Los Criptozoos - 'La danza del cadáver' (self released) 5/5

This is another lucky random surf find, Los Criptozoos hail from Castellón in Spain, they have been together since 2009, play a highly infectious brand of rock and roll fueled pop punk and this is their second album.

Now what first attracted me to this one was the fact that these lads sing in their native tongue. I will freely admit that my Spanish abilities none existent, so I can't tell you what they are going on about, but there are times when listening to songs in a language you can't understands adds to the listening experience. You find that vocal rhythms and melody take on a greater importance and gives the songs a whole new twist and vibe (I love French rap for that exact reason), and listening to this album is really pleasurable experience.

Blending influences that range from old school Clash / Stiff Little Fingers type old school punk, Mighty Mighty Bosstones style bop-able sub-ska sensibilities with buckets of traditional rock and roll feel good attack and big helpings of uplifting Latino get down and party rhythms, they have forged one of the most accessible and likeable pop punk releases I've heard in a long long time.

There are 11 tracks on offer, each one a real get down and boogie gem of high energy punk rocking excellence. Tracks like Xic Dolent, (whose lyrics seam to be about nuclear power), La Danza del Cadaver (The Dance of The Corpse - that one I can translate) and Quein se queja all dance into your ears and get your feet tapping your fists pumping and a smile on your face as wide as the straight of Gibraltar.

On top of that there is some first rate musicianship on show,  just check out the groovy bass line on the wonderful Ska driven Tormenta de feugo (Torment of Fire?) and the sweet rock and roll style guitar solo on Nada nuevo for starters. The vocals are melodic, direct, infectious and demand that you join in even if your Spanish is as bad as mine the drums are tight and driving and the whole thing is played and produced to perfection.

Basically, as you can guess I'm loving this to bits, and I'm sure you will as well, especially as its a free album (see below for download details), I've now got a huge urge to see this lot live, so if your a punk promotor reading this, please try to bring these guys to England on tour sometime, you will have a real hit on your hands I'm sure.

Just Amazing!!

For fans of... The Clash, The Subways, Stiff Little Fingers, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Blunders....

(Download this great album free from here -  http://loscriptozoos.bandcamp.com/ )

Rummer And Grapes - 'Ground Control' (New Model Label) 4.5/5

Now despite being named after a London student boozer, Rummer And Grapes are in fact from Italy, and are, along with the likes of Bi-Polar Sluts, Speedjackers, Having Thin Moonshine etc part of the exciting new wave of Italian rock that is beginning to make waves beyond their homeland. They issued their debut long player a couple of years back, and have now returned with this rather cool and groovy three track ep.

Now there is lot of interesting influences on show here; a touch of good old indie / alternative rock, a hint or two of The Subways style pop punk and a smattering of good old fashioned hard rock sensibilities; all served up on a platter of Delain / Nightwish style female fronted post goth styling.

Of the three tracks on offer we get Between Darkness And Light which starts out sounding a little like Within Temptation at their very best and builds into a cracking commercial hard rocker that is dripping huge hooks and vast sweeping riffs. January 12th has a certain Lacuna Coil quality to it with its huge guitar soundscaping, spine tingling vocal and massive chorus. However the real killer cut on offer is the title track Ground Control, a ripping track that wouldn't sound out of place on a Subways or Skuzzies album, with its bouncy post punk light and choppy riffs, air punching anthem of a chorus and shiver inducing use of samples - a classic cut if ever there was.

All in all this is a great release, and goes a long way to build on the already impressive reputation of this band and for that matter new Italian rock in general

Seek and buy.

For fans of... The Subways, Nightwish, Where's Billy, Trillium etc....

The Herman Post - 'Put It There Buster' (self released) 4/5

T

I first came across Lancashire singer songwriter, Laura Catlow-Morris at a small music festival halfway up a Welsh mountain just over a year ago, I was rather taken by her almost punk attitude to what was in essence a folky acoustic set and can remember pondering with some of my AST buddies what she would be like in a full band. Well a year on I've got an answer, as she has just issued this three track ep with her new outfit The Herman Post.

The Herman Post are a two piece or Laura on guitar and vocals and Joshua Gorman on drums and they play some very infectiously catchy pop-punk in the style of The Subways or Kiria. This one opens with a superb little bop along track entitled My E.T. Cup, all catchy hooks driven jangly guitars, some ultra tight diving drumming and gloriously trashy lead break. If you can remember Aussie post punk trio The Spazzy's you'll get an idea of the over all sound.

Next up we get a cracking cover of the old Ronnettes standard Be My Baby which works very well, Laura has a sixties songstress feel to her voice anyway, and the band have resisted the temptation to over punk it up, instead taking the song in a sixties garage pop style - the result is one of the best versions of song I've encountered for a long time. The sixites garage feel is carried on with the closer Brighter Lights as well, a trashy ballad that mixes 60's pop sensibilities with modern post punk attitude in fine style.

