Teenage Bottlerocket - Freak Out

As member of the third, at the very least, wave of Ramone clone bands, it's particularly interesting to me that my inner hater hasn't driven a gi-normous wedge between me and Laramie, WY awesome purveyors of said same Teenage Bottlerocket. There is the bizarre eventuality of their playing the infamous Chixdiggit show at the Leonard St. Knit a million years ago and my being totally bored, and my having missed their sets at a couple Insubordination Fests in a row, but luckily I have come to my senses in more recent years and signed on heavy. Freak Out is record number five for the foursome, and their second for Fat. All parties involved can rest assured that if you like(d) yourself some Teenage Bottlerocket, there is nothing here to bring the love affair to a screeching halt. Still sounds like they fell for Screeching Weasel before they found about The Ramones, but that ain't the worst thing in the world, especially as the gents are some youngsters and all.

Fourteen songs on Freak Out, but still things wrap tidily in under a half-hour. It's not without its cheesiness (I give to the court: Necrocomicon and Punk House Of Horror) and the swagger on tracks like Cruising For Chicks does not exist without the heady air of nerdiness, but Freak Out is far from a bad time, and if you are lacking enough in taste that you don't like it, things are over in short enough order that you'll have ample time to get on with your lesser musical selections. TBR are touring, so step lively and look out for JS-NYC to be very much in the house next month when they hit Santos.

In the interim, keep track of Teenage Bottlerocket here and get Freak Out here from your buddies over at the Fat.

R

Chixdiggit - Daytrotter Sessions

Having redeemed themselves with their recent seaborne rock fest a couple months ago, I will dispense with my tired old complaining of perceived slights from the men of Chixdiggit and cut straight to the chase: there is a new Chixdiggit session on Daytrotter.

It's kinda ok. Five tracks, with Found Love from the new EP being the newest, along with three chestnuts and Kepi doing The Highway Man to close things out. Nothing that's going to spike Chixdiggit fanbase numbers in 2012, but well worth checking out for the already infatuated.

R

R.I.P: The Sainte Catherines (1999-2012)

All these posts about death and band break-ups reminded me I had forgotten to mention the shitty eventuality that is The Sainte Catherines breakup. Oh universe, you spoil me!

Not sure how this will impact their rootsier alter-ego Yesterday's Ring, but it sure does suck. The hygenically challenged Montreal punks released Fire Works in 2010, a record that was my favorite TSC record since their debut Those Stars Are For You. I was well chuffed at the prospect of finally seeing the band that had become my personal Bad Brains in recent years, having canceled a half-dozen shows for reasons unknown, an eventuality that netted a personal zero in the JS-NYC Sainte Catherines live shows seen column, a stat that makes me pretty irritated at having missed their 500th show when I was in Montreal last. Now it seems that the time-honored personal differences and family obligations have caused the gents  to hang it up. You can read their statement (in English and French) here.

Meh, and Bah!

R

Banner Pilot - Heart Beats Pacific

To say that I'm a mark for the Banner Pilot would be a mild understatement. There have been periods of time where Drew has skewered me decisively over my ability to dress like Banner Pilot's merch guy and there is nothing I can do to defend myself. I would suspect that he takes great satisfaction in not being my neighbor, as he would no doubt be driven as mad as the rest by my constant playing of Heart Beats Pacific.

The recent CMJ shows from the BP crew haven't helped matters as much. The boys killed it at both shows, drilling tunes like Spanish Reds and Western Terminal into my head and necessitating acquisition of Heart Beats Pacific with the quickness. You should do the same. Heart Beats Pacific picks up where Collapser left off, pumping out just shy of a dozen aces pop-punk tracks heavily indebted to the Jawbreaker. This is far from a bad thing.

I can't say I'm crazy about their recent acquisitions, but the Fat/Banner Pilot union is something I can condone unequivocally. I'd like to think of Banner Pilot as a prime example of a new school Fat band and one that may very well have released my favorite pop-punk release of 2011. Get Heart Beats Pacific here from the good folk of Fat and keep track of the Twin Cities finest here.

