The First Step
Connection
Rivalry (2008)
My favorite revival band of the revival youth-crew bands is back with another four-song platter so I can mosh around my apartment, pointer fingers extended and with couch dives in full effect. If you have any love for fast, fun, old-school hardcore then you probably own this and your sofa has already paid the price. Seriously, go cut off some … Read more
The Gaslight Anthem
Señor and the Queen
Sabot Productions (2008)
New Jersey The Gaslight Anthem's Sink of Swim was one of the most over-looked album last year on Scene Point Blank. So to make up for our obvious dumbassery I'll review their latest EP from the label that never fails, Sabot Productions. Every time I listen to The Gaslight Anthem I always feel as though they are just a vehicle … Read more
The Gaslight Anthem
The '59 Sound
Side One Dummy (2008)
Make no assumptions about it, The Gaslight Anthem are one of the best active rock and roll bands. You can argue over whether they are a punk band or a rock band, but in the end it is all just semantics. It's the same argument that happened thirty years ago with The Clash. It really doesn't matter what side you … Read more
The Gutter Twins
Saturnalia
Sub Pop (2008)
So here we have the much-anticipated collaboration between Greg Dulli of Afghan Whigs/The Twilight Singers fame and Mark Lanegan of Queens of the Stone Age/Screaming Trees fame (as well as an excellent solo career along with collaborations with Isobel Campbell). The Gutter Twins, as this duo refer to themselves, have been a rumored project for several years now that finally … Read more
The Gutter Twins
Saturnalia
Sub Pop (2008)
There's cool and then there's cool. Mark Lanegan is cool. He was cool fronting the Screaming Trees back in the day. He was cool on each one of his six-or-so solo albums. He was cool as a member of Queens of the Stone Age. For those of you who had the pleasure of seeing QOTSA on the pre-tour for Songs … Read more
The Hold Steady
Stay Positive
Vagrant (2008)
Stay Positive, the fourth album finds the Brooklyn by way of Minneapolis The Hold Steady trying to further their scope as musicians and lyricists while also tackling a greater challenge: aging gracefully. While there are stumbling points to the album, the band holds steady. It's these falters though that may cause a rift in the unified scene that vocalist Craig … Read more
The Kills
Midnight Boom
Rough Trade (2008)
Midnight Boom is the third full-length from the garage duo The Kills - which is VV (Allison Mosshart former lead singer of Discount) and Hotel (Jamie Hince formerly the guitarist of Blyth Power and Scarfo) - following No Wow (2005) and Keep on Your Mean Side (2003). Having a liking to their second record, I feel some excitement for Midnight … Read more
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
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
The Mars Volta
The Bedlam in Goliath
Universal (2008)
For a band that immerses themselves in creating such an uncompromising and complicated sound, The Mars Volta is a very prolific bunch of musicians. One album released each year shows a very strong work ethic and a determination to never stagnate in their evolution. Not to mention a strong passion for all kinds of music. The Mars Volta sound like … Read more
The Measure [SA]
One Chapter in the Book: A Collection of Standard Waits and Measurements
Kiss of Death (2008)
New Brunswick, NJ seems to be bringing the rock lately. The Measure [SA] is one of the town's hard working bands with a slew of releases. One Chapter in the Book: A Collection of Standard Waits and Measurements compiles many of them in one place, with the album title being nearly as long as the record itself. What follows is … Read more
The Measure [SA]
Songs About People... and Fruit N' Shit
Don Giovanni (2008)
It's another vinyl-only release from The Measure [SA]. As a reviewer, I get an mp3 disc with a handwritten label instead of the art. I'll try not to hold that against them. "Drunk by Noon" does exactly what a first song should do: it promises high energy, offers a sample of the band's melodic and lyrical approach, and gets me … Read more
The Melvins
Nude With Boots
Ipecac (2008)
Rogers and Hammerstein, Salieri and Mozart, DeNiro and Scorcese. What makes a great partnership? Is it differences in opinion that compliment the end result as a whole? Is it a common interest in achieving the same goal? Is it true artistic collaboration and respect of each others' ideas and vision? The partnership between The Melvins and Ipecac Recordings would seem … Read more
The Mountain Goats
Heretic Pride
4AD (2008)
After hearing The Sunset Tree, I was certain that John Darnielle was incapable of writing songs that even hint at happiness. Hope is abundant, but joy is absent. His songs are stories of lives endured. Each album is an anthology of damaged characters trying to survive unfortunate circumstances. Heretic Pride makes that leap from hope to joy, the overall mood … Read more
The Mumlers
Thickets and Stitches
Galaxia (2008)
Busy! From the packaging onward, The Mumlers emit an adorably quirky vibe far too big to fit into their little debut album. The seven piece from San Jose bring us Thickets and Stitches, a blues inspired-folk fused indie rock ditty of a record. As one might expect from the aforementioned description, the disc sees a wide variety of instruments accompanying … Read more
The National Rifle
Wage Life
Independent (2008)
What if Elvis Costello was still churning out upbeat, poppy numbers like his early work? What if you took away some of the crackle and rough edges, and replaced them with pristine production and a lot of "whoa-oh-oh's"? What if, to spice things up, you threw in a dash of socialist rhetoric, a pinch of hand-held percussion, and a sprinkle … Read more
The Night Marchers
Scene Report
Swami (2008)
So I finally get to see the new band that has been consistently pumping through my stereo, MP3 player, computer, and car since the songs first appeared online; and yes, this is a familiar sound coming from John Reis and his compatriots, but there is something undeniably in The Night Marchers' music which compels repetitive listening of their album, See … Read more
The Night Marchers
See You in Magic
Vagrant/Swami (2008)
So, John Reis is making his "return" to the indie music with his new outfit, The Night Marchers, following the recent demises of both Hot Snakes and Rocket from the Crypt. Described as an amalgamation of sorts of the sound and themes of these previous outfits, Reis (on guitar and vocals) is not the sole member of the group as … Read more
