Against Me!
As the Eternal Cowboy
Fat Wreck Chords (2003)
A nice hodge-podge of genres. I'm not going to get into the "genre" argument, though. This album is too good to waste a review on that moot point. Anyways, this is the first Against Me! album I've listened to (despite being told to listen to them from various sources), and I must say, it's pretty damn good. The sound is … Read more
Against Me!
Searching for a Former Clarity
Fat Wreck Chords (2005)
Music fans are fucking assholes. For those of us in the world who obsess about music, we fail to realize this one fact. We can be incredibly annoying. We can be demanding. We can influence the musical and aesthetic choices a band makes simply because they want to please us, the musical consumers, so they can continue "doing what they … Read more
Against Me!
The Original Cowboy
Fat Wreck Chords (2009)
I feel a bit silly for reviewing this since it's basically just the original versions of songs from my favorite Against Me! album, As the Eternal Cowboy, but I thought it would be interesting to hear rougher versions of songs on that album to see how different they are from the final product. The Original Cowboy was recorded before they … Read more
American Steel
Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts
Fat Wreck Chords (2009)
After returning from a five year hiatus in 2007, American Steel released Destroy Their Future, which may have been their strongest release yet. It showed the band with a more mature sound while still not drifting too far off from their roots. The follow-up record, Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts is a little different. Here we see the Bay Area … Read more
American Steel
Destroy Their Future
Fat Wreck Chords (2007)
It's crazy how many bands have reunited lately. If you'd asked me a few years ago what I'd be listening to in 2007, I never would've guessed "the new Lifetime and American Steel records." But I'm not complaining, because in my eyes American Steel did no wrong. (And the Lifetime reunion album is so good.) The last American Steel LP, … Read more
American Steel
State of Grace
Fat Wreck Chords (2018)
American Steel always felt a bit under the radar, despite releasing albums on Lookout and Fat Wreck. While they’ve been on well-known labels, they don’t get the same accolades as some of their peers. It feels fitting, in that way, that the band just released a new 7” seemingly out of nowhere. The band hadn’t even played together in five … Read more
Bad Astronaut
Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment
Fat Wreck Chords (2006)
Before the release of Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment, frontman Joey Cape willingly admitted that the record does not measure up to what it should have been, and not many bands would ever publicly admit something like that, but not many bands have experienced the tragedy that befell Bad Astronaut. The band's co-creator, drummer, and one of Cape's best … Read more
Banner Pilot
Collapser
Fat Wreck Chords (2009)
Banner Pilot's last album, Resignation Day earned them a lot of praise among punk fans. To me, I thought it was a very solid album but it didn't exactly stick out among the many great bands that are playing this style of punk right now. They're a good band, but I thought they were missing a few things before I … Read more
Banner Pilot
Heart Beats Pacific
Fat Wreck Chords (2011)
I’ll be honest. I was kind of hoping somebody else would review this record. I like Banner Pilot. A lot. The reason I didn’t want to do this myself has more to do with the fact that I’ve reviewed their past couple releases and I’m not sure I can bring much new insight to the table. Nate Gangelhoff and Nick … Read more
Banner Pilot
Souvenir
Fat Wreck Chords (2014)
Often when a critic writes of a band not changing its sound it’s meant in the negative light: art should be about exploring new boundaries and punching the listener in the face with something new. But sometimes it’s not.Banner Pilot have been kicking out raspy pop-punk jams for the better part of a decade now—since 2005—and in that time they’ve … Read more
CJ Ramone
The Holy Spell
Fat Wreck Chords (2019)
As of August 6th, it’s been 23 long, languid year’s since The Ramones played their final show. Since then, all the original members - Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy have been called home. Richie and Marky continue to carry the flag, but it’s CJ that’s been keeping the Ramones spirit alive and well through the past two decades. Whether … Read more
Cobra Skulls
Bringing The War Home
Fat Wreck Chords (2011)
The Cobra Skulls are certainly not new to the punk scene. The band has made a name for themselves in the post Against Me! style of punk rock. While not nearly as folksy as that description would offer there are certain similarities. The politics are there as well as the slightly gruff vocals. Where they differ is where Cobra Skulls … Read more
Days N Daze
Show Me The Blueprint
Fat Wreck Chords (2020)
I love it when music takes me to places. In my mind there’s two ways a record can do that. First is the kind that is linked to certain events in my life. Sometimes as simple as a book I read at the time of listening. There are albums that transport me to the fantasy worlds I read about when … Read more
Dead to Me
Cuban Ballerina
Fat Wreck Chords (2006)
In this day and age, it seems to take way more effort than it should to get a new band's name out there. There are so many ways people can check out a new band, not to mention it's so much easier than it has been in the past. It used to be that you had to release a song … Read more
Dead to Me
Little Brother
Fat Wreck Chords (2008)
Dead to Me is one of those bands that has been generating a lot of buzz since their debut Cuban Ballerina . I never understood all the fuss. I thought they were okay, but nothing on that album really stood out to me. And I didn't listen to it enough to have it really grow on me, as some people … Read more
Dead to Me
Moscow Penny Ante
Fat Wreck Chords (2011)
After listening to Dead To Me’s latest release Moscow Penny Ante it made me think about something bassist/vocalist Chicken said the last time I interviewed him. I asked him if he agreed that the band’s sound had seemed to change from the release of their first LP Cuban Ballerina. “I do agree with that and I’m proud of it. I … Read more
Dillinger Four
C I V I L W A R
Fat Wreck Chords (2008)
As my age teeters closer to thirty than twenty, I continually ask myself three important questions: Am I still punk? Was I ever? Does it matter? Sure my love of punk music grows exponentially with every year I age, but is it just a label for me to wear on my shirt, or is it truly a way of life? … Read more
Dillinger Four
C I V I L W A R
Fat Wreck Chords (2008)
Being from the same state as well a fan of tuneful catchy pop-punk one would think that I would be really into Dillinger Four. Yes, one would think that. The fact of the matter is that I've always been a casual fan of this rambunctious often inebriated foursome. I've actually only seen them once in the last fifteen years and … Read more
