Dismissed

So, every once in awhile, when listening to music, I find a song by a band I used to listen to years ago. The other day, I was listening to Jawbreaker and decided to look up some of the covers I had. One of them instantly caught my eye; Charlie Brown Gets a Valentine. I listened to the song and was instantly interested in hearing more.

Dismissed the second full-length by the Chicago three-piece. Obviously, comparisons to Jawbreaker can be made as well as a closer comparison to fellow Chicago three-piecer's The Lawrence Arms. It's pretty obvious Charlie Brown Gets a Valentine are very influenced by the aforementioned Arms; dual-vocals interlacing with each other mixed with melodies and catchy hooks. It works well for CBGAV; the entire album is solid from start to finish. And though some of the tracks do drag on a bit longer than they should (Caffeine at Night could've ended at 2:30), the entire album, start to finish, is interesting enough and full of enough strong songs to keep anyone listener paying attention to the whole album. If you're a fan of the Chicago three-piece Jawbreaker-influenced, melody/energy containing, catchy sound, then Dismissed is one great album to pick up.

8/10

 www.mediafire.com/?yz3xnjzw2gj

As far as I can tell, this album, along with all of their stuff, is OOP. So, here you go! If you like the Lawrence Arms, Broadways, Jawbreaker, anything like that, download it

Back from the dead!

I have not done a review in a long time for this blog. I shall return from the dead with some reviews to throw your way...if anyone at all reads this.

Polar Bear Club

Has anyone heard the new Polar Bear Club? I got the new record in the mail. I gave it a spin. It's absolutely amazing. It has everything I wanted in the new record; catchy hooks, urgent delivery, and best of all, the great lyrics. I will be seeing PBC in a few hours, so I'm excited for that.

Aside from the new Polar Bear Club, has anyone heard Joyce Manor? They released their debut album this year, and it's amazing. Hands down, my favorite album of this year. Well, they've teamed up with Asian Man records to do their next album, so I'm pretty stoked for that.

Twenty-two days and I leave for the Fest. I've never been, so I'm super excited to go. My must-sees include Lifetime, Hot Water Music, and Defiance, Ohio. However, I'll be seeing plenty more bands than that.

So, to sum up; get the new Polar Bear Club. Get Joyce Manor. Fest rocks.

Night.

Green Day rant

I like Green Day, if you take each album for what it is face value. American Idiot was a good rock album, as was 21st Century Breakdown. But calling them punk would be a stretch for those records. That said, their first four records, 39/Smooth, Kerplunk!, Dookie, and Insomniac are all catchy pop punk albums. The first two are great Lookout-era albums. Nimrod and Warning are good albums, but can hardly be called pop punk. So basically, 1/4 of Green Day's albums are great, half are above average, and another quarter are listenable. The last two, skip them.

/rant

(I wrote this at 3 am, after thinking over how they were Rolling Stone magazine's top punk band)

Fake Problems

Let's face it; Florida has some of the best punk. Hated Youth, Against Me!, Less Than Jake, and my current love: Fake Problems. I saw Fake Problems on Warped Tour of last year. They put on my favorite performance and quickly became a favorite band of mine. Aside from making great music, the band is super nice. Right now I have How Far our Bodies Go spinning on my record player. I can never tell which record is my favorite. Each album is different from the others, and that's definitely a huge plus for me. If you get a chance, listen to some of their songs; they're a great band and great guys. Buy some of their stuff too, it's pretty great.

http://fakeproblems.tumblr.com/

P.S. -I'd like to give a shout out to Sarah Saturday. She started a kickstarter campaign and has successfully raised enough money! I'm stoked to hear her second album. Sarah's pretty much the most down to earth and nicest musician I have ever met. I also saw her at Warped last year and then ventured up to La Crosse to see her a second time. She has very intimate shows and really cares for her fans. If you wanna help her out, you can still donate money to her kickstarter campaign! It's a great thing to donate to!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gna/send-gardening-not-architecture-to-record-her-seco

Morning.

