The Melvins- Nude With Boots

The Melvins have aged like a fine wine, but go down more like a cocktail of gasoline, bourbon, concrete, and tarantulas. Hailing as the almighty kings of sludge for damn near thirty years now, the core duo of King Buzzo and Dale Crover (Joe Preston's been out of the picture for quite some time now) created a new monster of sorts by grafting together with fellow Seatle noisemakers Big Business (Karp, The Murder City Devils) on 2006's (A) Senile Animal. Luckily, this wasn't a one-off wet dream, and the Big Business boyz have been a permenant part of the Melvins machine ever since, touring, terrorizing, and melting faces. Nude With Boots is the second album from this superMelvins monstrosity, and proves that this band has a lot of life left in them.

The latter album and this one have been more listenable than previous Melvins concoctions (compared to say, Pigs of the Roman Empire), but let's not jump to conclusions: this still rips. The album "kicks" things off with "The Kicking Machine," rich with strong Zeppelin-esque riffage, with more classic rock raging ensuing on "Suicide In Progress" (which ends with what seems to sound like silverware falling in reverse).

"The Stupid Creep" is a short and sweet rocker in the vein of Ozma classics like "Oven" and "Claude" while "Dog Island," the longest song on the record at 7:32 (the bulk of the songs under 4 minutes), is classic Melvins sludge-drone, complete with a tribal Crover drum solo at the end. If the Crover/Willis drum combo doesn't get you hard, than you should probably be thrown into an open grave full of venomous snakes.

The band still likes to wallow in sludgy noise drenched waters as is apparent in "The Savage Hippy," and the closing track "It Tastes Better Than the Truth," sees the band dueling it out in a a shrieking march towards insanity.

While not as strong as (A) Senile Animal, Nude With Boots is solid Melvins material. The Melvins will never die, and as long as they are keeping me on my toes and shedding my skin a bit, I hope they live forever. Love live the fucking Melvins.

The Melvins myspace

Torche- Meanderthal

Carved out of the massive entity formerly known as Floor and featuring members of Cavity and Shitstorm, Miami FL's Torche have created a sound so large it could have roamed the earth freely amongst the prehistoric dinosaurs millions of years ago. Mesozoic layers of shattering bass forged together with heroic guitars and majestic vocals flying over a molten sea of doom, Meanderthal, their first album on Hydra Head Records, is epic and far from prehistoric. Torche take heavy music farther than the naked eye can see.

In merely four years as a band and two albums and one EP into it, Torche have managed to expand their sound and grow musically with every release, which is a difficult task to pull off. Meanderthal maintains a beautiful balance of heavy and melodic, soaring and thrashing, crushing and soothing. Doom pop anthems like "Grenades" and "Healer" could really find a place in the ears of anyone with an interest in rock music, while tracks like "Pirana" and "Speed of The Nail" throw the switch into the red and fly in like a T-Rex assault. And that's just in the first half of the album!

The second half of the album sinks deep into the sludge and paralyzes you with heavy, tribal, psychedelic waves of crusty rock as the album ends with the title track pounding you into the ground like a giant hammer.

Torche have found a way to dodge the pigeonholing commonly found in heavy music and have created a solid rock album that could crossover and cater to many different audiences while still pushing the limits of heavy, experimental music. Album of the year???

Torche myspace

The Slackers- Self Medication

Welcome to the Church of Slack. Let the sinnin' commence.

Everyone's favorite reggae, ska, soul and rocksteady pranksters are back with twelve more doses of healing that goes down smooth. Side effects included skanking, head bobbing, singing along, and feelin' good. The Slackers are the best at bringin' you the classic sound and feel of oldschool reggae and ska, and along with the Agrrolites, are bringing much more of an awareness for this amazing music.

12 years in and the Slackers still sound fresh. Everything they put out is just too fucking cool. Just a really talented group of guys reliving the glory days. They aren't shoving politics down your throat or whining about girls (although they do have an occasional "broken heart" song). And stylistically they cover a lot of ground, from the organ driven calypso of "Estranged" to the horn heavy ska of "Leave Me," to the old tyme sound of "Don't Have To." This record is a little more laid back than some of their past releases, but don't think that they have slowed down any.

RIYL: Trojan records, Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Clash, the Aggrolites, Red Stripe, getting high, good music

The Slackers myspace

Young Widows- Old Wounds

More Louisville madness!!! Young Widows (Evan Patterson from Black Cross/The National Acrobat + 2/3 of Breather Resist) is back with more Steve Albini worship and haunting hardcore creepiness.

These eleven songs range from balls out Jesus Lizard torture to dense minimalism. "The Guitar" contains so much empty space in the recording you could drown to death. Evan's vocal delivery is very sobering and even hypnotizing at times, and the rhythm section seems almost mechanical, getting so locked in that it's amazing that this music is being performed by human beings.

