Album Review: The Evens - The Odds

Six years. That's how long it's been since The Evens released their last album, Get Evens. On the surface, the songs on the band's third album, The Odds, don't sound too far off from the songs on the first two albums. Sweet melodies, laid-back tempos set by both the drums and baritone guitars, and soft singing provided by both Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina. But when you really dig in to the core of the songs, there are a lot of structural and compositional differences. The Odds finds The Evens experimenting with new sounds, darker tones, and just general loudness. Not that this is a heavy-hitting album in the vein of Minor Threat, but both Ian and Amy raise their voices more on The Odds than they ever did before.

During several moments on the album, there are tracks that play almost like stripped down Fugazi tunes. The guitar playing is intricate, and the two vocalists trade off between each other between verses and chorus, not unlike the way MacKaye would do with Guy Picciotto in Fugazi. Even with that factored in, there's never a moment when it feels like you could be listening to Steady Diet of Nothing instead of this album; it's just The Evens finding a way to expand their sound while still staying stripped down to their two person line up. Among the best of these tracks are "Wanted Criminals", "Warble Factor", and the instrumental "Wonder Why".

The band keeps with their slower, more mellow sound that they've established with their first two albums as well. "I Do Myself" and "Competing with the Till" are more in line with their usual fare, although the latter incorporates the usage of jarring sounds (with what sounds like a horn of some sort), giving it weird, almost experimental jazz feel- a very common Dischord Records touch.

Perhaps it's just the six year gap between albums and a hazy memory, but Farina's vocals on The Odds far exceeds her previous performances. Her vocals have become incredibly powerful and when she takes the lead (such as on "Warble Factor", and "Broken Finger"), the strength of her voice is awe-inspiring.

Compared to the new Bad Brains album, Into the Future, and its desire to hold on to the past, it's an interesting look as to how differently 80's hardcore icons have grown up. While the music on The Odds is clearly still rooted in the established sound of 2005's The Evens, and 2006's Get Evens, Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina have branched out and tried new things, and the end result is an album that utilizes elements that are almost the opposite of what the band has done before. The Odds is by far the most appropriate title for this album.

Buy It!

Album Review: Bad Brains - Into the Future

I was late to the Bad Brains camp. I started listening to 80's hardcore in high school, but I didn't get around to really checking out Bad Brains until my third year of college- something I've always regretted. But even after I had discovered the band, I could never really get the feel for anything other than Bad Brains and Rock for Light. It's a stylistic thing; kudos to the band for branching out and adding more variety to their sound, but for me I was fine with the band playing at breakneck speeds before crashing into a 6 minute reggae wall. I mention this because Into the Future, the band's ninth studio album and first since 2007's Build a Nation, was touted by a handful of publications as a 'return-to-form' of sorts. However, being largely unfamiliar with a majority of the band's work, I mistook that to think that this new album would find the band rocking out like they did in the early 80's. I was wrong, as Into the Future combines elements of rock, punk, metal, funk, and reggae. In other words, it's a Bad Brains album.

Not being a fan of albums such as I Against I or Quickness, I have no frame of reference to readily compare the new album to... although I imagine that it's this amalgamation of styles which is how I Against I gained its legendary status. The album divides up nicely between aggressive punk (Yes I, Suck Cess, Come Down), the heavier tunes (Into the Future, Popcorn, Earnest Love, Fun) and the dub instrumentals (RubADub Love, Maybe a Joyful Noise, and the MCA-dedicated MCA Dub). From my understanding, this is what a majority of post-Rock for Light Bad Brains albums sound like.

There's a certain level of irony in calling your album Into the Future when the music has been done before, by your very band nonetheless. I'm not knocking it; clearly Bad Brains have locked themselves into a groove that works well for them. Fans of Bad Brains and their post-ROIR output will most likely enjoy this, but anyone hoping for anything slightly more futuristic may want to look elsewhere.

Show Review: The Gaslight Anthem - Live at Terminal 5 (Nov 28 - Nov 30)

On the nights of November 28, November 29, and November 30, The Gaslight Anthem played three back-to-back-to-back shows at Terminal 5 in NYC. Touring in support their fourth studio album, Handwritten, the band sold out all three nights incredibly quick. (Side note: when the band initially announced their tour dates, they were only scheduled to play on Nov 28 and Nov 29, but due to high demand they added the third date not too long afterward). The band tapped singer-songwriter Matthew Ryan to open for them on all three nights, while also selecting Laura Stevenson and the Cans, Cheap Girls, and The Static Jacks to play on the 28th, 29th, and 30th respectively.

