Label: self-released

Released: April 20, 2010

Campaign’s It Likes to Party EP is as full of gritty half-harmonies and beer-soaked melodies as any punk rock out there. The tunes are raw and in your face with hooks sneaking in that almost require a singalong. There is a certain drunkenness to this record, yet it is [...]]]>

Label: self-released

Released: April 20, 2010

Campaign’s It Likes to Party EP is as full of gritty half-harmonies and beer-soaked melodies as any punk rock out there. The tunes are raw and in your face with hooks sneaking in that almost require a singalong. There is a certain drunkenness to this record, yet it is not steeped in the stupidity of common inebriation and it proves, as well as anything, that the Hot Water Music well is pretty deep and still full of life. The final track, “Bored to Death,” is less dense than the rest, leaving the album more open. That always seems to bode well for the future.

You can stream this one over at Punk News or download it for free from the band’s website (along with last year’s H1N1 EP).

Ratings
Satriani: 6/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

Released: August 17, 2010

Label: UMe

After waning over the last couple of albums during Bruce Dickinson’s first stint, two ill-conceived releases with Blaze Bayley and a lackluster return for Dickinson on Brave New World, Iron Maiden stormed back to life with their last two albums and an outstanding tour documentary. Perhaps no other band [...]]]>

Released: August 17, 2010

Label: UMe

After waning over the last couple of albums during Bruce Dickinson’s first stint, two ill-conceived releases with Blaze Bayley and a lackluster return for Dickinson on Brave New World, Iron Maiden stormed back to life with their last two albums and an outstanding tour documentary. Perhaps no other band in their third decade could raise such high hopes for a release, particularly after a four year layoff from the studio.

Right from the start, it’s pretty clear that The Final Frontier is not going to follow the formula of the last two albums. Throbbing, tribal drums and airy guitars make for a spacier tone and even as the intro moves into the more traditional body of the song, it, like the album as a whole, is both distinctly Iron Maiden and very much its own album. Overall, there are moments where they bring passion, excitement and technical prowess together as only they can, but few songs maintain that throughout. “Coming Home,” for instance loses some of its intensity in the chorus and the leads are too dull to justify their three guitar attack. While “The Talisman” is a bit of a slow-starter, it makes up for a lot over it’s nine minutes as it gets Maiden closer to chaos than perhaps ever before and they still shine like no other metal band. To lesser extent, “The Man Who Would Be King” does the same and this is a welcome new angle to the Maiden sound.

Their last album, 2006′s A Matter of Life and Death, got more than its share of flak for its “epic” songs. It was an unjust attack considering that, despite their length, none of the songs felt long, so it was a pleasant surprise to see that it didn’t deter them from keeping most of the tracks over the seven minute mark. Few bands have mastered Maiden’s art of going over five minutes without meandering through filler and this set, despite a few tedious moments, did nothing to disprove that.

In many ways, this album has some points in common with 1986′s Somewhere in Time. Both follow a run of outstanding albums (though the recent run is half as long) and, while remaining musically challenging, the fire that sets Maiden apart from any other band at their technical level burns just a little bit dimmer. Both albums’ biggest problem isn’t their content, but the incredibly high bar set by their predecessors. For any other metal band, The Final Frontier is an outstanding record. For Maiden, it’s merely very good.

Although Maiden would still be great even if the albums came in a blank sleeve, there is no denying that the album art is a big part of who they are. Since parting ways with Derek Riggs, nothing has been quite the same. While The Final Frontier cover isn’t their worst (see 2003′s Dance of Death which looks like CGI from about ten years earlier), it’s definitely not up to par. I mean, I guess the alien is Eddie, but it’s a stretch. C’mon guys, patch things up with Derek so that the cover art once again matches the music inside!

Ratings
Satriani 10/10
Zappa 8/10
Dylan 8/10
Aretha 7/10
Overall: 8/10

If you’re curious about my rating system, it’s explained here.

Released: August 24, 2010

Label: Black Numbers

It seems like a strong sense of melody is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the raw, tattered edges of pure passion, but the two do in fact occasionally find common ground…like they do on Go Rydell’s The Golden Age. What’s particularly interesting is how the band’s [...]]]>

Released: August 24, 2010

Label: Black Numbers

It seems like a strong sense of melody is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the raw, tattered edges of pure passion, but the two do in fact occasionally find common ground…like they do on Go Rydell’s The Golden Age. What’s particularly interesting is how the band’s sense of both melody and passion co-exist without one being enslaved to the other. Right off the bat, “MTA” takes off in a bolt of hardcore energy only to have more than a hint of catchiness follow along shortly, settling itself into the song before it takes off again. This is the blueprint for the album and they execute it extremely well. In addition to the ebb and flow of hardcore rage and Face to Face-ish hooks, Go Rydell tackle the past from the misery of today with enough hope for tomorrow that it’s hard to say which is really the “Golden Age.”