Spacey and tribal, dark and brooding, and maybe a little unsettling. Definitely music to listen to in a dark empty hallway.

Try staring at the cover art while you listen to the entire record and see if you don't get creeped the fuck out as well.

Young Widows myspace

Weezer- The Red Album

Weezer ain't what it used to be, yes, but they have gotten a lot of unnecessary hatred thrown at them after their last album, Make Believe. The snobs and music press hated it, and although it is uncomfortably sugary at times, more hideous sounds have filled my ears. I'm all about second chances, so after a three year wait to see if Weezer could redeem themselves, I am left with mixed emotions.

If releasing another self-titled album known only by the color of the background is any indication of a good Weezer album, than this record should be pretty damn good. This album is all over the place. It's like the band had a bunch of ideas and just spread them out all over the table, put them face down, did the hillybilly shuffle, and then picked them up one by one and put them on record. Some of the ideas work, some dont'. The classic Weezer powerpop sound shines on songs like "Troublemaker," "Everybody Get Dangerous" and "Pork and Beans" (a song that dismisses all the haters out there). But everything else just lies there flat.

"The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)" is a rock opera of sorts, combinging rap, Greorgian chant, falsetto vocals, acoustic guitars and piano, spoken word, and straight up rock in a mess of a song. Like trying to chug a whole gallon of milk: it may seem like a good idea at the time, but once you try it you just end up throwing up.

"Heart Songs," while a little cheesy, is a homage to the music that influenced frontman Rivers Cuomo. It's a terrible song, but relateable. "Dreamin'" is another failed attempt at a feel-good flowery pop song.

A couple songs include lead vocals by the other members of the band, but leave nothing but a bad taste in your mouth.

The band tries to be adventerous, but if things were a little more cohesive, this might be a decent album. This just seems bloated.

Weezer myspace

Zs- The Hard

Unclassifiable doesn't begin to describe this. Chamber music shoved down the throat of a bunch of rockers, or rock music being beat into the heads of a bunch of classical musicians? Somewhere in the ballpark of Frank Zappa (think Grand Wazoo meets Lumpy Gravy maybe?) or if the Boredoms picked up some brass instruments. This single composition is 15 minutes of no-wave, avant-avant-garde wackiness. Excellent range of dynamics. Dig it if you like the Flying Luttenbachers or anything Weasel Walter has done.

Zs myspace

sBACH- sBACH

Bored? Been up all nite mainlining Fun Dip and pouring Mountain Dew into your Frutti Pebbles? Do you think the NES is the greatest invention of mankind and believe it will end all wars and solve wolrd hunger, rape, and class differences? sBACH may be right for you! Three easy steps and you'll be on your way to a magical journey into a doom-ridden 8-bit wonderland.

1. Quit your job, then fill your living room with blankets, matresses, and other soft objects.
2. Place the sBACH self-titled compact disc directly into your CD player. This is crucial! Make sure the label is facing up or it won't play correctly. Now, push play. It's the one that looks like a sideways triangle. Don't hit the square!
3. Consume a near lethal dose of sugar (or psychedelic drugs if you prefer, but that's for cheaters!). Now, let the sounds soak into your rigid ears.

WARNING: At times you may feel angry and want to punch something. This is normal! You may also feel disgustingly happy and want to dance around the living room in day-glo pajamas with feet. Completely normal as well. You may even be led to believe that you are a robot and that this music is conversing to you. Let it talk! Just remember, that when the sounds have ceased to come out of your speakers, it's OK to play it again.

DISCLAIMER: Suicide Squeeze records is not responsible for any property damaged during the listening of this record, nor will they pay for your trip to the Looney Bin.

sBACH myspace

They Might Be Giants- Here Come The 123s

They Might Be Giants...or they might not be. That has been a question for the ages. Man or machine? Alien or human? Pop stars or pop superstars? Whatever the case, They Might Be Giants are here to rock and inform you whether you like it or not. They recently released their 12th studio album The Else, produced by none other than the Dust Brothers (which was accompanied by a bonus disc of rare material). Full of quirky pop gems, nerdy anthems, and goofy irony, it everything a Giants album should be. Now back in children's album mode, the Johns release their third of the series, about what else, the 123's.

The songs topics range from the numbers 1-10, to a dozen, to infiinty, as well as various other songs, like a cover of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme and a song about hot dogs. This isn't your typical children's album. It's a They Might Be Giants album first and foremost, so you'll sill get the bizarre humor that you've come to love, and they cover many styles: vaudville, disco, lounge, funk, and straight up rock.

