What’s In The Box? This week’s reviews
on February 19th, 2012This week we take a look at a bunch of new releases, our pick of the week being The Menzingers newy ‘On The Impossible Past‘ which was released last Friday via Epitaph. Also getting plenty of spins around the office is Strathmore’s EP ‘Everynight Tonight’, The Hextalls new album ‘Rock You To Sleep‘, Useless ID’s Fat Wreck debut ‘Symptoms‘ and The Smoking Hearts new album ‘Victory!‘ See below for our thoughts on each of the releases.
THE MENZINGERS – On The Impossible Past [Epitaph] [Get It on CD or Vinyl]
I was ready to brush this one off after the first listen, couldn’t quite work out what the fuss was all about, I hadn’t heard too much of their older material, but since friends with usually similar taste to me were always raving about them, I persisted, and I’m glad I did. It has since become the most addictive album I’ve heard this year. Song by song it all started falling into place with each listen, and now, when I need a tune, it’s my current album to reach for. ‘The Obituaries’ and ‘Gates’ have some of those lines that pop into your head at random times and won’t go away. ‘Sculptors And Vandal’ is the perfect chill out tune until it explodes into a brilliant punk number. ‘Freedom Bridge’ may be the album’s ending, but it’s the kind of track that makes you go straight back to the start for another listen. In the first few listens it may seem like this is an album with a few stand out tracks and a bunch of filler, but seriously, give it time, every single track grew on me, and it’s definitely a ‘complete’ album, now I’m not leaning towards certain tracks to play over, I’m listening in full every time, the way you should with an album. They are here next week for Soundwave, if you are going, grab this album now, because if you go, and don’t check them out, you will be kicking yourself later when you realise what a great album this one really is.
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STRATHMORE – Everynight Tonight [North West Corridor / Poison City] [Get It On CD]
Debut 4 track EP from this Melbourne group which features members who’ve done time in Tiltmeter, Fast Times & Responder. Melodic guitar driven rock is their thing and they do it pretty well. Hard to get a real feel with just four tracks, but what they’ve served up is enough to earn them a ‘keep an eye on’ tag. Each song solid in it’s own right, but the highlight for me was the closer, ‘secs/mins/hrs’. A sound that would no doubt be impressive live, keep your eyes open for the name, and hopefully some more tracks this year.
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THE HEXTALLS – Rock You To Sleep [Independent] [Get It digitally]
I’ve been following these guys (and gal) for a few albums now and they just keep on getting better. If you are into the whole ‘ramonescore’ type of punk/pop then hopefully you already know them. Humourous lyrics over catchy simple punk tunes. You will be singing along in no time. There are highlights galore, and while their last couple of albums have been crackers, this one is their finest to date. ‘My Name Is Kenny Rogers’, ‘I Just Wanna Sleep In The Treehouse’, ‘I Bred This Beard For Slaughter’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Go Down To The Basement, Either’ are all gems. The next spare 25 minutes you get, click below and give it a stream. Good fun.
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USELESS ID – Symptoms [Fat Wreck / Shock] [Get It on CD or Vinyl]
An almost forgotten name over the last few years are these guys who have had a healthy relationship with Australia in the past. This is their 7th album and first for Fat Wreck, a perfect fit for their sound. This one is filled with great catchy pop punk that kinda reminds me of some of the more mid-paced No Use For A Name / Lagwagon stuff in parts. There’s a definite late 90′s vibe to it all and that suits me just fine. It’s instantly likeable, and a good fun sounding album. Exceeded my expectations and will be getting plenty more spins around here that’s for sure.
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THE SMOKING HEARTS – Victory! [3Wise / Sony] [Get It on CD]
One for the fans of the more high-octane rock meets punk / hardcore sound. On first listen this one came across as just another band doing this sound, but with more listens, it grew its own character and made a move jumping out of the pack. They do the whole sing / scream thing, but you can still for the most part understand the lyrics. It’s kinda what I hoped The Damned Things to be like when they announced their lineup. Unlike them, this one doesn’t get old in five minutes and isn’t laced with cheesy parts. It’s a solid, energetic album, right up the alley of those who like a dash of heaviness in their music but don’t wanna go all the way into tough guy territory. If they can pull it off live, then they’ll definitely be one to watch at Soundwave in the coming weeks. Get’s better with each listen this one.
