Sooo, what have I been listening to as of late…..?
Well, for starters and definitely a no-brainer, I have been gobbling up the new Buffalo Tom release, Quiet and Peace by the plateful. Released as an early present on Christmas Eve 2017 to all those Pledge Music band donatees and finally released to the masses earlier this month with some extra bonus tracks, my Boston heroes have proven once again that they still have a lot of shake left in their tush with this solid release. Such stand out tracks like “All Be Gone”, the Big-Star-ish flirtations of “Roman Cars”, “Freckles” to 1998’s Smitten feel of “Least That We Can Do” and the Brit-Pop lyrical positivity of “Slow Down”, there are many great tunes to be found here that blend well with the rest of their discography. My pal Jerry Lardieri of NJ sensation The Brixton Riot is going to guest spot a more in depth review of album in the near future (right Jerr?).
So what else, oh….been becoming re-acquainted with Memphis, Tennessee’s “alt-country” kings, Lucero, especially since missing a recent acoustic gig by front-man Ben Nichols at Garwood, NJ’s Crossroads recently. I find myself returning to such great records as 2009’s 1372 Overton Park and 2002’s Tennessee more often.
Also lately (re-) discovering Gainesville, Fla. punk-n-roll heroes, Hot Water Music in a major way. Heard a lot about them over the years and took a dive with their album A Flight and a Crash (2001) back in the day , which in hindsight, was the wrong place to start. After multiple false starts, I hastily and unfairly chalked up the band as meh and moved along. And then with a lot of nudging from Snapcase front man Daryl Taberski, I slowly discovered the absolute beauty the band has to offer with such records as Caution (2002), No Division (1999) and their first release Finding the Rhythms (1995), which kicked my ass upon first listen on a 7 mile weekend run. Their latest offering, Light It Up (2017) rocks and they even release a couple of awesome live albums (Chicago and at their hometown Hardback Cafe) the same year. Not sure what took so long but I am now an official convert!
Unfortunately The latest Superchunk, What A Time To Be Alive (2018) is predictable, quick and uneventful, at least for me. Some songs like “Lost My Brain” and title track aren’t too shabby, but I’ll take Foolish (1994), And Here’s Where the Strings Come In (1995), even Majesty Shredding (2010) over this new offering.
The latest offering by ex-Gaslight Anthem front-man Brian Fallon, Sleepwalkers (2018), is pretty decent. The three singles released up to the album debut, “Forget Me Not,” See You On the Side” and “If Your Prayers Don’t Get To Heaven,” all solidly rock, but other tracks like “Etta James”, “Little Nightmares” and “Her Majesty’s Service”, to name just a few, all hold their weight. Fallon sounds much more comfortable and confident with this sophomore effort when compared to his premier solo efforts Painkillers (2016), which is a great album, but does sound like he is trying to find his footing at times.
Tripped over a cool Spotify Sessions with Weezer playing a number of acoustic tracks that span their career. After last years disastrous release, Pacific Daydream, it is refreshing to hear their old songs stripped down. I love the band best when they stop trying so hard to not take themselves seriously.
Also rocking out to The Bouncing Souls a lot these days and good timing with the recent acoustic set announced at Crossroads recently. This awesome club just 15 minutes from my house is having a lot a great shows lately….Dag Nasty (with Shawn on vocals) is coming up on March with three nights with The Menzingers a few weeks ago…with more punk-based shows to come!
I am sure this going to sound very “America-centric” but when I think of straight edge, posi-core bands the last place I tend to think is well….nowhere else on the planet except for the USA, which is clearly my bad. But the genre is internationally alive and kicking and in full force, especially in the UK and especially in cities like Manchester where bands like The Smiths, Oasis, Joy Division and The Stone Roses come to mind but not bands like Insist. Such bands are bringing back the posi-core sound of 80’s and 90’s which is definitely a breath of fresh air with so many American bands beating the dead Hate Breed horse to death with the dark, metallic flirtations and modulated vocals, all while draped in black clothing.
Not that metallic hardcore is bad, in fact I recently discovered Brooklyn’s Incendiary with their latest release Thousand Mile Stare which has very in your face Inside out/Rage Against the Machine groove/vocal metallic vibe.
Speaking of new bands that are replicating the awesome sounds of yesterday, Los Angeles’ Fireburn is another “Super Group” and the legendary Bad Brains reincarnate for a new generation of kids with their hardcore punk/reggae dub sound. But despite the glaring similarities, the former still refreshingly rock.
I also finally got around to listening to the band Bane (I know, weird right?) and love their debut record, 1998’s Holding This Moment.
One band/album that I always missed and could never find for years is BL’AST “In My Blood” (1987) which use to kick me square in the balls every time my younger self listened to it. It sounded so later Black Flag-ish too the point that Henry Rollins and Greg Ginn allegedly hated them so much that the latter still released it on the infamous hot mess label, SST Records. Lo and Behold, it is apparently Dave Grohl’s (yeah, that fucker) favorite record too from back in the Scream days and he remixed it a few years ago, stripping it down to what BL’AST would sound (driving and loud) and releasing it under the name Blood! I may give Grohl shit but man, he and the band teamed up and nailed this project perfectly with this re-release. Check out this cool video of the project and original recording below.
My other pal, Mark Segal (of NJ powerhouse, Atom Driver ) turned me on to the Brooklyn punk sensation The Royal They with his own recent Reviewstalker.com review. Holy fuck moly this band is good and their latest release, Foreign Being has already made it on my top of 2018 list.
Finally, more Brooklyn bias as power duo Tuffy returns with another killer release, Lighting Things On Fire with 15 songs of witty, indie pop brilliance. Like her days of Bear Trap, I can listen to front woman’s Yasmin Dalisay sing soft and sultry all day….
Until next time, enjoy the Spotify Playlist below with songs from the bands above ! xoxo
-PJH
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