The Golden Age is available for donation-based download until August 16th (so hurry!). The limited vinyl (100 Blue, 150 White, 250 Green) and hand-screened CDs are available for pre-order now at the Black Numbers site.

Ratings
Satriani: 6/10
Zappa: 7/10
Dylan: 6/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 7/10

If you’re curious about my rating system, it’s explained here.

Released: June 29, 2010

Label: No Sleep Records

Frontier(s), featuring Elliott / Falling Forward front man Chris Higdon, offers two strong tracks on this 7″ that are reminiscent of TSOL’s often under-appreciated mid-80s period where their meanderings into art punk began to take on a bit of a hard rock edge. In fact, this EP’s dark, [...]]]>

Released: June 29, 2010

Label: No Sleep Records

Frontier(s), featuring Elliott / Falling Forward front man Chris Higdon, offers two strong tracks on this 7″ that are reminiscent of TSOL’s often under-appreciated mid-80s period where their meanderings into art punk began to take on a bit of a hard rock edge. In fact, this EP’s dark, haunting sound would have fit nicely into the Enigma Records catalog with those TSOL albums as well as the likes of Jet Black Berries and Rain Parade. The thick fuzzy leads of “The Plains” have more than a hint of Dramarama, but they ride a harder edge. “Radiomine” steps back a bit, dabbling in trippy ambiance, reverberating with the best sounds from the basements of 25 years ago.

Finally, a band has drawn inspiration from something in the 80s worth a second take. Best of all, the sound wasn’t overdone the first time around so Frontier(s) has plenty of room to continue making their own mark and bringing a neglected past into the present.

The EP comes on green, white or black vinyl and is limited to 1000 copies. The tri-fold letter-press sleeve has the appearance of a leather-bound book. The whole package offers the best of both worlds, combining great vinyl packaging with a free download for convenience.

Ratings
Satriani: 6/10
Zappa: 7/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

If you’re curious about my rating system, it’s explained here.

Despite the encroachment of corporate sponsors (which in this case is not really as bad as it sounds) and the shift away from its old “punk rock summer camp” ethos that dominated my first run of attendance (1997-2002), the last three years have still been a lot of fun and [...]]]> Merriweather Post Pavilion
Columbia, MD
July 20, 2010

Despite the encroachment of corporate sponsors (which in this case is not really as bad as it sounds) and the shift away from its old “punk rock summer camp” ethos that dominated my first run of attendance (1997-2002), the last three years have still been a lot of fun and I’ve seen far more good performances than bad. Warped Tour 2010 was no different.

Because there are so many stages (six) and they’re spread across the venue at Merriweather, there are always bands that get missed entirely. This year, I was disappointed to miss Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band and the Casualties in particular, but such is Warped Tour.

Anarbor opened the Teggart (main) stage with a solid set of good time tunes that walk the line between down to earth fan connections and arena-sized ambitions, proving that the sound they’ve cultivated in the studio works great on the stage. That being said, it’s good for them that they went on before Andrew WK and not after. Anarbor is a good band and they seem to be getting better with each release, but they aren’t masters of the game yet. Andrew WK is. While his party anthems are a bit far from where I’m at personally, I’d heard he puts on a great show, so I was sure to catch his set. His band is a motley bunch, including a sequined backup singer/aerobics instructor/cheerleader with perhaps more energy that AWK himself. His mix of hard rock and Elton John is about as far from Warped Tour’s punk rock roots as it could be, but the crowd responded. The thing that makes AWK such an amazing live performer goes beyond his music and beyond the surface of his “party hard” mentality. Beneath all of that is a love of life that, if you miss it in his music, he spells out in his words. “I want you to understand,” he said, “That I’m happy. I’m happy, because we’re alive.” Even more telling was, “Life is too good not to live.” If these truisms weren’t backed by his unabashedly fun show, they might have seemed overly simple. As it stands though, they were nearly profound.

This was probably the leanest year yet in terms of punk, but the sets I caught from Face to Face and Flatfoot 56 were great. Face to Face, on their first extended tour since 2004’s farewell trip, showed no signs of rust as they crossed the country with the Warped crew in anticipation of the Fall release of Laugh Now, Laugh Later. In fact, despite Trever Keith’s repeated remarks about being old and playful jabs at current hairstyles, they seemed anything but tired and worn out.