Children's edutainment has really come a long way from the day's I was listening to Raffi sing about Baby Beluga and that fucking Bananaphone. Kids get to watch Yo Gabba Gabba! (created by the ska band The Aquabats, and featuring such guests as Biz Markie and the Aggrolites) and now they get to listen to They Might Be Giants. If I was a parent my kids would definitely get to listen to this. And while most kids shit like this (Kidz Bop anyone?) is annoying as hell, I still find myself singing along. Oh to be a kid again...

They Might Be Giants myspace

Lords- Fuck All Y'All Motherfuckers

Lords...Louisville's bastard children of raging punk rock. Featuring former members of Coliseum and Lickgoldensky and coming out of the legendary scene that brought us Breather Resist, Lords continue to do whatever the fuck they want. Fuck All Y'all Motherfuckers is a testament to the attitude these fuckers bring when they decide to rock. New album on Black Market Activities so you know they're in good hands.

Everything about this record tells you to fuck off. The artwork, the track titles, the lyrics...what self righteous bastards! Political, dirty, noisy, southern fucking metal. Either you get it or you don't. Rants against the government, religion, and dumb motherfuckers. Politically incorrect greatness. Muckier and dirtier production than their previous two records. Short and fast bursts of violating punk rock clocking in at under 23 minutes. A force to be reckoned with.

FUCK ALL Y'ALL MOTHERFUCKERS!!!

Lords myspace

Past Lives- Strange Symmetry

You may be sensing a theme, and that theme is bands breaking up. As you may or may not know, the Blood Brothers are no more. But the musicians involved have always been doing their own thing while doing the Blood Brothers: Johnny and Mark did the Neon Blonde project while Jordan and Codie teamed up with members of the Locust and formed Head Wound City. But the Blood Brothers have finally been put to rest. While I mourn the lose, I must look forward to the future. Several projects have already sprouted up featuring the Blood Brothers family. The majority of the group, 3/5 or 60%, have gone on to form Past Lives. Jordan (vox), Mark (drums), and Morgan (baritone guitar, synths) team up with former Blood Brothers bassist Devin (guitar). This 5 song EP is their debut on Seattle imprint Suicide Squeeze (Minus The Bear, Hella).

While the Blood Brothers were known for their chaotic, post-hardcore attack with dueling vocals, Past Lives shake off that notion and deliver a softer, more melodic sound. Shifting from quiet, trance like musings to Blood Brothers-esque ragers (albeit, Jordan's howls are toned down a bit from his blood curdling screams of the past), this little EP has a wide range of sounds going on. Xylophones and shakers, bubbling synth, bluesy Birthday Party guitars, and soothing feedback are jammed packed into 15 minutes. Noisy, but in a controlled environment.

Past Lives myspace

Git Some- Cosmic Rock

Out of the filthy ashes of Planes Mistaken for Stars emerges a new beast from the snowy mountains of Colorado. Git Some are 50% Planes and 100% noisy punk rock. In no way resembling the emotionally charged hardcore of PMFS, Git Some take all the primo punk bands from the 80s and roll them up into a big fat blunt and smoke the shit out of it. Black Flag, yep. Minor Threat, sure. The Dead Kennedys, why not? Unshowered, sweaty, gritty punk rock. These guys are putitng the fun back in punk. Shooting bottle rockets at government officials, getting piss drunk on PBR , bashing in the monitors with the guitars. There hasn't been a punk band like this in a while with so much energy beeing thrown at you from every direction. I can only imagine how they fuck shit up live.

Git Some myspace

The Acacia Strain- Continent

These fellows are angry. And with global warming, a sinking economy, and the Presidential race at hand, why shouldn't they be? The Acacia Strain are pissed. Brutal metal, just face bashing, bite the curb metal.

The band has changed their sound quite a bit since their Prosthetic debut 3750. Their three downtuned guitar massacre has been chopped down to one, but on record they employ multiple guitar tracks, so you really can't tell. Things are still heavy as ever. Unlike many metalcore bands whose sound seems rather generic, the Acacia Strain have some pretty unique breakdowns, not unlike their peers in Bury Your Dead.

Continent is a worldwide attack on everyone and everything, a massive global hatred. As apocalyptic as anything you've heard in a while. They attack everyone, from bands who try to copy their sound ("Skynet"), to women ("Cthulhu," and about half of the rest of the songs), to the entire globe, where on "Baby Buster," vocalist Vincent Bennett talks about blowing up the planet, "I want the world to have my rape baby, so when it's born I can strangle it to death," and on "JFC (Jesus Fucking Christ)," he politely states "I pushed the button, I watched the sky rain death. Consider this global abortion."

