Last year Jayme had a great idea of making a list of our favorite records of ten years ago…way back to 1998 to be exact. Eric at Can You See The Sunset and I of course followed right along. Well, we are back again and hopefully making this a yearly feature for all of us. This time we explore our favorites of 1999. So, here we go again! This list ended up being 30 albums cause I could not stop thinking of great albums to recognize…1999 was a great year. I did not list any descriptions so if you want more info on a band or an album just ask in the comments and I will be happy to wax nostalgic on some of the lesser knowns.
Posts Tagged ‘Saves The Day’
11.12.2009
12.02.2009
I knew from the moment I read the slip of paper that was crudely taped to the front of this Late Nite Wars disc that I would like what I was about to hear. It read “We didn’t start this band to re-invent the wheel, but rather to come together as a group of best friends who wanted to play music inspired by what we loved listening to growing up. Consider us your time machine back to 1999.“ I absolutely respect a band who is up front with their influences. I’m tired of bands leaving out the one or two bands they are so obviously influenced by. It’s just flat out lame. Late Nite Wars lists their influences as such:
Equal Vision Records circa ‘99-’01
Drive Thru Records circa ‘99-’02
Revelation Records circa ‘94-’01
Needless to say, these dudes refuse to beat around the bush and aren’t trying to pretend their roots are somewhere they are not. I love them for that. Late Nite Wars play pop infused hardcore or maybe it is hardcore influenced pop/punk. Whichever way you want to look at it, this is a melodic, upbeat affair with catchy guitars and heaps of sing-along gang vocals on top. The band is not even a year old yet and for a debut release this packs loads of potential. Who cares if I don’t know where their true loyalties reside? Is it hardcore or pop/punk boys? Either way, if you’re a fan of The Movielife, early Saves The Day or Set Your Goals, Late Nite Wars are certainly worthy of your full attention. Or at least 15 minutes of it.
Genre: Pop/Punk/Hardcore
RIYL: The Movielife, Saves The Day, Set Your Goals
Label: Self-Released
Dragon The Anchor
ONE SMALL STEP FOR LANDMINES – Free Digital EP Out Now
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* Download If You Could Get Over Me
* Shows with Jim Ward
* Appearing at Invisible Children Benefit
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One Small Step For Landmines (Tallahassee, F.L.) is now offering its new acoustic EP, If You Could Get Over Me, for free digital download. Snag your copy here.
The download includes six brand-new songs, plus an eight-page booklet with art and design by the incomparable Jerrod Landon Porter. JLP also redesigned the band’s myspace page…which normally I wouldn’t mention (because myspace sucks it) but it’s worth checking out for the animated graphic of Kevin riding his bike around the city.
In other news (and I realize this affects approximately two people on my mailing list), One Small Step For Landmines is playing five shows in Australia with Jim Ward (Sleepercar / Sparta) beginning tomorrow. For everyone else – or at least those of you on the West Coast – the band will also be playing the Invisible Children Benefit Concert in Hollywood, C.A. on December 19th. The show will feature acoustic performances from Dustin Kensrue (Thrice), Chris Conley (Saves The Day), Jon Foreman (Switchfoot) and Jim Ward.
Shows
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DEC 06 – Melbourne, Australia @ Bang! w/ Jim Ward
DEC 09 – Sydney, Australia @ Annandale Hotel w/ Jim Ward
DEC 11 – Cornulla, Australia @ Brass Monkey w/ Jim Ward
DEC 12 – Bulli, Australia @ Heritage w/ Jim Ward
DEC 13 – Brisbane, Australia @ Thriller w/ Jim Ward
DEC 19 – Hollywood, CA @ The Troubadour / Invisible Children Benefit
One Small Step For Landmines released the digital single Good Men Die Young And I’m Not Feeling Well in July of this year while its debut Self-titled full-length came out in September of 07. The band is currently writing and recording songs for a new long-player due out in 2009.
- One Small Step For Landmines have done something very, very right. – For The Sound
- A prime example of how to promote joy and quality in pop music, two essential qualities often forgotten. – New-Noise
- Landmines churns out fun, straight ahead rock, but there is a deeper significance to their work that makes this so compelling. – Jersey Beat
- An astonishingly energetic and fresh piece of work that makes the overwrought whining of the haircut bands look irrelevant and tired. – Subba-Cultcha
- Boasting pleasantly unexpected complexities – off-kilter drumbeats, bittersweet melodies and a certain battered charm – watch out for this trio. – Rock Sound
20.06.2008
Transit reside from the fertile fields of Jersey and you can hear it in the band’s sound and obvious influences. Oh wait, scratch that, Transit actually hail from Boston. The band sure had me fooled for a second there. Echoing bands like Saves The Day and Fairweather, Transit play melodic hardcore/pop/punk with some healthy additions of gruff backing vocals that recall Polar Bear Club. Transit are pushing some solid buttons on their debut full-length, This Will Not Define Us.
The aforementioned youthfulness weighs as both a positive and a negative for the band on This Will Not Define Us. Ambition and exuberance are both honorable attributes of Transit even if they do get the band in trouble at certain points along the way. At 35+ minutes, This Will Not Define Us is a bit long-winded for this style. The slower paced tracks have a tendency to bog the album down while the band could certainly use more variation in the vocal department. When those gruff backing vocals do appear, it tends to give the album a swift kick in the rear. Transit certainly do knock out their fair share of winners though. Tracks like “Scrape And Crawl”, “Radio Flyer” and “Parking Lot Nights” are undeniable anthems practically begging for the listener to sing along.
Negatives aside, the potential of Transit is certainly dripping from all corners of This Will Not Define Us. It is one of those debut records that I can certainly imagine looking back on and saying to myself, “Yeah, you could tell these boys were onto something.” If Transit can continue to refine their songwriting, no doubt the band will be able to leave a much longer lasting impression next time around.
Genre: Punk/Pop/Rock
RIYL: Polar Bear Club, Saves The Day, Fairweather
Label: Barrett
Scrape And Claw
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
Marc
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