Jonesin' - The Dream is Dead 7"
Coming Summer 2010.
Cover art by Lubrano.
First press: TBA.
A split release w/ Dirt Cult, Muy Autentico, and No Breaks.
1. 'Lone
2. Nothing At All
3. Just So You Know
4. (Take Me to the) Antique Roadshow
As Jonesin' wrapped up their debut EP late last year, something happened that made their label lose interest: they announced that their show at The Fest in Gainesville would be their last. They were calling it quits. Luckily, Chris (Dirt Cult), Kyle (Muy Autentico), Stewart (No Breaks), and I all have the kind of terrific business sense that would compel a person to plead with a defunct non-touring band to get to put out their record. Rather than choose one of us - well - connect the dots, Einstein. It's a four-way split release!
So here it is - the swan song EP from Long Island's best East Bay-spirited band. Four songs of gravelly Green Day and Crimpshrine influenced pop punk -aptly titled The Dream is Dead.
Except for one thing: they reconsidered and decided not to break up after all!
Dead Mechanical - Addict Rhythms CD
Released: June 5, 2010.
Cover art by Nolen Strals.
1. Addict Rhythm
2. Sidewalks
3. Baltimore Calling
4. Feathered Creatures
5. Film at Forever
6. Watchpost
7. Last Show
8. A World of Mistakes
9. All These Weathermen
10. Binghamton Calling
11. Pictures in the Hall
12. Under the Leaves
One of the best things about living in the miserable hole that is Washington, DC is that -if nothing else -it's not far from Baltimore. And one of the best things about Baltimore is definitely Dead Mechanical. The band have been around for a few years now, but don't get out on the road too often which has resulted in a kind of "best kept secret" status. They're a tough band to describe, but let's just say that if you're a fan of the kind of gritty pop punk Traffic Street seems to specialize in (or at least focus on) you're going to be into this record in a big way. Drawing influence from bands like Jawbreaker, The Wipers, and Husker Du, and with two lead vocalists (both totally distinct and providing an awesome contrast to one another) Dead Mechanical are playing around in a well-worn genre without sounding at all worn themselves.
As Todd Taylor over at Razorcake said in his review of their previous full-length (Medium Noise), "They're aware of Dillinger Four, Jawbreaker, and Toys That Kill, but don't want to sound anything like them. They want to sound like who shows up in the mirror in the morning ... Mid-paced, melodic, and melancholic while giving the overall feeling of Baltimore in the winter: the rust, the caked-on ice, white puffs of breath, of a town living in the shadow of much larger cities and deciding to stay and celebrate what it has to offer ... A spot-on album. Highly recommended."
If we were more organized, we'd already have glowing reviews of Addict Rhythms to show you -but don't worry, they're coming.
The Credentials - Routines CD
LP self-released by The Credentials: March 16, 2010.
CD released: June 2, 2010.
Cover art by Tom Donington.
1. Nice Girl / Coffee Shop
2. Up in the Attic
3. Detroit Rats
4. I Don't Want to Think About That Girl
5. Slowly Going the Way of the Juggalo
6. Night Sweats
7. Routines
8. Korean Porn Dumpster
9. Repeat Offender
10. Hating Your Guts
11. Mike-Graffito Tagged Somerville
12. Sucking Dust
Earlier this year, the Credentials self-released their debut LP. I had liked their 7-inch, but this full-length seriously knocked me on my ass. Twelve songs recorded live that transition seamlessly all the way through to the end of the record. This is ripping-fast, scrappy as hell, but still completely bold. When I say that this record is "punk as fuck," that's not tongue-in-cheek. It has an energy that I couldn't even begin to describe and -on top of all of that -these guys are writing some of the best lyrics out there at the moment. Not only can they perfectly articulate the frustrations of daily life in the most poetic way possible, but they can actually write "issue songs" that don't make me roll my eyes. And for someone as jaded and apathetic as I've come to be, that's quite the fucking achievement. If you're a fan of Crimpshrine, Insomniac-era Green Day, and Witches With Dicks, get ready for your favorite record of 2010.