This morning I've been doing nothing but listening to Against Me!. I felt the need to listen to "Russian Spies", and I guess I didn't stop. I went back and listened to White Crosses, and it's still an absolutely amazing record. As of right now, my favorite track is definitely "Because of the Shame". Tom Gabel can write some great tracks, and I'm super excited to see them in October.

That is all.

Crutches

The Copyrights; ever since starting in 2002, they've rocked all over the place playing their Screeching Weasel influenced pop punk. Nine years later the band is releasing a new EP, Crutches. It's four tracks of pop punk goodness, the EP's double-edged sword. All four songs are all infectiously catchy; they make you want to sing and dance along. However, they're all very similar and follow the standard pop punk formula. It's not a bad formula to stick to, but it doesn't leave much room for experimentation. That being said, the EP itself is a well-done release. As previously stated, it's catchy, an EP you can listen to the whole way through a few times over. But, if you don't pay too close attention, the tracks do run together and it can be tough to discern one song from another.

Look at it this way though: It's the Copyrights. It's Red Scare. It's pop punk. When you look at these three facts it's pretty easy to fall in love with the EP. Despite the few flaws it has, it's good. It's damn good really, and helps solidify the Copyrights as one of the best pop punk bands around.

7/10

 

 http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/crutches-single/id442001027

 Guys, come on. It's Red Scare, one of the best labels around, releasing the Copyrights, one of the best pop punk bands around. It's like, two bucks, for four tracks. Four! That's fifty cents a song. Get it.

Turntable

Turntable.fm is pretty the best site ever right now. I've always though that listening to music with other people made it better, and this is a chance for people to listen together. Plus, you can upload your own songs. It's a sweet site; check it out.

http://turntable.fm

2:30 AM thoughts

So, it's 2:30 in the morning, and I'm watching a re-run of Robot Chicken. Well, kinda watching it; I also have Paul Baribeau playing. At any rate, I decided to put down some thoughts I've had lately.

First: Summer thus far, albeit not too exciting, has been fun. I do miss Kyle and Cole a great deal, but, it's nice to have a lot more free time. I've been reading, writing, and playing guitar more. I've been playing a lot of ultimate frisbee too. I guess I've always done that, but, I've gotten much better. Along with the ultimate, I've also entered my way into frisbee golf, which I suck at it. I think I spend more time in the woods than actually playing.

Second thought: I'm super stoked for October. Three days after my 20th birthday, I will be attending my first ever Fest. Anyone who's talked to me know that I've been talking about this forever. Well, i've looked forward to this more than pretty much anything else. Three days of non-stop music, with the coolest people ever. Not to mention that a few bands I've wanted to see forever are playing, like Lifetime, Hot Water Music, and Defiance, Ohio. I'm so stoked.

Third: If you're into music, I definitely suggest reading "Our Band Could Be Your Life". It's a great book, with some cool stories and insights into bands. I'm on Husker Du right now, and I'm pumped to start reading about the Replacements.

On a music review related note (somewhat), I've really been listening to a lot of Motion City Soundtrack lately. I had seen them last October with Greg, Allison, and Ty, but, I wasn't too into them since I didn't listen to them. Half a year later, Pat got me into them. My Dinosaur Life is definitely one amazing album. It's got some great cuts, specifically the last five tracks and track two. These six tracks are some of the greatest pop punk songs recorded. Lyric wise, they've got some fancy and witty word. The lyrics are pretty introspective at times, without losing the fun the band has. If you're interested in that type of stuff at all, definitely check out some Motion City. You won't regret it at all.

Today, me and my mother cleaned my room. Pretty amazing for anyone that's seen how it used to look. To celebrate, we bought a new A-Frame bookcase. It's for all of my records so I can store them properly, and also for extra CDs I have. I've got a lot of CDs recently, and my old rack has become too small. For reference, I can only hold from Against Me! to MxPx, so...a lot of goodies left off the decision field. Tomorrow's plan is to build and organize with Lauren.

