120 on SAL contributor Jeff Takacs has a podcast called Rocket Fuel that you should definitely be checking out! The new episode is up, #35 to be exact. On this episode Jeff has an interview with Tim from The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, a contest with Paper + Plastick and tunes from Alkaline Trio, The Wonder Years, Glossary, Tim Barry and much more on it. You can see the full tracklisting and more details on the Rocket Fuel site.
This is a follow up to the Alkaline Trio post from yesterday…I guess Dan Adriano of Alkaline Trio has already started something else on the side – The Emergency Room. I vaguely remember seeing something about this on Twitter now that I think about it. Anyway, I found rough demos here which include a live cover of “The First Eviction Notice” by The Lawrence Arms. I’ve been listening to these songs a lot over the last few days and if you’re a fan of Dan’s songwriting this should excite you. One can only hope this grows into a full band! I mean, next to a Tuesday reunion, this might be the next best thing.
Album cover controversy? Give Up The Ghost anyone? Wow! Anyway, in regards to Alkaline Trio’s new album, This Addiction…I think I’ve about had it with this band. Bands, just a word of advice: you set yourself up for failure when you talk about how you’re returning to your “roots”…don’t do it! So yeah, there is some solid stuff here but some cringe worthy songs as well. The new wave tendencies of the band rear their ugly head too often and there’s a song called “Draculina” for crying out loud. One thing I really liked about the last album was it felt like Dan Adriano’s songs were given more weight in the band but This Addiction sadly reverses that trend as it is very heavy on Matt Skiba material. And that my friends, is not a good sign for the future of this band.
Who? Fierce Brosnan
Where are they from? New Jersey
What do they sound like? Former and current members of Static Radio, Let Me Run and Yo Man Go. Fierce Brosnan probably falls more in line with Yo Man Go than the other two. I can hear traces of early Hot Water Music, Latterman and even Alkaline Trio. The songs are rough and that adds to the band’s charm. The band’s Basement Demo is up for free download at Death To False Hope Records. This is a band more people should be talking about and a full-length is said to be in the works.
SAL is the last stop on the Albums Of The Decade Blog Tour where ten diffierent indie blogs have chosen their favorite albums of the decade. Yesterday’s post came courtesy of The Punk Guy.
I’m keeping this initial list to a Top Ten but check back over the next few weeks as I’ll be listing forty more albums that in all will make up my Top 50 of the 00’s.
A couple of interesting facts…apparently 2000 was an amazing year. Six of my top ten albums hail from 2000 which is unbelievable. And not one album from 2004-2009 made my top ten.
Do yourself a favor and check out all the awesomeness of the blogs that participated. Thanks especially to Josh at Deckfight for spearheading this project! You rule dude!
Now onto my Top Ten of the decade…in order.
John K. Samson is a lyrical genius and Left And Leaving is probably my favorite album of all time. What else is there to say?
This is my perfect Arms record with every song bleeding into the next. Such an amazing and cohesive album especially considering you are dealing with two very distinct voices/songwriters. The Greatest Story Ever Told took the band from your typical pop/punk band to one that played pop/punk but was so much smarter (and better) than their peers. The arrangements, the songwriting, the back and forth sway of vocals…this album still gets me amped.
Probably one of my most listened to albums of all time. This record seems to get lost in their discography but not for me as this is my favorite Trio album. Dark, catchy and downright disturbing lyrics, Maybe I’ll Catch Fire is a churning and ambitious record. Which is probably why everything the band did after this has paled in comparison for me.
This is not even the band’s greatest album yet it still ends up on a Best of the Decade list. That’s how good The Dismemberment plan was. From my favorite live band of all time, Change saw the band maturing and discovering their own unique gifts. It was the final evolution in a band that had undergone an incredible metamorphosis. The D Plan stood by themselves in a league all their own. Of all the reunions taking place these days this is the one I truly long for.
This is a sprawling and unique album that no one could have expected from Modest Mouse. Accessible major label debut? Not even close. The Moon & Antarctica is a haunting yet beautiful journey into the ambitious and frayed mind of Isaac Brock. So, the next frat boy that tells you how much they love Modest Mouse tell them to go listen to this album. I bet they will be singing a different tune afterwards.