Rational Anthem / Billy Raygun - Split 7"
Released: May 28, 2010.
Cover art by Corey Ayd.
First press: 303 black, 206 tangerine.
A split release w/ John Wilkes Booth Records.
Rational Anthem
1. Same Shirt, Different Day
2. Just Shrug
Billy Raygun
3. Killjoy
4. The Worst Day of My Life
After a year that had as many releases as it did line-up changes, Rational Anthem have reunited with their original (and incredible) drummer, hit a proper studio for the first time, and written what everyone that's heard them thus far are calling their two best songs to date. Old and new fans alike, prepare to be impressed by some anthemic, biting pop punk.
On Side B, Billy Raygun shred their instruments like The Ergs!, with the spirit of a band like Bent Outta Shape, without sounding much like either of them. If I had to describe it, I'd call it charmingly-warbly indie/punk rock. With an average age of just 18, you can't help but wonder how these kids got this awesome this fast.
Rumspringer - Empty Towers CD/LP
Coming: May 29, 2010.
Cover art by Manny Mares and Kim G.
First press: 444 black, 113 diet sierra mist.
1. With a Hint of Lyme
2. Future Train
3. The "May I Help You" Riff
4. Post-Midnight
5. It's Literally Tearing Me Apart
6. Back on Hess and 4th Again
7. Online Pokerface
8. Seems Like a Flusher
9. Parastolic Reaction
10. The Same Wavelength
11. Sometimes Dead is Better
With Empty Towers, Rumspringer prove that they not only have what it takes to write more than an EP's worth of great songs, but that they're a band that's only getting better with time. There's something casual and laid-back but still captivating about their brand of pop punk. On repeated listens, faster bands can get grating; slower bands get boring. There's a quality to this band though that compels you to listen to their songs over and over again. There may not be much you can do with punk at this point to keep it sounding fresh, but a select few bands always seem to manage. Jawbreaker did it, Latterman did it, and now Rumspringer are doing it. There's no roadmap or formula here -I don't even want to draw any cheap comparisons for a recommendation. Check it out if you're interested in hearing a young band that wrote an album that's thoroughly their own.
House Boat - Processing Complaints 7"
Download released: April 3, 2010.
7" released May 27, 2010.
First press: 486 black, 254 red, 160 salvia.
1. DC Showcase Presents: Inferiority Complex, Volume 420
2. Payment Plan
3. Kids of the Black Hole Sun
4. The Self-Aware Octopus
5. Tired Pleas
After releasing one of 2009's best full-lengths, the band featuring Grath and Ace of The Steinways, Mikey Erg, and Zack Off-With-Their-Dear Landlord's-Rivetheads is back! On their new EP, House Boat do what they do best five times over. You want novelty? Innovation? Vicissitude?!? You're outta luck. Processing Complaints is smart-alecky, self-deprecating pop punk in five quick bursts. Catchy and to the point.
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
The Transgressions / The Side Project - Stop Wasting My Time 7"
Released: April 19, 2010.
Cover art by Charlie Chicken.
First press: 550 black.
1. Drunk and Depressed
2. Kidney Stones
3. Living Hell
The Side Project
4. 20/200
5. Gotta Kill It
6. Giving Up on Love
SIx glorious tracks of snotty midwestern pop punk about being a drunk and/or drug-addled fuck up with nothing to live for. Sink in it!
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
Vacation Bible School / The God Damn Doo Wop Band - Covered 7"
Released: April 8, 2010
Soviettes afterparty edition: 54 black.
First press: 301 black, 115 spearmint.
Vacation Bible School
1. The Swarming
3. You'll Always Be My Girl
The God Damn Doo Wop Band
2. Menage a Prom
4. Leaving Town
Blistering punk rock from Chicago's vastly underrated Vacation Bible School, bittersweet doo wop gems from Minneapolis' The God Damn Doo Wop Band. Both bands contribute one Vacation Bible School song and one God Damn Doo Wop Band song, so you get one original and one cover from each. If you don't get what I'm saying, pull out your scrap paper and see if you can't work it out for yourself.