That's about everything for late night thoughts.

-Rob

Sorry

Sorry to anyone that actually reads this. I completely forgot about it to be honest. But, I will be back soon but instead of only reviews, I'll start expanding into a little bit of everything. So, stay tuned for new stuff.

-Rob

The Acoustic EP

Another Against Me! review is due. This time it's the Acoustic EP, released in 2001. It's 6 tracks (4 on the vinyl) of only Tom's acoustic and Dustin Fridkin on the bass. Some of the songs were later re-recorded for Reinventing Axl Rose but are solely acoustic on here.

If there's one thing Against Me! can do, it's acoustic tracks. For every acoustic song, Tom still manages to pour the same amount of heart, soul, and energy into them as he does for electric tracks. These stripped down versions are powerful and heartfelt, with each song being just as good as the previous. All six songs are a great insight of what Against Me! started as, with topics from love to politics to just life in general. Being both personal and political, Tom's songs are able to really find a spot in the heart of everyone. Even fans of country are in for a treat with "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong".

Overall, the EP itself encompasses everything Against Me! do; make music, play music, and love music. It's a great album and rocks just as hard as any other release by Against Me!, or any other band in general. Seriously, this EP is amazing.

10/10

http://sabotproductions.net/catalog/item/ACT002/

Five whole dollars. That's it. All you pay for perfection.

White Crosses

Against Me! have become one of the popular punk acts of the millennium, and rightfully so. Starting with the very rough sounding recordings of Against Me! and Tom's First Demo Tape, to major label releases such as New Wave and White Crosses, there's no doubt the band has progressed with both their instrumentation and their overall sound. This evolution has resulted in garnering more fans but alienating others. However, regardless of the production value put into each album, there's no doubt that Tom Gabel and company love what they do and put heart into every song, every record, every show. White Crosses is no different.

The follow-up to the popular New Wave, their second major label release, White Crosses expands upon the more straight-forward punk rock of the aforementioned as opposed to the more acoustic/folk punk of early albums. Opening with the title-track, the album starts with a strong song. A strong chorus, catchy guitar riff; it's pretty easy to tell it's Against Me!. Though a strong song, it seems as if Tom stumbles a bit on his songwriting. It's a good lead song, but it seems to be missing something. That's where track two comes in. "I Was A Teenage Anarchist" acknowledges the evolution that the band has made. One of the strongest songs on the entire album, it's structure is similar to "White Crosses", but Tom's songwriting is definitely spot on for this song. Not only that, it's an even catchier sing-along than before, with a great chorus and fantastic verses. "Because of the Shame" really shows the progress the band has made as musicians by featuring a piano throughout the whole track. The downside is that, like the other two before, it's the exact same structure. Catchy intro, build up, strong chorus, repeat; in fact, the formula doesn't change until "We're Breaking Up". A much slower-paced song, it's essentially a ballad. It's placed nicely though. Helping change the pace of the album, it becomes a memorable song. "High Pressure Low" returns back to the catchy rock featured previously. The energy is right up front with this track (which makes sense why it would be released as a single). The next track however, is what makes the album an Against Me! album: the acoustic song. "Ache With Me" is a throwback to the older days of Against Me! and is a powerful song. Lyrically, it's one of the best written by Tom, and the backing acoustics during the chorus are haunting, but fit right in. The song shows that Against Me! still know their roots and can still write intelligent, acoustic tracks like the old days. "Spanish Moss" serves as the follow-up to "Ache With Me", and it's gang "Whoa's" seem like a follow-up that just make sense. It's similar to the other tracks, however, the odd-guitar tone throughout verses helps set it apart. The next track, "Rapid Decompression" is the shortest, fastest song on the album. The intro guitar is very bluesy, and Tom's voice is just as powerful as ever. However, it's not Tom's voice but the guitar that really drives this track home. The album closes with "Bamboo Bones", and it's a good closer. It's a song with a positive message and really shows that while Tom does stumble with some lyrics, he still knows how to write a song with a message.

