Category Archives: Country

BHP Best of 2023

This year absolutely flew by and here I am scrambling to toss something together to validate myself for poorly running my blog.

Clearly other objectives in life got in the way of how I wish I could maintain the site and keep it current, but here we are, so I guess I just do what I can, when I can.

I will say this past year has been a wild ride and I was able to really to enjoy it with friends and family, but something tells me that next year is going to be even better.

The absolute highlight of 2023 was covering the Punk in Drublic fest (thanks Vanessa!!!!) in Columbus, OH. If you missed that you can check it out HERE. To see so many of my favorite bands with some close pals of mine was just perfect.

I may not have reviewed a lot of bands this year, hell, I think I only did one looking back…but I did listen to tons of music and wanted to share a few that really caught my attention in 2023.

Enjoy.

BHP BEST OF 2023 LIST

Codefendants – This is Crime Wave

Easily one of the best releases this year. When I heard Fat Mike got The D.O.C. to drop some lines on one track I knew this was going to be something special.

Lucero – Should’ve Learned by Now

I love Lucero and everything they stand for and have to admit this took me a couple of listens to truly get into and I am glad I did because there are some gems on this one.

Heart Attack Man – Freak of Nature

I love this album. I really do not know what else to say here other than if you have not checked it out yet, you really should change that.

koyo – Would You Miss It?

This band won me over this year in the best way. Melodic emo hardcore. Does it get any better than this?

Militarie Gun – Life Under the Gun

Catchy as hell sums up this release. This has been a weekly listen since it dropped.

Sincere Engineer – Cheap Grills

File this one under “Deanna Belos makes me cry again with her poignant lyrics.” Dammit.

Bollweevils – Essential

Dr. Daryl Wilson is back with the gang and completely blew me away with this release. It sounded even better live at a local dive bar. That was a true treat.

Blink 182 – One More Time

I grew up in the 90s. Did you seriously not think this was going to land here at some point? Old punks are still cool, we just go to bed at a reasonable time.

Spanish Love Songs – No Joy

This band always stabs me in the feelings. This album was no exception.

Svalbard – The Weight of the Mask

I found this band a few years back as a suggestion to Holy Fawn and have loved them since. I was so stoked to see a new album drop by them this year and it simply rules.

Hot Mulligan – Why Would I Watch

Pop punk fun. Honestly, I did not think I was going to enjoy this one as much as I did.

Chayla Hope – Damn, Feelings

True Cleveland talent here. I will not be shocked when she grabs the attention of the world. Chayla can do no wrong.

Joey Valence & Brae – Punk Tactics

Just got into these guys a few weeks ago and adore their style that really reached back to the 90s. This release is pure fun and begs to be listened to on repeat.

Lil Yachty – Let’s Start Here.

This was one of those releases I read a review on and knew I needed to stop what I was doing and check it out. It is wild.

Incendiary – Change the Way You Think About Pain

Meanest album of the year. I adore it and listen to it on my worst days.

MSPAINT – Post-American

Music-genre bending at its best. I certainly cannot tell you their style other than “all of the above.”

Flying Racoon Suit – Moonflower

Oh hi, this band takes almost all the sounds of music I adore, tosses it in a blender, purees it, and pours out one hell of a release. Do not let the band’s name fool you.

Kerosene Heights – Southeast of Somewhere

2023 was a pretty emo year for me and this band helped fuel that.

I want to thank all my friends out there for keeping me going. New and old, life rules when you are all around.

More importantly, shoutout to my amazing kids who continue to give me purpose in life and let me continue to be my goofy-ass self with zero apologies. I hope one day you come across this and are reminded of the joy you both bring me.

Happy New Year and thanks for reading. Let’s see if I can kickstart the blog in 2024. I think I am up for it.

BHP Best of 2022

If you know me at a personal level, you know that this year was a wild one and full of challenges and accomplishments. Needless to say, I have made the best of it and can tell you I have managed to take time for myself to enjoy it.

I went to more shows this year than ever and rekindled my love for live music. I reconnected with friends and even started a side gig making lamps with some of my fav people.

