Thursday, May 15, 2014

The Fuckers - The Last Album Before We Change Our Name And Sell Out - Released on Blank Face Records - May 17, 2014

The claim is that this is the most fun band in Chicago. Its been a while since I've been to Chicago, but I'm willing to bet that this assertion is probably the most true thing I've read so far this year.

I've enjoyed the hell out of these guys for years now and naturally jumped at the chance to review their newest release The Last Album Before We Change Out Name And Sell Out, which shall henceforth be referred to as TLA...  due to it being too fucking long to repeatedly type - thanks Fuckers! 



The Fuckers are two dudes named Mark, a guy named Phil, and a Luke, just like in the bible, and just like in the bible, these guys know how to drink beer, fart, and day dream about one day getting a righteous piece of ass.... Just like in the bible.. All hail the Flying Spaghetti Jesus.

Being familiar with this band and their lyrical content I couldn't wait to get to my office today and crank this thing up for my unsuspecting coworkers. I got the response I had been hoping for, a proper mixture of disgust, revulsion, and noticeable looks of disdain from pretty much everyone around. Score point one! Okay, headphones on now, fuck the top-buttoners around here - I have work to do and this is just the kind of music to get work done to. This album is so good it can make scraping dog shit off the bottom of your shoe fun.




TLA.. starts off as a vulgarity laden assault to common decency and finishes much in the same way.  9 tracks, 19 minutes. Just enough time to beat off, clean up and eat that burrito you were warming up in the 7-Eleven microwave. Thanks for the memories Ashoka. TLA... really takes off on track 4 I'm in a Band, Do you Wanna Fuck Me. Rarely has a band written a more honest song and rarely has this actually ever worked for any band - ever. Give Us $$$ continues on with the rockstar mentality theme, I seriously hope these kids didn't genuinely expect to get slathered in cash and poontang when they aspired to be punk rockers. Has Glen Danzig taught them nothing? Mark's Magic Dick is another standout track mainly for the speedy little guitar riffs and vocals that sound like they were forced through a throat that had just been burnt.

Wagon Wheel follows suit in terms of speed and vocal smoothness, lyrically, I'm not sure what the fuck is happening, I just know I need a stiff drink.

The closing track on this album is one that I can most relate to, being that I was raised in a home  that attended the great Southern Fire & Brimstone "Let's bring on the Apocalypse!!" churches. I was promised an apocalypse! Jesus Ate Christmas, bring it the fuck on!!!

All-In-All this is one great fucking album! Rumor has it the album title is actually a true story, these guys plan to cease being the Fuckers. I'll grant you a moment to tear up or cum in your sock or whatever your need to do..

Its seems the Marks, the Phil, and the Luke were visited by an angel that told them that if they ever expected to get pussy from being in a band they needed to start a Gospel Quartet because church pussy is the best pussy because them girls are more comfortable on their knees.


Anywho! As usual, don't take my word for it - give this bitch a listen and grab a copy for yourselves and be sure to check the Fuckers out before they are gone for good.










Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Mongrel - Evolution - To Be Released on Unable Records - May 20, 21014 on iTunes and June 3, 2014 everywhere else.



Mongrel is a female fronted aggressive rock band based from the Boston, MA area. Consisting of Adam Savage on  guitar, Jessica Sierra on  vocals, Michael Ariza on  bass, and Mike "Hoagie" Hogan on drums. Their sound is predominately metal, but has a hint of punk and good old fashioned rock that polishes a bit of the edge off, this otherwise aggressive sound. I have a couple of their earlier releases and can honestly say that they still appear regularly in my personal playlists. I've seen it debated often whether they are more metal than punk, more punk than metal or more rock than either. Truth is, when they make music this damn good, what the fuck does it matter what label you slap on it? These kids have been dubbed the hardest working band in Boston, in Massachusetts, in all of New England, they've won countless awards back to back and it's easy to see (hear) why. Hell we dug these guys so much we featured their track Declamation on our first compilation back in 2011. Their 2012 release Reclamation was a 12 track masterpiece and now that I'm sitting here listening to Evolution, I am simply blown away - These kids outdid themselves by miles. So say that they saw what they wanted and reached out and took it is an understatement. The production quality on Evolution is amazingly good. It was recorded by Jim Foster, mixed by Dave Fortman, and mastered by Howie Weinberg. These guys don't work with just anybody, they work with real talent.

Jessica's vocals range from angry to haunting throughout this release while maintaining that ultra sexy feminine rasp that I dig so much. Adam can really rock that guitar and make it do anything he damn well wants it to do while Michael and Mike hold it all in place on bass and drums.

Go ahead and preview the first track Snakes - while I tell you how good the rest of the album is.






Track 2 Oxygen Mask pretty much sums up how indefinite things are. "Uncertainty's forever, not diamond rings" this is a great song with a great message - at least what I took from it - live for today, reach for your goals, don't let a damn thing stop you. - I might be off the mark - but I'm a firm believer that all lyrics are subjective and mean what the listener perceives them to mean.


Track 3 Consumed has a nice quick pace to it, the guitars pretty much gallop along and Jessica's vocals really shine out on this one.

