MUSIC REVIEWS  
     
 
River City Tanlines - I’m Your Negative
I was fortunate enough to hear the rough mixes of this album months before the release date (thanks Alicja). The debut album from this Memphis trio is a giant leap forward from their earlier singles. The eleven songs here are tighter, more focused, and more rocking than ever before. This album has so much to offer; the songs range from straight up rock to angry punk blasts to beautifully crafted pop. Easily one of the best albums of 2006. [Dirtnap] MW

Beat Beat Beat - Living In The Future
I loved the first seven inch that these Atlanta creeps dished out ages ago and now we finally have their debut long player. I don’t know why but for some reason I didn’t like this much the first time I listened to it, boy am I a fucking idiot, this is great. Classic ‘77 style power punk with just enough pop thrown in for flavoring. How can you go wrong with so many catchy songs like “Sick Sad”, “Nasty Nightmare”, “Eyeballs Jones” and (a welcome return from their seven inch) “Savage Girl”. Move over Briefs fans, BX3 are kicking down doors and proving that it takes more than fucked up hair cuts and sunglasses to rock out (OK so they have them too). Contains a member of the equally great band the Carbonas. Somebody please buy the blonde guy a sandwich. [Dirtnap] MW

Destruction Unit - Death to the Old Flesh
Second and final album from Destruction Unit recorded back in 2004. I have heard/read that this is basically almost like the last Lost Sounds album & being that Jay & Alicja were in the band along with Ryan Wong I would tend to agree. More dancey and aggressive than their first album, but also not as complete as a whole. There are some really great songs on this album and it‘s a shame that it will be their last. The best track on the album has to be “The Fools Will Dance“, it‘s so hypnotic and catchy that to me it defines the entire existence of Destruction Unit. Ryan has a great voice and his work in Tokyo Electron proves he has the ability to continually churn out exceptional music. A must own in my book. Your children are evil. [Empty] MW

Jay Reatard - Blood Visions
Jay’s first solo record since the break up of the Lost Sounds. The first thing you’ll notice is that Jay sings with a slight British sounding accent and this album is the closest thing to straight up pop that he‘s ever done. If you‘ve kept up with Jay then you‘ve probably heard most of these songs on his Myspace page albeit in a different form, the Myspace versions more dirty and aggressive sounding. The polish on these songs are welcome and surprising seeing that Jay basically recorded this in a bedroom and played every instrument. This is one of those albums where certain songs (Not A Substitute) are so good they give you the chills. Amazing comes to mind, but I’ve always liked everything that Jay has done in the past, this album just confirms that he is one talented individual. Even your jaded buddies will like this record, it’s just that good. Top contender for best of 2006! [In The Red] MW

Kill The Hippies - Erectospective double CD
Double disc set of everything(?) that these Kent, Ohio punks have done to date. There are a lot of songs (77 total) to wade through and a lot of different styles to their mayhem. Dual male and female vocals on some tunes while others are just male/female. Some tracks sound like new-wavish Devo meets the Spits while others are flat out old school punk that you heard from your older brother. My favorites are the tracks from the Jerked Off By Strangers 7“, in particular “I Look For Trouble“ & “Jerked Off By Strangers“ are classics. The songs are from various 7“s, comps (disc one), unreleased tracks, and cassette releases (disc two). These guys are great live as well and have to be seen to grasp their brilliance. They cover a lot ground over these two CD‘s (don’t worry you can still hear the pops from the vinyl) and you‘re bound to find songs that you like and some you might hate. Fans of goofy/fun punk rock will eat this up!! Recommended! [Rock N Roll Purgatory, P.O. Box 771153, Lakewood, OH 44107 www.rocknrollpurgatory.com ] MW

Career Suicide - Anthology Volume Two
My brother asked me the simple question of how can a band that’s only been around for five years (and that are still together) have two anthologies out already??? Well probably because these young Canadian hardcore kids already have a shit ton of releases under their belts, hell their second album is just came out. Anthology volume 2 covers the bands’ output from 2004-2005 and includes the Invisible Eyes & Signals EP’s, as well as their side of the split LP with Jed Whitey and some unrealeased tracks. Take a step back in time some 20 plus years ago and Career Suicide would have fit well on the Dischord roster with Void and the Faith. Great hardcore punk that is on par with the Regulations. I’ll take these guys over Fucked Up any day. [Deranged] MW

Milky Ways -self titled
Debut full length from this Canadian super group composed of former members of the Spaceshits, Del-Gators, and Les Sexareenos. Includes the husband and wife team of Oily Chi and Coco Khan (King Khan’s little Sis). While this is somewhat similar to all the players’ previous bands it’s also different in several ways. Don’t get me wrong this is still a garage rock record at heart, but there is a lot of variation in the 12 tunes on this album. Songs like the frat rock style “Got My Mojo Back” recall Les Sexareenos, while the meaner dirt of “Where’s My Baby” could be a long lost Spaceshits tune, and then comes a breezy pop song like “Guillotine”. Fans of any of the members past band will need this, casual garage rock fan will want this, I say recommended. [Alive] MW

CLOROX GIRLS - J’aime Les Filles
Album number three from the Clorox Girls finds them with a new line up and on a new label. Justin Maurer (guitar/vocals) has been the only constant member of the rotating CG line up from the get go. You can expect more of the classic Clorox Girls pop punk power on most of songs yet this record brings more to the table. This time out there are a lot more background vocals and it seems like they had fun making this album. They even go for a whole British Invasion sound on “Total Babe”, which cracks me every time I hear it. Some of these tracks sound like they could have been lifted off either one of their previous albums. I can hear the message board geeks right now claiming that “It’s not as good as their first album”, or “they’ve sold out”, to which I respond “total bullshit”, these guys are going in the right direction. [BYO] MW

GOVERNMENT WARNING - No Moderation
I’ll admit that I haven’t kept up with the hardcore scene over the last several years, that is until I finally heard bands that were actually worth checking out. Government Warning are one of those bands that bring back new life into a scene that has continually been dragged through the mud and copied eight million times over. They keep things short and simple, and while it’s hard to be a totally original band when it comes to hardcore, coming close to sounding like the forefathers of the 80’s doesn’t hurt. The ten tracks on this album clock in at just over the seventeen minute mark and doesn’t waste any time getting to the good stuff. No filler here kids, every track is a winner. I’ve got to clear the furniture out of the living room so I can start a circle pit. [Feral Ward] MW

More will be posted next week -- look for reviews of The Spread Eagles (both 7"s & cassette) Fag Cop cassette, Lover, Jay Reatard new 7" & 12", Homostupids, Black Lips, FB2's reviews, and more....

Older reviews can be found here