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Out Now |
IN
THE FACE OF WAR - WE MAKE OUR OWN LUCK [PEE]
13 tracks of melodic hardcore from this US
outfit. While they aren't writing any new chapters in the book,
they manage to hold your attention throughout the album. It's energetic,
in your face and sounds a treat. Lots of tough bits, tonnes of sing-along
bits and a consistent sound throughout the 30 minutes of tunes they
throw at you. Highlights include 'Who Will Be There', 'Revival'
and 'Untitled'. Worth a listen if fast paced melodic hardcore is
your thing.
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| ~~~
PICK OF THE LITTER ~~~ |
Out Now |
ZXSPECKY
- ONE SIZE TO SMALL, BLUE [INDEPENDENT]
Perth has a new best kept secret, their name
Zxspecky. One listen to this album and i'm kicking myself for not
knowing of them earlier. Takes me well back to the fun 90's punk
rock where it was all about short songs, simple, smart & quirky
lyrics and no over the top wankery. 12 songs, 21 minutes and a whole
lotta highlights. 'M.Flash', 'Morning Birds', 'In Chicken We Trust',
'Service Oriented' and 'The Instrumental At The Start Of Your Set
Sucks Arse (I've Got Something For Your Lead Singer' are all instantly
memorable. Go to their website, download their stuff then grab a
copy. Top stuff, wish there was more like it.
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Out Now |
AS
TALL AS LIONS - AS TALL AS LIONS [TAPERJEAN]
45 minutes of indie-pop/rock from these recent
visitors to our shores, if you caught them live, then you'd know
what to expect with this album. Well structured, lengthy songs that
have charm. Not the kind of charm that will make them the next MTV
darlings or whatever, the charm that will appeal to the ears of
folks not seeking big catchy choruses, but solid songs throughout.
You'll need to be in the mood and have some patience to get right
through it, but if you persist, chances are you'll be kept happy
with what's on offer.
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Available
April 26th |
NEW
FOUND GLORY - TIP OF THE ICEBERG [BRIDGE NINE]
NFG get a little harder on this new release,
away from the polished major label sounds, they've got this EP available
on hardcore label Bridge Nine. The first 3 tracks are new songs,
a little heavier than we have heard from them in the past, a welcome
sound. Then there are three covers Gorilla Biscuits, Shelter and
Lifetime. All of which are pretty decent versions too. The gem in
this package though is the 'bonus album' from International Superheroes
Of Hardcore', which is a bit of a tongue in cheek fun hardcore band,
for this Chad Gilbert takes over vocal duties and Jordan picks up
Chad's guitar. They take the piss, they have a laugh, and they do
it all sounding very decent indeed. Refreshing to see a band who
has the pop-punk world in the palm of it's hands, taking a different
approach, and pulling it off, this release is only going to help
them continue to hold that crown. A little something for everyone
on here, check it out, chances are you won't be disappointed.
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Out Now |
DOWN
AND AWAY - RECLAIM THE RADIO [WARBIRD]
Long running Swedish punk outfit Down And
Away get their first international release in the form of this 'best
of' style collection. Tracks spanning from their 10 year career.
Think Rancid, Voice Of A Generation & Time Again styled street
punk, with a dose of The Ramones. All delivered fast and energetic.
Lots of sing along type numbers, big on the backup vocals to give
a pretty impressive sound overall. Not too much room for originality
in the whole street punk genre, but there are no moments of boredom
here, so they've done their job well.
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| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Available
April 26th |
THE
HELLACOPTERS - HEAD OFF [SHOCK]
Last year these Swedish rockers announced
they would be hanging up the guitars after quite a fruitful career,
many were crushed. Thankfully though they are leaving with the appropriately
titled 'Head Off' as their final statement. 14 tracks of their trademark
rock 'n roll, that very few have come close to, despite so many
trying to emulate. Fans of the band will lap this one up, they certainly
are going out on top of their game, plenty of fun / upbeat rock
cuts that will have you ripping out the air guitar. This release
also includes a couple of covers that the band has done, of The
Powder Monkeys and The Yes Men, two highly influential Melbourne
bands. Whether you are a long time fan adding a final touch to your
collection, or someone looking for a new favourite rock 'n roll
band, I think you'll be well satisfied with 'Head Off'.
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Out April 26th |
SLEEPERCAR
- WEST TEXAS [DINE ALONE]
Jim Ward is a busy man these days, Sparta,
his solo project and now Sleepercar, his alt.country / Americana
type band. Many years in the making, now finally the debut is unleashed.
Many artists seem to be heading down this road style wise of late,
most doing it well, this one no different, a welcome, fresh sound
where songwriting skills really take centre stage. 11 tracks on
offer here providing 40 minutes of folky / chilled out tunes with
that familiar voice up front. The songs are powerful, without being
loud, memorable without being overly catchy and delivered with a
passion that cuts through the walls of the studio and lets you feel
the vibe going on. Next time you want something to chill out to,
make it this album.
