After an 11-year hiatus, Atari Teenage Riot is back. Is This Real? will be dropping in June on Dim Mak Records.
This. Is. The. Awesome.
I can not tell you how excited I am. This is like a dream come true. Many of my friends know of my obsession with this band. I was lucky enough to catch them once in my lifetime.
To make this dream a reality, I have two songs from the upcoming release and I must say, wow. These guys (and gal) have not changed a bit.
“Activate!” starts the album with Atari Teenage Riot’s most concise statement of intent yet. On a backing of explosive 1991 hardcore jungle synths, super collider bass kicks, and guitar shrapnel Alec, Nic, and Kidtronik spurn us into a campaign of equality, activation, and eradication of ignorance.
“Blood In My Eyes” features Nic Endo on lead vocal. She speaks out for the multitude of women who have become the victims of human trafficking, their sexuality exploited for financial gain right under the gaze of the ineffectual governments of the self-proclaimed civilized west. Nic, wholly in tune with her trademark Japanese face-paint depicting “Resistance,” makes her point in the inimitable Atari way.
Southern California’s Unwritten Law once used to be a skate punk band that was a ritual in my ears. I popped in their cassette in my trusty Walkman daily and used them as a soundtrack to my life. As the years went by, they kept dropping albums and thier songs followed me around.
The first time I ever saw Unwritten Law was at a Warped Tour in some stone-covered parking log in Cleveland in the mid-nineties. They were just what my young ears were looking for. Weeks later they opened for Bad Religion at the infamous Agora. That was all I needed, I was an instant fan. From there on I made a point to see them live every time they came to Cleveland.
I can sit here and recall portions of my life that included an Unwritten Law song. I remember having a first kiss to “Catlin” in my beat up Cutlas Calais and years later hearing a girl admit their love to me in some dindgey-ass Kent State apartment while “Because Of You” played in the background. The songs pose as prompts to personal memories that will last for a lifetime thanks to a band that I have seen live easily over 12 times.
After battles with drugs and alcohol as well as with a brush with death due to a fire that claimed all of lead singer Scott Russo’s possessions (but not family), the band took all of their problems and issues and used them as fuel to write an all new album. Recently the band, including original members Russo and bassist Pat “PK” Kim, dropped Swan, their sixth studio album on Breaksilence Recordings/Suburban Noize Records.
“Starships and Apocalypse” started off the 11-track album with a more rock driven feel with Russo in singing about some Gucci knock-off glasses wearing woman who clearly is out of this world. “Nevermind” followed with a more Killers synthesizer sound going on in the background. “Dark Dayz” slightly hinted to older sounding Unwritten Law making for a good track to listen to. I love the way how Russo can still tell a story while singing.
Out of nowhere came “Sing” an acoustic song that just put the breaks on the entire album. For those of you that have heard Music In High Places you can agree with me that UL plays great acoustical songs. Gentle and just beautiful to listen to, this was one of my favorite cuts on the album.
“Let You Go” was more of a ballad than a song. The track lead up to an explosion of group vocals that laid behind Russo’s vocals. Just by listening to it you can tell there was a lot of effort put into it. I loved the change up when the bass took over only for it to build up again.
“Chicken (Ready To Go)” featured hip-hop god Del Tha Funkee Homosapien. The first time I listened to this song I just shook my head and wondered why in the hell did there have to be a hip-hop/rock song on this album. The truth is, the track is actually kind of catchy. I loved Del’s raps (as always) and really got a kick about half way though the song when Del steps back and lets Russo do his thing for the chorus.
“Love Love Love” was a touching track that I am positive will land on a mix for that next special someone out there that steals my heart. It was a ballad by a punk rock back with a lot of heart and a ton of talent.
Unwritten Law leans more towards a rock act these days, but still they have not completely lost that punk rock edge I adored the first time I heard them. A lot can happen in fifteen years and this band is proof of that. From playing side stages to headlining their own shows, Unwritten Law has paved their way to rock-stardom their own way. Swan is continued proof that this foursome still has what it takes to make it in the music world.
Ok, I really need to get to Vegas now. Fat Mike, you know – that guy from NOFX with the freshly styled hairs, bought a sweet house just outside of Las Vegas and is renting it out to the public.
So why should you rent a huge ass, punk rock house when staying in Vegas? I’ll let Fat Mike explain himself (taken from http://vegaspunkhouse.com):
Hi, I’m Fat Mike and this is my house. My punk house. This isn’t the house that I live and sleep in; it’s the house that I visit and don’t sleep in. It’s my house that’s for adults that live like teenagers.
This is why it’s awesome:
It has 3 bedrooms, but it sleeps 10 cuz one bedroom has 6 bunk beds. There’s a full kitchen, sunken living room with an even more sunken bar, poker table room, game room with pinball, record player with a shitload of records, a pool table, and walls covered in thousands of old school flyers that I’ve collected over the years.
