Screaming Females – Castle Talk

September 2010 marked the release of Screaming Female’s fourth full length album, Castle Talk. Lead by vocal powerhouse and guitar shredder Marissa Paternoster, the trio is gaining mainstream popularity, including appearances on Carson Daly. Their sound is groovy rock n’ roll, full of wailing guitar solos and funky bass lines, with solid and driving drum beats. The lyrics are clever and witty, sung in Marissa’s signature deep tremolo style mixed with powerful screams. Read more

Knock Out – Another Wasted Night

The City Of Riverside has had much to offer the rest of the world within the past century. A great University, an unparalleled amount of smog, Barry Bonds, Alien Ant Farm, Voodoo Glow Skulls, but the most recent thing that has caught my attention is a band called Knock-Out. Read more

The Supervillains – Massive

Emanating from Florida and fueled by an inordinate amount of marijuana, The Supervillains have without a doubt matured over the years. There latest album is a testament to their improvement, especially when bringing newly polished and in some cases slower reggae versions of their best songs. Read more

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

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