Source Tags & Codes is such a moving and powerful album. It is the true definition of art colliding with visceral rock music. It is a shame the band could never live up to the glory and exhilaration of this album. But when listening seven years later it is apparent we should have never expected them to top this masterpiece. “A middle finger to the institution”…still gets me every time.
The band’s 2002 double LP, Low Level Owl, might be considered their crowning achievement but when I want to listen to Appleseed Cast it will always be the band’s sophomore album, Mare Vitalis. The band started their journey away from typical emo songwriting here and it’s still their finest hour in my opinion.
The relationship concept album has become Tim Kasher’s forte it seems. But Domestica was the songwriter’s first journey into the depth and despair of a troubled partnership. Emotionally raw, this is still the Cursive’s shining moment.
No best of list would be complete without Samiam who are quite possibly the greatest pop/punk band ever. Astray is about as strong as an album can be from start to finish.
And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea is perhaps one of the most under appreciated records of the decade and it is also one of the best. What is amazing to me is the fact that the band struggled to find a label to release the album. The record was finished in 1999 but was not released til 2001 by Fueled By Ramen. That label was in the throes of a change in musical direction and because of that the album seemed to fall by the wayside. This was the band’s swan song (although there has been talk of new Frodus material this year) and was unlike anything they had released before. And frankly it was different than anything else at the time as well.
The fact that Israeli band Useless ID is still kicking it around in 2009 brings a smile to my face but also makes me feel a bit old. I can remember when the band was putting out albums on Kung Fu Records WAY back in the day. Kudos to Suburban Home for stepping up and putting this out in the US cause I can’t imagine these guys are selling a ton of records. Useless ID are certainly not doing anything new by any means but what they do (melodic poppy hardcore), they do really well. Perhaps a bit too polished for some (including myself), The Lost Broken Bones goes by in a dizzy haze that recalls Fat Wreck bands like No Use For A Name. Although album closer “One Way Down” recalls Alkaline Trio and perhaps signals a shift in the band’s future trajectory. Overall, The Lost Broken Bones is a nostalgic listen to a style that I grew up on. Unlike many, I can still appreciate this stuff and quite frankly, Useless ID play it rather flawlessly!
Label: Suburban Home
Blood Pressure
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James at Get Over Yourself had a great idea of making a list of our top records of ten years ago…way back in 1998. Eric at Can You See The Sunset and I of course fell right in line. Probably cause we’re a bunch of music dorks who will end up liking a lot of the same records anyway. Yay for grown men entertaining themselves with nonsense and irrelevant list making! Thanks Twitter! On that note, here are SAL’s favorite albums of 1998.
Alkaline Trio “Goddamnit” (Asian Man)
The Appleseed Cast “The End Of The Ring Wars” (Deep Elm)
Archers Of Loaf “White Trash Heroes” (Alias)
At The Drive-In “In/Casino/Out” (Fearless)
Avail “Over The James” (Lookout)
Braid “Frame And Canvas” (Polyvinyl)
The Broadways “Broken Star” (Asian Man)
Cursive “The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song” (Saddle Creek)
Dillinger Four “Midwestern Songs Of The Americas” (Hopeless)
Elliott “US Songs” (Revelation)
Fugazi “End Hits” (Dischord)
Hellbender “Con Limon” (Reservoir)
Jets To Brazil “Orange Rhyming Dictionary” (Jade Tree)
Kid Dynamite “Self-Titled” (Jade Tree)
Knapsack “This Conversation Is Ending Starting Right Now” (Alias)
Less Than Jake “Hello Rockview” (Capital)
Mineral “EndSerenading.” (Crank)
Mock Orange “Nines & Sixes” (Lobster)
Neutral Milk Hotel “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” (Merge)
Samiam “You Are Freaking Me Out” (Ignition)
Sunny Day Real Estate “How It Feels To Be Something On” (Sub Pop)
Smoking Popes return with Stay Down, their first new studio album in over ten years. It sounds as if they never really left us. The band’s last official album was 1997’s Destination Failure. All three of the band’s older albums, Get Fired, Born To Quit and Destination Failure are classics and should be sought after immediately. Lead singer Josh Caterer remains the band’s fixture with his unique vocal style and romantically inclined lyrics. “If You Don’t Care” is classic Smoking Popes complete with lovelorn lyrics. “Stephanie” follows in the footsteps of Smoking Popes classics so if you’re dating a girl named Stephanie get your mixtapes ready.”It’s Never Too Late (For Love)” might be schmaltzy but that is Caterer and the Popes’ subtle charm. They make it sound completely sincere. “Maybe I’ll Stay” is a typical Popes rocker that measures up to more than the sum of its parts. That’s the beauty of the Popes. “First Time” is a new version of an old Smoking Popes classic that while a nice addition, simply can’t touch the original. Stay Down is chock full of delicious ear candy that only the Smoking Popes could possibly deliver. While perhaps not as overly clever or witty as the band’s older material, Stay Down certainly serves a purpose. And while it might not completely measure up to the band’s amazing back catalog, we should be happy to have been graced with another Popes album. To all these kids rocking Bayside or Alkaline Trio, this is where it began. Those two bands would have never existed if not for Smoking Popes. Lesson over.
