2:59

I’ve had the site offline for a week or so as I used this server for my own diabolical mechanisms. My apologies to the few of you who for some reason read it.

I’ve had a ton of anticipated music show up on my doorstep lately. June is definitely one of the three or four sweet spots in a year that the record industry likes to drop big releases; this year is no exception. In lieu of proper reviews on the `Org, here’s some thoughts on what I’ve been spinning.

The new Bad Religion record is really good. I’m anticipating that the critical honeymoon from The Process Of Belief is over and this disc’s going to get dragged through the mud a bit more, however that’s really just the usual critic bullshit and you’d be wise to ignore it. The Empire Strikes First is incredibly focused and the band keeps coming up with melodies and choruses that hook me like none other. The record’s pace is quite varied, not at all as fast and explosive as “Sinister Rouge” would have you believe, however it’s so well written that you’ll love the slower tempo material just as much. I’m wandering around singing “Los Angeles Is Burning” and “Let Them Eat War” to myself, which is a pretty good sign since I’ve only listened to the album 3 or 4 times. Sage Francis makes an appearance on the latter, which actually works really well (and I generally hate songs that use that “rap bridge” gimmick). He has some neat call and response with Graffin at one point and I’m actually easing myself into some of his Non-Prophets songs as a result.

The new Tiger Army’s on the way as well. Considering that Fred Hell took four bullets last year I was expecting something a tad more vicious, but this is actually the most melodic and straight-up rockabilly record the band has ever made. The bass sounds really solid as well. Tiger Army’s always been one of those band’s I felt always slightly missed it’s mark but I don’t get that feel from Ghost Tigers Rise. It hasn’t blown me away (yet) but it’s a really strong outing.

Clann Zu’s Black Coats & Bandages is perplexing me to no end. The band dropped all of the Irish / Celtic influence from their sound and most of the more upbeat electronic elements. While their last record Rua has songs that were almost danceable at times this one has an extremely stripped back, naked feel to it. I’m sure it’s more artistically competent (I’m seeing Radiohead comparisons and I can see that in the vocals for sure), but it’s really not that fun to listen too. Maybe I’m just not on that dark a mood. The new Tangiers record has me confused as well. The band lost half of their line up in between albums so this definitely feels like a less focused singer-songwriter effort than a full band production like their last. It’s still good, but it lacks to coherence to be truly great in my mind.

Then we have The Briefs. I unequivocally love their new record Sex Objects. It’s such a fun, feel-good punk rock record and will probably end up high on my list of favourites when the year is out. I was actually dancing around the kitchen the other day while I was cleaning and blasting The Briefs. There I was, dishtowel in one hand, bottle of cheap red wine in the other, looking completely ridiculous yet completely content (and extremely thankful my roommates had all gone home for the summer). Thus is the rocking power of The Briefs. Be warned.

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Now my rooibos is getting cold, so with that I leave you to your own devices. I’m in the second half of an intense few 6 week courses and I have Java Swing components that need to be learned and algorithms that need to be analyzed. The new issue of Alpha Flight’s out this Wednesday, so in the interests of letting me relive my youth you need to go buy 5 copies so it remains in print for as long as possible.

Go Flames!