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
V/A - Dangerous Intersections VI 7"
Released: March 4, 2010.
Cover art by Ryan Agate.
First press: 333 black, 180 barbicide, 60 UK yellow, 5 smokestain.
1. My Friends?
The Manix
2.
Red Truck
The Humanoids
3. Pride by the Barrel
The Taxpayers
4. The Lights
The sixth installment in the series! From Colorado comes No High Fives to Bullshit with some of the sludgiest, heaviest, most fucked up pop punk ever. The Manix play catchy, fast-as-hell punk rock from MPLS in the spirit of Rivethead. Outta St. Louis, The Humanoids write smart, slick pop punk that'll appeal equally to fans in the Ramonescore, East Bay, and Gainesville camps. Last, Portland, Oregon's The Taxpayers offer up a 4-minute epic motherfucker of a song that should sit pretty well with fans of The Sidekicks and anybody that thought "The Disco Before The Breakdown" was a step forward, rather than the beginning of the end.
"UK yellow" colored vinyl available exclusively from Different Kitchen.
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
New Creases - About Last Night... 7" / CDEP
7" Released: February 22, 2010.
CDEP Released: June 22, 2010
Cover art by Troy Allen.
First press: 338 black, 162 white, 90 clear.
A split release w/ No Breaks Records.
2. French Perfume
3. Northeast Pull
4. Drive Away
About Last Night... is New Creases' first new material since their s/t CDEP last year. Four new anthems about being stuck in cities and patterns, for better or worse, and just trying to figure out which one of those applies on a given day. If you're a fan of The Measure (SA), Rumspringer, or Through Being Cool-era Saves the Day, do yourself a favor and pick up this record. (And don't forget to hit the distro for a copy of their split 7" with It Good)!
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
Like Bats - Look on the Bright Side 7"
Released: January 11, 2010
Cover art by Joey Seger.
Winter tour edition: 60 black.
First press: 379 black, 110 white.
2. 3814 Wirth Road
3. Pop Tops
4. Chest Pains
One of the best young bands in the midwest follow up their debut EP with four brand new songs of intense, energetic pop punk loaded with grit and spite. Highly recommended for fans of early Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms, or Dear Landlord.
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
The Brokedowns - New Brains For Everyone LP
Released: March 1, 2010.
Cover art by Matt Semke.
First press: 450 black, 123 red pill.
A split release w/ Cassette Deck Media Conglomerate.
2. Who Stabbed Sean Spencer?
3. Pro-Gear, Pro-Attitude, Pro-Results
4. We Are Billionaires
5. Year of the Hydra
6. Huge
7. The S.A.R.S. Groove
8. We Don't Buy Nothing (We Buy Everything)
9. Barefeet
10. Sinking Century
11. Space Babies
12. Coke Mule Blues
The long overdue vinyl release of one of my favorite records. The Brokedowns take all of the best elements of punk and hardcore to create some of the smartest, most creative, catchy, energetic anthems you could ever hope to hear. I'm not generally excited about the idea of "reissues," but this record is one giant exception. Recommended for fans of Dillinger Four, Off With Their Heads, and Witches With Dicks.
Like Bats - s/t CDEP
Released: October 5, 2009.
Cover art by Frank Ruich.
1. Lousy
2. Fall Leaves
3. Hellbound
4. Double or Nothing
This is a reissue of Like Bats' debut EP, originally self-released by the band.
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
Rational Anthem - Broadcast to Thousands, Heard By None Cassette
Released: April 14, 2009.
First press: 100 tapes.
2. Forecast [Live]
3. Never Let Me Down [Live]
4. Father, You Were Right [Live]
5. Summer [Live]
It's always a bummer when you're out on tour and a show that you thought you had ends up falling through. It's less of a bummer though when a friend somehow gets you a live radio show within an hour of pulling into town. This was recorded in Lexington on August 3rd, 2008.