White Crosses is an odd release. On one hand, the fancy production, the stumbling songwriting, and the annoying "chick-a-chick-ah" aren't really Against Me! at all. But, on the other hand, the album packs so much energy and so much heart into every song, it can't be anyone else but Against Me!. The album itself is solid; as mentioned before, lots of energy. It's unfortunate there's only one acoustic song, the band writes great ones, but, the one that is present is a solid one for sure. And though Tom does stumble, everything needed in an album is here. It may not be perfect or the band's best, but Against Me! sure as hell can play music.

7.5/10

http://totaltreble.bigcartel.com/product/against-me-white-crosses-cd-pre-order

Ten dollars. It's Against Me!, do it. Sure, they've changed their sound a bit, but they still rock. And for cheap.

Hold On, Dodge

Talk about a band that's made waves. A relatively young band, Scranton's Menzingers formed in 2006. Last year, they released the critically acclaimed Chamberlain Waits on Red Scare. The album was considered one of the best of the year, and got them national acclaim. Before that album however, there was this EP.

Released in '09, the five song EP ("Kentucky Gentleman" is a bonus track) is a great one. The Menzingers really have everything going for song-writing ability. Between lyrical content, dual vocals, and great instrument playing, The Menzingers can pay. Not only that, but songs like "Lilith Avi" expand upon the typical punk sound, with a guitar that sounds more like the Dire Straits' "Walk of Life". The last song, "Kentucky Gentleman", is a wonderfully done acoustic ballad and makes a great sing-a-long.

Hold On, Dodge is a great EP. It's short and sweet and gives a great taste of what this band can do. There's not a single bad song on the EP. The only downside is that it's an EP; much too short for the Menzingers.

8/10

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hold-on-dodge/id312441237

Boom. $3.99. Purchase. Now.

I Lied My Face Off

Released in '99 on Asian Man, I Lied My Face Off was Alkaline Trio's fourth release, later re-released on the compilation Alkaline Trio. The band themselves formed in '96 in Chicago, and have been releasing music since then. They've always had a way with words, writing some of the greatest songs lyrically of anyone. Most of their songs pertain to heart-ache and sorrow, and this EP is no different.

Opening with "Goodbye Forever", it's pretty clear that the band knows how to write music. Aside from the great fills provided by drummer Glenn Porter, Dan's bass playing is some of the best he's ever done. Matt's voice in the chorus is so urgent and emotional; it's hard to not sing along. The band plows right on into track number two, "This Is Getting Over You". Driven by another one of Dan's bass lines, the lyrics are, again, fantastic. The spoken line of "this is getting over you" over and over during the bridge really helps this song stick in your mind. "Bleeder" is the poppiest song on the EP, with dual vocals and a more upbeat guitar tone. The singing is much more upbeat too; rather than shout the lyrics with urgency, the song has real singing. "I Lied My Face" is the most heart-wrenching song on the whole EP. The chorus alone could make sad kids cry. Mixed in with the very intense drumming, Matt's guitar work sounds just right.

There really is no downside to this EP. Every song is solid, whether it's the fast paced "Goodbye Forever" or the poppy "Bleeder", the band can play. Not only that, but the lyrics are some of the greatest lyrics written by a band. It's a great EP, but, the band has better songs. That being said, the EP is four solid, tear-jerking songs about lost love, sadness, and ways to cope.

8.5/10

http://www.asianmanrecords.com/basket/alkalinetrio.html

The actual EP is out of print, however, for 10 bucks you can get the collection of early Alkaline Trio. Get it.

