Big changes going on in the personal world of Broken Headphones as of late, so I apologize I have not been around as much.
Wanted to take a minute though and share a music video by Blowfuse. These punkers hail from Barcelona, Catalunya and really reminded me of the 90s punk rock I grew up with.
They have a new album coming out titled Daily Ritual in a couple of weeks on Paper & Plastick. After hearing “Angry John”, I am pretty stoked to hear the rest of the album.
Check it out:
I hate to break it to you, but summer is almost over. Soon it’s going to be cold and miserable out.
No need to get depressed just yet though as there is still plenty of time to get rad. Luckily Johnny La Rock is here to add fuel to that fire with his debut, dance-your-pants-off release titled Gold Codes.
Cleveland native La Rock, aka Eddie Fleisher, once showcased his talent in hip-hop duo Johnny La Rock & Mushmouth as well as Presque Vu, but has taken an entirely new approach that surely will appeal to all those looking for a good time.
Gold Codes is La Rock’s solo debut album that is more or less a “life can’t get any worse, let’s party like those people did in Independence Day on top of that skyscraper before the aliens blew that shit up” album. Yeah, I just said that. It’s pop, it’s soul, it’s electronic, and most importantly, it’s good.
“Dance to the Rhythm (Party Time)” started things off just right with a body-moving jam complete with a little 90s inspired hip hop enthusiasm. This was a sincere as hell track that really will make you want to get down.
The inspirational “210 and Mustache” more or less punched negativity in the throat and walked away proud with your head up high. If you do not know what 210 refers to, go ahead and just Google that along with Urban Dictionary.
“Swipe Left” is a honest yet candid track about the norm that is called online dating. I loved the line “you seem cool on the internet, in real life you’re insane.” I loved the vintage video dating samples, it accompanied perfectly.
“Keep On Keepin’ On” was a fun instrumental jam as was the 80s thriller sounding “Phantasm”. It was cool to have both songs just change things up for a moment without losing momentum. Least I not forget about “Lumin8”, that was solid too.
“Blue Away” was an uplifting alternative to shake off any funk currently holding anyone back. No lie, this song cheered me up. I think a music video is in order for this one (hint, hint).
“Gold Codes” stuck on me for some reason. I think it was more or less because I’ve felt what La Rock sung about on a few occasions over the past 20 years. This was the fight jam I needed to remind me that retaliation happens in many forms as long as you don’t give up.
I’ve seen La Rock live a few times when he focused on rap and most recently with programmer Furface and I have to admit, I am a bigger fan of his solo stuff than I thought I would be. At first I was set back because I was expecting the hip hop, but when the soul-pop dropped, I was an instant fan.
I have to note that this album fueled my recent trip to Vegas and if I had it my way, I would have played it for everyone around me at all hours. The release has jumped up high as one of my favorites of 2018 and I’m not sure any music quite like this will be topping it. I speak high praises because I thoroughly enjoyed almost this entire album from start to finish many times over.
La Rock is the Har Mar Superstar of Cleveland and even manages to keep his clothes on during live sets.
Interpersonal ,humorous party vibes a al Electric Six, La Rock knows how to deliver a good time to all his fans.
Check out what La Rock has to offer below and hopefully you’ll agree that it does not disappoint at all.
My best friend in high school was one year younger than I was. I want to say I met him in my German class where I was more about messing with the teacher, Herr Van Halen or whatever his name was, rather than learning a second language.
I have tons of memories of us hanging out and just encompassing a true friendship as teens.
One of the things that we both had in common was our love of music. We could talk about bands for hours and if there was one thing I was always jealous of, it was his musical talents that I seemingly lacked.
He and I once went on a ride with a homeless man who wore a Sea World hat the projects of Cleveland so he could “pick something up for a friend.” In exchange he bought us a bunch of 40 oz. beers with our money and wound up keeping the change.
It’s a memory I’ll never forget, especially the part were my friend and I were laying down in the back of the pick-up truck’s bed through the crazy adventure because there was no room for us up front. Ahh youth…
A couple of years after that memorable evening, my friend told me at a random afternoon driveway party that he was going to move to California to live with his father and look into the music world. As shocked as I was, I understood he needed to do this and wished him all the luck in the world.