Even with all that has been going on, I still have listened to music on a daily basis. I may not have done as much as I had wanted to with the site here, but I am still going to take a moment to share with you a random ass list of albums that dropped in 2022 that caught my attention.

There are plenty more I am sure I overlooked. I am sure I will add to it here and there, but the following were amazing according to me:

BHP BEST OF 2022 LIST

STS x RJD2 – Escape from Sweet Auburn

This is one of those albums that just blew me away from the moment I checked it out. I am a huge RJD2 fan, but I had no idea of the talent that is STS. These two joined forces for a reason and the outcome is amazing.

SACK – Ripper!

This band rips so hard that I caught Covid at their show when they played Cleveland. No joke. Certainly, one of my fav punk albums of the year.

Cave In – Heavy Pendulum

Per Spotify, this was my most listened to album of this year. There is a reason for that. I absolutely love what this band has turned into. This album exceeded all expectations as a fan.

Curtail – When the Sway Sets

This album is like dipping back to my teenage years. So much 90s flair with a lo-fi sound that easily sucked me in. Added bonus, this band is comprised of some amazing humans.

Pool Kids – Pool Kids

This right here is the #1 album to not listen to when you are having a relationship change. It brought me to almost tears the moment I heard it, but honestly, I needed it.

Dream Widow – Dream Widow

This album was made specifically for the cult slasher flick Studio 666 starring everyone’s fav rock band the Foo Fighters. The movie was amazing, but this album is just insane.

Frank Turner – FTHC

This album was a little harder then the last few and carried some pent up angst that I fed on during tougher times this year. “Haven’t Been Doing So Well” seemingly was my theme song this year at times.

No Trigger – Dr. Album

Easily one of the best punk rock albums to drop this year. Do not sleep on this one.

Signals Midwest – Dent

I adore this band and everything they stand for. It was no surprise how much I got into this release. I will sound like dad here, but it is what it is: I am so proud of how this band has grown as musicians. This album is a total testament to that.

Cigar – The Visitor

It’s not every day a band busts out an album 22 years after their debut. With a slight lineup change, the band sounded as amazing as ever.

Soul Glo – Diaspora Problems

This band has certainly had some challenges over the years but haven’t let anything stop them. In fact, I think they just got stronger because of it.

The Flatliners – New Ruin

Cresswell and crew simply can do no wrong. Full of anger and angst, this release at times pointed back to the younger years of the band with heavier moments.

Gospel – The Loser

17 years after their debut, Gospel dropped this album. I cannot tell you how many times I have listened to this prog heavy masterpiece.

City of Caterpillar – Mystic Sisters

I am not complaining at all how many bands from years back dropped albums after an extensive period of time, but City of Caterpillar dropped a follow-up 20 years later and needless to say, it rules a lot.

The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention

Comprised of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and as well as Sons of Kemet’s Tom Skinner, this album really reached back to a younger Radiohead sound, something I absolutely adore.

Viagra Boys – Cave World

Viagra Boys are like Ween and Electric Six on a cocaine bender. This band is a new level of fun and this album helps prove that.

Vein.fm – This World Is Going to Ruin You

This is a post-hardcore / nu-metal release that may be my favorite thing this band has done to date.

EDIT (6-JAN-2023) Shocking….I totally forgot these few too:

A Wilhelm Scream – Lose Your Delusion

Easily the catchiest punk album of 2023. I listened to this probably too much. That opening track alone…

The Interrupters – In The Wild

Solid release by a band that certainly deserves all of the attention. I almost wish Rancid would have just recorded this for themselves. Not dismissing the band at all, but def has that Hellcat love.

Cory Branan – When I Go I Ghost

Cory is easily one of the best song writers out there. This album confirms that statement.

Arlo McKinley – This Mess We’re In

Sad and emotional songs sometimes are the best. Arlo has really taken a few steps forward with this amazing release.

Birds In Row – Gris Klein

I was sucked into this album instantly. Powerful and moving I think is the best way to describe it.