Terminal 5 is a weird venue. In terms of size it's a wonderful place for bands the caliber of The Gaslight Anthem to play. The stage is large enough to fit five people comfortably, there's a standing area for people to crowd around, but there is also the back bar area for older fans and parents who had to bring their 16 year old. Additionally there are two levels full of General Admission standing and seated areas. In writing, it sounds perfect. However, since the main performing area is essentially a large cylinder, the acoustics have to be spot on, lest the entire place shake along to the drums while the rest of the band gets lost in the pounding. Luckily this wasn't a huge problem during any of the three nights, save for one instance. Most complaints about Terminal 5 tend to concern the bathroom attendant standing there while you release all that $8 beer. This sort of thing may be common for some crowds, but it's not really something a punk rocker expects to ever run into at a show (admittedly, the ties that The Gaslight Anthem's music has to the punk rock scene are tenuous at best these days, but punks still do make up a good portion of their fanbase). But on the bright side, the bathrooms also had candy to take. Who doesn't like free candy?

Matthew Ryan started off all three nights at exactly 8pm, quietly introducing himself and breaking out into songs. Not only was it clear on each night that the audience wasn't familiar with Mr. Ryan, but it was also painfully clear who was interested in becoming familiar with his work, and who just didn't care. During his set each night there was plenty of chatter coming from everywhere that wasn't directly in front of the stage to the point of where it was distracting to anyone trying to pay attention. Ryan was a trooper though, playing through his songs without any hesitation or concern for the lack of fans in the crowd. On the second night there were some folk complaining that it didn't make sense why a solo acoustic act would open up for The Gaslight Anthem although anyone who has ever seen or heard Brian Fallon perform solo with an acoustic guitar could draw the connection immediately.

The second act drew almost the same reactions that Matthew Ryan received on each night. Laura Stevenson and the Cans received an unfortunate lukewarm response, with just as much chatter occurring as during Ryan's set. It was a shame because the band performed wonderfully, even treating the crowd to a few new songs all of which were fast and upbeat and a welcome addition to the band's back catalog. Night two's set with Cheap Girls featured less talking, if only because the band plays a louder brand of rock music. That didn't stop hecklers making terrible comments in between songs, nor did it stop said hecklers from getting dirty looks from fans of the band. Arguably the greatest moment of the set was when Jeff Rosenstock (of Bomb the Music Industry! fame) jumped up onto stage during Hey Hey, I'm Worn Out to join the band on vocals. Unfortunately this was a wasted moment and the majority of the crowd remained unfazed as they had no idea what was going on before their very eyes. The Static Jacks on night three probably had the best reception of all the opening acts, although whoever was in charge of the sound that night was way off their game, as there was not a safe place in the house to stay clear of the vibrations caused by the drums. All three of the bands used their (approximate) half hour sets to their full potential, regardless of whether the audience wanted to acknowledge it or not.

The wait time in between the second band and The Gaslight Anthem on each night was minimal, giving the band more time for their set as well as giving the crowd more bang for their buck. Rather than kicking off each set with a fast number, the band opted to start things up with "Mae", slowly building up the energy before busting out into a faster number (all of which were from the band's 2008 break out album, The '59 Sound). From there, the band plowed through all of their crowd favorites including, but not limited to: Miles Davis and the Cool, Angry Johnny and the Radio, The Diamond Church Street Choir, 45, Blue Jeans and White T-Shirts, and The Patient Ferris Wheel. Although all three nights heavily featured songs from The '59 Sound and Handwritten, the band still found ways to keep the sets varied. During night one, the band had played almost the entirety of their second album, and the only time they played new track Keepsake. Night two featured a brand new song titled Halloween, as well as performances of Wooderson, Wherefore Art Thou, Elvis? and Howl. The final night saw the band adding Drive and The Navesink Banks as their token Sink or Swim-era songs. For complete set lists of each nights, refer to here (Nov 28), here (Nov 29), and here (Nov 30).

The band was spot on all three nights. Often times songs were extended either due to a solo or the band taking a longer pause than usual to allow for the crowd to cheer and/or sing the upcoming chorus. Frontman Brian Fallon made small talk in between songs, interacting with the crowd several times; from letting everyone know that the shows were being filmed for a future DVD release, to pointing out that drummer Benny Horowitz was wearing a Brooklyn Nets shirt, commenting on how quickly the team has adjusted to their new home, to having a casual one-on-one conversation with a rather tall audience member on nights one and two. Perhaps one of the most memorable incidents was on the first night, when the band was playing "Blue Dahlia" (one of the bonus tracks on Handwritten). Right before the chorus the band stopped playing to address the scuffle (aka, a fight between drunken crowd members) that was occurring with a well-inflected "we've got all the time in the world to wait for you to mature". The crowd cheered, and the band picked up the song right from where they left off.

