We Are All We HaveThe CasualtiesRating: 2.5 out of 5 StarsReleased: Aug. 25, 2009Label: SideOneDummyThe seventh studio album from The Casualties is essentially more of the same, which will likely please their crusty jean-jacket-wearing fan base, but We Are All We Have does little to evolve the sound of the street punk veterans or entertain casual fans coming back for more. The cover is mostly black, featuring growling wolves, and the back cover features the band in traditional dress. The songs are just as familiar, with requisite anthems about being punk veterans, banding together and war being a profitable endeavor. The problem is that the lyrics being belted out by Jorge Herrera are as simple and by-the-punk-books as they get, and never has Herrera sounded so much like Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, despite the work of Bill Stevenson and his crew at the Blasting Room. When there are bands like The Briggs doing the street punk sound so much better, there’s really just no need for a Casualties album this mediocre.
A Lot of Weird People Standing Around (7-inch)Everyone EverywhereRating: 3.5 out of 5 StarsReleased: March 10, 2009Label: Evil Weevil RecordsFrom “Everyhow Everythere,” the opening track of Everyone Everywhere’s latest four-track effort, A Lot of Weird People Standing Around, the band practically screams, “We’re indie as fuck!” Light-fingered guitar riffs weave their way through airy vocals. But Everyone Everywhere has a leg up on some of the competition – they don’t seem like pretentious artists, but rather a group of dudes having fun with their tunes. They sing about being stuck in the house in underwear, keg parties and heating bills. The vinyl packaging adds to that fun. Aside from the weird people standing around on the front cover of the cardboard sleeve, the record comes pressed on a cool translucent blue vinyl, and came with photo copies of someone’s notebook doodles, as well as a voucher for mp3 tracks of the EP. Everyone Everywhere might not have the most original sound around, but they do service to the indie genre with this entertaining 7-inch.
madcowboysmadcowboysRating: 4.5 out of 5 StarsReleased: June 2, 2009Label: New BlackThe madcowboys third full-length effort sees the trio hitting its stride with witty lyrics and a style that is truly becoming their own, while still calling to mind influences like Dillinger Four. Vocalist Mike McLeod plays fast and loose with the lyrics, rolling lines like “girl, you look so goddamn fine, but you got that religion in the mind / I’m just tryin’ to open up your eyes a bit, show you ‘a light’ and show you a good time / but your god is a motherfuckin’ cockblockin partycrashin’ biatch, honey” in the album’s highlight track, “Girls in Shackles.” Yeah, madcowboys pull no punches with their lyrics, which also lambaste monogamy and American Idol, but that’s just the way punk should be. The 16 tracks contained on the band’s self-titled effort are packed to the brim with energy, barebones production, just enough pop to keep the mess together and catchy, and a shit-ton of blunt lyrics laced with humor, covering just about everything. The only caution is that madcowboys self-titled effort is hard to stop listening to once the listener puts it in the stereo.
25 YearsMiddle Class RutRating: 2.5 out of 5 StarsReleased: May 5, 2009Label: Bright AntennaIt may not go back 25 Years, but listening to Middle Class Rut’s latest EP sounds like a trip back through time, to at least the late 1990s. In the six-track effort, which clocks it at a hefty 28 minutes, MC Rut weaves a selection of four-plus-minute barebones alternative rock anthems. Okay, barebones may not be a fair descriptor, as the sound is quite hefty considering there are only two guys behind it. But as a studio effort, where those two guys could layer sounds for eternity, 25 Years is fairly cut-and-dry. There are a lot of heavy drums and sound effects (like chains) to give things an epic feel, and it is entertaining, for sure, but it also sounds like something Jane’s Addiction might have done a decade ago, with no noticeable update to the formula. The lyrics linger way too long in a methodical manner to live up to the tenacious comparison they have received to Rage Against the Machine. As a throwback to a style long since abandoned by many musicians, 25 Years is guaranteed to please, but fans shouldn’t expect anything more.
White RabbitNathen Maxwell & The Original Bunny GangRating: 3 out of 5 StarsReleased: Aug. 18, 2009Label: SideOneDummyThe bassist for Irish-punk legends Flogging Molly, Nathen Maxwell, steps out on his own, with a little help from The Original Bunny Gang, on White Rabbit. For those expecting a touch of the Celtic flavor, it is nowhere to be found on White Rabbit. Instead, Maxwell mixes folk and reggae – and maybe even a bit of Latin flavor in songs like “Mijo” – influences for an incredibly laid back sound for a guy usually seen pounding Guinness on the stage in front of rowdy crowds. It’s definitely an interesting mix, but whether it is successful is something that listeners will have to decide on their own. Ted Hutt does a decent job producing the effort, but there doesn’t seem to be much to it. The lyrics and instrumentation come across as simple, and Maxwell’s voice isn’t the most appealing at the slowed pace. Maxwell does a great job of separating himself from the Flogging Molly sound, but that leaves him without the interest of the band’s fans and questions of whether the work is strong enough to stand on its own.
Spirit Desire (7-inch)Tigers JawRating: 2.5 out of 5 StarsReleased: Aug. 18, 2009Label: Tiny EnginesFrom the home of The (American) Office, Scranton, Penn., comes Tigers Jaw. The band follows its full-length self-titled debut with Spirit Desire, a four-track 7-inch vinyl EP. Though the band doesn’t really sound anything like them, Spirit Desire’s wuss rock vibe, created in large part by vocalists Adam McIlwee and Ben Walsh, often reminds of Weezer, with a bit of another band they really sound nothing like, Pain. Comparisons they’ve received to Archers of Loaf, Pavement and the Chapel Hill scene are probably more accurate. Spirit Desire is packed with fuzzy guitar sounds, and slow beats creating slow builds in each of the four songs. The opening title track shows a lot of promise, but ultimately the limp, sad, brooding vocals tug this effort, and the listener, down through most of the 13 minutes it lasts. The 7-inch features a translucent sleeve with a strangely intriguing piece of art behind it featuring a man seemingly Photoshopped in front of a building and pool, with purple and yellow colors added to the mix, but the yellow vinyl is pretty ugly. It comes with a free mp3 code.
Distances (7-inch)The Wonder Years/All or Nothing (Split)Rating: 4 out of 5 StarsReleased: March 10, 2009Label: No SleepThe Distances split between The Wonder Years and All or Nothing offer a pair of new tunes from each band. In the case of The Wonder Years, the tracks are “An Elegy for Baby Blue” and “Don’t Open the Fridge,” both of which are a lot more studio polished than their previous work. The tracks sound like something that could have fit in with New Found Glory’s debut, Nothing Gold Can Stay, in a very good way. All or Nothing has a bit more modern of a sound, with airier vocals, but a strong punk backbeat driving each song. The white vinyl and artwork are a bit boring, but it’s the music that counts most, and the Distances split should be a hit with fans of both bands.
Chicago instrumental indie-rockers Oceans are calling it quits, according to their PR rep. The band wanted to let fans know that their two final shows will take place in Chicago tonight and tomorrow.
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