Big ups to the bands, the labels, and the readers of this blog. I feel like I say it all of the time, but if it wasn’t for y’all, this blog would not be here.

Special thanks to my friends and family who have gone above and beyond in a time of need. You have no idea how much I value you all. Detail not needed, but I offer my eternal gratitude for helping me get though the low times and keeping me going.

Here’s looking at 2023. I can sit here and say this and that about the blog, but we will see what happens with it. Happy Holidays to you and yours.

BHP Best of 2019

I swear to whatever you worship, time is just flying as of late and I just realized I probably should be posting this best of list already.

I feel like I repeat myself annually by saying “there were some really good releases during the current year” as I build said list, but honestly, it is true.  Bands new and old just keep me entertained and that is why I guess I keep doing this little blog here.

In the interest of time, I am keeping this year’s best of list extremely short and sweet.  No links or photos this time.  Just a quick list of the albums/EPs/whatever that impressed me to no end and were spun often.  If you are wondering who a particular someone is, Google the hell out of them and listen.

BEST ALBUMS

  • Big Nothing – Chris
  • MakeWar – Get it Together
  • Cave In – Final Transmission
  • Strange Magic – Unfortunately
  • Orville Peck – Pony
  • Aggrolites – Dirty Reggae
  • Ramona – Deals, Deals, Deals!
  • Bad Religion – Age of Unreason
  • Sturgill Simpson – Sound & Fury
  • Pup – Morbid Stuff
  • Heart Attack Man – Fake Blood
  • Subhumans – Crisis Point
  • More Kicks – More Kicks
  • Good Riddance – Thoughts and Prayers
  • Lagwagon – Railer
  • Harvey Pekar – Paris Green
  • Moderator – The Mosaics
  • Off With Their Heads – Be Good
  • Warp Lines – Human Fresh
  • Teenage Bottlerocket – Stay Rad!
  • Tool – Fear Inoculum 

BEST EPS / 7″s

  • Signals Midwest –  Pin
  • Charger – Charger
  • Twin Temple – Satan’s A Woman

BEST COMPS

  • Red Scare Industries – 15 Years of Tears and Beers

As always, thanks for checking out my site.  I do this for my love of music and anyone who has the slightest interest in what I have to say.

I hate that I was not able to review every release I listed.  I had every intention to, but life gets in the way more and more so I did what I could.  If one person checked out a band because of what I was able to talk about, then my job is done.

Bands and labels, thanks for always considering me.

 

The Most Underrated Rock ‘n Roll Artist in the Past 5 Years – The White Buffalo

[It’s been a while since one of my pals has guest blogged on this here ol’ site, but when Frank reached out to me recently with something he wrote asking me to check it out, I just had to share it.  Great read by a great dude. – Brian]

As we gingerly step into 2018, our world has become consumed by politics.  Our news are politics, our “Funny-Shows” are politics, our comedians are politics, and with all of this, our world has become a house divided.  Before all this though, there was an even greater divide happening in a much more important arena, the music arena.

Over the past five years, rock ‘n roll has been the passenger on a downward trend, taking it further and further from the main-stream, and closer to obscurity. Some would debate that the greatest reason for this is the general malaise and declining quality of the rock ‘n roll form, while others place their bets behind the “Only Big Enough for One of Us” philosophy regarding the rap vs. rock debate.  Despite all the bluster and hot air one thing is quite factual, that as of last year, it is documented that hip hop has taken over the head of the pack in the music world.

With this seismic change in the musical landscape, artists that should have been on the fast track to super-stardom and all that entails have been pushed down into what was characteristically deemed the “independent” group.  Artists that should get the elusive radio play and playing to thousands of people at a time are lucky to get on college radio and play the back rooms of the established venues.  Those that should be in the limelight, have transitioned into unknown or the tombstone title of “niche”.

One artist that doesn’t belong in any of these secondary groups, one artists who stands on musical talent rather than glitz and bling, the most underrated artist in recent memory is The White Buffalo.

