COMPOST (#010) – Resurrection Records

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Well here’s a great big gushy bucket of tunes from Resurrection Records in beautiful Spokane WA, home of an alarmingly small number of river-related deaths (If you’re from Spokane you should get that. Go Zags!). Anyway, most of the bands are from other places that aren’t Spokane, so I guess that means they’re safe for now. Lots of really great stuff on here from bands you’ve probably heard of like Pale Lips and King Wizard and The Blizzard Gizzard (or whatever). There’s like 25 bands in total. Most of which are fairly rad. I’m not going to call out the ones that are only somewhat rad. You can be the judge of that.

From the DEMONSTRATION DEPARTMENT – The Avondales

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I often find demos that are better than actual albums, but, as a rule, I don’t include demos in my Top 5’s (even though many of the releases I do feature are far worse than demo-quality). It’s really up to the artist whether they give their release a title or just call it a demo. That’s actually the only difference, but I made the rule and I’m sticking to it. These guys, The Avondales (not from Avondale), even went ahead and gave this thing a title, but they put ‘demo’ at the end of it so fuck. Hey, don’t worry -I’m not going to let you miss out on any epic demos. If I find any, I’ll post them over here in the Fun Finds section.

In 1876 THIS happened in Ashtabula Ohio. Since then, not much, but NOW, The Avondales and their sweet little demo called There It Is, which features 7 scratchy punk tunes -One of which is a rendition of Mrs. Robinson with slightly revised lyrics. I probably don’t need to say any more than that, but there’s other good stuff on here too. It sounds like it was recorded live in someone’s basement, which might be part of it’s charm. I think they’re planning to record these songs professionally. I already feel like I’m always going to like this version better.

Doesn’t English (#011) – Rey De La Calle

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I’m trying to make my Doesn’t English posts as varied as possible, but I just keep finding kick ass Spanish-speaking punk bands. Gees! Anyway, let me ask you this: When you’re down and out in Acapulco (home of Rose Marie and drunk bros on spring break) and all you have is your skateboard, what do you do? You start smashing bros with your skateboard! Wait no, you shouldn’t do that. Start a pop punk band instead like, Rey De La Calle (King Of The Street). Then use said band to make super fun music about what a bummer life is for a skater-punk in a tourist town. Actually I think most of this EP is about lost love, but whatever, there’s some stuff about skateboarding in there somewhere. Who cares? You probably don’t even understand Spanish. Oh, you do? Well pardon me.

Top 5 Albums/EP’s That DONT Suck [FEBRUARY 2018]

Bucolic – Old Castle
Enjoy these warm soothing melodies while you can because the rest of this months list is pretty harsh. I’ll try to ease you into it though. Whatever you do, don’t listen to this and then skip to the last album. Whoa! Actually, on second thought, you should do that. It’ll be like the sonic equivalent of jumping out of the hot tub and into the snow. Am I saying this album by Bucolic is a hot tub? Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. The jets aren’t on though, ok. It’s not that bubbly in here. It’s kind of a sad hot tub. It’s good though. You like it. Don’t fall asleep or you’ll miss out on all of these beautiful songs, and also you could drown and/or slowly cook yourself.  Listen on Bandcamp

Camp Cope – How To Socialize & Make Friends
[Buy it on Amazon!]
Not to be confused with the Screeching Weasel album How To Make Enemies And Irritate People. Two very different albums. Don’t get them mixed up or you’ll have a very different outcome. 35 years and I still need spellcheck to tell me how to spell ‘different’ twice in a row (make that 3 times). Moving on.. It’s just one of those words for me you know. Ok seriously, moving on. Camp Cope is a force. Lets just be clear on that. This album isn’t for the mild-mannered. It’s blunt, like an object one could be concussed by. You’re gonna wanna get hit over the head with this one though. I think everyone should get hit over the head with this. If you don’t like getting hit over the head with things, hey, what can I tell ya pal. This has been a music review.  Listen on Bandcamp

Ventrikills – S/T
Someone, at some point along the way, decided that indie as a genre could mean just about anything. To that person, whoever you are, I say, way to go jerk. For those of you who remember what the original indie sounded like, this should go down quite smoothly for you. You know, cuz it’s made with prickly guitars and scratchy stuff, mmm! There are no 808’s or Casiotones in the conversation here. Look, I’m gonna level with you. This write-up isn’t really turning out the way I hoped, and there’s no way I’m starting over. Lets just switch gears. Ventrikills is a cool name for a band huh? Sometimes bands with really cool names put out really crappy albums. That isn’t the case here. These guys can’t even make a crappy song. Before listening, warm you ears up by dropping all of your cutlery into the kitchen sink from a height.  Listen on Bandcamp

Turnstile – Time & Space [Buy it on Amazon!]
These guys have been on my to-see-live list for a while now. Here’s hoping that works out for me someday, but in the meantime, I’ll just do some mental slam-dancing to their new LP. I mean, couldn’t we all use a little more Time & Space? Last month I asked if this was going to be a good year for Hardcore. I think I’ve got my answer now. Don’t worry, this isn’t going to become a Hardcore blog, but when credit is due, credit is due. This thing is due due and it smells delicious. There’s a lot of hype surrounding this album and I think it’s warranted. They continue to break the mold but without losing that core sound, that NYHC sound.. It’s undeniable, just lurking on every track like the ghost of Harley Flanagan. Oh wait, he’s not dead.  Listen on Spotify

Balsamic Cigarette – Put A Fork In It [Buy it on Amazon!]
I have bad news for you all -Just because the world is going extra-hard down the shitter right now, doesn’t mean there’s going to be a punk revival. Sorry, it’s not going to be late 70’s London all over again, or even early 80’s DC. The days of big movements in music are long gone, never to return unless someone shuts off the internet. There is something happening right now though, and it does hark back a little to the glory days. The angry punk coming out now has a heightened sense of aggression and urgency- ei) Balsamic Cigarette. All you have to do is listen to this while you think about the current state of affairs and you’ll see what I mean. Certainly the ballsiest thing I’ve heard this year. It’s like when the Beastie Boys were a hardcore band -equally as goofy but much angrier, and a little bit rappier. Yes, rappier! If you’re not feeling this right away, at least listen to track 4, Country Song. It’s the most ratfuck thing I’ve heard in 2018. Big up to all the punks doin’ their thing in the dirty south.  Listen on Bandcamp or Spotify