Ballyhoo! – Cheers!

Before listening to Ballyhoo! I was unaware of the quality and quantity of reggae bands that come out of places that aren’t Hawaii, Southern California, and Jamaica. As much as I am inclined to say that the best reggae bands come from So-Cal(and they do), Ballyhoo! might have gone as far as to prove me Read more

The Aggrolites – S/T

To be frank, I like reggae (and all its forms: dub, reggae-ton etc) like I like Tequila—in small and infrequent doses. I also have to (sheepishly) admit that I had no idea that The Aggrolites were a reggae band. I saw them at Warped Tour in ’08 for a couple of songs and figured they were a ska band. Whoops. Read more

AFI – Black Sails on the Sunset

Black Sails on the Sunset is AFI’s fourth full-length release, and their first obvious step toward the dark rock we’re all used to. Although their hardcore influences are still at the heart of nearly every song (“Exsanguination,” “The Prayer Position” and “At a Glance”), the lyrics take a decidedly more poetic focus. The stand out examples include “God Called in Sick Today,” “Midnight Sun” and “Clove Smoke Catharsis”. Read more

Jawbreaker – Unfun

I think that a band’s overall sound can represent something larger than the band itself. Take Jawbreaker, for instance. Although their sound can be described, in a genre- specific sense, as a mix of early pop-punk (in the vein of Alkaline Trio) and alt-noise (in the vein of Sonic Youth) there’s a deeper Read more

Alkaline Trio – Goddamnit

You can truly hear the Danzig-era Misfits influence on this one.  Intentionally sloppy guitars, poor production and brimming with darkened angst; Goddamnit is a shot straight to the face (with a beer chaser of course) with that brilliant mix of Skate and Horror Punk that Alkaline Trio is known for.

The best part of Alkaline, they’ve never changed the core of their sound: dark, brooding, frustrated and most times hungover. Read more

About the Used Record Bin

The "Used Record Bin" is a new feature Big Wheel is introducing as a way to share with the audience at large with all kinds of records that may not be new releases, yet they still have plenty of life. These are records that are great finds that are found in the used bins in record stores all around the globe, records that are found at swap meets, garage sales, etc. If you have a record that you would like to have Big Wheel consider publishing, drop us a line. HERE

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