2:59

I was the staff member saddled with the burden of reviewing The Empire Strikes First, which you’ll see from the review itself I quite like. It’s a burden due to the attention it gets and the pressure to make it worthwhile. I think the review itself has well over 7 thousand hits, that’s not counting when it was reprinted by Epitaph. I took a shot at reviewing the new Clann Zu record as well. Despite what I said last month I quite like Black Coats & Bandages. It’s not a casual listen but given the atmosphere it demands it’s pretty rad. The Frenetics’ new disc Grey Veins to the Parking Lot is well worth checking out as well.

On the flip side of the coin I’m astounded with the amount of clueless new bands that have been spamming / chatting with us lately. They ask us to go check out their downloadable songs all the time, and it seems like 95% of them feature some out of place, trendy emo element. I’ve heard perfectly respectable, if not incredibly distinct, rock in the Foo Fighters vein that has been completely ruined by some band member shrieking like a banshee during the chorus. The amount of young bands featuring this moronic nu-emo scream in their songs is staggering. So here’s my meta-response to you all:

Hey, you seem like a nice guy and you’re out there pursuing your rock & roll dreams. Awesome. All the power to you. However you sound like a fucking shill by lifting the stupidest parts of a dying trend and peppering your already sub-decent songs with it in a vain attempt to get the attention of fickle teens who won’t care in 6 months anyways.

I don’t want to become one of those cynical webzine bastards with their heads stuck in 1977, but damn does it feel like I’m being pushed in that direction. In that spirit, the song of the month is “Sonic Reducer” by the Dead Boys.

Cheers.

Spinning:
Guitar Wolf - Planet Of The Wolves
Beastie Boys - To The 5 Boroughs
Coffin Lids - Rock and Roll
A Wilhelm Scream - Mute Print