Conscience Calling

Release of the Day: AGNOSTIC FRONT - "Riot, Riot, Upstart" (Epitaph) About four years ago I went to see AGNOSTIC FRONT in DC at the new, cavernous venue, Anthem, which can hold 5000+. They were on the bill as support for the DROPKICK MURPHYS and it was my first time seeing them live. Being too young to catch their mid-80s material, I was more familiar with their catalog starting in their Epitaph years. At the height of their set, "Gotta Go," the band was just about to hit the classic, "STIGMAAAA" but the power cut out. They didn't take it gracefully. Couldn't blame them, it just seemed incredibly unfair. Which is a bit of a segue into how I've long felt about "Riot, Riot, Upstart," an absurdly catchy collection of melodic punk rock that stands apart in their catalog of hardcore pillars. It sounds almost nothing like the classic "Victim in Pain" or 2019's metallic blast "Get Loud!" Its best shorthand is "when AGNOSTIC FRONT met early RANCID" and that's no insult. Should you feel the urge to listen to a band where the song titles reliably predict the chorus, you've got a friend in "Riot, Riot, Upstart."

Release of the Day: DRUG CHURCH - “Hygiene” (Pure Noise) Congrats to DRUG CHURCH for achieving the rare air of having an instantly recognizable sound of their own that somehow seems more and more effortless on each new full-length. The churning guitars that sound warm and easy surely are not. The sublime hooks that wash over familiar patterns aren’t something picked out of a grab bag. Anyone else think Patrick Kindlon’s vocals sort of resemble CLUTCH’s Neil Fallon doing post-hardcore/alterna-rock? I’ve never listened to this band for the particulars, but rather for the steady, earthy pounding they provide in a compact, closely-trimmed format. I’m not sure how they could streamline their art any better, but I’m betting they’ll rise to the occasion once again. 

Release of the Day: ONE MAN ARMY - "Rumors and Headlines" (BYO/Trust Records) One of the highlights of the BYO catalog coming on the streaming services (via Trust Records) is the classic melodic punk offering "Rumors and Headlines" from ONE MAN ARMY. While their initial two full-lengths remain a memory as the Adeline Records catalog sits in digital limbo, this final full-length is a 30 minute smooth Scotch with no burn at all. Except for the rapid-fire "It's Empty," the rest of this LP is a textbook in mid-tempo head nodding hooks and rich textures. I remember getting into this band and constantly thinking that they were akin to the SWINGIN' UTTERS with all rounded corners and unbeatable poise. The analysis holds up.

Song of the Day: THE FIRST STEP - “What We Know” (Rivalry) If I’m going to a pull a muscle doing a jump kick to a song, I hope it’s this one...

Release of the Day: DRAG THE RIVER - "You Can't Live This Way" (Suburban Home) If you've tried to patch DRAG THE RIVER's discography from the various streaming services, good luck, because it's wildly incomplete. Which kind of a fitting way of thinking about this band. They got lumped into the alt-country craze of the mid 2000s, buoyed by a well-known pop-punk past in prior bands, but Discogs goes with the term 'country rock' and I like that so much better. Incredibly prolific for more than a decade, with numerous solo recording offshoots from several members, DRAG THE RIVER is more like a musical tree than a simple endeavor to explain. Sometimes they were framed as 'who ya got - Chad Price or Jon Snodgrass?' but c'mon - why not have both? In any rate, their little old website is in need of some updating. Man... DRAG THE RIVER vs. the world needs some updating. Come on back. It's not too late.

Release of the Day: DRAG ME DOWN - “New Today Better Tomorrow” EP (Self-Released) Four songs of melodic pop-punk with bouncy hardcore in all the right spots. The spectrum of influences leaves little mystery and I’m perfectly fine with that. Hard to think of anyone other than FOUR YEAR STRONG meets MIDTOWN on early impressions, but they’ve also got some of the finer technical points of latter SUM 41 and STARING BACK in there (maybe wishful thinking they know of STARING BACK, but hey, they should!). Oscar Manners’ lead vocals are brash and snotty, but a bit a tight on range. This EP came out in 2020 and new music is on the way, and I hope it shows the kind of growth that the band seems capable of putting together. 

