  At the end of their awesome set, Northington and their drummer hung out on stage where he played a very old song of his that he said “validated” what he’s been doing on the road all these years.  The entire crowd basically stopped what they were doing to listen to the song.  I was unable to catch the name of it, but it was pretty damn awesome.  Their set seemed short-lived, but luck for me they are playing a Fun Fun Fun Fest after show and I will be there.

The headliners of the night, Cobra Skulls, took to the stage and were more of a comedy act than a punk rock band.  The band, that’s been around since 2005, cranked out old and new tracks and made every effort to throw in a joke or comment that resulted in tons of laughs though out.  I know I kept cracking up when Adam Beck congratulated the entire crowd multiple times and then congratulated his band for being so professional and playing two songs in a row.

“Hot Sand”, “Faith Is A Cobra” and “Solastalgia” were a few of the many tracks they played that kept the crowd going.  I want to say they covered Bad Religion’s “Give You Nothing”, but I honestly am not 100% sure – I know, I am a bad reviewer.  I do know that Devin Peralta killed it singing “¡Hasta Los Cobra Skulls Siempre!” to the crowd as well as one of my all time favorite Cobra songs, “Muniphobia”.  The band seemed to play an endless amount of songs and when they tried to finish up their set with Phil the merch guy on banjo (which was amazing), the fans still begged for Cobra Skulls to play more.

Lucky for the fans, most of the band was done, but Beck wasn’t and started playing 80s cover songs to which the entire crowd san along to.  Admitting he was a huge fan of Eddie Money, Beck broke into “867-5309 (Jenny)” followed by aHa’s “Take On Me” and Cutting Crew’s “Just Died In Your Arms”.  In all the year of going to live shows, I have never seen people most of 80s pop rock, but last night that happened.  Beck promised his performance was not affiliated with Cobra Skulls and he just kept playing covers.  In fact, I am not sure how much longer he went because I left during Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'”.  I wanted to stay, but had to venture on home.

For my first punk rock show at the Beachland Tavern, I must say it was the best one I have ever been to there.  Signals Midwest impressed, Nothington stole the show, and Cobra Skulls brought on the fun.  It was definitely a good night to be out and about with good friends and great music.

Cleveland, Indie, Music, New Release, Punk, Review, Rock

Album Review: Luther – Siblings & Sevens

Leave a comment

Philadelphia pop punkers Luther recently dropped an EP titled Siblings & Sevens on Black Numbers Records.  This is the bands first official release and I must say, it’s catchy as hell.  Having formed just about a year ago, the band has a great sound to them that compares to The Menzingers, Get Up Kids, and even a little Superchunk.  The EP may only be seven songs, but each song proved this band has the potential of being a big deal.

The acoustic “Siblings” opens up the EP with a gentle, quick start.  Reminding me a lot of something The Riot Before might throw into one of their albums, I loved the song, especially the lyrics, but it just seemed to just stop.  This melodic song alone impressed me even if I felt the guitar was set down too soon.  “This Is Light Fight Club” immediately took over and set the level for the rest of the EP.  I loved the breakdown during this track that really reminded me of the 90s rock I used to adore.  The lyrics on this track begged to be sung along with as well.

“The Suitor” was without a doubt my favorite track on this EP.  Starting off like an old Gaslight Anthem song, it jumped into a tough track.  Carrying a lot of Jawbox similarities, it even had a nice little bridge in the middle with “tell me you don’t want this, tell me you can’t remember” repeating after.  At just over 5 minutes and if I had it my way, would have gone on for 5 more.  I may have been impressed before, but after hearing this track, I was a confirmed fan.

“There’s Always Money” actually featured fellow Philadelphian Tom May of The Menzingers.  I could not help but imagine this song being played in a cramped, humid basement of some random house full of excitable kids.  The gritty, raw singing just fit in well and was far from an overproduced punk rock song.  “The Communion” on the other hand leaned towards more indie rock, almost a Jimmy Eat World feel.  Good song, but not one of my choice tracks by far.  “Aztec Tomb” finished up the EP  with a lasting punk imprint as well as some group vocals at the end leaving me wanting more.

I am really looking forward to seeing what these guys have to offer on their full length release.  I have the feeling that they will not be wasting any time making that happen.  Siblings & Sevens as far as I am concerned is just a sample of of their talent.  The band has been touring like crazy (see below for dates) and will actually playing Cleveland on November 14th with Tom May (The Menzingers) at Now That’s Class.  It’s safe to say I will be there that night.

Check out Luther’s Bandcamp page and check out Siblings & Sevens for yourself!

