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The Loved Ones

Build & Burn
Fat Wreck Chords (2008)

Build & Burn begins with what ostensibly sounds like an unsure Loved Ones. The first three tracks are throwbacks of three very different styles of punk rock. The first song "Pretty Good Year," a b-side from Keep Your Heart, finds the band treading ground already heard on previous releases, adding more of a pop element to the more rock than … Read more

Multiple Authors

The Loved Ones

Build & Burn
Fat Wreck Chords (2008)

The Loved Ones entered my radar with their first EP for Jade Tree, which converted me with "100K," a staccato blast that sounded like Hot Water Music after a handful of amphetamines. Any doubts I may have had vanished with the release of 2006's Keep Your Heart, an unassuming bucket of anthems that sounds almost like Shock Troops updated for … Read more

Sol

Let There be a Massacre
Ván (2007)

You know how to work that evil shit when you can make an accordion sound sinister. Even by the strictest of doom metal standards this is one gloomy-ass album. Like a lot of the pure metal coming out of Europe these days, Sol is the work of one man, Denmark-born Emil Brahe, who has created perhaps the quintessential album of … Read more

Wyclef Jean

Carnival Volume II: Memoirs of an Immigrant
Columbia (2007)

In 2001, Nas released Stillmatic, a direct play on his first album Illmatic, and an indicator that he was still on top of the rap world. The album's single "Got Ur Self a Gun" featured Nas reminiscing on his previous efforts, stating, "My first album had no famous guest appearances. The outcome? I'm crowned the best lyricist." Stillmatic had no … Read more

Planes Mistaken for Stars

We Ride to Fight: The First Four Years
No Idea (2008)

One might be hard pressed to envision a band that seems to exemplify a road warrior type touring ethic than that of the hard working group, Planes Mistaken for Stars. It is a sad day to see these stalwarts finally calling it a day after three albums and numerous EPs, particularly after the release of Mercy, which I still think … Read more

Souvenir's Young America

An Ocean Without Water
Crucial Blast (2007)

From the reviewer's initial notes made upon first hearing the album: Quiet + Loud + Quiet + Harmonica = Souvenir's Young America What a sad, lazy reviewer I am. And, as always, lazy reviewing makes for lazy reading, so if the above equation says it all for you, Godspeed my child. For readers with more moxie, yes, the above equation … Read more

Iron Lung

Sexless / No Sex
Prank (2007)

Why in the hell did I sleep on this record last year? Given, this did come out kind of late in the 2007, and with all the hoopla surrounding end of year lists and such, I guess it just slipped under my radar. A couple of Saturdays ago while in my local record store, the Nick Blinko (artist for Rudimentary … Read more

U.S.S.A.

The Spoils
Fuzz Artists (2007)

U.S.S.A. is a relatively new project consisting of Ministry's Paul Barker, Tomahawk's Duane Denison and two other guys. Two out of four guys that have had some level of fame does not make a "supergroup," a word seemingly thrown around any time a dude from one known band happens to get together with one or more dudes from another known … Read more

NOFX

They've Actually Gotten Worse Live!
Fat Wreck Chords (2007)

"Ever done something you regret while drunk like...recorded a live album?" the press sheet states. As NOFX open the CD and Fat Mike announces, "Oh, shit, we have to go to work," the tone is set. Within five minutes, the president has been insulted and you're told that, if you believe in God, you're wrong. There are also a number … Read more

Envy

Abyssal
Temporary Residence (2008)

Seriously, I think that I am still atoning for not paying more attention to this Japanese band earlier. I mean that I had some of their records but never really felt that deeply about them one way or another (maybe subconsciously due to their singing in Japanese thus making it a bit difficult to connect to the music). Then I … Read more

The Dauntless Elite

Graft
Plan-it-X / Bombed Out (2007)

The Dauntless Elite hail from Leeds and hold the honor of being the first international Plan-it-X band. With Graft, their first full-length, they deliver pop punk akin to many contemporary bands from the Midwestern United States. They've also released an EP and a couple 7"s. Upon putting in the CD, it runs through a few clicks and whistles before kicking … Read more

Disfear

Live the Storm
Relapse (2008)

After what is quickly becoming a normative hiatus for this Swedish five-piece band, Disfear delivers their latest blast of d-beat influenced mayhem onto the masses. Live the Storm is their second full length with Tomas Lindberg, vocalist of At the Gates and an innumerable number of other heavy bands, and the first with former Entombed guitarist Uffe Cederlund, as well … Read more

Creature Feature

The Greatest Show Unearthed
Sumerian (2007)

When reviewing an album, it can be difficult to summarize thoughts and feeling elicited from the music you're listening to, to organize these thoughts and feelings in written prose succinctly, honestly, and, above all, professionally. Using these guidelines as my template, I can say with all sincerity, fuck me running, this group is terrible. Creature Feature is the "brain"child of … Read more

This Will Destroy You

This Will Destroy You
Magic Bullet (2008)

It wasn't long ago that Texas natives This Will Destroy You were nothing more than a well-kept secret. But thanks to a solid debut album and a little luck the band went from practically unknowns to indie music darlings. As a result the band's debut full-length, This Will Destroy You, was placed atop many individuals lists of the most anticipated … Read more

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