You know how things go. You grow up. You become distant, not on purpose of course, but because life gets in the way. We did our best to keep in touch, but truth be told, I have not seen him in over 20 years now. Thanks to the Internet and smart phones, we touched base here and there and i knew he was doing well and following his passion.
Where am I going with this? There’s a point, I promise…
Just a few weeks ago, my pal reached out to me to tell me about something he has been working on for a while now and wanted me to check it out and let me know my thoughts on it. He told me he has been heavily involved with PowerFlo, a band full of musicians from the 90s that we obsessed over as teenagers.
One could say I freaked out when I heard this. Still, I needed to hear it for myself. To say I was proud of his accomplishment is an understatement. Of course I told him I would check it out and offer up a review of sorts.
So I guess here we go…
PowerFlo is a supergroup metal/rap outfit from LA. Consisting of Cypress Hill’s Sen Dog, Biohazard’s Billy Graziadei, former Fear Factory bassist/guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers, Downset’s Rogelio Lozano, and Fernando Schaefer, one could say this band is full of talent.
This group of seasoned musicians perfectly took their areas of expertise and infused metal and rock with hip-hop for an album that any fan of the “Judgement Night” soundtrack would approve of.
The album was produced by my pal Josh Lynch and also Graziadei. It was mixed by Jay Baumgardner, and was mastered by Maor Applebaum at Maor Applebaum Mastering and released on New Damage Records.
Opening the album with a cocked gun (literally), “My M.O.” did not disappoint More of a hardcore track over rap/metal, I loved the brutal drumming and heavy guitar riffs. Sen Dog fits in perfectly with the rest of the gang and just goes berserk in the middle of the track with his unforgettable rap flow style.
“Resistance” followed with a slow start reminiscent of a funeral thanks to a slow bell being rung, but just exploded out of no where. Sen Dog shined on this track and pretty much proved he’s beyond a rap artist.
“Where I Stay” had this Fear Factory Remanufacture likeness with the electronics incorporated into the track. Sen Dog has no problem taking his style and mixing it into the song. This hard homage to LA threw me off with the “na na na” back vocals, but after a few listens it just worked. I loved the thrash breakdown half way through.
The punk rock me absolutely adored “Crushing That.” Yeah, it is mostly rap/rock, but think of what would happen if Public Enemy and Rise Against did a collaboration.
I found myself getting into “The Grind”, a full-on rager of a track. Reminding me of Biohazard in a good way with plenty of group screaming, Sen Dog just flowed perfectly throughout.
“Victim of Circumstance” was just insane. The band really killed it together on this one.
“Made It This Way” had Sen Dog singing / screaming more than rapping showing how diverse his talent is. This track was just bad ass.
“Finish The Game” was a positive, forcefully charged song about getting things done without giving up. I almost wondered if there was a hidden nod to Hatebreed on this track. Not complaining here at all.
Ending the album was the powerful “Start A War”. This track was all about swinging fists and not asking questions at all. I could not help of think of Chuck D and Anthrax on this one.
There really is no sleeper of a track on this album. It started strong and ended full-force. My only vice is that it clocked in at just over 30 minutes and I really wanted more.
I’ll say it – PowerFlo is what I expected Prophets of Rage to sound like. Where the former Rage guys still have yet to impress me completely, PowerFlo has straight up delivered a solid album to my ears that has been worthy of multiple listens.
Perhaps not nearly as brutal as the new Body Count was, this album is still heavy, poignant, and should not be sat on. I am really hoping these guys hit the road soon as I would love to see what they sound like live.
When you hear metal musicians from the 90s came together with a 90s hip-hop artist, it is easy to dismiss the whole idea but PowerFlo delivered an excellent release. I look forward to seeing this band succeed.
I’ll openly admit that I had never heard of Ethan Daniel Davidson until Pete at Blue Arrow Records asked me to check out his latest release Crows.
I am so stoked he did.