R

Live: Banner Pilot at Union Hall 10.20.11 (late)

So this show was the official Fat showcase for CMJ, and owing to the fact that the lineup they were purveying was fairly meh save for Banner Pilot, I couldn't have been more pleased at the 8:45 slot the gents were afforded, especially as I had just come from seeing them at the Chrome instore.

Union Hall was sold out, as well it should be given its small-ass size and the CMJ masses seemed to be much more into the proceedings (read:drunk) than the crowd for the Chrome set. The boys were tight again, romping through pretty much the same set. The new Spanish Reds and Western Terminal were high points, but there wasn't too much bad stuff in the 40 minutes or so they got. The crowd had a pronounced 'my first beer/CMJ' tinge to it, but I was on the bike a minute after the BP boys bade us adieu, so I hope those tall boys treated everybody real proper for the duration. Banner Pilot are touring down to The Fest and definitely should be seen if you are able. The new Heart Beats Pacific is out on Fat 10/25 and is unequivocally recommended to anyone with working eardrums. Check here for it.

R

Live: Banner Pilot and Dead To Me at Chrome Store 10.20.11 (early)

I heard about this at the last minute and rushed down to grab some real estate a couple minutes before things jumped off. I guess you can add messenger bag culture to the list of things that make me feel old. I can remember banging on the door to the basement of DeMartini Sail Co. to get mine a million years ago and now bag companies have huge storefronts in trendy NY neighborhoods. Oh, how things change.

So bag/schmag. I was in it for the mighty Banner Pilot. They've got a banger of a new record called Heart Beats Pacific out on Fat and were out for the CMJ showcase with Dead To Me and a bunch of other meh-able Fat bands. More on that later. The boys brought it pretty serious, but they are pretty deadly with a short set. They maximized their potential with a pretty seamless stream of highpoints of the last couple records over maybe 40 minutes. Dead To Me were up shortly after. I like them a lot in theory, but they have never really caught on for me. I stayed for the first five or six songs and bailed to eat something before I headed out to Brooklyn to catch more Banner Pilot. Good time, and had I not been still recovering from the weekend, I would have availed myself of the free open bar. I guess they do this most Thursdays, so keep an eye here to see what the entertainment is like. Banner Pilot and Dead To Me can be found here and here, respectively. Look for a review of Heart Beats Pacific soon.

R

NOFX - Hardcore Covers 7"

Ok, nine minutes of hardcore covers from NOFX. It exists, but should it? I guess it's no harm/no foul for Fat Wreck, but despite the fact that the recording quality is good and the original tunes are long out of print (for the most part), I can't say I could see anyone outside the collector nerd set plumping for this.

Here's the tracklisting:

01 - Agnostic Front - Friend Or Foe 02 - Necros - IQ32 03 - Urban Waste - Police Brutality 04 - Social Unrest - Mental Breakdown 05 - Battalion Of Saints - No More Lies 06 - Unknown 07 - Sin 34 - Say We Suck 08 - Rebel Truth - Child Hosts The Parasite 09 - Stretch Marks - Professional Punk

Get it here from Fat.

R

Live: Chixdiggit with Kepi Ghoulie on The Half Moon 8.14.11

I had hoped to see this show with Rut after he did me (and his partner) did me the solidest solid in the history of solidity recently (which I repaid by not reporting favorably on his debut with the aces Vagina Panther a couple weeks ago), but my bozosity precluded such endeavors and I posted up solo at the Half Moon.

As I reflexively spout to any one who utters the words Chix or Diggit, they really blew the last time they came through town. It was a profound bummer, as they had rocked the hell out CBGBs the time previous and I was way anxious for a recap. Like I said, they blew, and I was not exactly over the moon that the Chixdiggit return to Gotham in 2011 was on a boat for a double sawbuck. Sans Rut, the pot was sweetened by some seasonal thunderstorm activity and sparse attendance, which made the boat a considerably more lively experience from the onset.