Release of the Day: CAPITAL - “Givers Takers” (Underground Communique) The final CAPITAL LP will always strike me a cliffhanger. It took three full-lengths to get to a sound that could really stand apart from SILENT MAJORITY, and then that was it. “Signal Corps” and “Homefront” are nearly as special to me as “Life of a Spectator” and the rest of the SM canon, but when “Givers Takers” came out, it was a (slight) leap that felt bigger, like they knew the songwriting was good enough to live beyond ex-member status. The funny thing is, when I listened to this earlier today, I was struck by how much my perception was warped on it and how songs like “Kennel” and “I Am Anonymous” were so comfortable and meticulously crafted in the same kind of formula that made CAPITAL and the LIHC of the mid-90s/early 2000s such a big deal. Sometimes you get so protective over what you want to hear instead of where the art goes. Extra points on here for still making me laugh when the TUFF clip hits. I hope they finally got the big gig with Ruiner that they deserved.

Release of the Day: AGE OF APOCALYPSE - “Grim Wisdom” (Closed Casket Activities) Sometimes I just want to sing along. Can’t do that with all of that growling and throat destroying in so much of metal or hardcore. AGE OF APOCALYPSE however are practically beginning you to give it a go, or at least make whale sonar sounds while trying to do your best to keep up with lead singer Dylan Kaplowitz. Comparisons to LIFE OF AGONY’s Mina Caputo are both inevitable and largely on point. Musically though, the band has tread a heavier path, seemingly planted in NYHC but not committed to a singular, insular vision. I hear everything from ALL OUT WAR to LEEWAY to even some DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR in their sound, and Stereogum’s succinct description of “stomp-ass” is better than anything I’d come up with on my own. Killer stuff across all corners. 

Release of the Day: STILL INSANE - “Black Sheep” EP (Thousand Islands) Five songs of brisk, well-played skatepunk in the vein of early UNWRITTEN LAW, NOFX, or BIGWIG. Nothing too unique here from this Quebec City band, but there’s meaty guitar sound, frenetic solos, snotty vocals, and a persistent forbidden beat. Can’t say I understand the sequencing, however. Opener “Sleeping on the Floor” is nearly double the length of much of the rest of material and has a scattered arrangement. Despite its catchy lyrics, the track would be much more fitting for a closer instead. Put that past your mind though and enjoy the middle neck-snapping trio of the title track, “No More Targets” and “Stay Home.” If you like what you’re hearing, the band’s 2012 full-length “Never An Off” is worthy next move.

Release of the Day: UNBROKEN - “Life. Love. Regret.” (New Age/Indecision) Not gonna attempt to write a retrospective on this now 28 year old essential hardcore record, but listening to it once again, I’m reminded of how deep this record hits without having so many of songwriting parts that would be favored presently. Dance-able mosh? Not much! Rousing gang-vocals? Some, but not like MODERN LIFE IS WAR or COMEBACK KID or even the youth crew eras before or after “Life...” This record though is a cornerstone of gutty, heartfelt 90s hardcore that had an intensity that could overcome the awkwardness of trying to figure out what to do with your body while listening to it.  “In The Name of Progression” and “Final Express” feel like watching someone drive over your bicycle, backing up, and doing it again. The bouncy, comin’ for ya intro to “Blanket” gets my arms wound up and sore, and the sludgy, bulldozering “Recluse” is like picking at scabs with a rasp. Unbroken and unmatchable.  

Release of the Day: BRAND NEW UNIT - "Looking Back Again" (BYO/Trust Records) - Count me in as being excited about Trust Records working with the Stern brothers to get the BYO Records catalog out of a streaming black hole. I could go on for many words about how certain BYO titles shaped my early punk rock years (which notably were an entire punk rock generation from the label's founding), and like any great label, some gems still remained off the path from the big classics. At the top of that list is BRAND NEW UNIT's "Looking Back Again," a unique melodic punk/hardcore band that really sounds like nothing else I had ever heard before or since. Technically proficient, ambitious in scope, understated in its infectiousness, and just something I want to always play real loud. "Do It For You" and "All for Nothing" were the 'hits' from this LP, but "Quickdrawn Richy Rich" and "No Heroes" have been my longtime favorites. Looking Back... but I still feel like I'm looking forward when I hear all of these songs again.

Release of the Day: Various Artists - “The Very Best of Jailhouse Records: 14 Years of Poverty” (Jailhouse) - Woke up in the mood for some street punk today, particularly thinking about some old BLANKS 77 releases, and then stumbled across this Jailhouse Records compilation. We got a classic you’ll-find-something-to-like label sampler here with a large buffet of styles and histories - some side-projects and other names with decades of punk and hardcore associations. From the DISCHARGE-like metal/crust stylings of PANZERBASTARD, to the crunchy hardcore of TENEBRAE, the scuzzed out shufflin’ of ANTISEEN, and melodic sonics of PINK LINCOLNS and DUCKY BOYS, plus so much more, this an all-out, uptempo, up the punxxxx weekend listen.