The fact that Laura is a fair talent comes as no real suprise, that was pretty obvious when I first heard her solo up that Welsh mountain, but now its good to see her begin to form an outfit around her that can take her beyond the over populated talented female singer songwriter scene and into areas where her talent can grow in new ways and reach new audiences. Well worth a look.

For fans of... The Subways, Rita Lynch, The Skuzzies, Kiria....

Download this ep for free from -http://thehermanpost.bandcamp.com/album/put-it-there-buster

Wheres Billy - 'The Truth Hurts' (controlled volcano) 4/5

London quartet Wheres Billy have been together for a few years now and have been building a fair rep for themselves with a fairly hefty gigging schedule that so far has taken them all over the UK, into Europe and even a few experimental trips stateside, and now they are hitting us with their debut ep.

Now on first listen I can see why they are getting quite popular on the uk scene, cos this ep is a nice little package of five choice cuts of fairly commercial and mainstream but hellishly infectious pop rock that bats from the same wicket as the likes of Kids In Glass Houses, Funeral For A Friend, Mind Machine etc; it's not the most original of sounds, but I will say they are good at it.

They lay out their stool with a niffy little track that goes by the name of Anxiety, that has some nice angsty and angry lyrics 'You are my reason to fail... BUT I WONT', and wraps them up in some nice driven riffage and a sweet short but slick lead solo. With the goods laid out they carry on in a similar vein  for the rest of the release, but each track does have something to offer. The solo on the title track has shades of Dave Gilmore about it, Escape Form The Darkest Mind (my fave cut of the five) has a cool interplay between some sweet jangly almost indie rock moments and some good old school hard rock crunch and chug riffing. Thoughts And Fears has another killer riff, this time sounding like a toned down Megadeth and closer is a real rocker that has shades of The Crave about it.

The vocals are good and powerful if a little derivative of many other singers fronting this kind of outfit, and the band are more than competent at their jobs as well. Over all this is pretty good stuff and an enjoyable if not very original.

Basically Wheres Billy show a fair bit of promise here, but whether they have the legs or the creativity to last the course in a scene already full of very talented bands in the same style remains to be seen.

Pretty good and well worth a listen.


For fans of.... The Crave, Kids In Glass houses, Mind Machine, I Divide, etc....

The Amity Affliction - 'Youngbloods' (roadrunner) 3.5/5

Now this one isn't exactly a new release, this second album from Queensland post hardcore outfit The Amity Affliction has been out for over year in their native Australia, but has only just got a UK issue through Roadrunner.

Now to be honest I'm not finding this one overly mind blowing. Rather its a tad generic, most of the songs are pretty samey, they all follow pretty much the same tried and tested commercial post hardcore formula. Lots of nice sweet commercial stacked harmony lead vocals inter-played with the same old hardcore-u-like dirty snarls and growls. Add in the trademark mix of blast beats and slower mainstream metal sensibilities and you get a sound that has been done by a hundred bands before.

Don't get me wrong, TAA are good at what they do, and there are some cracking tunes on offer. H.M.A.S. Lookback for example is a fine slice of angry teen angst rock that stand up along side the very best this genre can offer, Olde English 800 has some first rate riffage on show and closer Fuck the Yankees is as good slice of angry youth rock as your likely to find anywhere. I'm not gonna moan about the musicianship on show either. That is first rate, ok I would like to have heard a little more lead guitar to break up the songs, which tend to be a bit vocal heavy,  but the riffage, the rhythms and the vocals are spot on.

But its all a little too predictable. There are so many outfits doing this sort of stuff that unless you have a trick or two up your sleeves your gonna get lost in the crowd, and that is what TAA are in danger of doing here. They may be huge in Australia (and more power to them for that), but if they are seeking to make a mark on the international scene they need to up their game a bit if they are to stand along side the The Devil Wears Pradas and the Funeral For A Friends of this world.

However, I don't think its game over for TAA, they obviously have the talent to go places and a little revision of their approach and a touch more creativeness could be the push they need to move on to bigger and better things. For after all they are still a young band and must be still viewed as a work in progress.

In short - this is ok but nothing special

for fans of.., The Devil Wears Prada, Funeral For A Friend, AFI, Alexisonfire, Midasuno....

The Skuzzies - 'The Skuzzies' (easy action) 4.5/5

London punks The Skuzzies, have been around for a few years now. Formed in a Deptford squat and making their live debut in 2004 supporting the Babyshambles at their notorious 'Battle Of Astoria' gig they have over the past seven years been building a solid reputation for themselves with some seriously dedicated road work and their critically acclaimed 2008 release of the 'Dissatisfied ep'. Now we have at last a full length album.