The first opener dropped off, although they evidently still thoughtfully provided backline, and Kepi Ghoulie was up and off to the races, backed by most (all?) of Chixdiggit. Kepi is a great time once a year, from where I sit, and as it had been a couple, I grinned my way through the duration of the set. He's pretty quick with a one liner and a hell of a dancer, ingratiating the post-Insubordination Fest crowd nicely before exiting with a vow to have the gents drink their entire garbage can of beer before the returned.

While they seemed as lubricated as the average Canadian, no one seemed particulary worse for wear on team Chxdiggit, although KJ mentioned Mark had thrown up on stage the night before at Insub, so maybe they were in recovery mode. And did I mention that the tiny ship was fucking tossed? The attendance seemed well below the 200 person max, and that lack of ballast was obvious as the boat pitched pretty heavily, but thankfully it didn't stop the boys from Calgary from romping handily through over an hour of Chixdiggit favorites. Those familiar with the Chixdiggit canon can do the math and will realize this meant that most of the catalog was covered, no doubt to appease those that had traveled from the UK, Spain and/or Norway from the show (really). In fact, I'd say more than half the crowd wasn't from North America. All parties seemed stoked to be there, although for the record, no one was so enthusiastic as to sport matching red white and blue tie-dyed USA shirts save for the Chixdiggit dudes. And this from a band that snuck into the States for the shows. It was a pretty damn good time that I wholly endorse seeing if you can. I understand they will be back in a couple months, so keep an eye/ear out. In the interim check out the new Safeways Here We Come EP that is out currently on Fat Wreck.

R

Screeching Weasel - First World Manifesto

Ah, Screeching Weasel. Aging mercurial frontman Ben Weasel has effectively shit the bed on anything good being associated with the SW name post punch-up with some ice-spitting female at SXSW, but First World Manifesto is a decent enough record. It is far from groundbreaking, but I'm pretty sure no one is really checking in for this to be a contemplative acoustic or ska record.

Above and beyond the furor revolving around the Emo's show, there has been a hilarious thread on the punknews about the lyrics of a couple songs that talk shit about the punk scenesters and stuff like The Fest and Punk Rock Bowling. Why people care about a 50 year old Weasel whining about these things is beyond me. Do we not forget that this is a guy who wrote Jeannie's Got A Problem With Her Uterus? I'm not sure anyone expects him to be Bob Dylan.

If you liked Screeching Weasel before, you should probably be ok with First World Manifesto. It comes courtesy of Fat and feature(d) Danny Vapid back in the fold, pre-entire band diaspora. Maybe your politics will keep you from picking this up. Wiser people might be better off just cutting to the chase and buying one of the new school of SW post-Ramones bands out there.

R

Chixdiggit - Safeways, Here We Come

I love me some Chixdiggit, really I do. We first fell in love over ten years ago and sealed the deal with a truly awesome show at CBGBs. Having played my hands-down worst sets ever at CBs and having had some of the worst times ever there, it's a pleasure to have a glimmer, at least, of nostalgia about the new John Varvatos store. Subsequent to that, the gents dropped off the face of the Earth for a good while, then surfaced to play a couple US shows behind their last pretty ok full-length Pink Razors. One of the guys, Mike I think, was sick and didn't make it. Some guy filled in at the last minute and the set was really kinda shitty and lame. I was way bummed, even more so when they dropped off again for a while, then surfaced with an absolutely flaccid re-recording of their classic first Sub Pop record that was utterly soul sapping.

So you can imagine my ambivalence when I heard that Chixdiggit were dropping a new EP. I did some checking and was mildly pleased to find that the record was coming out on Fat Wreck. That brand loyalty has bitten me in the ass more and more recently, but with Chixdiggit it seemed enough of an incentive to hunt Safeways down. I'm pleased to report it's pretty damn good. Things get a little sketchy with the last couple tracks, notably with Hot N' Horny, but all in all Safeways, Here We Come is something you should be snapping up with the quickness. Here's a link to the Fat Wreck web purveyor. Keep tabs on Chixdiggit here.