While this is a very angry album and might be taken a little too seriously, there has always been a very tongue-in-cheek undertone to the band. Just from reading the track titles ("Skynet," "Dr. Doom," "Baby Buster," "JFC (Jesus Fucking Christ,") ...), you should be able to tell that this band isn't trying to be as macho or sadistic as they sound. The lyrics are obviously ironic and tongue-in-cheek. I mean, how can you take a line like, "I am the end of the world. My dick now lies in your rotting mouth.," seriously. There are some really fucked up, but humorous lyrics on this record. Too many metal bands take themselves way too seriously, it's nice to see a band sneek a bit of black humor into the mix. But don't laugh too hard, this is still a ripping fucking record.

The Acacia Strain myspace

Hot Water Music- TIll The Wheels Fall Off

All great bands must die sometime. Musicians lose interest and move on to different things. Such is the case with Hot Water Music, one of the most emotional, raw, and driving punk rock bands of the last ten years. No fights, no drama, just musicians moving in different directions. 3/4 of the band have recently formed The Draft, which is essentially in the same vein musically as Hot Water Music, while singer/guitarist Chuck Ragan is pursuing a solo career focusing more on country and folk music. Both groups are still making great music, and maybe it's better this way.

Hot Water Music has always been known for its dual vocal attack. In their earlier days, Ragan's guttural voice was up front while second singer/guitarist Chris Wollard, whose voice is more melodic, provided backups. As time progressed, they tended to take equal vocal duties in a duet style. By the end of the band, Ragan was doing back up vocals and Wollard was up front, maybe hinting at Ragan's desire to move on. This collection of B-sides, splits, rarities, and covers is a final goodbye to a solid punk band whose sound and style has been unique and continually copied.

Even their B-sides are really good. "Home" is the only song on here that you can't find anywhere else, and was cut from their final studio release, The New What's Next (which, while still good, is one of their weaker releases, and has a very foreshadowing title). Other songs are lifted from splits with Alkaline Trio (Wollard's acoustic take on "Bleeder" is powerful), The Casket Lottery, and a few others.

They salute their punk rock heroes and wear their influences on their sleeves with covers from The Clash, Government Issue, Midnight Oil, The Circle Jerks, Turbonegro, and the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen.

Their Moonpies for Misfits EP is included on here but is missing the track "Where We Belong," and "The Bitter End" from the Leatherface split is missing (although they do include a cover of Leatherface's "Springtime"). Also missing is a cover of John Mellencamp's "Authority Song" from the Totally Fucking the 80s comp. Other than that, definitely worth getting to complete your collection. There isn't a bad song on here. A great testament to a great band and what a way to go out. You need to here this band, end of fucking story.

Hot Water Music myspace
The Draft myspace
Chuck Ragan myspace

Alkaline Trio- Agony and Irony

I hate major record labels. And I wouldn't if I didn't have a good reason to. Now I know, you're going to be like, "Son, businesses are out there to make money. The almighty dollar. That's what this country was founded upon, money and killing people." But at the cost of compromising beliefs and putting out shitty music? Anyways, sorry to start out this review as a lecture, I've just got some things on my mind. I've seen quite a few bands that I've grown up loving (Green Day and AFI being two that come to mind) change their sound and attitudes drastically as they suck the cocks of the major record labels. I understand bands need to change their sounds to escape being bored and to grow, but there's this eerie feeling in the air when bands start to get big and sign on to major record labels.

The Alkaline Trio have been putting out great records for the last ten years. Dark, poetic, raw, morbidly humorous, and damn catchy. As far as "pop punk" goes, they have always been at the front of pushing the limits and refusing to be formulaic. As they've been getting increasingly more popular the last couple years, I've held my breath in hopes that they wouldn't put out a shitty record. And I've been lucky; Good Mourning and Crimson were both great albums while still being released by Vagrant. But the inevitable has happened and the band has gotten too big for its shoes and has exploded. They were going to be on V2 before the released all their artists to focus on their back catalog, which would have been a good fit. They're on Epic now. Let's not forget who else was on Epic, the Clash. And major labels aren't always a bad thing; Bad Religion put out a few good records on Atlantic (let's just forget about the New America though), the Melvins were on Atlantic too, which amazes me because they aren't going to sell records.

Anyways, I digress. As the album opens with the uptempo "Calling All Skeletons," their is a certain hope instilled for this album. Things seem brighter, the songwriting has improved (for better or worse), and the songs are disgustingly catchy. "Over And Out" sounds more like Matt Skiba's sideproject Heavens or even hints of the Cure than the more raw punk sound over the band's earliest days.

The subject matter is still dark and gothic, but not as clever as past releases. Dan Adiano's songs are slower, borderline love songs with hints of the Cars. But he makes his hatred for love apparent on the sappy anti-love song "Love Love, Kiss Kiss." Matt Skiba continues to write interesting and catchy pop punk with "Lost and Rendered" standing out.

This is still the Alkaline Trio. While they have always had a pop sensibilty, they focus on it more on Agony and Irony, while juxtaposing it with their dark side. Sure, the Hot Topic crowd will like it, but the Trio have a way of appealing to a lot of different crowds. I can breathe easy again.