Release of the Day: RUSS RANKIN - “Come Together Fall Apart” (SBAM) It’s been nearly ten years since Rankin’s last solo full-length, “Farewell Catalonia,” and a couple of stellar post-hiatus Good Riddance full-lengths. I’m not sure how much peer persuasion factored into the decision to record “Come Together Fall Apart,” but the request for more ‘just-Russ’ material has been a constant theme on his socials and the new 11 song, 32 minute LP proves that he was once again more than up to the task. I wrote the following about “Farewell Catalonia,” -- “It’s that [iconic Russ] voice..., along with the expected lyrical bite and charming, sometimes devilish delivery that makes this debut solo effort such a treasure. With little instrumentation besides warm guitar sounds and light percussion, Rankin’s voice is constantly in the driver’s seat.” Ditto. However, “Come Together...” isn’t just mailing in what’s done before, and the weathered state of things ten years later shows expected cracks in the positive “Last Believer” foundation. The dark cover art and sometimes scruffy recording quality (A Blasting Room feature, not a bug) are flares of discontent and discouragement. I’ve grown up listening to Russ sing his way over so many of my life’s mileposts and we each work our way through middle ages, he’s an essential voice in my conscience.

Release of the Day: Various Artists - “Pandemic Artist Relief: Music in the Time of Covid​-​19″ (Gardenhead Records) Remember almost two years ago when a flood of Covid compilations came out to support artists? Seems almost quaint, but also admirable, and maybe it deferred boredom for just a little longer. Did they actually help any artists? Not sure where the accounting stands on those things, but I bought a bunch of comps just like this one and while I’m maybe down a $100-150 or so, my Bandcamp collection certainly bulked up. This 26 song collection covers a wide swatch of indie rock, electronic pop, acoustic musings, and covers, many covers. Nothing on the very heavy side of the ledger, and we don’t get all twee with it either. EQUIPMENT’s soft, acoustic cover of BLINK 182′s “Adam’s Song” once again reminded me why, as a parent, I just can’t make it through that track without feeling my gut swirl. Standout tunes: CHEEKFACE covering Joyce Manor, STRANGE WEEKEND covering STRFKR, the barebones STROKES-like MEXICAN SLUM RATS, and the aggro alternative rock from JOYNOISE.

Release of the Day: HASTE - "When Reason Sleeps" (Century Media) I got into HASTE after checking out their third full-length, 2003's "The Mercury Lift," which saw the band move into less screamy, more melodic heavy-rock pastures. Unfortunately that was the end of the line for the talented group, but their three part discography has held together well. Like contemporaries in GRADE, POISON THE WELL, and BELOVED, the group aimed an ample supply of sharp tips to a dart board of metallic hardcore, screamo, and post-hardcore chuggings. More often than not, the blended arrangements sparked swelling aggression and sweaty shouted out vocals. Stand out tracks: "Off Parting Sound" and "Meridian Summer."

Release of the Day: NECROWEASEL - “Global Warning” (Suicide Records) Here’s some tasty, thrashy metallic hardcore/punk from Finland... Nine relentless songs about the ills of our times mated to apocalyptic, cataclysmic guitar destruction. Searing solos? Check. Brute-strength chugging, rolling, rhythmic crunch? Yeah, that too. Highlight jam comes from “Killing Business” which possesses a mid-tempo, foot shuffling beat that hits harder and harder the long the beat is drilled into your skull. Extra points for a terrific band name. 

Release of the Day: NO MOTIV - “Cynical” (The Edge Recordz) An all-star omission from the major streaming services, “Cynical” is an early LP from NO MOTIV that only seems to exist for those who wish to remember their pre-Vagrant Records days. You can count me as being both a big fan of their early Oxnard, California skatepunk/melodic hardcore leanings, even if super-raw on “Cynical,” and their later, brooding mid-tempo emo/heavy rock. Some of the latter sounds were foreshadowed on here, and Jeremy Palaszewski genuinely became a top-notice singer, but generally, I’m locked into the forbidden-beat, double-bass clackity-clacky of No Motiv going full-tilt. Some songwriting choices were better than others (cough, “Tomorrow,” the almost ska song), and the band’s sad-sack story about their poor 924 Gilman experience always bummed me out, but the overall earnestness of “Cynical” always betrayed the LP’s title.