R

Banner Pilot - Resignation Day remaster

It's been just a hair over two years since Banner Pilot released Resignation Day on Go-Kart. They have signed to Fat in the interim, releasing the solid, but arguably not as good, Collapser and garnering a fair amount of well-deserved props beyond the basement scene that spawned them. They don't tour out this way all that much, only twice in their existence that I've been aware of, which makes for kind of a bummer when one of them was last year's twenty minute CMJ set. Listening to the remastered Resignation Day, the fact that Banner Pilot need to get out East for a proper show can't be asserted more clearly. Damn! This is one hell of a good record, by 2008 or 2010 standards. The Fat remaster tags the two tracks from the Kiss Of Death split with Monikers to push the record that much closer to awesomeness. Make Fat Mike and four solid dudes from the Twin Cities a little happier and snap this bad boy up with the quickness. Here's a link.

R

NOFX - The Longest EP

You're either a NOFX fan or you're not. There really isn't a middle ground, either you like their curiously insightful slices of sophmoric punk rock or you slag it as unlistenable juvenilia. I'm often pretty derisive of the Fat Mike schtick, yet I own all their records and was pretty into that tour reality thing they had, so I guess I might be the asshole here.

The Longest EP collects 30-some tracks from the million or so EPs they have dropped over the last couple decades. Nothing groundbreaking here: See Her Pee is still awesome, My Orphan Year still strikingly poignant. It's nice to have this all in one place. I can't see playing this over and over again, but it's a fun listen. Keep the lights on over at NOFX HQ and grab a copy of The Longest EP here.

R

Wrecktrospective review at PopMatters

Hey Boys and Girls:

Review of the Fat Wreck Wrecktrospective anniversary box is now up at PopMatters.

Check it out here.

Thanks to Vanessa at Fat and Sarah Zupko at PopMatters!

R

Strung Out at PopMatters

Hey. It's been a bit. Sorry.

While I'm catching up, check out my Strung Out review over at the PopMatters.

Thanks to Vanessa at Fat and Sarah at PopMatters

R

Teenage Bottlerocket - They Came From The Shadows

Teenage Bottlerocket is another band that has really got under my skin (in a good way) in the last couple months. Their CMJ set this year was a real rager that Luke and I really enjoyed a ton. I revisited all their records after that and continue to be astounded that I wasn't as into them the three times I had see them previously. I'm sure I've whined here previously about the show at the Leonard St. Knit TBR played with Chixdiggit where the Alberta crew was utterly terrible, with a thrown together band backing KJ that barely knew any songs. The TBR kids offered to back KJ to try and salvage the proceedings, but it was all in all a total disappointment that probably tainted my feelings about these proud sons of Laramie.

I seem to have put that behind me now. I can now state definitively that if you like the Ramones, and by proxy your Riverdales and your Screeching Weasels, you would be hard pressed not to enjoy TBR in general and They Came From The Shadows in particular. The addition of Kody has expanded their sound slightly, but Teenage Bottlerocket aren't broken and they aren't about to try and fix it. It's odd that a wizened old man like myself would take to songs like Skate Or Die or The Jerk, but I have and, judging by the number of times I've played this and the rest of the TBR stuff of late, I will continue to do so. Please do the same and buy They Came From The Shadows from Fat via this link. Note: leather motorcycle jacket not included.

R

NOFX - Cokie The Clown 7"

More choir-preaching from Fat Mike and Co. Five songs, including an acoustic version of My Orphan Year from the most recent record. Not going to win over any new fans, but if you like the boys, you certainly won't be disappointed by the proceedings. You'll probably also want to peep the video, where Fat Mike punks punks like Matty Skiba and Tim Rise Against. Buy the 7" here and enjoy the video shenanigans here.

R

Strike Anywhere - Iron Front EP

It's been a bit since Strike Anywhere released a record. Frankly, it's been even longer since I gave a shit. I love a fingerpoint as much as the next asshole, but SA got more than a little formulaic over their last couple records. They seemed neck and neck with Anti-Flag for the knee-jerk politic championship, which I might have been able to deal with had the songs not gotten a wee bit boring. I'm not sure whether they are still signed to Fat Wreck, but Strike Anywhere are exactly the kind of band you would expect to be the political band on their roster. Pop on over to their wiki and check the picture of them playing the improbably named "with justice we can cure this nation" fest in Japan. Opening for Rise Against, no doubt.