The White Buffalo, aka Jake Smith, can undoubtedly be placed at the top of the list of underrated artists in the shrinking rock genre of today’s musical society.  With vocals that range from haunting, as heard in “The Whistler” and “Come Join the Murder”, and travel up the spectrum to romantic, spotlighted in “Love Song #1”  and “Come On Love Come On In”, all the way to a tone that could be called soulful and introspective, divinely illustrated in “Oh Darlin’ What Have I Done”, or upbeat, like “Avalon”.

Smith’s music cannot be classified and gently placed into a nice tight fitting box.  It can go from straight rock ‘n roll to a little bit of twang, from bordering country to in your face melodic yelling.  And maybe there’s the rub – because with the push he’s gotten, it doesn’t make sense that he’s being pushed down into the lands of obscurity.

Case in point, ask the average, run of the mill, rock ‘n roll fan, what is the most popular show that they have watched in the last 10 years, that they still watch on Netflix, the show that had one of the best soundtracks ever, that they owned the t-shirts, the hoodies, the hats, and the merch, that they watched or recorded or DVRed EVERY TIME IT WAS ON TELEVISION, and most of them will say the same thing: Sons of Anarchy.  And this juggernaut of a show, Sons of Anarchy, was the first introduction for the White Buffalo to the masses.

Smith’s music accompanied some of the most disturbing, some of the most poignant, some of the most influential, and some of the most powerful scenes of the entire show.  When Clay gets his back tattoo blacked out in shame, enter “The Whistler”, or when Tara, Jax’s wife realizes her negative transformation and pulls a gun on Jax and then leaves him, scored by “Oh Darlin’ What Have I Done”, or arguably the most powerful moment of the show, when Jax rides his bike to certain doom in the series finale, there was only one song that could properly usher this show out and push the main character off of this mortal coil properly, and it was “Come Join the Murder” by the White Buffalo.

Smith had a spotlight shone on him from one of the most heavily watched shows of the decade, his music led in scenes that there was no going back from, and his music was the prototype for the entire soundtrack, and yet for some reason he is not shining his Grammys or counting his movie credits.  And there is no reason for that.  Other than the fact that he has been criminally underrated by the powers that be in the music industry, and this fact is in fact, a crime.

Since his contributions to SOA, he has not rested on his laurels, nor has he let the show define him.  He has put together three stellar albums: Shadows, Greys, and Evil WaysLove and the Death of Damnation, and most recently Darkest Darks, Lightest Lights, which illustrates his stunning mix of the rock ‘n roll, deep, deep blues, and outlaw country.

Smith continues to prove that he is actually the preeminent musical story-teller in music today.  The White Buffalo’s music gives listeners a constant reminder that although one might look brash and gruff on the outside, the inside can be a cauldron of emotions and feelings and thoughts and ideas.  Every album is a different trip to a different place, exploring different roads to get to the destination.

The masses are missing some of the greatest rock ‘n roll that has ever been produced, and what is ever more disappointing than that fact, is that they don’t even know it.  The White Buffalo entrusts personal stories to the listener, that many people could relate to and enjoy.  The White Buffalo is the everyman, with a badass growl, a tender soul.  He’s someone you’d have a beer with anytime and the most underrated rock ‘n roll musician in recent history.

Seek him out, watch him, listen to him, go to his concerts – just do yourself a favor and enjoy his work.

-FS

 

RIP Jessi Zazu of Those Darlins

It’s with great sadness I share news of the passing of Jessi Zazu (aka Jessi Darlin) of Those Darlins.  The 28 year old lost her battle with cancer yesterday.

For those of you who have checked out this blog for many years, you’ll know I was a fan of Those Darlins from the start.  Having seen them not only in Cleveland multiple times but also at Bonnaroo, I got to interact with her more than once and she was always as nice as could be.

She never hid the fact that she had cancer and was very open about her fight with it.  This news came as a complete shock to me.

I’m lucky enough to say I saw her play in a band that she loved and was even able to capture some photos of her doing so.

RIP Jessi Darlin.

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