Review Rundown: Throwdown, Dashboard Confessional, Ludo, 36 Crazyfists
The Review Rundown takes glances at new releases from
Throwdown, Dashboard Confessional, Ludo, a tribute to BYO Records and Youth
Brigade and, as well as briefs takes on Lucero’s and the New Collisions’
latest.
File Under: Southern Tinged Hardcore From Orange County
Throwdown – Deathless
(E1 Music): Over a decade and more than a handful of studio releases into their
career, the band that put West Coast hardcore on the map, Throwdown, are still
churning out impressive slabs of circle pit inciting, fist pumping hardcore
anthems, most recently with their latest, Deathless,
an album that should immediately have Throwdown mentioned in hardcore/metal album
of the year conversations. Deathless
is a record that even offers different looks as the band do their best Southern
metal impression with sludgy, slow moving numbers (“Tombs,” “Widowed”), but Deathless also is comprised of songs
that quicken the pace via double bass fills, breakdowns and frenzied guitar
currents (“Headed South,” “Black Vatican”). Most of Deathless could have you thinking that Throwdown listened to a lot
of Down and Superjoint Ritual, hell, even Pantera, during the albums writing
process, but don’t let that scare you. With Deathless,
the transitions are seamless, and the execution is near masterful. (www.myspace.com/throwdown)
Grade: A
Go Download: “Headed South”
File Under: Female fronted indie new wave
Who Gives a Tweet? (Your Review in 140 characters
or less): The New Collisions – ‘Invisible Embraces’ (Frettssongs/State One
Music America): Female fronted new wave indie rock produced by Cars founding
member Greg Hawkes that sounds like Blondie meets Romeo Void. This isn’t bad. (www.myspace.com/thenewcollisions)
Grade: C
Go Download: “Parachutes on the Dance Floor”
File Under: Dashboard Confessional
Dashboard Confessional – Alter the Ending (Interscope Records): Even though Dashboard
Confessional made the decision to release both an electric and an acoustic
version of their latest, Alter the Ending,
the band still included a little from column A and a little from column B,
dropping in the unplugged stuff now and again, something perhaps old hat for
Chris Carrabba and the boys. Another aspect of Alter the Ending that is old hat for the band is the songs
themselves. They are brimming with Carrabba’s painfully relatable lyrics, and
while they have gotten a tad more optimistic throughout the years, they still
manage to tug at the heartstrings. It’s the combo of Carrabba’s recognizable
voice and staunch emotionality that fuel this vehicle, one that gets a lot of
mileage out of it. Alter the Ending
doesn’t run out of gas and steadily delivers from start to finish, something
some of the bands more recent releases can’t say. While the debate for Carrabba
to go to a full band will continue to rage on, there should be no doubts that Alter the Ending is a solid step in the
right direction. (www.dashboardconfessional.com)
Grade: B
Go Download: “Until Morning”
Ludo – Ludo (Redbird
Records): With lyrics like “your eyes like apple trees/your voice like spray
febreeze/you had the cleanest dirty laundry a laundry mat’s ever seen”
(“Laundry Girl”), and song titles like “Ode to Kevin Arnold” and “Hello, My
Name is Your TV,” Ludo’s self titled debut succeeds in emphasizing the bands
humorous songwriting abilities and overall quirky aesthetic, but the record
isn’t simply a 12 track punch line, it has some merit to it as well. Ludo plays host to some of the bands
strongest tracks, like “Good Will Hunting By Myself” and “Girls on
Trampolines.” Singer Andrew Volpe’s tirade during the former is one of the best
lash out sessions put to wax since Axl Rose’s profanity laced outburst on ‘Get
in the Ring.’ Sure, they might be all fun and games, but these guys can write a
killer record when they want to, and clearly they wanted to here. The fact that
this record comes with a bonus live disc only sweetens a deal that was pretty
sweet to begin with. (www.ludorock.com)
Grade: A
Go Download: ‘Good Will Hunting By Myself’
File
Under: Southern Fried Indie Rock Soul
Who
Gives a Tweet? (Your Review in 140 characters or less): Lucero – ‘1372 Overton
Park’ (Universal Republic): Gritty, emotional, real, honest. What more could
you ask for in a rock record? How about heart-on-sleeve earnest vocals from Ben
Nichols.
Grade:
A
Go
Download: ‘Darken My Door’
File Under: Forefathers of Punk Rock
Various Artists: ‘Let Them Know: The Story of Youth
Brigade and BYO Records’ (BYO Records): This well put together box set is just
a representation of the music that legendary punk rock label BYO has given us
throughout the years. It is a fitting recalling of the impact these bands have
had, not only on the scene, but on our lives as well. Hell, impact? These bands
built the scene that we call home this very day. If any up and coming punk
bands out there want to hear how it’s done, buy this set, as it will make for a
nice textbook guide to follow. The CD portion of the box set is full of
lightning fast, aggressive yet passionate, raucous punk done right. At first
glance the records 30 tracks might seem a little daunting, but they play quick
and the record really is over you know it. As with most every release, the
record has it’s misses, most notably track Krum Bums ‘Hating Every Minute’ and
Matt Skiba’s ‘I Scream.’ Honestly though, this collection is a sure fire
success on all fronts - the book is stunning.
Its pages feature tons of photos, flyer reproductions a full color discography
of the label. The DVD portion is an exceptional documentary beginning with the
formation of Youth Brigade (Shawn, Mark and Adam), and continues to rare video
clips, interviews with all the involved parties. Check out bonus cuts including
interview segments that were cut out. If you want to call yourself a fan of
punk rock, you NEED to own this collection, no ifs, ands or buts. (www.byorecords.com)
Grade: A
Go Download: Youth Brigade – ‘Misfortune,’ Blue
Collar Special – ‘Believe In Something’
36 Crazyfists – ‘Under a Great Northern Sky (Ferret
Music): “We’re just a joking band,” says drummer Thomas Noonan during the bands
first ever DVD release, ‘Under a Great Northern Sky.’ “I mean, we’re a metal
band, you know, I don’t take any of this seriously,” a statement that really
sums up what this release is all about. If you weren’t convinced that 36
Crazyfists, natives of Anchorage, Alaska, weren’t all about having a good time,
nothing more should showcase that then the band playing beer pong at a party, a
game in which Noonan and frontman Brock Lindow beat their bandmates handily.
‘Under a Great Northern Sky’ is different from most DVD releases due to the
fact that it intertwines a documentary with the band performing a hometown
show. It makes the DVD fly by, which could be a good thing or a bad thing.
There aren’t that many live songs shown on the DVD, but the shows closer, ‘The
All Night Lights’ surely takes the cake as the DVD’s best song, but the Alaskan
Wall of Death is outstanding to see as well. Make sure you watch the entire
effort as the bands ‘Sarengetti: The Rockumentary’ near the end. It’s
priceless. And watching the band watch themselves in it makes it all the more
better. Oh, and FYI, Sarengetti is the 80’s cheese metal alter ego the band
used to have. Ever wished you could hear Lidow sing a song called ‘Rattlesnake
Shake’ in falsetto? Yeah, thought so. With ‘Under the Great Northern Sky,’ you
will laugh, realize how amazingly well rounded and down to earth the band is,
laugh again, see how good of performers 36 Crazyfists are, then laugh again. (www.36crazyfists.com)
Grade: A
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