Genre: Pop/Punk
RIYL: Alkaline Trio, Bayside, The Jealous Sound/Knapsack
Label: (Curb) Appeal
If You Don’t Care
02%20If%20You%20Don%27t%20Care.mp3
Stefanie
Short review that really has nothing to do with this record:
Dear Dan Adriano,
Please, for the love of god, will you start your own band already!? Thanks!
Love, Will.
Longer review that has more to do with the actual record:
Fairly or unfairly, it seems as though Alkaline Trio will always be measured in comparison to the band’s first two albums. Goddamnit and Maybe I’ll Catch Fire are two of the most played albums in my entire collection and I imagine that goes for a lot of kids who grew up on pop/punk. After those first two records on Asian Man, the band headed for the greener pastures of Vagrant. Over the next three records, the band’s sound has been smoothed and shined to death. The raw emotion that permeated the first two records was lost somewhere along the way behind black suits and makeup. Now the band makes the leap to the majors with their sixth album, Agony & Irony.
Agony & Irony is an interesting record when you look at all the factors. The band has seemingly dropped the gothier (?) look of the last couple of albums as they appear in actual street clothes in their current press shots. Lyrically, Agony & Irony echoes the band’s earlier more cynical material as they bid farewell to a lot of the darker imagery. But production wise, the album unfortunately continues further along the same path. Quite frankly, when Alkaline Trio songs come closer to sounding like The Killers than Smoking Popes, well, that’s when all of us need to reassess the situation.
There is no doubt that Agony & Irony is damn catchy. Skiba and Adriano still know their way around a pop hook blindfolded. The record is certainly bolstered by Adriano’s more prominent role. He’s given five songs out of the eleven here which definitely seems like a heavier load than previous A3 records. The album is also a welcome shift in lyrical motivations for the most part. But, at the end of the day there is a bit of a hollow feeling left when the last note of Agony & Irony is played. The power and purpose of the band’s songs does not seem to shine through like they once did. All that is left is an enjoyable, yet fleeting affair. I get the feeling that Agony & Irony will soon be forgotten as more albums pile up on my desk. And frankly, that is a shame considering where and how this band started off.
Genre: Pop/Punk/Rock
RIYL: Smoking Popes, The Killers, Jawbreaker
Label: Epic
Do You Wanna Know?
Alkaline%20Trio%20-%2006%20-%20Do%20You%20Wanna%20Know.mp3
Help Me
As we impatiently wait for that new Smoking Popes album ( will it ever see the light of day?), it is comforting to know that Tin Armor have our back. I recently covered Tin Armor in the Band You Should Know category. Their 2007 album, A Better Place Than I Have Been was a brilliant starting point and this seven-inch keeps the band’s momentum going in the right direction. I am a sucker for bands in this mold and Tin Armor have the ingredients down to a tee. Clever, morose lyrics are twirled around melodic instrumentation and vocal harmonies so warm and cuddly you could lay with them for days. And frankly, that’s exactly what I did. With four songs clocking in at an all too brief ten minutes, this record begs to be flipped over and over again and again. The band brings to mind a wide range of artists/bands. From the jangle of Ted Leo (and his old band, Chisel) or the Dan Adriano-penned Alkaline Trio songs (or Adriano’s old emo/pop band, Tuesday), Tin Armor are riding a charming pop wave to perfection. Songs of doomed relationships never sounded so sweet.
Genre: Indie/Rock/Pop
RIYL: Smoking Popes, Lemuria, Little Brazil
Label: Whoa Oh
Problems, Formerly Pleasures