The outside has a salt water pool, a cave hot tub, a water slide, a tiki hut, and a 9-hole putting green. That’s a lot of cool shit… for a foreclosure.
The house is 4 miles from the strip (10 minutes) and is on a cul de sac in a really nice neighborhood (used to be till I moved in). That’s about it. Check out our gallery to get a better feel for the place. Have a really good/hedonistic time! The first case of PBR is on me.
Cheers, Fat Mike
The rates for staying are provided upon request. The place sleeps 10 so if you and a bunch of your punk rock buddies split the fee, it will not be that bad and you will have plenty of money to spend on hookers and blow.
I am thinking I need to crash here one day very soon. It looks like it would be an absolute riot.
CLICK HERE for more photos. The place is acutally very nice looking… Who’s game for a punk rock Vega weekend?
Fueled with a new found (and very welcomed) sex appeal while looking ever so refreshed, Those Darlins are back with their all new sophomore album entitled Screws Get Loose. Nikki, Jesse, Kelley, and Linwood continue their quest to have constant fun, drink the stiff drinks, and tour the country all while leaving a lasting impression on all who join in their nightly rock n roll shambles.
Even amidst non-stop touring, minus a brief timeout due to pair of broken bones in Nikki Darlin’s forearm after she lost a battle with Ohio terrane, the band was quick to record a follow up to their 2009 debut.
Screws Get Loose, in reference to the screws used to hold Nikki’s bones in place last summer, was released once again on Oh Wow Dang Records.
Known for being a more of a country / punk / garage rock sounding act, the foursome have switched things up a tad and added a nice indie rock style to their sound in their mix. One of the coolest aspects of this change is hearing Linwood, the band’s lone male drummer, lend his pipes on the album as well as help write some of the tracks. The girls still trade off with vocals throughout the album keeping it catchy and all so fun.
The title track “Screws Get Loose” open up things with a song carrying a couple of references to why screws were needed in the first place. The new sound coming from the quartet was good and quite the shock to hear. It was almost as if Those Darlins left their country sounds on the porch in Murfreesboro and headed off to the big city for a entirely new prospect.
“Be Your Bro” hands down is my favorite track on the album. Having heard it months earlier at a live show of theirs last Fall, I fell in love with the Darlins a little harder because of this track. Singing of how the girls just “wanna run and play in the dirt” while said guys “just wanna stick it in” just proved how real the girls are and how not afraid they are to tell it how it is. Singing “I may have girly parts but I have a boy’s heart” hopefully will throw a hint at any Darlin chasing fellow, or will it?
“Let U Down” premiered Linwood’s vocals, an improvement in the direction of the band if you ask me. Not that there was anything wrong with the girls taking vocal duties throughout the songs, but Linwood has himself a very fitting voice that goes perfectly with the music that they all create. This is a track that needed to be heard.
“Mystic Mind” was a trippy track that didn’t necessarily fit the rest of the album but was hard not to listen to. “$” was a step back for a moment into what I previously was used to coming from the Darlins and their group vocals.
“Starving for something and it ain’t your touch” start off the hilarious “Fatty Needs A Fix”. The track easily is a continuation to “The Whole Damn Thing” off their debut album, as a drunken end to a night out required some immediate stomach pampering and nothing more than that.
“Waste Away” put a halt to the party with a direct message to a certain someone to knock off the hardcore partying. This track reached back to material from their previous album. “BUMD” closed the album with what sounded like to me something pulled from the 60’s. The song differed from the others with more proof of how much talent these four musicians possess.
It was almost a shock to hardly hear any country driven tracks on this album, but it’s just proof that Those Darlins are maturing into an even more of an amazing act. Shorter than I would have liked, Screws Get Loose is a great album from start to finish with plenty of tracks to help you shake your baby-maker throughout thanks to all of the members coming together and doing what they like to do best. If you were not a fan of their first release, you might just want to pop this one in and see if it catches your fancy.
Today while earning my keep at the paying gig I realized that I still had not received my original order that included a copy of Explosivo! LP.
I decided to hit up the website and try and find out what was going on as it has been a couple of weeks since I handed over my money for the goods.
The moment I got onto the Dead Broke Rekerds website I see a post:
YOUR ORDERS ARE SHIPPING!!!Sorry for the delays but Paypal multi-order shipping was being an asshole, but rest assured all Explosivo Kickstarter orders, Pre-orders and every other order is shipping tomorrow and all through this week. Thanks you for your patience.
I did not need to send 1000 emails to find out what the heck was going on…yet. I just thought it was cool the moment I hit up the site I found exactly what I was looking for.
I am sure the LPs will be at my doorstep in no time and I know I will continue to hand over my cash to this awesome online punk rock music store.