Gold Beach – Gold Beach
Just like the Doug Burr 7-inch, this 7-inch from Gold Beach comes with two songs on vinyl and an ep’s worth of material on the download card (six songs total). “Gold Beach” is a sweet pop song set to a slightly more complex rhythm than your average pop ditty – overall a nice effect. Most of the other songs also fall into the same category – basically what I would call quirky pop with deeper lyrics.
Ultra Monark – Exorcising Spirits
Ultra Monark is the latest incarnation of Joe Albaense’s brilliance. Albanese has been a part or leader of many bands through the years – Four Living Creatures, Elder, and Fell Desire. All of these bands seem to favor the same formula: take every LS Underground album, every Scaterd Few album, and a few random Middle Eastern compilations, throw them in a blender, mix well, and enjoy. I know the blender analogy is cliché, but in this case it is really dead on. The sounds that influence Albanese are mixed so well that you end up with a sound all in its own category. And just like Elder took 4LC to the next level, and Fell Desire took Elder to a whole new level, Ultra Monark takes the “Albanese sound” to an even higher level. You can grab this album at BandCamp, but it seems that the band has changed names to Land of the Living. So who knows where they will go from here, but I am sure it will once again kick things to yet another, higher level.
The Old-Timers – Soli Deo Gloria
Where does Thumper Punk dig up all these great punk rock bands? Well in the case of The Old-Timers, seems like they went all the way to South Africa. With a name like “The Old-Timers”, you have got to bring the old school punk. These guys do that and more… your stereo will grow a Mohawk just from playing this music. The energy, conviction, passion, and angst are all there, mixed in with a healthy side of blatantly Christian lyrics. Listening to this reminds me of Crashdog’s classic Mud Angels album – not because they sound the same, but because they have dialed into that perfect mix of sound, attitude, social responsibility, and spirituality like Crashdog did on that album. This release is the full package – great recording, good songs from start to finish, a great message, and a cool cover on top of all that.
Jump Ship Quick – Where Thieves Cannot Tread
Great three piece Punk Rock band from Colorado featuring ex-members of Focused and Ultimatum. 16 tracks of melodic Hardcore reminiscent of a cross between Gorilla Biscuits/CIV and early Lagwagon. Nothing groundbreaking, but don’t let that stop you – these guys play tight and write great songs! The Gang vocals on “Through the Ears” reminds me of early Crucified and was very welcome through these ears, awesome opening track! Stand out tracks for me are “Here Come The Clowns”, “I Defy Your Violence”, and “My One True Hope”. Lyrical content is spiritual, political, heart felt, and uncompressed. The album sounds clean and huge, thanks to the production of Leanor Till (Five Iron Frenzy) and the mixing and mastering of Masaki Liu. So if you’re a fan of bands like early 7 Seconds, Minor Threat, NOFX, any of the previously mentioned bands or good Punk Rock in general, this album is for you!
And How – Almost Tomorrow
Two-time Basement Tapes alumnus Sean Severson returns with the newest free album from his project And How. Almost Tomorrow finds Severson continuing down the road of melancholic rock that fans of his music have come to love. You can hear the songs for free on Bandcamp and hear Severson’s thoughts on the most recent Basement tapes episode. Influences from many of the bands that DTL covers are obvious on every song, but Severson definitely puts his own stamp on his sound. This is the kind of music we live to promote, so give it a listen.
Branden Mann And The Reprimand – The Chemicals Won’t Balance
I became aware of Braden Mann and the Reprimand through a YouTube video of them covering a Michael Knott song with a cool, organic, down-to-earth sound. Luckily, I found all of their songs on BandCamp and decided to check them out. The Chemicals Won’t Balance is their latest studio album. I’m not sure how to exactly describe their sound – but it has a rollicking, groovy sound that sets it apart from your typical folk music. They never really slow down or go too fast – they just hit that right speed for enjoying a fun batch of songs. Or should I say sarcastic or witty? There is a sly bit of humor and a wink of an eye to all of the lyrics… even when dealing with serious issues. So hit up their BandCamp page, play the title song from The Chemicals Won’t Balance, and tell me if it doesn’t get your foot tapping. Trust me… you will be glad you did.
Almost Ugly – Basement Tapes EP
This iTunes only ep is a bit of a history capsule. When Crumbacher called it a day, former members Dawn Johnson and Chris Duke decided to form a band and go in a completely different musical direction. This is female-fronted alternative rock, right up there on par with anything that was popular in the 1990s. To my ears, they sound like a good mix of Garbage and Viva Voce. As with any ep of good music, the main problem here is that this is too short. These songs were featured in many TV shows through the years, so you might even find a few of them familiar. One of the songs up on their MySpace page is not on this ep, so one can hope we will get treated to another collection soon.
Mind of the Sick – Anti-Devil Superstar
A big change has occurred in the Mind of the Sick camp. Noah Tubbs is still about welcoming people as they are and not conforming to stereotypes. MotS still churns out catchy, groovy industrial metal that lives in the same neighborhood as Klank and Rob Zombie. But now, Mind of the Sick is not a “he,” but a “they.” Noah has added a full band to support his musical vision. While I can’t pinpoint it exactly, there is more of a “band” sound to the music, as opposed to the last album which was obviously one person doing everything. There are places where that “one-man band” sound still comes through in the music, but I bet after a few live shows the next album will have all of that worked out. “Love Your Haters” is my personal highlight of the album, but there are many songs to chew on (and mosh to). My only complaint really is that I would love to hear a real full, meaty mix for the songs. This is a DIY album and that shows a bit in the overall sound quality. But the trade-off for that is you get an album that is free from corporate interference, allowing it to shine in the “brutal honesty” and “just being myself” departments. Overall, I like this album and highly recommend it to fans of this genre.
Destroy Nate Allen – With Our Powers Combined
The crazy coolness that is Destroy Nate Allen returns with the Gnarboots serving as their backing band. Backing band you say? Have they gone corporate pop? Not at all! Folk punk is still the basis for Destroy Nate Allen’s sound here… but the added instruments take that sound in many unexpected directions. One minute you have the acoustic ballad-esque “Long Weekend Blues” and the next you are bouncing off the walls with the full on ska sounds of “Distracted Nate-O-Bot”. The fun and energy you have come to expect from a Destroy Nate Allen album is now at a whole new level. Lyrically, Nate and Tessa mix humor with serious thoughts on everything from “Vegetables” to “Boobie Bars.” Yeah – you write a song called “Boobie Bar” and you pretty much guarantee that CCM radio will not touch it. Which is too bad, because the lyrics ring with more truth than most “Jesus is my boyfriend” songs out there. If you like quirky, energetic folk/punk/ska, then keep an eye out for the June 5th release of this album.
Crumbächer – Escape The Falling Planet (25th Anniversary Edition)
Crumbächer’s classic second album has been given a facelift for its 25th anniversary. The sound is new wave / rock / synthpop straight from the 80s. Some people will write this off as dated no matter what I say – but I believe that good music is still good music no matter how it ages. I liked this sound back in the day, so I still like it now. The sonics on this disc are beautiful – I only have the vinyl to compare it to, but this sounds much brighter and clearer than what I hear coming from the LP. The packaging is a bit odd, though. The cover and back jackets of the album jacket are faithfully reproduced on the outside of the booklet, but you open that up to see a large photo of the band playing live at the reunion concert in 2005. I would have liked to have seen some unreleased photos or press from back in the day – but that may not have been available. Or maybe too embarrassing 🙂 (I hide all my pics from that era as well). All that is minor, though – this is overall a great re-issue of a classic album.