Tinnitus

It's tough to find a band as influential as Lifetime. Despite never being on a major label, and never really being that well known, the band has been a countless influence on so many bands. In fact, many bands that have been influenced by Lifetime have gone on to be more influential, i.e. Saves The Day, and the Canadian band Silverstein even covered them. Still, without all of the fame they deserve, Lifetime have made an obvious mark on the hardcore scene with their impeccable albums, Hello Bastards and Jersey's Best Dancers. Before Jade Tree though, Lifetime were a different band. Possessing a darker sound, Ari's vocals weren't as there as on later releases, and the ever-changing line-up didn't help solidify a sound. By the time Tinnitus was released Lifetime had the line-up of Ari, Dan, Dave, David, and Pete, which changed again by the next year. This '94 EP serves as the middle ground between their dark days, and the melodic hardcore the band became known for.

The EP is four solid tracks, each with a distinct feature. The opener, "Isae Aldy Beausoleil" kicks in with a furious amount of energy. Ari has always had distinct vocals, and they're very present in the track. It's a solid opener, a great sing-a-long, but, it doesn't have the same power as the others. "Ferret" comes in as the next track and is one wonderful song. The dual-guitar really helps move the track along, and the lyrics are some of the best. "Don't hold your head up so high/you won't see what's coming next". The song's energy really builds up throughout the track too. The fast-pace returns with "Starsixtynine", one of their most well-known songs, and rightfully so. Dan's shouting, Ari's vocals, and the instruments mix up perfectly. The song itself is an energy-filled burst of melodies, anger, and angst. It shows the direction the band was headed. But, the closer, "Ampersand", the band heads back to their early style; very dark lyrics, a build-up style of playing and Ari sounds like he's close to tears when singing the verses.

Tinnitus is definitely an awkward release for Lifetime. As the bridge between old and new, the EP is put in an odd spot. When stacked up against their old stuff, it seems like something completely different, when up against the Jade Tree-era, it can't hold a candle. But, when looked at as just an EP, it becomes a good release. Four solid songs, all there lyrically, musically; the EP is a good release. However, some of Ari's singing is completely incoherent, which is a shame since the lyrics are wonderful. Also, the band didn't have a solid line-up, so there's not a perfect mesh between all members. Still, being Lifetime, the EP manages to be very enjoyable and most of all; good.

6.5/10

http://jadetree.merchnow.com/products/65271

The EP itself is out of print, but, for 14 bucks you can purchase Somewhere in the Swamps of Jersey. It's a collection of all their early stuff. Double CD, 14 bucks. That's 7 dollars per CD. Awesome deal.

Can't Slow Down

Saves The Day; since 1997 the Jersey band’s been touring, releasing records and changing members. Can't Slow Down is the band's first album, recorded back when Chris was still in high school. Upon first listen, it sounds like an exact clone of Jersey counterparts, Lifetime. Though it sounds similar, the vocals are much poppier and cleaner, and the guitar seems to be a lot heavier.

The album itself is full of catchy songs with chorus sing-alongs and gang vocals. The instruments are played quickly, the drumming is precise, and Chris Conley's voice is young and whiny. All of these things create great sounding songs that sound amazing thirteen years later. Songs like "Handsome Boy", "Sometimes, New Jersey", and "Collision" are quick little songs packed with so much energy, you can't help but shout along to it. Other tracks, like "Blindfolded" and "Jodie" are longer tracks that help fill out the album. "Jodie" features a fantastic bass and drum intro, before breaking into a great melodic hardcore track. The tracks on here suffer from sounding too similar. The lyrics aren't quite as "there" as they are with the later tracks, although this could be since Chris was still in high school.

Still, despite the lackluster lyrical content and the generic melodic/Jersey hardcore instrumentation, the album is a solid debut for Saves The Day. While the band may have grown up, and out of being hardcore kids, we're still left with young Chris Conley and company and the fantastic music they can write.

7.5/10

http://equalvision.merchnow.com/products/63594

Ten dollars for this gem. Also, ten dollars for Through Being Cool. Get them both.