All I was told about Davidson was that he was from Detroit and played folk music. Furthermore, I had no idea that this Americana folk album bordered outlaw country.
Crows is Davidson’s latest full-length and has been released on Blue Arrow Records. He has been playing music for years now and has released quite a few indie/folk albums previous to Crows. I learned that he is married to Gretchen from Slumber Party and once moved out to Alaska to record. He toured for years until he had a family and is known for offering up his music (downloads) for free. He’s also the adopted son of the late Pistons owner, Bill Davidson.
Just by looking at the album cover of Crows, I instantly thought of Billy The Kid as the photo of Davidson looked rustic and almost criminal. I was instantly intrigued before even hearing one song.
“My Crows” opened up the album with an almost warped sound to it. Davidson’s singing was welcoming and just caught my attention. Having expecting more of a folk style, I really dug this country style. The collective singing midway about love just made it that much more inviting.
“My Own Bad” was one track I really enjoyed. This song was more of a cowboy memoir full of twang that was fueled by evil tendencies. This is a track I wish I could have listened to when I lived out in the desert, it would have complimented my evenings so well.
“And The Never Saw Him Coming” was more of a 40s country telltale tune that I easily got sucked into. I adored the banjo with the slow drumming that carried me along for the ride. Davidson slowly sung about a mysterious natural born killer ending right at the climax leaving for plenty of interpretation.
“I Might’ve Been Wrong” was an eerie gospel-like track about a punished man with a conscience. Davidson did not hold back with his descriptive lyricism on this track.
“Close To The Gallows” kept on the with the demeanor and easily could be put in a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack – seriously, this track ruled.
“Love can go to hell” started off the twangy, tender song “Fade”. This little jam was not necessarily a romantic story, but more of a strung out, timely appreciation.
As someone who has an appreciation for real country music and not that pop crap, I loved every moment of Crows. It was a complete shocker of an album to hear and as I previously mentioned, I’m thrilled Pete told me to check it out. This is going to be one of those albums I play for the rest of my life. With that said, I think I should probably check out Davidson’s catalog, something tells me I am going to enjoy it as well.
This album is perfect if you like alt-country but are looking for something a little slower and more on the dark side. Check it out for yourself:
After 12 years since their debut dropped, I have to admit I was shocked and overly stoked when Western Addiction announced that they were dropping a sophomore album on Fat Wreck Chords.
What got me even more stoked was to hear that Joey Cape was producing it and Dead To Me’s Chicken was back offering bass duties.
Once I heard all of this news, I was like a giddy little kid impatiently waiting to hear it. I loved Western Addiction’s debut album, it ruled on so many levels. Finally today, I was able to check out Tremulous and it does not disappoint at all.
“Clatter and Hiss” started things off well. The energetic track really proved to me that this album was going to be sick. “Masscult, Vulgarians and Entitlement” was just a rager of a song to listen to. I dug the vocal ranges throughout as it just added an enjoyable edge to it.
The tough “Taedium” was just perfect to listen to tonight after having a stagnate day at the paying gig. I could not help but to think about Mötorhead on this track, and that is not a bad thing at all. Add the fact that Propagandhi’s Todd Kowalski dropped some vocals in it make it even that much better for me. This was a hell of a track.
“Red Emeralds” was a short track, but one that left a mark. This hardcore track was full-forced from start to end.
The guitar playing on “Humming Bars of White Light” reminded me one again of Mötorhead, again, not a bad thing at all. This track ruled.
Then there was “The Rockery”. This track was all over the place with a hardcore feel that morphed into a punk rock jam that eventually all ended by a guitar solo like no other.
Album ender “Your Life Is Precious” was written in tribute to the band’s friend, and Enemy You frontman, David Jones. This track was not like the others and easily was my favorite cut off the album. I loved the different approach taken and really was reminded of something Danzig might have done in this prime. Not saying there are “woahs’ and “yeahs” being screamed, but I am saying a damn fine song took you on a ride.
Western Addiction really have dropped a killer release. This punk/hardcore act has delivered after a 12 year wait and did not cut any corners in doing so. If you are looking for something to listen to without smooth edges and loud, check out Tremulous.
