Kevin Flynn & the Avondale Ramblers – The Broken Pavement of Avondale
March 8, 2013
Years ago I was in Chicago to ring in the new year with The Tossers, and one of the opening bands hands down stole the show. I love it when this happens. It wasn't that The Tossers were bad, far from it, they were in top form and their set went for literally hours, but something about Kevin Flynn & the Avondale Ramblers sent our whole group upstairs to buy CDs before the next band came on.
And then we waited. And waited. And at first it seemed like those few albums were all we'd ever get, but then suddenly, a ray of light shone down and this week saw the release of "The Broken Pavement of Avondale"
You want this album. You want it if you love Chicago, if you love your hometown, if you like Irish-American Folk Rock, if you like catchy songs with great lyrics, if you love whiskey, and albums that fit every moment of your life.
"Broken Pavement of Avondale" is twelve songs of anthems to summer nights growing up in the city, Chicago history and politicians, the world's most beautiful love song (to whiskey, who else?), practical tips on surviving Lent, and a solution to the nation's governmental problems (throw 'em in the river). They're funny, rollicking, and more than just another carbon copy Celtic Punk band.
You can listen to tracks, and grab the album in the format of your choosing HERE
-Jo Problems-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter
Go HERE to see all the latest record reviews
Send your comments to the editor HERE
Off With Their Heads – Home
March 8, 2013
It's a good year when it's barely March and you already don't know what your favorite new album of the year will be because there are so many excellent candidates. Which is a clumsy way to say Off With Their Heads are back, still furious, fucked up, and screaming about it in your face. If you don't like it, that is most decidedly not their fucking problem.
"Home" is the band's newest release on Epitaph, slated to come out March 12. It is everything fans have come to expect from the band, gut-wrenching lyrics screamed over pounding fast guitars, cut with painfully honest breakdown tracks like "Don't Make Me Go" where a stripped down guitar and drum beat back singer Ryan's plea not to be forced to go home "and say sorry for things I'm not sorry for." Other songs like "Take Me Out" unleash all the confusion, frustration, and rage of a Punk rock life, compressed into about 2 1/2 minutes.
While definitely Off With Their Heads, this album manages to avoid sounding like a copy of previous records. The themes may be similar, and the number of chords limited, but the songs are unmistakably new. But, to steal a phrase, you don't have to take my word for it. Epitaph has put up a full album stream on YouTube, along with links to the preorder.
So check it out, then go get yourself a copy HERE
-Jo Problems-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter
Go HERE to see all the latest record reviews
Send your comments to the editor HERE
Live Fast Die Fast – The End of What We Know
March 8, 2013
We all need a little hardcore sometimes. Other times we need a lot of hardcore. Not metal-core, not emo-core, or any of the other painful spinoff nonsense that's come up in recent years. Sometimes you just want something to throw a fist up to, and a heavy breakdown.
It can be hard to find something that hasn't swung into parody, when 15 year old yuppie kids buy bandannas at Target and go on about the "true meaning of hardcore", producing songs so overloaded with cliche that they're utterly un-listenable. Enter Live Fast Die Fast to save the day.
Live Fast Die Fast are a band from Long Island, and sure, they hit some of the standard themes of unity, remembering your roots, and so on, but their songs are hard-hitting, true to the style that brought NYHC to the forefront all those years ago. Which is probably why they'll be supporting Stigma on a run of dates for his new CD release.
"The End of What We Know" is a high energy, and hard-hitting album that manages to stay grounded enough not to make you feel like it's slipping into some sort of nostalgia commercial, but solid enough to appeal to hardcore snobs of all ages. Fans of old Agnostic Front, and Sick of it All will love this album, and you can stream it from the band's bandcamp here: http://livefastdiefast.bandcamp.com/ (just remember that "supporting the scene" does mean eventually buying an album or two to feed your bands).