Now this lot are often pigeon-holed along with the current wave of pop-punk outfits that are the latest big trend at the moment (The Subways, Kiria etc); and I think this is a little unfair, for as good as The Subways and their ilk are, The Skuzzies are no mere band of pop-punk wannabes.

This is obvious from the moment you stick the CD into the player and the opener Hungry As A Hound  stalks snarling from the speakers. Make no bones about it, the sound that hits you is pure punk in the style of The Ruts, The Pigs and The Starjets. It may have a commercial edge to it, but it is still an angry glue bag full of attitude that has a distinctively 1977 sneer and stagger about it. And whilst in other places the Skuzzies do explore other areas of sonic entertainment, there are tracks like More Than This, Dissatisfied, Shotgun Romance and Rich Girls studded through out the album to keep reminding you exactly what the bands core mission statement is.

Even when The Skuzzies are wandering a little away from the more noticeable old school punk influences they still maintain the attitude and and keep true to the punk ethos. Brompton Cocktail sounds a little bit Velvet Underground, The Unknown Principle with its dark semi spoken vocal and lyrics like 'If blood is bondage then what is love, turn around throw a bomb and smash it down' hints at work of CRASS, Are You Sleeping has the spectre of The Boomtown Rats and The Clash about it; whilst album closer On the Corner (with a guest appearance from ex-Babyshambles main man Pete Doherty) is a great SKA influenced rock out that still maintains the spirit of 77 in its Special Brew fueled anarchic backbeat.

All this makes for a great album, one of the best punk albums of the last few years In my opinion and one that will do The Skuzzies or their steadily growing solid rep as being one of the most talented bands in the UK at the moment no harm at all. Very Highly Recommended.

For Fans Of... The Clash, The Subways, Kiria, CRASS, The Adverts, Bambi killers The Pigs etc...

Censored - 'Sunrise On The Checkered Horizon' (self released) 4/5

Now this is another interesting result of a bit of random net surfing. Censored, were a ska-core outfit out of Texas who formed around the turn of the millennium, and were only about for five or six years before splitting up. In that time they gigged a fair bit around their local area recorded a few demo eps and started demoing tracks for a full length album that never reached the recording phase. However now a couple of the bands former members have collected together the lost recordings and put out this collection in salute to the band and the album that never was.

Now although the recording and the production on this is a little ragged around the edges, these are demo recordings after all, I've gotta say the music on offer here is pretty damn good. It draws on influences from the classic two tone sounds of the likes of early Madness, the Specials and Selector, adds in a lot of King Prawn, Mighty Mighty Bosstones style modern punk SKA fusion and then sprinkles the whole lot with a good dose of crusty hardcore attitude.

All the tracks on offer are short and snappy, the longest being a shade over two and a half minutes, yet each one is a little gem, packed with high energy skanky guitars, viciously angry 'fuck the system' lyrics and some top rate danceable rhythms. The result is a snapshot of the great band Censored could well have been. Tracks like the glorious anti-military frenzy of Go Army, the slightly twisted Baby Killing Fiesta and the dub fueled Ghetto Boombox are all little gems that had they been properly recorded and released could well have become SKA-core classics. There is not a weak moment on offer and I defy all lovers of SKA, punk and hardcore not to find this album highly listenable.

However unless Censored decide to do the old reformation bit, tracks like these are set only to become lost gems, so I recommend all lovers of this kind of stuff to download this album (it is free after all) and keep this music alive before it is lost for ever.

A lost gem if ever there was.

For fans of... King Prawn, Madness, Dutty Luck, Operation Ivy, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones....

Download this album for free from - http://censored.bandcamp.com/album/sunrise-on-the-checkered-horizon

 Note - since penning the above I have received this message...
" Thanks for the kind words Jon! While the band is long gone, my love for ska and reggae remains. I'm glad that some fans of the genre can still find enjoyment in these recordings. The recording process is a storied one, for sure. We tried to track it three or four separate times. It seems each was interrupted by some new catastrophe; members in jail, stolen gear and more culminating in one of the recording studios getting burglarized along with our nearly-completed masters. This version of the album was created by making a rough master of some 30 minute mixes given to us leaving one of the earlier studio sessions to check out in the car. I left in all the talking before and after tracks, because why not?

If you get the chance and want to hear what I'm up to now, check out my current band Automorrow. Our new album is certainly more rock-oriented but you'll still find many traces of my love for ska and reggae within.
http://automorrow.bandcamp.com/album/no-rest

Cheers!

Michael DuFault"

Porco Dio - 'Pig Your King' (self released) 3/5

Porco Dio are from Finland, they are a five piece crusty hardcore punk outfit and besides that I know naff all about them.

Now this ep (which in the two weeks since I downloaded it has been renamed 'eka demo') is as rough as fuck, the production, and I use the term very loosely, is lousy. This record sounds like it was done on a cassette recorder in the corner of a practice room, every song starts with a four count on a hi-hat (sometimes with a bit of guitar feedback for added noise), which then launches into a wall of chaotic noise in which individual instruments and voices are swallowed into the maw of sonic bludgeon.

