Who? The Holy Mess
Where are they from? Philadelphia, PA
What do they sound like? Snotty pop/punk that reminds one of the best the genre has to offer. We are talking cream of the crop type stuff here. For fans of The Lawrence Arms or Smoke Or Fire you need this…NOW!
You can download the band’s EP Dismount from If You Make It. The Holy Mess will be releasing their next 7″ on the illustrious Evil Weevil.
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.
I have decided to combine LPs and EPs together into one big end of the year lovefest. No rankings til I get to my Top Ten. Click on the album cover for any more coverage.
With a name like that they better be good! Pretentious emo to the max but in a good way of course.
Imagine Mineral and Pavement having a beautiful bastard love child. Discordant, emotionally raw and powerful…what more could you ask for?
Perhaps not the huge splash I was expecting from new Lawrence Arms songs but better than 99% of the other bands out there. These guys are still pop/punk heroes.
Proof that his debut was no fluke. Folk troubadour AA Bondy just keeps getting better.
Out of all the bands I discovered in 2009 I find myself wanting new Pswingset songs the most. This is indie/emo in the greatest sense and this demo was such a tease.
This album is awesome. But, it’s not as awesome as people say it is. As they mix styles Castevet is still finding their way but one can only imagine how amazing this is going to sound when they hit it just right. For now Summer Fences will do just fine.
Melodic hardcore has turned bland but bands like Over Stars & Gutters keep the flame going with passion and sincerity.
I think Doves was a great comparison for these guys but where Doves are coming from Brit pop, Gray Young are coming from indie rock.
PJ Bond expounds on his debut with an album that ranks up there with greats like Rocky Votolato.
Fuck your emotional bullshit sounds about right. Snowing play their brand of emotional hardcore loud, aggressive and mathy with vocals that will melt your face.
OK, does this record really need a review? I mean, it’s on Fat Wreck Chords. The band is from Minneapolis. It’s pop/punk. You should know from just those facts whether you will love this or you will be bored to death by it all. As you can probably guess if you have followed SAL, Banner Pilot is right up our alley. And if you thought the band was doing some good things on their last album, Resignation Day, well, Collapser just takes it to a completely different level. It’s nice to see Fat signing some good bands for a change (see Teenage Bottlerocket). Fans of Dillinger Four and The Lawrence Arms you may have just found your new favorite band.
Label: Fat Wreck Chords
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.
Who? Like Bats
Where are they from? Northwest, Indiana
What do they sound like? Pop Punk the way it was meant to sound…jaded and cynical as ever! This is rough and tumble stuff and I’m loving every minute of it! Like Bats are fairly front and center with their influences…The Lawrence Arms, Jawbreaker and all the other usual suspects. But, I’m still a sucker for this stuff when it is done this well and Like Bats are dealing with defeat and matters of the heart in a very unhealthy way. And that of course leads to some great songs. The band has a four song demo available with more releases on the way! Check out the cover of the demo below…very cool handmade packaging.
Hellbound
03%20Hellbound.mp3
Boy, they sure don’t make them like they once did. It takes a band like Monikers to come along and reminds you just how good we had it back in the day. The band echoes such phenomenal pop/punk fore bearers like Leatherface, Jawbreaker and Crimpshrine. Monikers are fronted by Ryan Seagrist, former member of one of my all time favorite bands, pop punk legends Discount. Wake Up is the band’s debut full-length and is unabashedly chock full of ’90s East Bay-styled pop punk. This is pop/punk the way it was meant to be…no sheen and no bullshit. The band also has a modern feel that is reminiscent of Lawrence Arms and Dillinger Four. But where their debut EP sounded more like a collection of their influences, Wake Up is a solid and often thrilling jumping off point for kids who may be discovering this sound for the first time. The acoustic album closer “Black” is a great song and draws the album to an appropriate ending. Monikers are gritty, catchy and completely honest and Wake Up is a refreshing listen to say the least.
Genre: Pop/Punk
RIYL: Leatherface, The Lawrence Arms, Jawbreaker
Label: Kiss Of Death
Absentees
Them And Us
Good pop/punk and Minneapolis seem to go hand in hand and Banner Pilot continue that trademark tradition with Resignation Day. While the band certainly owes some debts to the likes of Dillinger Four there is also a huge early Lawrence Arms/Broadways influence here as well. The gritty vocals certainly remind one of Brendan Kelly (Slapstick, The Broadways, The Lawrence Arms, The Falcon). But there is also a cool pop undercurrent to the band’s songs. I can hear shades of Screeching Weasel melodies and the old Lookout Record days throughout Resignation Day especially on album opener “Overwinter” and songs like “Speed Trap”. “Empty Your Bottles” and “Milemarker” are awesome tracks that practically beg you to sing along. For fans of snotty pop/punk Banner Pilot is a must hear and Resignation Day is a must have!