The Drama of Alienation

Prior to Lance Hahn's death in 2007, J Church were very busy in the punk scene. Releasing numerous amounts of albums and EPs, appearing on comps, J Church really made a name for themselves. Sadly, Lance Hahn passed away in 2007, but, through his love of music, we have J Church, as well as previous bands, like Cringer. The Drama of Alienation was released in 1996, on Honest Don's. The album is twelve tracks of catchy pop punk, with all but one track under three minutes.

The album opens with "A Simple Gesture", a two-minute pop punk blast that really sets up what the album is to follow. Lance has a very distinct voice that shines over the album, and Gardner's bass is mixed in well. The next song, "Smell it Rot" is a very poppy song, making a more memorable one on the album. The only song over three (it's actually over four), "Santa Cruz", reminds me a lot of Lagwagon. It's a lot slower than the rest of album. It abandons the catchy pop punk on the other eleven tracks, instead focusing on the words and the actual instrument work.

Aside from "Santa Cruz", the entirety of Drama is really catchy pop punk, but, the lyrics are much more in depth than your standard pop punk. The album has introspective lyrics that are very personal. Lance really knew how to write lyrics, and it's really evident on songs like "Alone When She Dies" and the aforementioned "Santa Cruz". This album isn't perfect by any means; the songs tend to follow a really similar structure. But, the band knows how to play their music well, and thanks to Lance's lyrics, J Church really set themselves apart from other pop punks that were around not only at the time, but those that are around today. The album is good, as are the rest of them.

8/10

http://www.fatwreck.com/record/detail/003

Yes. Get it.

At Our Worst

Evergreen Terrace; hardcore from Florida. The band went through a phase of not releasing any new material, and this is one of those albums (except for one track). At Our Worst is a collection of live tracks, demo tracks, and one unreleased song. The first give songs are live songs; which have great sound quality. What's always been good about Evergreen Terrace is their ability to mix Drew's and Craig's vocals together. Though a majority of the vocals are screamed, the clean mixed in is nice. And the screamed vocals aren't completely incoherent either. The live songs are all recorded well, and there's nothing that really over powers in the mix, although Drew's screaming does tend to be a little loud and the bass is slightly soft. Overall, the live tracks are well performed, though "In My Dreams I Can Fly" has some sloppy backing vocals at the start. As with most metalcore bands, the drumming gets redundant, as there only so many things you can do with a double bass pedal...most of it resulting in the repetitive *dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun*.

The unreleased song; "You're Entering A World Of Pain". It didn't make the cut for Burned Alive By Time, but despite this, it remains a solid song. Now the demos. These were all written, according the liner notes, within two months of forming. The result is very forced vocals, off-sounding drums, and rough mixes. The songs still have something to them and are still forceful, they're just not as polished as they could be. Overall though, for being demos, they're good.

Despite having no new material, At Our Worst is a nice glimpse at what the band started as and what they can do live. Instrument wise, the drumming is, as stated before, repetitive. The vocals are sometimes too loud, and the bass can rarely be heard; only when by itself. It's not really a necessity, but, if you are a fan of Evergreen Terrace, it is worth getting, even if only for the awesome cover art.

6/10

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/at-our-worst/id284044870

Enjoy it.

Homeless Wonders

Homeless Wonders seem to be a very obscure ska/punk band from the 90s. Ray and Brandon from Teenage Bottlerocket used to be in the band, but that's about as well-known as they'll get. They appeared on a few comps, most famous of which is Ska Sucks, but aside from that, they're two albums seem to be unknown gems. Their first album, Another One of Those Days featured a horn section. Well, for their self-titled, the band dropped the horns and became what sounds like a cross between the Assorted Jellybeans, American Steel's first album, and their future music outlet.