Alkaline Trio myspace

Nine Inch Nails- Ghosts I-IV

The second (but first to be released) album of 2008 by Trent Reznor is titled Ghosts I-IV. A sprawling instrumental double album clocking in at nearly 2 hours, Ghosts has no song titles, but seems to be divided up into four sections with nine tracks each. Like The Slip, it is available to download for free via their website, except you can only download part one of four (but there are other, less legal ways of obtaining the album in its entirety of course).

Reznor is accompanied by some interesting guest musicians on this experimental outing. Andrian Belew, of King Crimson, plays guitar on three tracks and Brian Viglione, of the World Inferno/Friendship Society plays drums out of a drumkit he built out of scrap metal and various objects.

It's not surprising that Reznor has finally decided to put out an instrumental album. He did the soundtrack for the orginal Quake video game back in 1997 and has always been known for his expermintation. This collection of anything goes is filled with deep rich somber piano, minimalist tribal beats, haunting scraping heroin withdrawals, droning slumber, whisping auras, and electronic raptures. If you thought the Fragile was ambitious, you might change your mind.

The length of this record may be intimidating, but it is a rewarding listen if you take the time to listen to it all the way through, or in chunks. Either way, Reznor has a way of putting out interesting shit no matter what the format is.

Download Ghosts part I!

Nine Inch Nails- The Slip

Trent Reznor is much more productive off drugs. Since releasing the 2 disc epic The Fragile in 1999, Nine Inch Nails have put out three full lengths, a remix album, and double disc instrumental album. In the span of the last two years, three of these projects have come out. 2008 sees the release of Ghosts I-IV and The Slip.

The Slip, which is available ("legally") free to download from the band's website, was recorded in only three weeks and is being released through Reznor's new label The Null Corporation after he recently swore off all ties to any major record label.

The Slip is a return to the darker, more structured form of albums like The Fragile and With Teeth. Unlike Year Zero which was largely constructed of laptop improvisational noise, The Slip combines the poppier aspects of With Teeth with the harder industrial mindfucks and softer marches towards madness of previous Nails albums.

The first half of the album is catchy nihilistic industrial dance, angry anarchist digital hardcore, and poppy 80s electronic post-punk, much in the vein of With Teeth or moments of Year Zero.

The second half of the album drifts deep into a haunting trance, with a soft piano ballad ("Lights In The Sky") melting into a dark ambient landscape ("Corona Radiatata"), followed by a moody trip hop murmer ("The Four Of Us Are Dying"), and disintegrating into a build up of restrained terror.

This isn't as thematic or collective as previous albums. A good collection of emotions. Less dancy than the last few albums have been, less political, and not nearly as noisy as Year Zero.

Download the album here!

Dr. Dooom- Dr. Dooom 2

OK, so Kool Keith isn't the most consistent rapper out there, and why should he be? The man has been doing whatever the fuck he wants since the bizzarely stunning Dr. Octagonecolygest came out 12 years ago. And I'm sure people kept expecting him to put out Doc Oc 2, but he didn't care. Still staying close to the genre he supposedly created (acid rap, horrorcore, pornocore, but hey, what do labels mean anyway?), he released albums under a slew of alter-egos including Black Elvis, Mr. Nogatco (whose album Nogatco Rd. is Dr. Octagon spelled backwards), the Diesel Truckers (with Kut Master Kurt), just Kool Keith, and Dr. Dooom (not to be confused with MF Doom).

Dr. Dooom supposedly killed off Dr. Octagon in his first album First Come First Served, but Kool Keith "brought him back" for a second record in 2006. Produced by One Watt Sun, this album wasn't even supposed to be officially realeased. It is for all practical purposes old vocals of Kool Keith slapped together with some half-assed beats. On Dr. Dooom 2, Keith as Dr. Dooom kills off Dr. Octagon for good on "RIP Dr. Octagon."

First Come First Served, while not following a particular theme, was a dark album filled with science fiction, eeire acid bumps, and Keith's perverted goofy lyrics. But forget all that. On "Mopped Up," Keith spits, "The first thing you gonna do as a journalist is compare this to the 1st Dr. Dooom, fuck you." If anything, stylistically it's closer to something like Sex Style, with plenty of hooks, but this isn't your average rap album. Keith stills jacks off all over your face with plenty of monster movie imagery with his distinctive quirky and offputting flow. Name checking everything from Jason and Michael Myers to the Indiana Pacers, it's still the same Keith that you either love or hate. And Kut Master Kurt is back with his icy, haunting beats that just add to the perverted vibe of the album.

Kool Keith's attitude about people liking this album can be summed up on "Always Talkin' Out Your Ass," where he states, "Yo everybody always wanna talk shit, when you make a new album, it's not good as the last one, how many are sold?" He also attacks fanzines, people with ipods, the Village Voice, and bitches that won't fuck him.

