Indie Music

Punk Rock CD Reviews Artist: Under the Black Sails Title: Under the Black Sails EP Website: http://www.myspace.com/blacksails Style: Punk Rock Rating: 7.5 out of 10 By Senior Writer C.W. Ross If you're looking for hard driving, f*** the world, type of punk rock music then Under the Black Sails is your band. This band has been making a name for themselves in the Kansas City, Missouri area including winning the 2007 Kansas City Punk Wars Championship. This band trio of, Marcus (guitar), Derek (vocals/bass) and Pedro (drums) are filled with raw energy that comes across on the six songs found on this EP. From the first over driven guitar chord and rapid drumbeats the songs grab you by the throat and don't let go. The vocals boom out from the speakers as they rail again politics, society and life. You can catch the band live now on their, 'No Flags, No Patriots' tour. In May and June they'll be hitting, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin and Nebraska. Checkout their MySpace site for exact dates. Artist: The Boroughs Title: The Boroughs Website: http://www.theboroughs.net MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/theboroughs Style: Punk/ Garage Rock Rating: 7.8 out of 10 By Senior Writer C.W. Ross The Boroughs got their start back in late 2003. Their lineup is, Ryan Dwork (guitar, lead vocals), Justin Farrell (bass, backing vocals), and Grady Feldgus (drums). The band has release two previous musical projects ( 3-Song Demo- 2004,Ostritch EP- 2005) but this self-titled release is the band's first full-length (LP) release. This CD lives up to the full part with its 13-tracks of music lasting over 53 minutes. Unlike the usual punk quick hitters the average length of the songs found on this release are just over 4 minutes each, with track-9 "Spine" lasting a whopping 6:49. The first four tracks of music are straight ahead all out punk rock with their wailing guitars, pounding drum beats, and powerful vocals. From track-5 through 9 the band takes a few side trips down the garage rock, EMO, and even the folk musical style roads. Track-10 and 11 pick back up with a post punk style while the last two tracks, 12 goes more for a classic rock mood and it all wraps up with a ballad, track-13, "Say What Ya Want." The first half of this release really nails it with the rough edges left in and not polished up in production end sound. When the band decides to take a few side-trips though on the second half it just didn't work as well for me. There's no doubt that this band has talent, if they can keep true to their punk roots this band should have a long future, if not they could find themselves falling back into the pack of so-so bands. Artist: Destroy Everything Title: Freedom of Speech Means Talk is Cheap Website: http://www.destroyeverything.com Style Punk Label: Tent City Records Rating: 7 out of 10 By Senior Writer C.W. Ross Destroy Everything's lineup is, Cheddar Nines (lead vocals), Senor Citizen (guitar), Stiff Mittens (bass), Hanover Fist (guitar), and Cocoa Hole (drums). In recent times with a lot of pop-punk carnations of bands showing up Destroy Everything is a throwback to the more militant hard-edged punk scene of the late 1970's The 15 songs found on Freedom of Speech Means Talk is Cheap offers up a message that basically say the U.S.A., especially the government, is F***ed up and the only way to fix it is through a revolution. That people talk a good game but nothing ever changes. The band also really rails hard against organized religion, lobbyist, and scam artist running seminar schemes. The songs for the most part are, as you would expect, filled with fast guitar and pounding drumbeats. The vocals are loud and aggressive. The songs are fast with all 15 of them only lasting for 35 minutes. Freedom of Speech Means Talk is Cheap is not for the puritan ears because it's filled with explicit lyrics, mostly involving the F*** word. I think that with the hard edge that, Freedom of Speech Means Talk is Cheap offers, it will probably only appeal to the real hardcore punk rocker. The release hits on April 1st, and a nationwide tour will begin shortly afterwards. Artist: Woodpecker Title: F- Hole Website: http://www.woodpeckermusic.com MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/woodpeckermusic Style: Punk-Americana/ Bluegrass Rating: 7.5 out of 10 By Senior Writer C.W. Ross Where should I start with trying to describe the band Woodpecker? They started out in 2002 in Chicago redoing punk tunes to a bluegrass style of music. The group disbanded in 2003 and reformed again in 2005 in Brooklyn with the addition of Al Huang (mandolin, vocals), and Andy Xue (cello) with original members Jordan Anderson (banjo, vocals), and Josh Steinbauer (guitar, vocals). If you removed the lyrics from the songs and just listened to the instruments you would find that their Americana/Bluegrass style of music would bring a smile to Ricky Skaggs, or Bill Monroe with all of its banjo, mandolin, and smooth vocal harmonies. The band doesn't stop there though they layer on top of the music their punk attitude lyrics that take this release in an all-new direction. The lyrics for the first 7 songs have their fair-share of curse words so that you won't be hearing them on anything but college or underground radio stations. The band takes on girlfriends, pompous people, people who don't pick up after their dogs, working at a corporate job, the ups and downs of life, religion and last but not least they give rapper Eminem a bitch slap that would make Mike Tyson proud. As you probably figured out by now this is not your average release. This takes probably the most traditional American form of music and stretches it's boundaries like a devilish kid playing with Silly Puddy. There's no middle ground with this band your either going to love their inventive style and wear out the CD from playing it so much or hate it as much as someone making an awful screeching chalkboard sound. Either way one thing that can't be denied is that this group of musicians have talent. Artist: Ethanz Ride Title: Ethanz Ride EP Website: http://www.ethanzride.com Style: Punk Rock Rating: 8.4 out of 10 By Senior Writer C.W. Ross This Orange County, California band got its start in early 2005, since then they have been building a loyal fan base. The band recently had the opportunity to perform at the 2007 Vans Warped Tour. The band's lineup is, Justin (lead vocals), Dustin (bass, bkg vocals), Drew (guitar, bkg vocals), and Rob (drums). Ethanz Ride combines Pop Punk, Rock and Alternative styles of music to form what they call, 'Punk Fusion.' On this seven song self-titled EP you'll find songs that start-off a lot of the time with an almost heavy rock guitar lead in quickly followed by very active punk flavored fast drum beats and expressive vocals. You'll also find some killer bass lines that help drive the songs. One of the best examples of this is found right at the start of the EP on track -1 "That Guy." This EP offers up a nice bite-size taste of the band's music and should continue to get them noticed in music circles. Artist: Alien Father Title: Paste Website: http://www.myspace.com/alienfather Style: Avant Punk Rock Label: Brother and Brother Records Rating: 7.5 out of 10 By Senior Writer C.W. Ross The lineup for Alien Father is, Dave Hallinger (vocals,guitar,synth,bass), Curtis Regian (bass, synth,guitar), and Mike Topley(drums). The band is currently based out of Boston, Massachusetts. The music found on their release, Paste is definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea. It's so distinctive in style that your either going to love or hate it. Paste features 23 tracks of music that the band says is "...the culmination of their first year and a half of existence". Even with all of those tracks though the total running time for this release is only 40 minutes, with several of the songs lasting for only a minute or two. The music is built on a base of punk with a lot of experimental elements added in to create the unique mix. This stuff is definitely on the experimental side with its twist and turns. I kept hearing this squealing noise that sounded like a pig getting stuck and couldn't figure out what it was untill I visited the band's website and followed a link found there to a short video that the band made. On it they describes how they uses a bow to play the guitar to get this unusual sound. The songs and their lyrics have that punk attitude and brought words like, total chaos, anarchy, revolution, pissed-off, and insane to mind while listening to them. If you're looking for something in the punk vein with a lot of extra on the edge elements then Alien Father's Paste is for you.