Acoustic, Cleveland, Country, Folk, Good Times, Live Shows, Music, Outlaw Country, Review, Rock, Rockabilly

Concert Review: Wagons / Dirt Daubers / Heelsplitter – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH – 09/11/2011

Leave a comment

Well Cleveland, I hate to say it, but you all missed out Sunday night on one hell of a show.  I am not one to usually say things like that, but Sunday night was an amazing night of music and chances are, you were not there.  For those of you who were though, I am sure you can all agree that Wagons, The Dirt Daubers, and Heelsplitter all put on a memorable show.

Sunday night was all about Americana, folk, and outlaw country inside the Beachland Tavern.  Making a triumphant return to the best little venue in Cleveland, Henry Wagons and his band Wagons traveled all the way from Melbourne, Australia making sure that Cleveland was one of their stops.  About a year ago, Henry Wagons came to the states without his band and played a solo set at the Beachland Tavern.  Later that night Wagons told me that he would bring the rest of his band back soon and play Cleveland again.  The man kept his word.

Local openers Heelsplitter wowed me instantly with their “Frankenbass”, a homemade upright bass with the body being a drum and one string bolted to neck of the instrument.  The two bearded males and cute female act played some awesome songs and had me actually question myself at one time, “are these guys really from Cleveland?”  The band reminded me of Split Lip Rayfield, a band I really adore, but did not completely rip them off.  Frankenbass, banjos, washboard, and no drums provided for a great start to the night.   I loved it when the trio all switched up their instruments and played more tunes.  I witnessed various Frankenbass playing styles  from plucking to beating the hell out of and must say, marveled at its creation.

Up next was the husband / wife act The Dirt Daubers.  Featuring JD Wilkes of the Legendary Shack Shakers, the duo, normally a threesome, admitted that they were missing their bass player and Jess would be filling in on the kick drum.  Their set was full of rockabilly, blues, country goodness and it was just two people on the stage playing the music.  Never mind the fact that Jess was dressed in quite the adorable dress, she kicked that drum all through their set in high heels as if she had done it many times prior.  Laughs were shared by the duo and crowd she Jess admitted a couple songs in that “this is fucking hard” and soon said that if she kept playing the kick drum she was going to have one Popeye leg.

JD looked like Buddy Holly in a way with his banjo and harmonicas strapped to him.  Throughout their set, they played songs from their upcoming new album titled Wake Up Sinners. I could not help but be amazed when JD would rip a harmonica out of one of the holsters attached to him and would play it.  I was more impressed when JD grabbed his washboard and showed the crowd his secret to not using a strap to secure the washboard – he stuck the legs in his front pockets.

The duo played a few more songs and covered Elvis as well as Gene Autry.  Towards the end of their set played a fast paced jam featuring a kazoo.  It was the best kazoo playing I have ever heard.

I wanted to hear more from the couple, and I think they wanted to play more, but had to kindly exit the stage and make way for the headliners.

It turned out a lot of people came to see The Dirt Daubers over Wagons and I thought for a moment some people might pick up and leave before the main act, but Jess told the crowd how amazing and fun they were the other night.  She even stated that Henry dedicated each of the seven songs on his set to each of the seven people that were in the bar the night before.  I would estimate that there were about 20 people in the tavern by the time Wagons took stage.

Opening with “Shake & Tumble” off the bands brand new release, Wagons turned the heads of anyone who was not looking at the stage.  It was not all business for the band as Henry talked to the crowd throughout songs confessing he knows “what a big deal primetime television is” and admitted that he has been powered by buttered vegetables for the last couple of days.

Henry mentioned Cracker Barrel quite a few times.  The man loves his American cuisine.  He even took a moment to ask the crowd where he could get some bacon ice cream and seemed disappointed when someone screamed back IHOP.

While playing “Save Me”, Henry left his band behind and jumped into the crowd headband and all.  Masking the best of his surroundings, he joked with the crowd how the band was probably sick of him and soon returned to his brethren and played “Never Been To Spain”.  I heard Henry play this song last year at his solo performance, but when the band backed him up this time, I was just floored with how awesome it sounded.  The band then moved into Wagons’ version of “The Gambler”, where Henry told the crowd that he wanted to be the next Kenny Rogers.

Before the band broke into “Driving Home” Henry asked for tips on getting to Chicago.  Someone mentioned toll booths and, of course, Henry found humor and asked “tall boobs?”