-Jo Problems-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter
Go HERE to see all the latest record reviews
Send your comments to the editor HERE
Victory – Laced Up EP
February 23, 2013
How do you know when a band is going to be big? Sometimes you're captivated by their live energy the first time you see them open for someone. But sometimes it's a simple as a single teaser posted to YouTube by the label.
Enter Victory. Gutsy, furious street punk from St Paul. Featuring members of Pist & Broke and Virgin Whores, among others, their debut EP went up for presale last night. And sold out in about an hour and a half.
Re-read that. Ninety minutes to sell 300 records, with orders even being phoned in from people currently at the Cockney Rejects show. This band is going to be huge.
Why? A single listen through the 4 song EP answers that question pretty definitively. The songs are furious, well sharpened street punk. There's no unnecessary breakdowns, no noodly fretwankery, only the justified anger that has carried real Oi music through the decades without slowing down.
Though only four songs, the album covers the usual skinhead pride anthems, as well as a tribute to the fallen service men and women in Afghanistan where front man Dan served, and commentary on the crumbling state of the American economy.
If you'd like a copy of your own, better keep an eye on either Oi! The Boat who pressed the record, or the band's page for info on a second pressing, or the few shops who managed to get a few copies of this highly desirable record.
Oi The Boat is HERE (scroll down for preview video on this release)
You can follow Victory HERE
-Jo Problems-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter
Go HERE to see all the latest record reviews
Send your comments to the editor HERE
Marching Orders – Living Proof
February 2, 2013
The true measure of an album, the only one that really matters, is how much it makes you want to throw your arms in the air and sing along. By this measure, Marching Orders' new album, "Living Proof" is going to be the one to beat this year (though there will be stiff competition with promised releases from Off With Their Heads and Street Dogs later this year).
This is the follow up full-length release from the Australian band after 2011's "Days Gone By", and "Living Proof" continues to develop the band's strengths. "Living Proof delivers eleven tracks of anger, pride, and biting commentary. While their street punk roots are still showing strong, Marching Orders also has a level of complexity that makes the songs sound truly new, rather than just another re-hash of old Oi! favorites. Driving bass lines keep a level of familiarity, though, and are sure to draw your fists straight up in the air.
Over all, this is a surprisingly mature album for a band with such a limited catalog, but it's safe to say it will be a must for anyone who likes to play it loud. To sweeten the pot, Pirates Press is offering a variety of colours, including tricolor with black splatter, and beer.
Order your copy HERE
European orders, please use Contra Records HERE
-Jo Problems-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter
Go HERE to see all the latest record reviews
Send your comments to the editor HERE
D.O.A. – We Come In Peace
January 29, 2013
There are few bands that survive multiple decades in this scene that can still release an album capable of kicking ass from start to finish. Luckily Canadian Punks D.O.A. are amongst the few that succeed in putting out quality records, and with We Come In Peace they are now at their fourteenth and final album of their career.
This album has everything that D.O.A. fans would hope to hear when they insert this disc into their stereo.The upbeat rhythms are a plenty and Joey Shithead's vocal approach remains gritty and nasty, a style that no one can do better than him. More than just hardcore innovators, this album sees the trio mess around with Reggae leanings, a style they mix well with the hardcore Punk they’re best known for. With a guest vocal appearance from Jello Biafra on the modern social anthem “We Occupy”, D.O.A. demonstrate that they’re not old timers singing about the good old days in the scene, but rather taking on issues important to North America in 2012 (when the album was recorded)
There is a cover of The Beatles classic “Revolution” that really shows the band having fun with what must have been an influence dating back to their formative years as a band in the 1970’s. The album closes with an acoustic version of a “General Strike”, a classic D.O.A. hit that older fans will surely appreciate.
Over all this album is everything a great Punk rock record needs to be, especially by a band with such a rich back catalog. D.O.A. will be remembered amongst the best of Punk rock and this album will serve as a rich point in their long recording career.
-Louie Bones-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter
Go HERE to see all the latest record reviews
Send your comments to the editor HERE
Loading ...