If there were any disappointments at all during any of the three nights (other than the bathroom attendant listening to you go to the bathroom), the glaring problem was coming to terms with the realization that The Gaslight Anthem isn't just for aging and jaded punks anymore, and some of their new audience, to be blunt, sucks. The crowd was full of all types of people, which is fine, but there's always a problem when a group of people think that moshing equates solely to shoving their elbows into everyone surrounding them (additionally, it's a problem when said group thinks that it's an appropriate time to try to mosh during The Gaslight Anthem). This isn't the band's fault at all, but it was very unsettling to realize that there were a handful of rude and pig-headed folk among the crowd (as evidenced by the aforementioned attempts to "mosh", but also during the first night when Fallon asked that people not grope female crowd surfers and was met with a "shut up and play some damn songs!". Or as evidenced by the amount of talking each night during the first song of the encore, which was Fallon and Matthew Ryan playing I Can't Steal You; a song written by Ryan, and one that Fallon expressed a great admiration for.

Crummy new fans aside, there was nothing disappointing during those three nights in regards to the band's performances. Averaging 24-25 songs a night, the band played with an energy that always managed to light up the room (except for when they played a slow song, of course). It's amazing to see how far this band has come in such a short amount of time, and as long as this momentum continues there's nowhere for the band to go but up.

The Gaslight Anthem, you're more than welcome to play another three nights in a row in NYC anytime.

Album Review: forgetters - forgetters (LP)

Given that forgetters is made up of former members of both Jawbreaker and Against Me!, it would be easy to think that this album would be the essential punk album of not just 2012, but the entire century (thus far).

Sometimes our expectations aren't always met.

That's not to say that forgetters, the second self titled release from the Brooklyn trio (following a self-titled EP released in 2010) is an awful album, because it's not. Actually, it's pretty good: it's mellow, it's noisy, it's heavy, and it's sweet. Think more like a continuation of Jets to Brazil, minus the piano (mostly). With production and bass duties handled by J. Robbins (of Jawbox fame, although he also produced albums by Jawbreaker, Jets to Brazil, and Against Me!), the album almost playsgoing to see the band live during that era).
Blake Schwarzenbach's vocals bounce back and forth between his familiar rasp and a newer, deeper singing style. The album begins with the newer style, and honestly I was kind of worried at first because of how familiar it was, but by the time track two, "Lie Artist" kicks in, everything seems more at home.

If I've got any complaints about forgetters, it's that the album runs on for a little too long. At least half the songs on the album find their way into 5+ minute territory, and while some of those songs are the best on the album ("I'm Not Immune" and "Die By Your Own Hand" in particular), as a whole the album is a lot to take in at once. I had the same problem with Jets to Brazil's albums though, so that one might just be me.

forgetters may be far from being the punk album everyone was secretly hoping that it was going to be, but before you go around telling everyone, take some time and give it a listen. Even if only listened to in three or four song increments, the album holds together really well. Highly recommended for anyone who prefers latter-day Jawbreaker (or Jets to Brazil), and anything in the post-1990 Dischord catalog.

Album Review: Strike Twelve - Moonshine

This review was originally published on DyingScene.

Moonshine is the sophomore effort coming from the Golden State’s Strike Twelve. If you’re unfamiliar with them, Strike Twelve is a melodic skate punk band hailing Southern California. In other words, you know it’s going to be good. The songs average at around two and a half minutes in length, the guitars are aggressive a la Pennywise and the bass lays down an incredibly thick foundation in the vein of early Rise Against. Unlike those bands, however, Strike Twelve takes it easy on the politics for most of the duration on Moonshine, instead focusing their efforts on having a grand old time and personal reflections.

The album starts off on a heavy-handed note of self deprecation between the two opening tracks. From Toilet’s declaration of always finding a way to spoil anything beautiful, and The Long Tail’s refrain of “we can’t admit we’re just pieces of shit reaching out for something that we’ll never get”, Moonshine starts off as a very depressing album. Luckily things pick up with the third track, “The Beer Pong Song”, an ode to one of the biggest sports in the world of beer drinking. From there on the album is a mixed bag of fun party tunes (“San Francisco”, “No Means No”, “All-a-Riot”) and more serious and introspective tunes (“Unglued”, “Washed Away”, “The List”). The album never leans too heavily in one direction, and that helps to keep things fresh… although forty-five minutes does run on for a little long for the skate punk genre and cutting two or three tracks to save for a follow up EP or B-sides to singles wouldn’t have hurt Moonshine in the slightest.

