Dead To Me - Wait For It

I have always been on the fence about Dead To Me. Like a lot of bands today (Lawrence Arms, Smoke Or Fire) they get lots of love from the kids but to this old bastard they always seemed just ok. While I'm sure the lack of JS-NYC affirmation is troubling, they have rebounded, adding Sam from VRGNS/New Mexican Disaster Squad and Ken from Western Addiction. I'm unsure as to whether this means that Dead To Me are relocating to Gainesville (or vice-versa), but the influx of FL into the franchise has prompted more enthusiasm than usual for DTM.

Wait For It, Wait For It was put together for the recent Dead To Me European tour and comes via Dutch label Shield Recordings. It's got three songs with big old hooky choruses that remind me a lot of Avail or D4. I don't remember correlating the two previously, but it works on this little slab of delight. I'd pick it up. Those that are more patient might decide to wait for the full-length coming on Brick Gun Records that reprises these three tracks and assumably adds a bunch more. I guess this means the Fat era is over? Wait and see, but check out Wait For It, Wait For It in the interim.

R

VRGNS - Manimals

Full-length #2 from the Florida franchise, now forced to kick it Oedipus style due to the presence of the nightmare NYC band with the same name that will no doubt break up shortly, if they've not already. For the uninformed, Sam and Alex from New Mexican Disaster Squad and No Friends are 2/3 of this band. They aren't as core as the aforementioned franchises, but keep it moving briskly with short sharp shards of songs that have more than a few hooks hidden just under the surface. Manimals is a decent record, but it wouldn't be the first one I'd pay for as a broke ass NYCer. Lucky for us, the good folk of Kiss Of Death have leveled the playing field by giving it away for free here. Vinyl aficionados and lovers of the tangible can purchase same there as well. Enjoy. Keep tabs on their regular goings-on here.

R

Off With Their Heads/No Friends split 6"

Possibly released to commemorate their recent tour dates together, this split 6" pairs Twin Cities' juggernaut Off With Their Heads with Richmond Orlando axis powers No Friends. One cover from each band. One might be able to figure out from the cover art that Pegboy and Dag Nasty are the honorees. Two guesses how that splits up. Good showings from both parties, but I'll give the crown to OWTH by a hair. This is all around a good time so posi up and buy it here from No Idea.

R

Live: No Friends with Deep Sleep and Night Birds @ Bruar Falls 4.8.10

This show came courtesy of Ian Dickson and Hardcore Gig Volume, one of many of the bumper crop of shows that the warm weather has brought NYCward. Personally, I was in it for No Friends. I've liked the first two releases and have been known to Face The Waste on occasion, plus Bruar Falls is close and small enough to make it fun, so on the bike I went. I got there as Night Birds were kicking things off. They feature Brian Gorsenger of the now-defunct Psyched To Die on vocals as well as Joey Erg on bass to ruin your average bass player's day. The Birds brought it, ripping through six or seven tunes and closing with Paranoid Time. Nice. I'm definitely going to try harder to see Night Birds in the future.

The time between sets featured the arrival of the most knee-weakening lovely female I've seen in some time filling the time admirably and before I knew Tony showed and the No Friends boys got all Dag Nasty up in the place. Not especially original, but certainly awesome. You would be silly to not get the new EP for free here. That was almost it for me, so it look like the bridge beckoned, as it was early and I am old, but the hot girl seemed to be there for Deep Sleep, so I figured I'd torture myself by finding she had good taste in music to boot. As it turns out, she does. Deep Sleep are from Baltimore and play the older GI style DC hardcore we have come to know and love. I wasn't all that familiar with them before, but have appropriated their back catalog, so look forward to some coverage of their recorded material soon.

Oh, even after staying for Deep Sleep, I was home by 10:30, which may very well make this the best show of the year thus far. Props to Ian and Hardcore Gig Volume for showing that punk shows don't have to run hours behind.

R

Free No Friends EP!

Another awesome blast of goodness from the friendless ones, this time in the form of the Traditional Failures EP. Wonderfully enough, this one's free. As often happens in this strange world, it's one of the few things I've heard recently that I'd be into paying for. Six tunes, five under the two minute mark, all in the Dag Nasty/Descendents vein. The closer even cops a little D Boon in the extended guitar coda that stretches the tune to an epic 2:45. You would be an idiot not to get this from your friends at Kiss Of Death here and certainly foolish to not see them on one of the dates below, if you were able.

See you in the pit!

R

Apr 2 2010

8:00P

The PourhouseRaleigh, North Carolina

Apr 3 2010

8:00P

MACROCKHarrisonburg, Virginia

Apr 4 2010

6:00P

Corpse FortressDC, Washington DC

Apr 5 2010

8:00P

The Skid Row GarageYork, Pennsylvania

Apr 6 2010

8:00P

BosniaNew Brunswick, New Jersey

Apr 7 2010

8:00P

Church of BostonBoston, Massachusetts

Apr 8 2010

8:00P

Bruar FallsBrooklyn, New York

Apr 9 2010

8:00P

The TerrordomePhiladelphia, Pennsylvania

Apr 10 2010

8:00P

The BikelotRichmond, Virginia

No Friends

Time to set off the pit. No Friends is the new band that is setting the hardcore world on it's ear. Featuring 3/4 of the pretty much dormant New Mexican Disaster Squad, you'll dig this if you liked them or their current franchises Gatorface and Virgins. Oh, wait! Did I mention that Tony from Municipal Waste is fronting this little combo? While I never really got NMDS, I fucking love The Waste. They have been getting serious play at JS-NYC HQ of late, much to the delight to the my neighbors. It's important to point out that while Municipal Waste thrash with wild abandon, No Friends take the hardcore road that bands like Paint It Black do so well. It's definitely on some Dag Nasty/Descendents/GBs shit and most assuredly awesome. No Idea is the label that pays them and Var and Tony must be stoked. It's not just a recording/project band either. The Waste are pushing their new record Massive Aggressive hard, but No Friends are still trying to do some shows around various Fests and whatnot. I'd go out of my way to see them live when and if you could, but in the meantime pick up No Friends here from the lovable men and women of No Idea.

New No Friends tracks!

Are you like me? Well I hope not, but if you like yourself some hardcore of the older (ie: good) variety, with perhaps a little thrash added for good measure, No Friends may be your pair of worn Reebok hightops. Comprised of 3/4 of the late New Mexican Disaster Squad and helmed by Tony from RVA thrashers Municipal Waste, No Friends are definitely bringing the ruckus in an old school way.

There's a record coming down the pike later on this summer on No Idea, but tide yourself over in the interim with a tasty new track, courtesy of their social networking engine. It's called Have You Ever Heard Of Aspirations. Check it out here.

R