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Out Now |
PERIAH
- CONVERSATIONS [AMPHEAD]
From the western suburbs of Sydney come Periah,
their style being heavy melodic rock with a metal influence. Slick
production with a big focus on bring the vocals right out in the
mix, and overall it sounds great. Songs are solid for what they
are, it's not really the kinda thing I listen to often, so they're
doing alright if my ears are agreeing. Probably best listened to
in bits and pieces, otherwise it does tend to get a little samey
by the end. Solid effort for a local act though, giving themselves
every chance with a well put together package.
| |
[WEBSITE]
[MYSPACE]
- Available Through Amphead -
Available Instores Now |
|
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Available
May 3rd |
FOUR
YEAR STRONG - RISE OR DIE TRYING [SHOCK]
Blasting out of nowhere it would seem is this
young US outfit, announcing their tour a couple of weeks back, now
their album will be out here to coincide. So who are they and are
they any good? 12 tracks on offer, mostly based around a pop-punk
sound, with a bit of grunt in the tank. Hardly offering anything
new, but they have their charm, and heck it's a lot better than
half the junk being released these days. They combine all the working
elements of pop-punk and hardcore together and throw in a synth.
After a while it begins to get a little on the nerve though, one
of those albums that will probably impress on the first few listens,
then move to the bottom of your pile. Production is schmick, and
as far as harder edge pop-punk goes, they do it well.
|
|
| THE
BEER SCALE |
| |
Beer
is good, this though, was not. |
|
Like
a match with no head, didn't spark a flame. |
|
Not
bad, give it a go, might appeal to you. |
|
Solid
effort, worthy of a spot in your collection. |
|
The
beer can wait, go buy this now! |
| |
Don't
just take our word for it, our thoughts aren't the be all and end
all and are just that, our thoughts, go check out these new releases
for yourself and make up your own mind! |
| UPCOMING
RELEASES |
 |
Click
on the More Info link next to any
title to check out the album on Play4me.com.au.
Pre-order an album and you'll get free postage! |
APRIL
21 - Flight Of The Conchords - S/T [More
Info]
21 - Goldfinger - Hello Destiny [More
Info]
21 - Cancer Bats - Hail Destroyer [More
Info]
21 - Kaki King - Dreaming Of Revenge
21 - Story Of The Year - The Black Swan
[More
Info]
21 - Supersuckers - Awesomemelogy [More
Info]
21 - Closure In Moscow - Penance &
The Patience [More
Info]
21 - Flamingo Crash - Triangle Island
[More
Info]
28 - Atmosphere - When Life Gives You
28 - Lucero - Shut Up & Play That...
28 - The Roots - Rising Down
28 - From First To Last - From First
To Last [More
Info]
28 - Blood Sport - Imprisonment [More
Info]
MAY
5 - The Galvatrons - When We Were Kids
5 - Jeff Buckley - Live From The Road
[More
Info]
5 - Aerosmith - The Very Best Of [More
Info]
5 - Dukes Of Windsor - It's A War [More
Info]
12 - Sparkadia - Too Much To Do
19 - Dresden Dolls - No, Virginia
19 - Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
19 - Shihad - Beautiful Machine [More
Info]
26 - Trial Kennedy - New Manic Art
26 - 36 Crazyfists - The Tide & Its
Takers
[See More On Our Upcoming Releases
Page]
Details are correct to the best of our knowledge
at time of publishing, some titles might hit shelves 2-3 days before
the published release date, if you have a date to submit or correct,
email us! |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
|
WITCH
- PARALYZED
Second album from this outfit that features Dinosaur Jr's J. Mascis
on the drums. It's one you need patience for, long tracks that are
part rock, part grunge, part punk and part metal. Problem is the
songs really go nowhere, which is probably the whole intention in
the first place. The whole buzzsaw kinda distortion sound has never
really grabbed my attention.
[WEBSITE]
- Out Now Through Inertia |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
|
ROLLINS
BAND - LIFE TIME
The original Rollins Band album gets it's 3rd re-issue. Recorded
back in 1987 with next to no cash and Ian Mackaye at the desk. 9
studio tracks and 4 live cuts are what you get, as well as a bit
of a history lesson. Classic punk rock worth re-visiting, or visiting
for the first time.
[WEBSITE]
- Out Now Through Inertia |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
 |
IN
FICTION - LIAR LIAR
I'm sure we've heard this song 100 times, by 100 different bands
with 100 different sets of lyrics. By the textbook pop that doesn't
offer anything new or original, a generic chorus to sucker in the
easily influenced and a slick production to appeal to radio. If
the whole 'I wanna sound American', cheesy pop thing is your thing,
then you'd probably wanna pick this up.
[WEBSITE]
- Out Now On Boomtown |
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 |
NIXIN
- HIGHWAY
Pretty decent Aussie rock on offer from this Sydney outfit, four
track EP with some catchy high octane rock 'n roll on show. Loads
better than most of the hyped up so-called 'rock bands' going around
today. Title track is the highlight, only downside is the presentation,
the artwork throughout is a bit of a let down.
[WEBSITE]
- Out May Independently |
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Click
for more information |
|