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At the time the Seattle rock
revolution was taking place with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, four
boys from "down under" held on to their first love: punk
music. Seven years later, Melbourne-based Bodyjar, consisting of
Cameron Baines (vocals/guitar), Ross Hetherington (drums), Grant Relf
(bass), and Tom Read (guitar/vocals), have come out with their American
debut, How It Works. This album proves to be a solid
effort, but then again, I wouldn't expect anything less from a band with
four other LPs under their belt. My only qualm is that most of the
songs tend to sound extremely similar. However, How It Works
is surely an enjoyable album guaranteed to turn any frown upside-down
with its pure energy. Although this is their American debut,
Bodyjar is no stranger to the USA. Not only have they played small
venues such as New York's CBGB's, they've toured with Blink 182 and
played on the Warped Tour alongside bands such as Rancid and Pennywise.
But
now it's time to really make a name for themselves in the US. Already
a favorite in Australia, How It Works does just that. It
even contains themes that hit home on American soil. "Fall To
The Ground," for example, is an emotional song about the Columbine
shootings ("take a gun, they're only there for fun"). In
"Feed It," the band sings about a friend suffering from a
heroin addiction with lyrics such as, "you're gonna be what you
always hated" and "look now, you're throwin' it
away." Bodyjar also goes on to play about relationships, as
such in "Not The Same" ("you're not the same; you've
changed"). The band exposes their more mellow side with
"Clean Slate," a slightly slower song about the fact that
"all the things that you learn to rely on change in your
lifetime." If you're not stopping to smile when Bodyjar's
Australian accent peeks through their melodies, you'll be jumping
alongside their contagious, upbeat, pop-punk sound. So keep your
ears open for Bodyjar; these boys are no longer "down under". -Kristal
Austin
Links: www.bodyjar.com.au
www.nitrorecords.com |
Bowling For Soup’s latest album Drunk Enough To Dance is
best summed up by the following quote from frontman Jaret Von
Erich: “It is like when you go to a wedding and 50% of the people
are so sloshed that they’re dancing, but those are the people who
shouldn’t even be on the dance floor and usually aren’t.”
This is an album you normally wouldn’t like but if you’re drunk
you’ll love it.
This CD is a mix of joke rock and typical pop punk
sounds. There’s no groundbreaking music or electrifying
solos, but the lyrics are funny. For example, in the song “Emily”
the lyrics state “I gave it all and managed to get shot down yet
again / So I got drunk / Had sex with all your friends / You told
me to never call your house again.” The track “Girl All The
Bad Guys Want” is easily the best song on the album. Its
catchy pop punk sound sets it apart from the other songs, but the
lyrics tie them together; for example, “Cause she’s watching
wrestling / Creaming over tough guys / Listening to rap metal /
Turntables in her eyes / She likes them with a mustache /
Racetrack season pass / Driving in a Trans Am / Does a mullet make
a man?”
The major problem with this album is that at times it’s
hard to tell when one song ends and another begins. Not only
do the songs sound similar musically, but the lyrics, as funny as
they are, all serve the same agenda— to poke fun at failed
relationships. The greatest example of this is the song
“Life After Lisa,” which offers, “So when you asked me if I hated
you now / It’s not you it’s just all of the times I missed out /
On sleeping with your roommate every time you passed out.”
It feels like someone let all the air out of this album
with its lack of energy and variation. One saving grace is
that if you wait and listen for the second hidden track, you’ll
hear a great mellow acoustic song, which shows a lot of promise.
It seems like this would be a fun live band, but the energy is
lost in the studio. -Edward
Vassallo
Links:
www.bowlingforsoup.com
www.jiverecords.com |
To paraphrase Homer
Simpson, we tend to forget about Canada, what with it being all
tucked away down there and whatnot. Fortunately, Ferret Records
newest signee, Boys Night Out (Connor Lovat-Fraser-vocals, Rob
Pasalic-guitar/vocals, Dave Costa-bass/vocals, Jeff
Davis-guitar/vocals and Ben Arseneau), has arrived to remind us that
our northern brother has some quality punk rock to offer. Make
Yourself Sick, BNO’s debut album, combines pop punk and emocore
to create a rather unique sound.