Most of the songs are generally short, angry songs. Some of the lyrics, like the opener "I Can't Think", are very childish and immature. However, the band does possess some great musicianship, and the vocals aren't too bad. The fourth song, "Progress", is the first one over two minutes. It sounds like a Texas is the Reason influenced track. It's got the dual, strained vocals, and it's loaded with drum fills. It serves as a nice break from three fast-paced punk tracks, but right after though, the band switches back to the straightforward punk. However, it's traded off vocals, but, it sounds a little forced. The voices don't match up well. It's not bad; it just doesn't fit with their style. "Unorthodox" is one of only two songs to be over three minutes, and features a slow build-up into the bands style of heavy pop punk. It's not until about half-way through that the band's vocals actually kick-in, but it's great when they do. This is when everything fits together perfect, and creates a really powerful track that seems to outshine the others. The singing is very earnest and urgent.

The maturity couldn't last forever on the album, as the band reverts right back into the speedy, snotty punk that seems to dominate the album. It's not too bad though; the band does have a solid amount of intros that display the talent they have and their ability to play catchy music. This is especially shown on "Session 11" and "Wimpy", two instrumental tracks. "Session 11" is barely over a minute, and is more or less a taste at what's to come. "Wimpy" is an epic six minute instrumental song, complete with build-ups, outros, and more build-ups galore.

Homeless Wonders; it's a shame a band with so much talent and fun is so forgotten. The album is a nice glimpse at their punk side, with the short songs, their mature side, with "Unorthodox", and their general talent, with their instrumentals. The downside to the album is the annoying intros that plague the last half, as well as how most of the album isn't too mature. All-in-all though, Homeless Wonders is still a good album worth giving a listen to. It's a change from their ska side, and shows the gradual evolution the Carlisle brothers have into the pop punk heroes they are today
.

7/10

http://www.suburbanhomerecords.com/releases/homeless-wonders-st/

There seems to be a very limited amount of physical releases, but, under 10 for a digital copy, not bad

Tiger Army II

Psychobilly is an odd genre; a lot of terrible bands, some good bands. Here we have one of the good bands. Tiger Army formed in the mid-90s in California. Fronted by Nick 13, this album features Geoff Kresge (yes, from the good AFI) playing bass, and London May (yes, from Samhain) on drums.

The album contains a lot of energy from all three members, with Nick 13's distinct vocals present, and Geoff's upright bass possessing a lot of power. The songs are plainly psychobilly, however, a more typical rockabilly sound is laced in (such as "In the Orchard") creating a sort of punk/country mix. The first few songs follow the same pattern, which is a bit repetitive, but, given the bands energy, isn't too bad. The fourth song, "Power of Moonlite", contains a country-tinged guitar bridge, showing the bands vast influences. Track seven, "Cupid's Victim", really shows how well Nick 13 and company can play a standard rockabilly song. Everything about it; Nick's vocals and guitars, Geoff's bass, and London's drumming, really give off that 50's rockabilly vibe, and it's a nice change from the fast-paced psychobilly contained on most of the album. "In The Orchard" is another song that's like nothing else on the album. It sounds more like a country song than anything else, which isn't a bad thing at all. It sounds mainly like a Johnny Cash influenced song; not a bad thing by any means. The following song, "Under Saturn's Shadow" goes right back into the psychobilly, and features vocals courtesy of Davey Havok. Nick's and Davey's voices are remarkably similar and the ability they have to play off each other brings the track a whole new dimension.

Tiger Army, while playing mainly psychobilly, show off their other influences on this album, and the result is an album that separates them from the sea of similar psychobilly. Rather than stick to the usual psychobilly formula, the band makes use of country and standard rockabilly, and it helps them. Nick 13's vocals are fantastic, as are the rest of the instrumentation. Some of the songs drag on a bit, or are just too similar to other ones to stand-out (F.T.W. has some laughable lyrics), but overall, this is a fine album to pick-up for anyone into that kind of music.

6/10

http://www.kingsroadmerch.com/epitaph-records/view/?id=572&artist=168

10 bucks; Epitaph. Good label, cheap price.