Not a lot of new albums have been catching my ears as of late, but L.A.’s letlive. has grabbed my attention with their latest post-hardcore release. Following the lines of Glassjaw and Refused, this is the music that needs to stick around. Hell I can even hear a little Blood Brothers and At The Drive In in their music and I really find that awesome.
letlive. has been around since 2002, but recently signed with Epitaph and their album Fake History is dropping April 12th for your listening pleasure. Rumor has it that their live shows are absolutely insane. Here’s hoping for a Cleveland show to see if that is true.
Be the first to hear Thursday’s forthcoming new album! On their bus!!!
Wait. What?
It’s true. Emo/Post-Hardcore act Thursday are currently in the middle of a tour and want their fans (well, 6 of them at each show) to hang out on their bus and listen to a few songs off their new album.
See the following from the band:
“Throughout our current tour with Underoath we’re giving you a chance to hear a little bit of the brand new album! Each show we’ll bring 6 fans onto the bus to hang out and hear a few songs. All you have to do to enter is send an e-mail to turnpikedivides@gmail.com with your NAME, CELL PHONE NUMBER and the DATE/CITY of the show you’ll be attending. We’ll be notifying the winners a few days before the show so keep an eye on your e-mail as the date of your show approaches. Winners will also receive a text day of show letting you know where to meet for the listening session.” – Thursday
Pretty sweet if you ask me.
What’s even sweeter s that they are coming to Cleveland on Feb 10th. Shoot them an email and try your luck if you are going to the show.
Thursday Tour Dates:
Jan 24 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
Jan 25 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre
Jan 26 – West Hollywood, CA – House of Blues
Jan 27 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
Jan 28 – Las Vegas, NV – Hard Rock Café
Jan 29 – San Diego, CA – Soma
Jan 30 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom
Feb 1 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre
Feb 2 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
Feb 3 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory
Feb 4 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory
Feb 5 – Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue
Feb 6 – Denver, CO – The Summit Music Hall
Feb 8 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Feb 9 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
Feb 10 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
Feb 11 – Buffalo, NY – The Town Ballroom
Feb 12 – Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
Feb 13 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre
Feb 14 – Montreal, QC – Metroplis
Feb 16 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Zoo
Feb 17 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
Feb 18 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
Feb 19 – Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
Feb 20 – New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place
Feb 22 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
Feb 23 – Charlotte, NC – Amos’ Southend
Feb 24 – Knoxville, TN – Valarium
Feb 25 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
Feb 26 – Lake Buena Vista, FL – House of Blues
Feb 27 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution
Bars Of Gold (BoG), a new project including former Bear vs. Shark (BvS) members Marc Paffi and Brandon Moss, recently released their debut album entitled Of Gold through Friction Records. Moving from the post-hardcore sound the band carries a more punk rock / indie rock sound. BoG may not necessary cater to many BvS fans out there on this release, but after just one listen, I am a fan.
A Nintendo-y opener, properly titled “Boss Level” started off the album with me scratching my head wondering what the rest of the album would entail. Not that there is anything wrong with a little 8-bit-core, it was just unexpected.
“Heaven Has A Heater” focused more towards an indie sound with a punk singing style that really sounded amazing. This is definitely a track that needs to be checked out. While I am talking about tracks that needed to be checked out, listen to “Birds” as well. The sound was like what might happen if Modest Mouse and Talking Heads decided to collaborate. It was catchy and bizarre all at once.
“The Hustle” was unlike any other track on the album and by far the most entertaining to my ears. The banjo almost hypnotized me throughout the wild folk-heavy track with Paffi’s vocals howling all over the place. Dare I say Hot Water Music vocals meets Travis guitar playing? Yes, I just said that.
The melodic “………….” was a nice, chill track to listen to at the start but soon had a little group vocals going on in the background leading up to Paffi taking over. The song reminded me of Cursive track in a good way.
“Cannibals” was a great track to sit back to and just enjoy. In the true spirit of indie rock, this song kicked ass and I loved how the beginning crept up around you and then just turned into a mad frenzy of insanity.
It’s nice to see musicians move on in differnet directions without sounding like they are trying too hard. Bars Of Gold have a good sound going for them and I am loving what they have created. I am sure there are BvS fanatics out there wondering what happened and it is expected, but I have the feeling that once a few of them make way through this album they will grow to appreciate all that it is.
2010 is coming to an end and I think I have found my favorite indie-ish rock album of the year. Check it out for yourself:
Unknown to some but adored by many, Leatherface is back with their ninth release this time around on No Idea Records. The UK punk rock band holds the title for being not only an influence on many current bands of today, but also in shaping DIY punk rock. Formed in the late 80’s, Leatherface continues to rock on The Stormy Petrel. This is the bands first release in over six years.
Having been a fan of Leatherface for years now I really was curious to see if they band still could contain their sound still and I will say that they have not lost their punk / folky / post-hardcore edge.