This is Kool Keith's best work since Nogatco Rd., and just goes to show you that he still has it, and never lost it. Fuck that fake ass Dr. Octagon sequel, Dr. Oc is fucking dead, and Dr. Dooom is the new sinister villian.

An Albatross- The An Albatross Family Album

Philly's An Albatross have sort of followed in the footsteps of The Locust, but they sound like an entirely different drug. Sort of an East Coast v. West Coast battle for electronic spazzed-out grindcore punk mayhem kings.

Their previous album BOTPBFATBWK (look it up for the full title) sounded like a Fear and Loathing circus acid trip complete with grinding organs, a demented horn section and vomiting on the carousel. Their move to Eyeball Records sees the band exploring more psychedelic landscapes while keeping intact their full-on hard-on of speeding start-stop punk rock mixed with that sinister organ and bastard brass. Tribal drumming, haunting flute, and primal shrieking vocals push this record to the brink of insanity.

Things spiral into a cosmic state of spiritual healing on "The Hymn of the Angel People" as a bizzare monologue of science fiction and fantasy explains the tale of pilgrims, lovebeasts, and the cosmos, something right out of a Manowar record. But as you start to lose yourself you are awaken from your dream and brought back into the nitemare. The room starts spinning around in slow motion on "Starving on Rabbit Meat." Ride the groove on "Floodgates Released," and trip back into a mournful state as the album closes with weeping violins that melt into a calming aura only to be destroyed by the chaos once more as you crash to your majestic, apocalyptic death.

An Albatross myspace

AIDS Wolf- Cities of Glass

AIDS Wolf ain't pretty. No hooks, no choruses, no singalongs. Filthy out of tune guitars in the vein of Arab on Radar. Vocals sound like Yoko Ono in a bathtub full of electronic appliances. Discordant Canadian punk rock avant-garde improv fucking cataclysm. The soundtrack to intravenous needles being shoved in and out of raw flesh. You'll leave feeling dirty, uncomfortable, and violated.

Aids Wolf myspace

Girl Talk- Feed the Animals

Mash-ups aren't anything new, DJs have been mixing up records for nearly three decades now. But as technology has advanced and music has become more digital, dance and electronic music is being spit out from computers like bilious fluids. If you have a computer and the internet you can download beats and become another shitty laptop DJ. But out of the sea of Macbooks comes a DJ who's less interested in rehashing beats and more interesting in rocking the party. Girl Talk is Gregg Gillis, the whitest DJ I've ever seen, but damn can he get you moving. This is his fourth release on Illegal Art records.

Instead of making his own music he's quite content with stealing some of the most popular hits from the last fifty or so years and crushing them up on the table and snorting them up his nose. Why make new music when people want to hear what's already popular?

Take all the most ridiculous mainstream rap songs ever made and insert subliminal hints of classic rock, electronica, soul, punk, old school hip-hop, and anything elese that may have made the pop charts. It's a mix-tape for the attention deficit. One second youre hearing Lil' Jon, which turns into BLACKstreet as electronics from Radiohead fizzle in the background and then BOOM!, you're listening to The Band. The first listen is great because you don't know what to expect, what embarrassing nostalgic moment will be conjured up from hearig a certain song? With repeated careful listens you can pick out subtle moments of songs, like the organ from Procol Harem's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" playing in the background of Kanye West and T-Pain.

I hate mainstream music, but presented in a fresh way like this, it's hard not to enjoy yourself. No matter how hard you think you are, I guarantee if you listen to this some song will pop up and you'll be like, "Hey, used to love that song in 4th grade!"

Girl Talk myspace

Lagwagon- I Think My Older Brother Used To Listen To Lagwagon

Fat Wreck Chord's first signed band is back with a brand new EP full of hard hitting heartfelt ballads, punk rock prowess, and genuine emotion.

Lagwagon seem to have reached a mature stage in their lives with this release and their last full length, Resolve, which paid tribute to their longtime drummer Derrick Plourde, who committed suicide in 2005. Gone are the quirky punk gems of Trashed and Duh (the only humor you'll find here is in the title of the record), the speedy punk anthems of Hoss and Double Plaidinum; you won't find any LL Cool J covers on this one. In the vein of singer Joey Cape's former electic side project Bad Astronaut, this EP is a little mellower than you Lagwagon heads may be used to. But speed and rockability have not been sacrificed my friends. Songs about surviving life, touring, memories, and falling flat on your face, Cape's lyrical wisdom shines as always.

Lagwagon may be becoming grandpas in the punk scene that they helped create, but they are still consistently putting out amazing records. With Cape so busy with the Gimme Gimmes and his solo shit, I hope to see another full length Lagwagon album soon.