Genre: Pop/Punk
RIYL: Dillinger Four, Jawbreaker, The Lawrence Arms
Label: Go Kart
Empty Your Bottles
04%20Empty%20Your%20Bottles.mp3
Milemarking
Cities We’re Not From is the debut album from The State Lottery. The band is based out of Detroit and Queens with members of The Gibbons, Dynamite Arrows and Get Bent. As the opening chords of the title track ring out to start the record, you can feel something special in the air. Cities We’re Not From has a lot to do with growing up, growing older, moving around and subsequently moving on.
The title track explores moving from city to city only to realize we can not run from what inherently makes us unhappy. We live in cities we’re not from/Make our beds in neighborhoods that we barely belong/Searching for some sort of community/And it seems alright, but I can’t deny that I’m still so lonely. “Kindgarten Class” is simple in its outright questioning of America’s pursuit of war: We’ve declared endless war armed with the infantile concept of good vs. bad. “Night Of The Johnstown Flood” is straightforward and biting in its lyrical approach. And the America enshrined in my parents’ hearts and minds is a language I don’t speak, no it means nothing to me. It is an unfortunate sentiment of many in our generation whether we want to admit it or not. Cities We’re Not From explores so much of the (American) human condition but at its heart, the album is a restless search and desperate hope to find and build a community for survival.
Cities We’re Not From sounds like such a natural progression from guys who have spent their lives in punk bands. This is punk rock but done so with sense of maturity and humility for all who have passed before. Cities We’re Not From is angry and political, yet eternally hopeful; powerful and aggressive, yet keenly melodic. The instrumental additions of keys, horns and harmonica add a fresh dynamic to the traditional punk band setting. With Cities We’re Not From, The State Lottery have delivered one of best albums of the year. These eight songs are a moving testament to the heart and soul of punk rock. Sing these tired songs. You’re gonna miss ‘em when they’re gone. Indeed.
Buy the vinyl from Salinas! You can download the record for free here.
Genre: Punk/Rock
RIYL: The Lawrence Arms, Constantines, American Steel
Label: Salinas
Cities We’re Not From
01%20Cities%20We%27re%20Not%20From.mp3
Kindergarten Class
Ah, the many shades of pop/punk. This split between NY’s Red And Blue and MIchigan’s Traffic & Weather is a perfect example of the broad brush of this genre.
Red And Blue are up first. These six songs were recorded by the illustrious Phil Douglas of Latterman. Red And Blue are occupying the more geeky side of pop/punk. Lyrically, the boys are singing about the day to day monotony of life and the restlessness that comes along with that feeling. Red And Blue are sloppy, pop punk fun…nothing more, nothing less.
From the ashes of The Gibbons comes Traffic & Weather. The Gibbons were an absolutely fantastic punk band much in the mold of Jawbreaker and The Lawrence Arms. Traffic & Weather, while perhaps being a bit more dynamic than The Gibbons, are still occupying the same sonic territory. This is pissed off melodic pop-punk with razor sharp lyrics and vocals.
Like a tour through the unending reaches of pop/punk, this split showcases two bands playing a well worn style with power, affection and their own signature. Well done on both sides.
Genre: Pop/Punk
RIYL: The Gibbons, The Lawrence Arms, Halo Fauna
Label: Los Diaper Records/Mandible Records
Colossal has never officially broken up but with four years since the band’s last release and the announcement of a new band by main man Pat Ford, I think we can safely chalk them up to history. Colossal play smooth indie rock/emo with an almost jazz sensibility. The band’s use of the trumpet is prominent and certainly distinctive in comparison to their peers. Both the band’s releases are essential; 2003’s Brave The Elements EP and 2004’s full-length, Welcome The Problems. Ford’s new band is called Birds In The Air and includes Neil Hennessy (Lawrence Arms, The Falcon, Colossal, Smoking Popes) and Eli Caterer (Colossal, Smoking Popes). The band has already recorded eight tracks for their debut release which should be out in late 2008/early 2009.
The Serious Kind
