Find Me A Drink Home was by far my most played album of 2008. Poetically frustrated lyrics set to power pop…fans of Lemonheads and Smoking Popes should fall in love just as I did many times over. Definitely honored to have worked with the band for Beartrap. Watch out for these guys. Bigger and brighter things are on the horizon!
So many are trying to clone the Lifetime formula these days…like Title Fight. I mean, I can get down with the fast, melodic hardcore thing, but it needs to be done so damn well in order for it to stand out. The funny thing is, the parts that deviate the most from this idea are where Title Fight go wrong. The Last Thing You Forget starts strongly enough with “Symmetry”, but quickly falls off track with “Introvert” and “No One Stays at the Top Forever”, both featuring sludgy, hardcore sections in the vein of Modern Life is War’s latter material. These guys need to stay away from the epic and depressing heavy sound in order to succeed; the vocals just don’t match up when they slow the pace and try to be more intense. The catchy-as-an-std type guitar parts and hooks are Title Fight’s bread and butter.
The beginning of “Memorial Field” offers some of the best Title Fight has to offer. Oh, and it’s got a nice old-school, two-step part that bridges perfectly into a heroic ending that is more uplifting and appropriate for the record. Another example of the heavier sound done correctly comes at the end of “Loud and Clear”, especially when the vocals get reverbed out and placed far in the background, adding a nice bit of emotion to the tune. “Evander” and “Neckdeep” are probably the best tunes here and really places Title Fight’s skills on display; they ring out like older Fall Out Boy but in that really good, I-can-conquer-the-world type way. If you dig the melodic hardcore, check this out, but maybe skip ahead to track four. The album stumbles but at least it does so early, leaving you with nine other really quality tunes that, while certainly not groundbreaking, are a hell of a lot of fun.
(Editor’s Note: The CD version of The Last Thing You Forget is a collection of the band’s recorded material to date. Tracks 1-3 and 12 are brand new songs. Tracks 4-6 are from the Kingston 7-inch. Tracks 7-11 are from the band’s first release, a split with The Erection Kids.)
Label: Run For Cover
Who? Grown Ups
Where are they from? Michigan City, Indiana
What do they sound like? Imagine a rougher, more noodly Lifetime and you have got Grown Ups. Residing somewhere between emo and pop punk, Grown Ups offer up one of the best things I have heard in 09. Forming from members of Lions Of The North, Grown Ups bring to minds bands like Braid, Latterman and a lot of Street Smart Cyclist. There is an energy that emanates from the band’s songs that is infectious to say the least. Raw, yet ridiculously catchy, Grown Ups are absolutely perfect for the incoming warmer weather.
You can order these fine looking suckers from Kid Sister which has a lot of sweet, handmade stuff from a bunch of rad bands.
Surprise Party
What is it about punk kids from New Jersey? Something about the overpopulation, traffic, bad attitudes, smog, turnpikes, and accents turns out some fantastic music. Lifetime, Bouncing Souls, Saves The Day’s first couple of albums, Gaslight Anthem, Thursday’s first album, and… yeah I guess even the Misfits at times. Static Radio NJ seem to have let things get to them, blended and bottled it, and crammed it into roughly 27 minutes worth of music. These guys are angry, passionate, and ready to get to the point.
Just about every review of these guys has at some point compared them to Kid Dynamite, and it’s not far off. Breakneck speeds on both drums and guitars with a little bit angrier vocal styling and you are there. While I felt KD kept within the same musical boundaries, Static Radio attempt to set themselves apart with a more varied songwriting approach: hardcore breakdown (“Bothered”), anthemic singalong (“Fin”), moderate rocker (“Green Hoodie”), and off-timed thrash (“Standing Still”).
While the comparisons will likely continue to remain on this release, Static Radio are a fresh breath in a music world currently filled with drivel passed off as “punk” music. A definite immediate contender for “year end” lists, P.A. rotation between bands at shows, and the soundtrack to your next afternoon spent in line at the DMV.
Genre: Punk/Hardcore
RIYL: Kid Dynamite, Shook Ones, Paint It Black
Label: Black Numbers
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