Lagwagon myspace

DJ Scotch Egg- Drumized

Ever played Gameboy on an acid trip? You might get the same effect if you listen to Japan’s DJ Scotch Egg. One of the forefront DJs to popularize the bastard wedding of chiptune and breakcore, DJ Scotch Egg (who was convinced by popular breakcore artist Shitmat to start making gabber tracks with his Gameboy) has been fucking up eardrums since 2003 (although he has been a part of several noise projects predating the DJ Scotch Egg moniker). He has recently signed to Lightning Bolt’s Load Records.

Drumized is DJ Scotch Egg at his craziest. Bombs blast; beeps and boops pound in a violent fuck fest. Demented circus tunes explode into maniacal screams. Lazer beam beats spiral to their death. This is the soundtrack to the most fucked up Gameboy Game you’ve never played. Broken shards of Super Mario Bros., Barnum and Bailey’s circus, jazz, and Beethoven can be heard behind a rage of 8-bit bullets. Strangely poppy, incessantly warped.

DJ Scotch Egg myspace

Victims- Killer

The Swedes are coming, the Swede’s are coming! Goddamn right they are. Victims are Sweeden’s finest in crusty, sweaty, motherfucking punk rock mayhem. Their 4^th album, Killer, lives up to its name in every sense of the word. Try to make it out alive, you’ve got twenty three minutes to run like hell.

This is d-beat rock’n’roll that’s as tight as a virgin’s you know what. But get ready to get fucked. Hearkening back to classic bands like Tragedy and His Hero Is Gone, Victims don’t mess around. This is more melodic than some of their previous releases, but equally as punishing. Living proof that everyone’s favorite neutral country can be as pissed as the rest of the world.

Victims myspace

Beck- Modern Guilt

Beck is god. He can do no wrong. His fourth album in six years stands the test of his creativity by sounding completely different from anything he has put out. His first four albums were sub-par demos of goofy folk to say the least. Mellow Gold was slacker- friendly weirdness; while Odelay was a fucking brilliant display of songwriting/production (the Dust Brother’s at their best). Mutations was somber folk, country, and blues, while Midnight Vultures was tongue-in-cheek “Purple Rain”-esque, shake your ghetto ass sex dance. Beck went all emotional on us with his powerfully personal Sea Change; then went back to his roots with Guero, bringing back the Dust Brothers and his funky ass ways. The Information, recorded essentially at the same time as Guero (but came out a year later), was a brilliant oeuvre combining elements of everything he has ever done.

Two years later Beck is back, and does not disappoint. Teaming up with production extraordinaire Danger Mouse, Modern Guilt is a chilled-out album chock-full of folk, 1960s pop (the title track sounds like a modern day Turtles single), Nintendo beeps and boops, orchestral ambience, dirty bass lines, and airy guest vocals by Cat Power.

Danger Mouse shines, contributing a very vintage sound that doesn’t overpower Beck’s breathy voice. This is a very short album with no b-sides showing up at this time, leaving you wanting more of that Dangerbeck sound.

Beck myspace

One Day as a Lion- One Day as a Lion

This EP is long overdue. It’s been 8 years since Zach de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine. Audioslave didn’t do it for me. Rumors of a de la Rocha solo album have been circulating for years. He scrapped a project with DJ Shadow, Company Flow, and ?uestlove to record an album with Trent Reznor that never saw the day of light (sans one track released on the internet in 2004). What the hell has this man been doing all these years? Well, finally the word is out, and this release has kind of been lurking in the shadows. There hasn’t been a lot of press preceding its release; it just kind of popped up one day. Regardless, it’s finally here.

One Day as a Lion (the name taken from a black and white graffiti photograph taken by Chicano photographer George Rodriguez in 1970) consists of de la Rocha rapping and playing keyboards, and none other than former Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore on the skins. The results are a sound that combines the political spitting of Rage and the psychedelic leanings of the Mars Volta, with a bit of a rasta undertone. There are some really sick electronics here and de la Rocha flows like he was always born to do. Tight fucking drumming and great production here by the always fly Mario C. (of Beastie Boys fame). This is the dopest shit I’ve heard this year besides the new Immortal Technique joint.

A very pleasant surprise. But it just makes me long for a new Rage album that much more. Hey, anything’s possible.

One Day as a Lion myspace

Spitfire- Cult Fiction

There’s a lot of hype and controversy surrounding the release of Spitfire’s new album Cult Fiction, their second since reforming and resigning to Goodfellow in 2006. Take a look at the album cover and you might see why. The band has been lumped into the Christian metal category since they released The Dead Next Door on Christian imprint Solid State back in 1999, but the band has hinted that each member shares different views on life and does not necessarily claim to be a Christian band. But the internet kids will always over exaggerate. Who gives a shit about the album cover (which is pretty sweet by the way). Listen to the damn record.