Tracks 4 and 5 Best Revenge and Over and Over are to me where Mongrels Punk/Metal hybridization really steps up front and center -

All in all this is a great fucking album. It hits all the right spots and can easily be set on repeat for a few hours without getting boring or sounding like you're just listening to the same album over and over. It's easy to slip into this one. Big props to these kids and congratulations to them for signing with Unable Records.

Be looking out for this album or suffer the panic that may set in when you realize it's too late to get a copy.


here's where you can find out more about this bad ass band and their unique sound.




Tuesday, May 13, 2014

The Timmys - Sangamon County Minefield 2012 - Self Release


Springfield is notorious for putting out neat little punk bands. Each poured in the same manner into the same mold. You know the kind the bands that are all up in your face non stop all the damn time. Kinda like that tiny, yapping, annoying ass furry think your girlfriend calls a dog. And then.. And then there's The Timmys. The Timmys are more like the guy that shows up to the party just to stand around like they don't want to be at the party but wind up becoming the party.

The Timmys are Brandon, Robbie, Tyler, Ian, & Gary. That's it.
Really, these kids have facebook, twitter, myspace, soundcloud, and a bandcamp and their names are all the information you can publicly find about them aside from their releases. And you know what? After listening to these guys you realize you don't need to know anymore about them at all.
I first heard about The Timmys on twitter - they were tagged in a post from some band about a show they had coming up so I figured I should look into them. I got hold of their 2010 release That'll Do and was instantly hooked. Are they Pop Punk? No. Are they Hardcore? No. They are just Punk Punk - the kind of punk that NOFX used to be. Party Punk - The kind of punk you want played at your house show. The kind of punk that has really a really tight composition, more than just three cords and asinine lyrics. OK, well, they have asinine lyrics. 


Enough chit chat - let's get to the business at hand.

Sangamon County Minefield is a 12 track full length that the Timmys released back in 2012.

Kicking off with with a track clocking in a a buck and quarter titled Nutshell, The Timmys set about quickly letting you know they know how to rock. The rhythm section is tight, the lead guitar is on spot and the vocals reek of young punk. Throughout the album they prove that harmonies aren't that hard to pull off. The whole album is track after track of well, oiled, properly channeled punk rock with the right mix of anger, idiocy, and crunchy guitars. It's difficult for me to analyze this album on a track by track basis as this is one of those releases that works so well as a whole. I will tell you that Life is a Game, IOU, Premature Intoxication, and Sangamon County Minefield are all stand out tracks very worthy of an EP release on vinyl.
I can't like this album enough and I think it is well worth your time and your 10 bucks.

Check it out for yourself and tell me if you agree, More importantly click the links at the bottom of this review and tell the band what you thought. AND more importantly than that - if you're in or near the Springfield, IL area get out and see these guys play live- they seem to like playing live more than releasing albums (they tend to have a 2 year gap between releases) Main Point of this review is this. 

THIS BAND REALLY ROCKS 
and is highly deserving of your time, respect and money.







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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

UGLYBoNES - Wrong Goods EP Review Self Released January 2014




If the ominously plunking bass opening the title track to UGLYBoNES’ (their pretty particular about the casing of their name)  latest EP isn’t enough to get you interested, you my friend, are a straight-up fuck. This Chicago area 4 piece act never fail to bring justice to the term “punk”. It’s what these kids do. At a buck-twenty per song, this 5 track EP is just what you need when you’re getting ready to go out and fuck shit up. I follow these guys on facebook and for the most part their daily lives seem pretty humdrum and average - they put off an air of “regular guy” then they get in the studio and each morph into their own versions of Mr. Hyde. These guys are insane in their music - to say they play with ferocity is such an understatement. Wrong Goods is definitely their most polished  release to date, in terms of writing, performing, engineering and mastering. 

This EP seems to take a darker tone than their previous releases - all of which stand up very well. 

So here I am, sitting in the dark, the only light source being my computer monitor and the flashing green and red of the EQ on my soundboard listening to this EP on repeat and gaining more and more respect for UGLYBoNES with each passing minute. 

Wrong Goods immediately sets a dark mood and then front man LV opens his throat and us know how sick he is of her/him/us. The track bleeds out into Failed Attempt - Jesus Christ, these kids are pissed and suddenly I want to go seek out anyone that ever told me   wasn't good enough and punch them in the throat! Jerkin’ It pretty much describes every Tuesday for me, laying around stoned with my left hand in a bag of chips and my right hand on my dick - I am beginning to think these guys work for the NSA. About halfway through Where It Ends I have to ask myself why the dumb bitch is still around - kick a bitch to the curb already! Fuck! This track puts certain co-workers in mind. Co-workers that really just need to die. And then we roll into the final track Basement. I've been following this band since 2011’s 180 Proof EP and Basement pretty much tells me everything I have learned and inferred about this band. They dig house shows, they love audience interaction and communication but they are smart enough to know when you’re feeding them bullshit, they aren't here to fuck around, they are here to rock your face off, end of story. 


Everything about this band is right. The guys fit together and really shows in Wrong Goods. This EP has the feel of a band that has learned and grown from one another over the years and have hit that level of maturity in their career to write and perform really fucking great music. May the deity of your choice bless these kids for years to come.

jacks insanity
podunkradio.com