Southern California's Left Alone is set to release their self titled album on April 7th. While this will be a self-titled release, it is by no means the bands first album. These guys have been together since 1996 and have recorded a hand full of records since then.
Left Alone's music will not get any awards for originality but I think these guys make some pretty good music. I like the single Three Bottles Of Wine and it has sparked my interest as to what the full length has in store. Check out the song below and if you like what you hear, pick up the album next month.
After not releasing new material since 2004, Pulley has come back into the melodic punk scene again with the release of their new EP Time-Insensitive Material . This EP marks the first release under the bands own label X-Members after they departed from Epitaph Records.
While many punk bands have changed their sound over time and alienated their fans, Pulley is a band that has always stayed true to their punk roots and their new material is no different. There are only five tracks on the EP and they are all equally impressive. This five song gem should hold fans over until the band releases another full length album. Everyone take note, this is what melodic punk should sound like.
The new MxPx cover album will be released this upcoming Tuesday and you can listen to a few of the new tracks on the player below. My favorite song that I have heard so far off of the album has to be the cover of The Ramones’ “My Brain is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes to Bitburg)." While that song is not available on the media player, it can be heard here. I think the guys really did the Ramones justice with that song. Check it out!
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day that is coming up next week I thought I would post some songs from two of my favorite Celtic punk bands. There is no doubt that Irish heritage has had its impact on punk rock. The Pogues are rightfully credited as being pioneers of the genre by mixing their Irish heritage with their punk rock attitudes. Many bands such as The Dropkick Murphys and The Real Mckenzies have followed their lead and kept the spirit of Irish punk alive. Personally, I don’t think you can get a better combination than bagpipes and punk music. Enjoy the songs and have a great St. Patrick’s Day!
There is a certain amount of nostalgia associated with New Found Glory considering I grew up listening to these guys. Even after all these years I still consider myself a fan of the band and I have been looking forward to the release of Not Without A Fight since I heard of its development last year. Although NFG’s last album Coming Home was a slight departure from their fast paced pop-punk style, they are a band that I have come to know what to expect when they release new material.
Not Without A Fight finds NFG picking up the pace again and creating an album that reminds me a lot of Sticks and Stones, their 2002 release. As I mentioned before, their formulas hasn’t changed very much with this released with this release. The album is full of catchy pop-punk tunes with hardcore roots that mainly deal with the subject matter of relationship issues. There is no doubt that that these songs will inevitably end up getting stuck in your head. After listening to the album I found myself humming a lot of the melodies from the album throughout the day.
All in all, this is a pretty solid release from the seasoned veterans of pop-punk. This release proves that NFG isn’t going away anytime soon and definitely not going without a fight.
Found Glory- Listen To Your Friends Not Without A Fight (iTunes)
Lost Motel is the first released track off of Strung Out's upcoming release Prototypes and Painkillers. The album will be a compilation of demos and outtakes throughout the bands career. Fans who follow the band may recognize this song since it was featured on Strung Out's live album, part Fat Wreck Chords Live in a Dive series. At any rate, it's a killer song and I'm glad a studio version is now available.
I usually don't get to worked up over b-side albums but if Lost Motel is any indication of the type of material to be found on the record, fans of the band are in for a real treat. The album is set for release on March 31.
It’s always exciting when I discover a band that really catches my attention and that’s exactly what happened to me this week when I found out about Something to Do (S2D). S2D is a ska/punk band from Wisconsin and they have had my foot tapping to their latest album since I got a hold of it earlier this week.
The album is called I command You To Dance, a title that stays true to its name from start to finish. There is some really great music to be found on the album and it’s a really fun listen all the way through. The thing that I love about the band is that they seem to have taken cues from some of the great ska bands of our time and incorporated those elements into their own sound.
Two of my favorite tracks off of the album are Robbed a Bank, and Leave Me Alone. Robbed a bank is a song that starts off with a relaxing ska beat which carries over into the verse and then it goes into overdrive when the chorus starts. Leave Me Alone is one of the harder songs on the album. It has the guitars plugged in with full distortion, breakneck drumming, and horns blazing.
While I don’t necessarily think that I Command You To Dance is the most groundbreaking ska album that I have ever heard, its certainly worth listening to for any fan of the genre. Pick up a copy and support the band!
I found this awesome website the other day called Moshcam. It's a site that has a number of full length concerts available to watch for free. One of the best concerts available to watch is an epic performance by Thrice at the Metro Theatre. I have been listening to a lot of Thrice lately (mainly The Illusions of Safety and Identity Crisis)and I am amazed at their musicianship, they're really a talented group of guys.
There are also performance by Strung Out, Streetlight Manifesto, Lagwagon, and the Gaslight anthem. This website may be old news for a lot of people but I was pretty stoked when I came across it the other day.
The Loved Ones new EP Distractions was released today. The EP contains three previously unreleased originals and three covers. The EP is nothing short of amazing. These guys continue to impress me with the quality of material that they release. They perfectly bridge the genre gap between punk rock and straight up rock and roll.
The three new originals are hard hitting songs and their sound continues to develop and improve upon their previous material. I was a little disappointed that there were not more originals on the EP but I guess that gives us something to look forward to when their next full length is released.
With that said, don’t get the impression that the three covers are something to be looked over. There is a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Johnny 99, Billy Bragg’s Lover’s Town Revisited, and Joe Stummer’s Coma Girl. These are really good covers and the band truly made them their own.
The Loved Ones are one of the best bands out there and this EP should be owned by anyone and everyone who is a fan of rock music.
Reel Big Fish came out with a cover album last Tuesday and it's being streamed in its entirety on their mayspace page. The album finds Reel Big Fish covering classic songs from artist such as Poison, Van Morrison, the Eagles and Tom Petty.
I have always enjoyed the covers that Reel Big Fish has done in the past, especially Take On Me, and now fans finally have an entire album dedicated ska covers. This is definitely a must have for any RBF fan.
I created this site to promote bands that I like and new music that I happen to stumble upon. I hope you enjoy reading the posts and listening to some great music. If you like what you hear then please support the bands and actually buy their albums, keep the music alive!
I’m always interested in listening to new music so if you’re a band or a representative of a band and would like me to check out your tunes then please contact me at the email address below.
Also, if you’re a band that I have written about and would like your music removed from this site for any particular reason then please let me know and I will be more than willing to cooperate. crooksk0605@gmail.com
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