Cult Fiction sees Norma Jean guitarist Scottie Henry parting ways, as well as bassist Ian Sabo (who is now in Solar Powered Sun Destoyer), leaving the band as ex-Scarlet members Jon Spencer and Dan Tulloh, vocalist and bassist respectively, and original members Matt Beck on guitar and Chris Raines (who is officially a member of Norma Jean) on drums. OK, that’s all for the history lesson.

Spitfire is not your typical metalcore band. Don’t expect breakdowns, clean vocals, or 80’s metal clichés. This record shares a similar chaotic formula (or lack thereof) with bands like Spencer and Tulloh’s old band Scarlet (this record shares an eerily similar name with Scarlet’s Cult Classic album) and label mates Cursed. Haunting and apocalyptic while at the same time surreal and cathartic, Cult Fiction is the dawning of a new wave of noisy nihilism. Themes of betrayal, abortion, and society’s downfall in general are delivered with raspy volition while the room spins around to the sound of frenzied wasps. Instrumental interludes provide a blanket of warmth and shelter while the world proceeds to collapse around you. This record is aurally equivalent to hearing a woman being murdered upstairs or watching an old man freeze to death in the streets.

This record is at times unnerving and creepy, but in a powerful, cohesive way.

Spitfire myspace

Gridlink- Amber Gray/Hayaino Daisuki- Headbanger's Karaoke Club Dangerous Fire

Holy fucking shit. You haven’t heard anything this mindblowingly sick since Discordance Axis was still around. Hmmm…I wonder why. Maybe because the voice behind grindcore’s most legendary legends John Chang is back. In hiding for nearly seven years, he’s back with not one, but two new projects. Gridlink features two-thirds of Hayaino Daisuki (the aforementioned second project).

Amber Gray is 11 songs in under 12 minutes. Lyrics screamed in Japanese so loud you’ll have suishi dripping out of your ears. Machine gun drums that would leave the Yakuza in seventeen billion pieces. Technical thrash that you just can’t find anymore. Listen to this too many times in a row and you might have a seizure Pokemon style.

Gridlink myspace

Hayaino Daisuki (roughly translated as “I Love Speed”) up the ante with longer songs, melodic thrash that would make Darkest Hour bow down, and a wicked sweet album cover that pays homage to the 80’s thrash movement in Japan. And did I mention they love speed (the measurement of travel, dummy). Taking speed on a bullet train in Osaka ain’t nearly as fast as this shit.

Hayaino Daisuki myspace

Heavy Heavy Low Low- Turtle Nipple and the Toxic Shock

Party grindcore anyone? That’s about the most accurate description I can conjure for the brand of tunes these crazy San Jose kids belt out. Heavy Heavy Low Low caught on in underground circles and word of mouth with their spastic brand of blast beats and nauseating guitar riffs and got a deal with Ferret in 2006 after several self-released EPs. Turtle Nipple and the Toxic Shock (based on several inside jokes the band enjoyed while touring) is their second full length on Ferret.

Upon first listen, HHLL seem to have abandoned the grindcore and thrash a bit in favor of more of a mathcore meets southern metal sound a la label mates Every Time I Die, but the comparison ends there. The car’s still all over the fucking road as humorous lyrics collide with spaced out experimentation, jazzy undertones, angry metal breakdowns, and a Black Flag cover.

Thank god for bands like this who insist on putting out pervertedly fucked up music.

Heavy Heavy Low Low myspace

Paint it Black- The New Lexicon

Hardcore has a saviour. Or maybe an anti-hero. Either way, Paint It Black don’t give a fuck. From the remains of Lifetime and Kid Dynamite, Dan Yemin has breathed new life into a dying genre seeming with fake bullshit. Three records in and the band has redefined hardcore punk and themselves seeing new ground charted in each release. Their debut CVA was a mindfuck of straight ahead hardcore in the vein of Black Flag, DOA, and any other hardcore band of the 80’s that mattered. Their sophomore release Paradise was more melodic but stilled dripping with pissed off mayhem. Their third release for Jade Tree sees the band teaming up with producer J. Robbins (of Government Issue and Jawbox fame) and Oktopus (Dälek’s mastermind producer) with something so dark and angry that you would think Steve Albini was at the reins. All hail the New Lexicon.

This record manages to take the mood of the first two releases and spit them out into an ugly, beautiful explosion. Full of poetic scathing and political aggression, the New Lexicon is apocalyptic. Ambient interludes weave in and out of a filthy sea of low end feedback like a venomous serpent ready to bite its prey. And when it does you’re fucked.

Look out for guest vocals from Naked Raygun legend Jeff Pezatti. Nihilism never felt so invigorating.

Paint It Black myspace