The Figgs
The Day Gravity Stopped
Peterwalkee Records
The Figgs seem to have credentials piling out the front door, but that doesn’t always equate to success I suppose. They’ve been together for 25 years as of 2012 and have now put out 11 full length records. Despite the consistent quality of their releases, they’re not the biggest band in the world, believe it or not, and I’m not sure why. The Day Gravity Stopped is the band’s 11th full length and features 20 brand new songs over two LPs.
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Bad Advice
Do Not Resuscitate
Grave Mistake Records
Once again, Grave Mistake Records has unearthed a gem of a sloppy/dirty hardcore punk record hidden within the depths of Richmond, Virginia. This one comes from the now-defuct/not-really-a-fulltime-band Bad Advice, which features members of Government Warning, Cloak and Dagger, and The Ladies. This EP was recorded in 2010 and only released earlier in 2012. If you’re familiar with these three bands, then you’ve got a pretty good idea what Bad Advice sound like. That being said, I hear a lot of Social Circkle in these four songs.
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Great Cynics
In The Valley EP
Kind Of Like Records
Great Cynics’ follow up to their debut LP Don’t Need Much comes in the format of 3-songs stuffed onto a fantastic looking coke-bottle clear 7”. This EP picks up where the LP left off (that is, it’s good), however they don’t really tread any new ground here.
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Make Do and Mend
Everything You Ever Loved
Rise Records
Buy Physical Version
A bands sophomore full length is a pivotal make or break moment in a bands career. I’ve always argued that the reasons a lot of bands stumble with their sophomore release is because they lose the hunger, urgency and fire that made their initial record great, and I still stand by that notion. Not very many bands get large recording budgets to make their first full length, so what you are usually left with a raw depiction of songs a band spent all the years prior perfecting. That was End Measured Mile for Make Do and Mend, a record perfectly captured the totality of the bands aggression and melody. It was one of the most brutal pop-punk records out there, or possibly the most melodic and poppy hardcore record in recent memory. End Measured Mile set the bar incredibly high for this band, and a lot of people (present party included) felt it was an impossible feat to top.
Everything You Ever Loved is without question a Make Do and Mend record. Most bands, as they progress, try new things and attempt to grow as a band, but in doing that, a lot of the time those bands tend to lose sight of what made them such an appeal. A perfect example of this is Small Brown Bike, a band Make Do And Mend have been compared to fairly often. Towards the end of Small Brown Bike’s catalog, they seemed to lose all their aggression and ferocity, instead replacing it with infectious melodies and experimentation layered under a whole lot of guitar effects. The idea of growth for Small Brown Bike, as well as a whole slew of other bands, usually means a total change. This isn’t the case with Make Do And Mend. Everything You Ever Loved continues to build on the band’s ability to blend aggression and melody, all while still being incredibly new and refreshing. Everything You Ever Loved sounds like Make Do and Mend, without sounding like anything they have ever done before.
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Photo by Tara Dwelsdorf
Vancouver, British Columbia’s Needles//Pins have been penning scratchy lo-fi power pop jams for just over 3 years now. With the release of their debut full length 12:34 on the budding Lethbridge, Alberta label Mammoth Cave Recording Co. the band has began really coming into their own, beefing up older classics and releasing some of the catchiest punk rock from a country that’s seemingly at the forefront of the genre. After a handful of cassettes and 7”s, 12:34 looks to be the release that’ll take them on a number of tours across the continent, turning heads and taping toes alike.
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House Boat
21st Century Breakroom
Bloated Kat Records
There’s no going around it. We’re talking about this record because 1. House Boat features members of every pop punk band worth listening to in the last five years and; 2. the band known for writing infuriatingly short songs has released a 9 minute long song. The band continues their usual tongue-in-cheek antics and play on words with a great big honking Green Day reference in the title (not to mention the great big (early) Green Day influence on their sound).
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Needles//Pins
12:34
Mammoth Cave Recording Co.
Vancouver, British Columbia’s Needles//Pins have a number of releases under their belt by now, including a few sold out 7”s, cassettes and compilation appearances, but 12:34 marks their first foray into full length territory. Where Needles//Pins‘ earlier material is scratchy and undoubtedly lo-fi, 12:34 by and large polished up everything that kept the early records great and made these songs fantastic. Kudos to Jordan Koop, with whom the band recorded with, for really bringing these tracks to life.
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Hot Water Music
Exister
Rise Records
But This Record
Sometimes two writers review the same album. For a different take on this record check out John-Michael Bond’s review here.
Recently, at the age of 27, I’ve felt like I have been in high school again. At The Drive-In are playing shows, and Refused are touring the US. Now, I have a new Hot Water Music album to digest. All these bands meant a lot to me when I was 19, and I could argue that all these bands calling it a day was an important aspect of my relationship with those bands (but that is an entirely different discussion). When Hot Water Music broke up, I was actually kind of excited to see what the members of the band would do outside the world of Hot Water Music. Chuck Ragan’s solo career never really struck a chord with me, and neither did The Draft or Chris Wollard And The Ship Thieves. So, on paper, I should be thoroughly excited to have a new Hot Water Music record. However, I am just not sure how a new Hot Water Music record exists in the music world eight years later.
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Outtacontroller
Don’t Play Dumb
P. Trash Records
Buy This Record
Outtacontroller’s debut full length Don’t Play Dumb is heavy on the distortion yet the hooks still shine through nice and vibrantly. They’ve got Johnny Ramone’s buzzsaw guitar approach bred effectively with the stiff lip of The Buzzcocks, yet it still fits right in line with modern renditions like White Wires (particularly in the vocals, I’ll be damned if the title track couldn’t just as easily be a White Wires lost cut). Through all the aforementioned influences, Outtacontroller aren’t derivative enough to be labeled “blank-worship”, yet they do effectively hold their own in the modern power pop scene.
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God Equals Genocide
Rattled Minds
Razorcake Records & Dirt Cult
Buy This Record
God Equals Genocide is one of those bands that I’ve heard about for quite some time but never actually took the time to check out. I’m kicking myself about that now. After a number of 7″s, CD-r and cassettes since 2007, the band have finally recorded their debut full length for Razorcake Records entitled Rattled Minds. The band play a slightly familiar blend of power pop and punk rock akin to the Toronto scene in 2005, and by that I mean they sound a lot like Dangerloves. I mean a lot.
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