OUT OF PRINT.
V/A - Dangerous Intersections V 7"
Released: August 26, 2009.Cover art by Brett Wensel.
First press: 330 black, 167 mineral water, 60 brown trash.
Troublemake
1. Use Six or Seven Times and Destroy
The Legendary San Diego Chargers
2.
Fred and the Kids Are Dead
Shang-A-Lang
3. Don't Bring Him Around
Andrew Jackson Jihad
4. You May Be Right
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
Rational Anthem / The Strait A's - Use Your Delusion I 7"
Released: May 14, 2009.
Cover art by Nate Gangelhoff.
Windy City / Tour Edition: 30 black.
First press: 323 black, 154 unmarbled red, 56 white.
Rational Anthem
1. You Tell Me
2. Call the
Weather
The Strait A's
3. Pet Project
4. Pop Punk Boys Are Girls
5. Gotta Make
the First Move
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
Apocalypse Meow / Rational Anthem - Split 7"
Released: May 14, 2009.
Cover art by Bill Pinkel.
First press: 302 black, 148 blue raspberry, 52 clear blue.
Apocalypse Meow
1. DIY Pharmacy
2. Spliff Burton vs.
Tom
Brewnansky
3. Same Sad Song
Rational Anthem
4. What Am I Doing Here?
5. 717
Orange
REVIEWS
"By far the best APOCALYPSE MEOW shit so far. Stand-out of the three is 'Same Sad Song', which addresses that depressed, boring friend who won't shut up about the girl who broke their heart. It's spot-on and I can't get over how simply written yet devastatingly effective these songs are. It's like the three chords everyone starts off with, but with none of the over-written fiddles that can ruin a good song. RATIONAL ANTHEM remind me of COWBOY DYNAMITE and RUMSPRINGER a bit, melodic energetic songs with loads going on, dual vocals and awesome songwriting. I just can't get enough of bands who play this kind of thing, and RATIONAL ANTHEM do it so well. It's raw and powerful, there's no 'production' making these songs great, it's all natural." - Jerk Store
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
V/A - Dangerous Intersections IV 7"
Released: May 22, 2009.
Cover art by Stewart Breaks.
First press: 320 black, 175 sky blue, 70 sky grey.
Strait A's
1. Go Away
Like Bats
2.
Sleepwalker
Rumspringer
3. No Lights On
Barrakuda McMurder
4. I Broke Up
(With My Girlfriend (So That I Could Write Pop Punk Songs About It))
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
Rational Anthem - s/t CDEP
Released: March 13, 2009.Cover art by Andrew Rebennack.
1. Saddle Up
2.
Forecast
3. Summer
4. This Isn't Me
5. Father, You Were Right
6. Never Let Me
Down
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
Rumspringer / Sleep Like a Log - Split 7"
Released: May 13, 2009.
First press: 333 black, 153 black cloud, 57 concrete.
Rumspringer
1. Give Me a
Fucking Vowel
2. Normal Again
Sleep
Like a Log
3. Broken Scale
4. The Big Monster and Me
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
V/A - Dangerous Intersections III 7"
Released: May 13, 2009.
Cover art by Gord Lafler.
First press: 301 black, 150 sour grape, 54 crystal scum.
The Closet
Fairies
1. SKUMPUNK
Apocalypse Meow
2. Babies Got It Made
The
Dopamines
3. My Future's So Bright, I Have to Wear Night Vision Goggles
Todd
Congelliere
4. Channel 11
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
Andrew Jackson Jihad / Apocalypse Meow - Pug Life 7"
Released: May 12, 2009.Cover art by Justin Francis.
First press: 337 black, 151 orange swirl, 55 clear amber.
Second press: 265 white, 265 clear (10/23/09).