The price to see Flatfoot 56 over on the Kia/Kevin Says stage was high: I missed most of Dillinger Escape Plan (playing the Teggart stage). In fact the last few songs in DEP’s set of near complete madness made it quite clear just how high that price was. However, the boys of Flatfoot 56 made it just as clear that I chose wisely. Their old school hardcore mixed with Scotch-Irish folk (including bagpipes and mandolin) was full of the wonderful camaraderie that is present in punk at its best. Their raging good nature created fun based not just on good times, but on good people. I don’t know that anyone could have walked away not feeling at least a little better about being human. That they engaged a crowd of mixed faiths (and likely no faith in some cases) in a sing-along of “Amazing Grace” was nothing short of an amazing.

Every Time I Die, who was off-the-hook amazing at Warped 2008, didn’t disappoint. Few bands bring the same level of raw intensity and remain an incredibly tight, flawless unit. Guitarists Jordan Buckley and Andy Williams cover a lot of stage as they pump out the riffs while singer Keith Buckley’s hard rock stage presence grounds the performance. Any opportunity to see these guys live should not be missed.

While I was familiar with Pierce the Veil, their metalcore/screamo leanings didn’t really have them at the top of my list, but, just as the schedule means missing some bands, it also means catching some unexpected bands as well. So, Pierce the Veil ended up filling a lull in my day. From the Dia de los Muertos character that introduced them to their enthusiasm and chops, they proved to be much more exciting than I expected.

Despite my general misgivings about the last 20 years of ska, I decided to take a chance on Tip the Van. That chance panned out well as they mix ska, reggae, 80s-leaning pop and general fun into a surprisingly interesting mix. Strong vocals from Nicole Oliva, often harmonized with her rhythm guitarist/sister Simone’s voice, carried strong melodies over the band’s upbeat sound. The components of Tip the Van’s sound have been done many times by many bands, but they managed to make it fresh and fun.

The Warped Tour’s increasing reliance on corporate sponsorship has drawn flak from some quarters and, while most examples of corporate involvement in music justify the skepticism, tour organizer Kevin Lyman and company prove year in and year out that they are the exception to the rule. Reasonable ticket prices, the $5 double CD tour compilation and $10 Vans shirt/hat deals have been mainstays of the tours, but a great example this year is that the main stage’s “sponsor” wasn’t corporate. It was named for longtime Warped stage manager Stewart Teggart who passed away in March. Lyman seems to know exactly where to draw the line between the corporate money needed to put on a travelling fest like this and the need to do the right thing by fans, bands and all the people involved.

Released: April 13, 2010

Label: Ninth Street Opus

Carrie Rodriguez’s last effort, 2008′s She Ain’t Me, was an album full of potential, but good as it was, it suffered from restraint. Her voice needed to soar. It yearned to soar. Yet, it never quite did. Two years have passed between that album [...]]]>

Released: April 13, 2010

Label: Ninth Street Opus

Carrie Rodriguez’s last effort, 2008′s She Ain’t Me, was an album full of potential, but good as it was, it suffered from restraint. Her voice needed to soar. It yearned to soar. Yet, it never quite did. Two years have passed between that album and Love and Circumstance and if anything, Rodriguez’s voice is even stronger. More importantly though, the band frees her rather than restraining her. To boot, the material is bolder and more natural.

Rodriguez sticks to the folksy country that works so well for her. However, she also stretches the sound at times. While “Wide River to Cross” is not a shocking departure, it subtly taps into the vibe of U2′s “Where the Streets Have No Name.” “I Made a Lover’s Prayer” has more rock elements, but Rodriguez makes the transition well. While the production occasionally errs on the side of slickness, she overcomes that and gives the song life. Even songs that stick to more traditional country arrangements are intriguing. On “Eyes on the Prize,” Rodriguez borrows just enough from Patsy Cline without trying to be Patsy Cline. “La Puñalada Trapera,” the closer and perhaps the album’s strongest track, allows the beauty of her voice to shine in an equally beautiful language.

Love and Circumstance is a more open, less restrained set of songs and that really releases Rodriguez’s voice to be unique and compelling. She conveys a very pure emotion and doesn’t merely rely on her technical excellence. In the more natural setting of this album, Rodriguez makes it quite clear that she has more than just potential.

Ratings
Satriani: 9/10
Zappa: 7/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

If you’re curious about my rating system, it’s explained here.