For this four song digital EP, Strike Anywhere have hashed out some affiliation with Bridge Nine. It certainly isn't going to trump the new Paint It Black EPs on my personal listening schedule, but Iron Front is a lot better than I thought it would be. It sounds no different from any other Strike Anywhere (read: Can I Say era Dag Nasty) song, so if you've been a fan previously, you may very well be stoked that Iron Front is available for purchase here. Legions of middle-class white kids will no doubt throw off the fetters of their parental homes and shout along with tracks like orphan age and hand of glory at Houses Of Blues all across this great nation of ours. If this is your cup of free-trade tea, dash on over to Bridge Nine and pick up Iron Front.

R

Paint It Black - Surrender EP

This the the second of the two EPs the band warned us would be coming out this Summer. The first, Amnesia, dropped about a month ago on Bridge Nine. This one is out today on Fat Wreck, but don't think PIB is jumping on the Lagwagon or anything. Surrender is pretty much a boot to the face for the average Fat Wreck /Warped Tour jocker. This is a fucking hardcore record. Listen to the bass on Worms are see if you aren't manifesting a circle pit in seconds. There are four songs in under seven minutes, each a short sharp shock that you would be a fool to dislike. Buy Surrender from the Fat Wreck kids here and then hustle over to Bridge Nine and grab Amnesia. They go together like straight-edge kids and self-righteousness.

R

Paint It Black - Amnesia EP

Lots of bands talk about 'keeping it real' in the hardcore scene, but very few maintain that realness on the level of Philadelphia's Paint It Black. Fronted by Dan Yemin of Lifetime/Kid Dynamite fame, the Philly foursome are as issue driven as they are anti-barricade. Their live shows are never a bad time, and their records are always great, something very few hardcore bands can muster.

PIB announced last September that they would be abandoning the LP format and heretofore releasing purely 7" EPs. Why? Because it's quicker, and more importantly, hardcore. The first of the two is Amnesia, and coming out on the bastion of East Coast hardcore that is Bridge Nine. It should sell a ton. It's got all the barked vocals, topical content and pick slides that you have come to expect from the gents. Five songs are just over a minute, with the last tune Bliss taking a bit of a Jawbreaker turn and weighing in at a seemingly epic three and a half minutes. Pick up Amnesia here from Bridge Nine, but be sure to clear the furniture and make sure the insurance is paid up before you listen in the home, as shit may very well get broken.

R

Banner Pilot - Collapser

Finally, the long talked-about new Banner Pilot record is here. It's called Collapser and it's on Fat Wreck. It's not terribly surprising that a new label is in the game, as I'm pretty sure their demo got better distro than Resignation Day got through Go-Kart.

Lest you be concerned, Collapser sounds like a Banner Pilot record. That is not to say it doesn't sound a lot like various Blake Schwarzenbach franchises we've enjoyed over the years, or that the gents are ignorant of The Lawrence Arms and Asian Man era Alkaline Trio. Both readers here realize than none of the aforementioned bands are hated at JS-NYC HQ and that I am pretty queer for the Minneapolis punk rock, so let me make the shocking disclosure that I'm pretty into Collapser. I think it takes a little bit of time to get under way, but Farewell To The Iron Bastards and Losing Daylight are two tracks that will definitely be highlights of the new live set and all of the songs are more than worthy additions to the BP canon. When we will see them in this small town we call NYC is up in the air. I spoke to Nate at Insubordination Fest and he thought they might be out here with Dead To Me and AmSteel. Doing the math, I hope it's a proper tour and not a CMJ show. CMJ gets to be more of a nightmare every year, and since it's easily been five years since Banner Pilot played in town I think we deserve more than 25 minutes. Don't get me started on the regional record release shows wherein the East Coast show is in Chicago. Really, guys?

My bitchy douchebaggery aside, you would do well to pick up Collapser pronto. The twelve songs pass in just a little over a half hour, making repeated plays pretty much a necessity. Set those wheels in motion by popping over to Fat Wreck and grabbing a copy here. The Banner Pilot web presence can be found here, should you want to enter their little corner of cyberspace.