The best way for me to describe The Stormy Petrel is to imagine what Gaslight Anthem might sound like if a tired Lemmy from Motorhead fronted the band. Of course I am not saying it sounded exactly like that, but with gruff vocals on top of catchy melodic guitars I could not help but find the similarity. The combination of the soft spoken singing of Frankie Stubbs, the last of two original members (Dickie Hammond being the other) I might add, and appealing rock jams just kept inviting me to listen to the album over and over.
I also liked the symbolism encased in the album’s title as it is in reference to a bird called a storm-petrel who sadly is threatened by human activity. If you want more information about what storm-petrels are all about you should click HERE. Don’t ask me how I knew this, let’s just say I love the Discovery Channel.
Looking deeper into the meaning I also discovered The Stormy Petrel refers to Joseph Hodgson, a man named a hero over a dozen times yet to this day has no tribute for all he accomplished. Check out HERE and HERE for more interesting information about this man who was passed up in the history books.
“God Is Dead” started off the CD and I found myself immediately digging what I heard. The lyrics were a little bizarre speaking of burying someone of a higher power in a shed but it was enjoyable to listen to as was the refrain that begged to be sung along with. “My World’s End” just maintained my interested with a little more punk rock edge to it. The music was not too overbearing and just fit perfect with Stubbs’ vocal strain.
The song “Broken” really proved upon my earlier music comparison as the music mirrored something Gaslight might play. Perhaps one of my favorite tracks on the album, I could not help singing along with the uncanny track. The following track picked things up a bit with “Another Dance” proving this album was emotionally all over the place. Other tracks worth mentioning were “Diego Garcia”, “Monkfish” and album closer “Hope”.
With more of a melancholy feel throughout, the album was still a good listen from start to finish. At times the lyrics seemed to repeat too much on tracks but it was not enough to turn me away. It’s nice to see that this band is still putting out worthy material to listen to and what’s even better is that the band is currently touring in support of the release. To hear that a 22 year old band is still hitting the clubs and playing out just proves that you are never too old to do what you love.
Look for Leatherface to play May 9th at Now That’s Class in Lakewood with very special guests Ninja Gun, Dead To Me, and Cleveland’s F*cking Cops plus others. Doors are at 9pm and I am sure there will be a healthy crowd there that night so make sure you get there before it sells out!
UPDATE: Sadly Leatherface had to cancel their Cleveland stop due to an uncontrollable situation including border control. Should I find any more information out I will be sure to post.
Hey Jawbox fans, have you been looking for something to tide you over until they finally drop something new this year? I can’t promise that they will even release new material but that set on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon really brought suspicions to the table. Let’s hope for the best and until then I have a recommendation for you.
The band I speak of is called The Bomb. Why should you check them out you ask? Simple, J. Robbins of Jawbox recorded and mixed The Bomb’s most recent album Speed Is Everything. He might have also contributed some singing throughout the album as did Dan Yemin from Paint It Black. This is The Bomb’s second release and was released on No Idea Records.
Need more reason to check out this band I speak of? Well I can tell you that the band includes former members of Naked Raygun, The Methadones, and even Four Star Alarm. Oh I might as well throw in that they also cover a Flock Of Seagulls song – more on that in a bit.
This Chicago foursome features Jeff Pezzati, as well as Jeff Dean, Pete Mittler, and Mike Soucy. With years of experience in the music world they came together and dropped a sophomore release that can stand strong next to a two decade old Naked Raygun album with no intimidation at all. Perhaps that is a bold statement but after listening to it I think many of you can and will agree. To me it has a sound that fits in that, dare I say classic, era perfectly.
“The Kids” and “Holiday” really have a post-punk sound straight from the early nineties and fans of that era will appreciate. “The Rescue” was interesting as the song was sung from a hero point of view with interesting lyrics including hiding the goods. “Haver” had a little harder punk feel throughout making for a good listen.
As mentioned previously the band took at stab at covering a Flock Of Seagulls song and I honestly like it more than the original. When “Space Age Love Song” started I immediately knew it was a cover but was unable to immediately grab of whom but after a quick Google check that all changed.
Dan Yemin lends his pipes on the fast fist-pumping “Integrity” track that really rises over the rest when it comes to speed in the album. “Spaceman” was another track I appreciated on the album a lot with it’s old school post-hardcore sound. Title track “Speed Is Everything” was another notable track on the album and I even got a kick out of the album ending track “Blown Away”.
I could not help but think of other acts like Husker Du and Jawbreaker while listening to the CD as well as of course Jawbox. Heavy drumming and straight forward guitar playing formulate a solid album of course with post-Naked Raygun singing styles. I am shocked this band has not gotten a ton of hype seeing what they are made of but perhaps that makes this album that much more likable. Old school fans of punk rock will adore this CD, well, at least I do.
Screw all that crunk-punk, emo baby, try too hard crap that recent bands have been dishing out, you kids need to check out The Bomb. God, I feel old now saying that. I feel like I just told all the punk kids to stay off my lawn…