On any given song, one is likely to hear a combination of soft,
melodic rock and blistering guitar riffs accompanied by equally
powerful vocals. Though, it is never quite clear in what direction,
musically, they are trying to take you. The album starts out with
“I Got Punched In the Nose For Sticking My Face In Other People’s
Business” which takes its title from a line in the film The
Wedding Singer. This song shows the various styles and tones the
band incorporates into their album. This great opening track starts
off very fun and energetic, only to be followed by thrashing vocals
and an even darker yet mellower breakdown midway through the track.
There is also a sing-along portion to the song. The dynamic nature
of this song is a testament to the difficulty in trying to
pigeonhole the band as simply pop punk.
One might conclude that at the very least, BNO is earnest in its
lyrics and melodies. Lines like “I know forever isn’t long enough to
forget the faces and places that played out your tragedy,” and songs
such as “Hold On Tightly, Let Go Lightly” exemplify the album’s
recurring themes of lost love, bitterness and angst. While nothing
new, the message delivered is one many can and eventually will
relate to. However, the lyrics ultimately become one of the album’s
best and worst qualities. At times you feel like you are reading a
diary, while other times you grow tired of the overly weepy tracks.
Nevertheless, Make Yourself Sick is a very solid and
emotionally driven album that will surely prove to be a large step
in BNO’s bid to becoming a mainstay in the emo hardcore scene. -John Tomas
Links:
www.boysnightout.com
www.ferretstyle.com |
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Naming your band Brand New is definitely a tall order to fill.
I mean, let’s face it, today’s music is an abundance of mediocre
melodies fueled by record label money and their conception of
image, i.e. “what sells.” Few bands today are unique, yet
alone brand new. However, I must admit that the dynamic musical
talent of Jesse Lacey (vocals / guitar), Vinnie Accardi (guitar),
Garrett Tierney (bass), and Brian Lane (drums) is refreshingly
deserving of the title Brand New.
The boys
from Long Island are in the midst of releasing an enhanced version
of their Triple Crown Records’ release Your Favorite Weapon.
Unlike many other albums out there, Your Favorite Weapon is
void of conformity. With punk angst, rock energy, and acoustic
emotion, each track holds its own musical adventure unlike the one
before. It’s Dashboard Confessional meets Taking Back Sunday
meets The Movielife.
Trust me – no other album is as complete as Your Favorite Weapon.
For those days when every nerve in your body twinges with anger
and frustration, you can visualize your worst enemy and scream
along to: “have another drink and drive yourself home; I hope
there’s ice on all the roads; and you can think of me when you
forget your seatbelt, and again when your head goes through the
windshield” (“Seventy Times 7,” which correlates to Taking Back
Sunday’s “There’s No ‘I’ In Team”). And for those days when
everything goes wrong and you just can’t get it together, you can
empathize with Jesse as he hails, “this is a lesson in
procrastination; I kill myself because I’m so frustrated; and
every single second that I put it off, means another lonely night
I got to race the clock; I ignore it and it ignores me too”
(“Failure By Design”). Finally, for those days that are blurred
from the tears of high school reminiscence, you can pine over the
lyrics of “Soco Amaretto Lime” (“This offer stands forever. New
haircut. New bracelet. Eyeliner. Wait forever. First kisses.
New stitches.”). For every day, for every emotion, Brand New has
the song to match.
Already Brand New is in the process of expanding their audience.
Their single “Jude Law And A Semester Abroad” has trickled onto
MTV2’s Rock Countdown. So I suggest that if you haven’t already,
find Your Favorite Weapon while Brand New is still
relatively brand new. Because if you wait, you’ll end up being
one of those kids who jumps on the band wagon only after Brand New
has gained major label recognition and radio airplay. And well,
we all know that’s not who you want to be!
-Kristal
Austin
Links:
www.brandnewrock.com
www.triplecrownrecords.com |
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