Now, in any other genre I wouldn't even give this stuff house room, let alone write a review. But this is punk, and I always say that in punk, true punk, not yer Green182 style punk, attitude and attack is everything, all else, including production and musicianship is secondary. After all the true ethos of the genre is if you wanna make music and have something to say, then you go head and say it.

And that is exactly what Porco Dio are doing. So what if the result is messy, in the mess theses guys attitude and power comes shining through. There are five tracks on offer, all, with one exception, well under the 90 second mark and all packed with raw crusty hardcore aggression that really is most infectious. As I've said before, I do have a soft spot for this kind of DIY punk and whilst I doubt that Porco Dio will ever reach anything beyond being cult draws on the local Finnish punk scene, anyone who likes it as raw as possible and with less than zero frills, will do well to give this a quick listen, after all its a free ep after all.

Very entertaining.

For fans of... The Swine, The Oppressed, Red XIII etc....

This ep can be downloaded from here... http://porcodiohc.bandcamp.com/album/eka-demo

Various Artists - 'Fest 10 Compilation #1 / #2' (fest 10) 4/5

Now Fest 10 is a very popular festival held every year around Gainesville in Florida that seams to specialise in in punk and all things related, and to help promote this years event, (at the end of October) they have issued a couple of free download compilation albums featuring a number of the acts who are booked to perform.

Now like all compilations these album are a mixed bag, and you do have to shift through the shit and the plain ordinary to find the real gems. But believe me the effort is well worth it for there are a number of great track on offer here. There are 46 songs on offer on these two albums, so you will forgive me if I don't give an in depth on every track and every band. But here's a taster of some of the nuggets to dig for...

We have the superb AFI influenced A Wilhelm Scream, a great all girl street punk outfit from Minneapolis called The Soviettes, the 'oi' filled Bouncing Souls, the wonderful Clash influenced Off With Their Heads, the New Model Army styled The Arrivals and The Brokedowns, The X-Ray Spex go emo stylings of The Candyskins, the infectious Banquets with the wonderful 'Sexy Ghosts', the country punk fusion of Good Luck, the plod and grind of Mood Ring.... and there are loads more, but you get the picture. and these are my picks, you may find something I didn't get into, but would be far more your cup of tea.

But there's something more interesting here than a mixed bag of young up and coming bands, it's rare that you can find a real cross section of a nations up and coming young talent all in one place, and for free to boot. so if that's not reason enough to download and explore these albums nothing is.


In Shot - well worth an explore.


The links to download these albums for free can be found here...
Volume 1 - http://fest10.bandcamp.com/album/fest-10-compilation-1
Volume 2 - http://fest10.bandcamp.com/album/fest-10-compilation-2

The Subways - 'Money and Celebrity' (cooking vynil) 4/5

OK guilty confession time. I have a bit of a soft spot for this type of lightweight home grown pop punk, recent releases by Zaptopeks,  Kiria and The Skuzzies have really rang bell. Now I am finding myself develop a strong liking for this the third album from Essex upstarts The Subways.

Now all to often pop punk gets a bad press, mainly due to the endless wave of Blink 182 clones that have been flooding out of the states over the past ten years or so; and this is a shame, especially for our home grown take on the genre. For like so many other musical styles before UK bands have a good knack of taking something from over the pond and giving it a distinctive British vibe.

This album is a case a point. There are 12 cuts on offer here, 11 of which are packed with nice, slightly cheesy, but hellishly infectious little commercial punk numbers, none of which are over three and a half minutes long, packed with crisp riffs, tub thumping drums,  loads of up beat choruses and plenty of woo woo woo and hay yeah sing along bits. All good, if slightly predictable stuff.

Over all I'm reminded of those classic early albums from The Zatopeks, especially on tracks like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Friday, Like I Love You and It's A Party.But there is more to this album than that, the more you listen the more you begin to notice a real depth to both the music and the lyrics. Popdeath is groovy and cutting look at the price of fame, Down Our Street is a slice of social observation that reminds me of The Monkees classic 'Pleasant Valley Sunday' and Rumours is a bit of a rocker with some really tasty unison riffage on show.

Then we have 'the other track', Celebrity. Now I dunno if its a fault on my promo copy, but on this copy of the album the track is 3.23 of silence. It could be a pressing error, but even if it is, the effect is perfect - a song with nothing to say about people with nothing to say. 

Over all this album is very well done, highly listenable and while it may not be earth shattering it is good fun and wont do the reputation of either The Subways or British pop punk in general any harm at all.

Worth a listen or five.

For fans of.... The Zatopeks, The Skuzzies, Babyshambles, Kiria etc...