Andrew Jackson
Jihad
1. Island Song
2. Growing Up
[Early]
Apocalypse Meow
3. Rehab
4. Where Would Jesus
Work?
REVIEWS
"I'll pretty much pick up anything with AJJ on it, but the fact that APOCALYPSE MEOW are the other band makes it an essential purchase. APOCALYPSE MEOW would be awesome in their own right, but I guess what makes them more 'interesting' for people is that Justin from OFF WITH THEIR HEADS has stepped out fro behind the kit to sing and play guitar. His voice is clean and gruff-less, and it sounds kinda like OWTH with the gain turned down. These songs are catchy like you wouldn't believe, with great lyrics and unpolished charm that makes for a LOT of reaching over to the record player. ANDREW JACKSON JIHAD have one new song, and an early version of 'Growing Up'. They're both great tunes but the AM stuff is why you really should buy this." - Jerk Store
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
The Brokedowns / Turkish Techno - Split 7"
Released: February 17, 2009.Cover art by Mitch Clem.
First press: 305 black, 100 crystal Pepsi.
Second press: 182 black (02/24/10).
The
Brokedowns
1. That's a Bummer, Man
2. Shit Covered in Glitter
Turkish
Techno
3. Meth Not Meat
4. Lazy Afternoon
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
V/A - Dangerous Intersections II 7"
Released: February 22, 2009.Cover art by Lauren Measure.
First press: 354 black, 117 yellow surprise, 24 citrus, 5 lemon-lime, 4 orange, 3 toilet water.
Basement
Black
1. Freedom or Beer ... Whatever, Dude
Dead Mechanical
2. Poison
Bearer
Pretty Boy Thorson & The Falling Angels
3. Start Me On Interferon
The
Measure [SA]
4. How to Thrash a Million
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
The Side Project - New Brain 7" / CDEP
Released: February 18, 2009.Cover art by Nick Moultar.
First press: 202 black, 101 clear red.
1. Get a New Brain
2.
That's What She Said
3. I Don't Think So
4. Caffeine and
Nicotine
REVIEWS
"Four songs that will restore the faith you have in pop punk that may be fading since the loss of so many great bands in the past few years. The Side Project is like your favorite blanket you can curl up with and feel safe in the knowledge that there's simple straight forward pop punk songs still being put out. This record gets six thumbs up as soon as I can find out how that's possible." - Uncle Critic
Art pictured is of the 7-inch. The CD and poster are full color.
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
Rumspringer - s/t 10" / CDEP
CD Released: January 3, 200910" Released: May 5, 2009.
Cover art by Mikey Henson.
First press: 340 black.
Second press: 220 black (02/28/10).
1. Spring Breakdown
2.
Encouragement For the Terminal
3. Nothing Left But Stale Beer
4. Bad Dreams
5. Gently
With a Chainsaw
6. Postcard Gestures
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
Turkish Techno / Troublemake - Split 7"
Released: May 13, 2009.Cover art by Gord Lafler.
First press: 320 black, 153 bogus green, 54 mutant grass stain.
Turkish
Techno
1. Now I Gotta Go to Easter...
2. Alphabet Soup
Troublemake
3.
Rhetoric of Hope
4. So Far No Good
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
Unwelcome Guests / Saint Sweetheart - Split 7"
Released: February 17, 2009.Cover art by Kate Loar.
First press: 200 black, 103 clear gold.
Unwelcome Guests
1. Diddle
2. Waiting
Saint
Sweetheart
3. Feeling Nervous
4.Yes
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.
V/A - Dangerous Intersections 7"
Released: January 29, 2009.Cover art by Dick Crawford.
First press: 300 black, 103 blue-green-silver mix.
Rational
Anthem
1. Of Kids Left in Cars With Windows Up
Iron Chic
2. I Never Get
Winded
Amen and the Hell Yeahs
3. Brothers and Sisters In Bourbon
Unwelcome
Guests
4. Floating Away
OUT OF PRINT.
Available digitally through iTunes and other download stores.