The rest of the band was included in discussions as well and props were given to This Way Out, the sweet shop that lies below the Beachland.  Once of the band members actually bought a shirt there prior to the show.  They did not say why, but after the show I found out he did that because he was wearing a Cincinnati Bangles shirt.  He was not trying to be crude, he seriously had no idea.  Apparently someone yelled at him before the show started.

Hoping to hear more songs by Wagons, they played more personal “Moon Into The Sun” and then closed the night with “Willie Nelson”, a track about, you guessed it…  The soon crowd was all singing along “he likes some salt and pepper with his evening meal” with the band and soon after the set came to an end.

There could have been two people or two hundred in the tavern Sunday night.  The band did not care one bit and played their hearts out to all those who attended.  The people that were lucky enough to witness that which is Wagons showed their approval throughout the entire set.  Ironically one of the guitarists told everyone that he had played a ton of shows and Cleveland was one of the best shows he ever played.  He was dead serious too.  After everything was said and done I was chatting with the band and it was either Mark or Chad that told me he was dead serious about what he said.  He loved the tavern that he just played in and was glad to have been able to do so.  They all told me they would be back again one day to rock out.  I know that is not a lie either.  I see big things coming from this Aussie outlaw county band.

Music, New Release, Punk, Review

Album Review: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – Sing In Japanese

2 Comments

Leave it to punk-rock-superstar-cover-project-extraordinaires Me First and the Gimme Gimmes to make America look good.  Usually us U.S. folk will see Japanese bands covering American tunes, but when is the last time you saw someone from the states actually take the time to cover a Japanese pop song as well as turn it into a punk rock jam?

The Gimmes have been making covering songs cool since the 90s with help from Fat Wreck Chords.  Featuring members of NOFX, Swingin’ Utters and even Foo Fighters, the Gimmes are not your Friday night hole-in-the-wall cover band.  By taking tracks your parents and probably grandparents listened to before you were accidentally conceived, the Gimmes add a punk rock style and make the songs tolerable.  I remember the first time I heard the Gimmes cover  Elton John’s”Rocket Man”.  I found the track on a free comp CD I snagged at a Warped Tour in ’96 and I was hooked instantly.

On the bands newest EP Sing In Japanese, the Gimmes decided to cover a new territory of music and once again add their own punk rock flair while doing so.  Having covered many different genres of music in the past (including country, Broadway tunes and adult contemporary), it was no surprise the the boys in the Gimmes would eventually try something a tad more challenging.  The result is a catchy culture crossing take on songs more likely sung along to in the bars of Japan.

“Hero” started off the EP with the Gimmes covering a Kai Band song.  Lead vocalist Spike Slawson did not hesitate at all while singing this track in Japanese.  While listening I read the band’s bio for this release and learned that Spike actually learned Japanese phonetically thanks to a friend of Fat Mike.  I have to admit, I was impressed to learn that.

With a clever Social D “Story Of My Life” intro, the cover of the 70’s hit “Kekkon Shiyou Yo” (“Let’s Get Married”) by Takuro Yoshida was actually a lot of fun to listen to.

“C-C-C” mixed in Japanese and English lyrics into the song originally recorded by the early 70s Beatles-inspired band called The Tigers.  The track, although I could only understand 50% of it, it was my favorite track on the EP.

“Linda Linda” ended the six song EP with a more ska-punk feel.  With trumpets supplied by Brad Magers and Keith Douglas of Mariachi El Bronx, the song was indeed a genre bender of a track.

This is not the first time the Gimmies have played a songs in different language as previously heard in their only live album to date Ruin Jonny’s Bar Mitzvah. Ok, it was just “Hava Nagila”, and yes, they were at a Bar Mitzvah.  Still, NOFX has covered the classic French tune “Champs Elysées” before, and they nailed it.  The point I am trying to make is that the Gimmes are more talented than many may think.

So why did they do a Japanese EP full of songs you probably have never heard of in your life?  Simple…because they can.

The band will be touring Japan shortly and I am sure that had something to do with which culture they decided to cover.  Just like the band’s last EP Go Down Under (they toured Australia upon releasing the EP), the band threw together a bunch of songs together just in time to tour.  I really would like to think that this was a little more involved than a couple of jam sessions as Spike really does a hell of a job singing the lyrics of each track in Japanese.  Funny thing about this concept is that the band plans on releasing future EPs in Spanish, German, and even French.  Is it wrong of me to be excited about this world tour of covering?

I can not say I knew any of these songs by heart nor have I the slightest clue what they were about, but I enjoyed what I heard.  The Gimmies could play Jesus Christ Superstar in its entirety for all I care and I am sure I would say the same thing.  I love these guys.

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes “Hero” by Fat Wreck Chords