In terms of musicianship, Moonshine is just as strong and diverse as the song-writing. Sure, a lot of the sounds are familiar (there are bound to be comparisons to almost any band from the 1990’s Epitaph roster), but the members of Strike Twelve are all talented enough to make the sounds of yester-decade work for them today in the modern age. The bass work on Moonshine is particularly impressive; many tracks taking full advantage of its powerful and deep voice (so to speak) – a staple of the heyday of melodic punk bands. That’s not to take away from the rest of the band: the guitars chug their way through verses and blare out solos at all the appropriate moments, and the drums set a steady framework in which the rest of the band can do their thing. Vocalist Matty T keeps the band grounded firmly in the genre with a voice that is reminiscent of Jim Lindberg, albeit of a slightly softer timbre.

In this day and age when every other punk frontman is ditching his band for an acoustic guitar, and Epitaph is signing bands that look like they piss neon glo sticks, it’s extremely comforting that Strike Twelve exists and that they have recorded Moonshine. It is bands and albums like these that helping keep punk rock alive and well; no schticks, no gimmicks, no haircuts, just good old fashioned songs about beer, insecurity, and persistent telemarketers.

Album Review: Aspiga - Every Last Piece

This review was originally published on DyingScene.

Aspiga is a three piece pop punk act hailing from New Jersey, whose only goal is to make people feel things. Running at only a mere seven tracks long, Every Last Piece (now out on Paper + Plastick Records), the band’s third studio album, takes a risky move by trimming off extraneous fat and aims right at the aural equivalent of a gut of the listener.

Every Last Piece is filled with self-loathing and aggressive riffing that would any 90’s punk rocker smile. Frontman Kevin Day’s vocals have a way of both snarling their way across the album, while also taking the time to find themselves deep in though. The first half of the album lashes out immediately and relentlessly: from the opening refrain of “Don’t you forget- because I won’t” in “Save Your Spit” to the repeated phrasing “I’ve discovered I hate myself” for a solid minute in “Welcome to the Sympathy Party”. Toward the end of the album, Day shows off his Schwarzenbach-ism’s, dropping lines of wisdom such as “I say what I don’t mean, it keeps me from feeling anything” or the introspective “So I dig until I find every last piece of me” in the album’s final two tracks, “On the Defensive“, and “The Excavation” respectively.

Musically the album finds itself somewhere along the lines of taking 24 Hour Revenge Therapy and injecting it with the energy of Through Being Cool. From the fast striking tracks that kick off the album, to the mellow paced middle, and the intricate instrumental work that closes things out, Every Last Piece finds the perfect balance between taking influence from what came before while never sounding exactly like its predecessors.

Aspiga is not your run-of-the-mill modern pop punk band, but rather the band is a dying breed in the pop punk realm, drowning in the waves of chugged breakdowns and gang vocal choruses about how much best friends are better than girlfriends. However, instead of simply laying down and accepting defeat, Aspiga churned out Every Last Piece, a filler-free and heavy hitting album that runs short on the playtime, but long on the impression it will leave on listeners.

Album Review: Hostage Calm - Please Remain Calm

Hostage Calm is one of those bands that I never got around to checking out simply because I had never heard their name until recently. Looking back on their discography, particularly their self-titled album from 2010, it's weird that I overlooked them. But I digress, better late than never, right?

I first heard of Hostage Calm while doing a shift for DyingScene. They had just premiered a then-new song "Don't Die on Me Now" and it was said to show up on their then-upcoming (now newest) studio album Please Remain Calm. I listened to it, thought it sounded okay for a live video, and then promptly forgot about it. And now I've been listening to Please Remain Calm almost non-stop for about three weeks.

In spite of the almost Black Flag homage and street punk font style on the front cover, Hostage Calm plays a much more (dare I say it?) calm approach to punk rock. Anyone who heard their self titled album would know that, but alas I am not one of those people. The songs are composed to incorporate various stringed instruments in addition to the standard rock set up, the the harmonies that are used are seldom used by punk bands that aren't the Smoking Popes. The lyrical themes reflect the unease and concerns of growing up in these tough economical times to which any jaded youth can relate, punk rocker or not.

Due to its use of some very non-punk elements, Please Remain Calm was kind of off-putting at first. The layered vocals on Patriot sound like one of the forgotten b-sides to Weezer's Songs from the Black Hole, and The "M" Word utilizes a full 60's pop orchestral backing track to the point that you might question if Phil Spector secretly produced it. Don't get me wrong, this album is damn good- just know that if you're expecting working class punk rock (or even gruff, jaded PBR-soaked punk rock), you'll be in for a disappointment. Much like how Streetlight Manifesto has taken influences from outside of ska and turned their music into a sound that is wholly them, Hostage Calm has done for the same for punk.

Definitely worth checking out.

RIYL: Smoking Popes, Cheap Girls, Pinkerton-era Weezer

Oh yeah, the whole thing is available to stream or purchase on Bandcamp right here.