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The Sword

Age of Winters
Kemado (2006)

Wow, talk about under the radar. Friends of mine have been telling me about this band for sometime, including IDB's (Industry Douche Bags) at that. So, I was a bit skeptical. Plus these guys are from the Texas. So, again anything that comes from the country of Texas is suspect (see the Vanilla Ice debacle for proof). When The Sword … Read more

Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan

Ballad of the Broken Seas
V2 (2006)

I must admit that I was shocked to hear of this collaboration, being familiar with Mark Lanegan and his work in Screaming Trees, Mad Season, Queens of the Stone Age and as a solo artist. A great deal of his material is dark, harrowing, and tends to exemplify the dirty, gravel cut images that the sound of his voice so … Read more

Fallen from the Sky

Tune Out the World
JMB (2005)

Fallen from the Sky are a five piece band from Boca Raton, Florida. The band plays a style of melodic punk/hardcore with an aggressive edge reminiscent of Friends, Lies, and the End of the World-era Reach the Sky or The Movielife's Forty Hour Train Back to Penn. At one time or another, those bands had defined a heavier sound in … Read more

Bitter End

Mind in Chains
Malfunction (2006)

Bitter End is a five piece hardcore band from Helotes, Texas of all places. Helotes is a smaller city that is just northeast of San Antonio. Right now, this is the farthest place I can think of that I would find a band playing NYHC in the vein of Leeway and Killing Time. Okay, I know there are other bands … Read more

Shook Ones

Slaughter of the Insole
Revelation (2006)

In 2005, Shook Ones quietly released their debut LP Sixteen on Endwell Records. Okay, so maybe quite a few people noticed, but I'm just trying to cover my ass for not reviewing it when I damn well should have. As a result of that stellar release this Washington state group ended up signing with Revelation Records and subsequently released this … Read more

Himsa

Hail Horror
Prosthetic (2006)

In 2003 Himsa dropped Courting Tragedy and Disaster on an unsuspecting hardcore and metal scene. It was an intense follow up to and a major stylistic shift from their first full-length album, Ground Breaking Ceremony. The five piece went through a bit of lineup shuffling (Nothing new to a band that has replaced everyone but the bassist at least once … Read more

Death is Not Glamorous

Demo
Independent (2005)

Death is Not Glamorous comes at you from the swamps of...Oslo, Norway? Yes, that's right, Norway. The country most well-known for producing myriad Black Metal bands has given us one of the best up and coming melodic hardcore/punk bands currently going. Having released this demo in late 2005, the band has since gained quite a following here in the United … Read more

Queens of the Stone Age

Over the Years and Through the Woods
Interscope (2005)

Live albums aren't worth purchasing 99% of the time due to two reasons: 1) the band doesn't deserve it; 2) the recording quality is atrocious. Over the Years and Through the Woods defies both of those with ease. Josh Homme and his current cast of Queens of the Stone Age, in my opinion, are the best rock band playing out, … Read more

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins

Rabbit Fur Coat
Team Love (2006)

Rabbit Fur Coat is the first solo album by Jenny Lewis, the former child actress who also fronts indie darlings Rilo Kiley. Taking a break from her aforementioned band, Lewis has crafted a pop album full of alt-country leanings with the help of the Watson Twins. The album is co-produced by M. Ward and Mike Mogis (stalwarts within the Omaha/Saddle … Read more

Liars

Drum's Not Dead
Mute (2006)

Tonight I watched The Blair Witch Project on television for the first time in quite a while. Before you read on, you should know that I may possibly spoil some of the film if you've never seen it before. But really, where the fuck were you in 1999? Anyway, the closing sequence: crazy irritating woman runs around frantically in a … Read more

Ryan Adams

29
Lost Highway (2005)

Ryan Adams is about as prolific as a songwriter can be. 29 is the latest of the three albums he released in 2005, Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights being the other two. 29 is also his most varied of the three, containing elements of ballsy blues rock-n-roll as well as flamenco influences, which is kind of shocking to hear. … Read more

86 Mentality

Goin' Nowhere Fast
Grave Mistake (2005)

Washington D.C. is known for putting out some of the best punk/hardcore bands of all time. If you were to simplify their history into Minor Threat and Bad Brains that would already be the type of track record that any respected trainer strives for. More recently though, D.C. hasn't been putting out as many head turners, that is until you … Read more

Set to Explode

Set to Explode
Grave Mistake (2005)

Sometimes the Internet can be a glorious thing, and we can all thank Al Gore for that... It is because of the glorious invention that I first became aware of this DC group that featured former Striking Distance frontman Dave Byrd, among other past and present players I the D.C. hardcore and punk scenes. And after hearing Set to Explode … Read more

Mass Movement of the Moth / Polar

Split
Discern Direction (2005)

I've heard many people blaming over saturation for many of the problems associated with punk/hardcore: too many bands and too many labels. The overabundance of bands and labels can lead to streets filled with diarrhea. But for every toilet brimming with brown stains, there's a white alligator stalking the sewers. Such is the label Discern Direction and their release of … Read more

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