popwreckoning

Sunday at Bumbershoot is pretty typical of a “middle day” of a typical festival. Attendees know where most of the stages are, they know who they want to see, and they know where to stand in line for comedy passes. On the other hand, it usually means that photographers, like myself, have some serious scheduling conflicts to contend with, and even then we usually are running around like chickens with our heads cut off.

For me, Sunday schedule was a hard one. From giving up The Lonely Forest (as they are playing Mainstage at The Key Arena which requires a special photo pass) to passing on Das Rascist, just because I know it’s going to be a pain to get in the line with my schedule the way it is. Even so, I managed to put together a schedule with a little bit of everything!

2:00 pm – DJ Justin Timbreline: A Decibel Festival collaborator, Timbreline makes a pretty unique form of underground electronica and techno. It’s emotive, bass-heavy, ethereal. Definitely a great way to kick off your Sunday in the Skychurch.

3:00 pm – The Sight Below: With ambient and visceral sounds accompanied by lots of beats and thumps, The Sight Below is an homage to the darkness and will carefully usher you into the light with a journey full of isolation, atmospheric energy, and hopeful light notes. This carefully constructed wonderland of ambient trance is going to be one of the highlights of the Skychurch all weekend.

4:00 pm – Shigeto: As the moniker for producer Zach Saginaw, Shigeto is also his middle name and an homage to his Japanese heritage. Combined with this background and adding in his father’s tastes for older jazz and a continuing education with jazz music, it’s no wonder that his electronica is riddled with jazz influences. Combined with early IDM, dubstep, soul, and some seriously sick drum beats, the Skychurch will be filled with more amazing electronica.

4:45 pm – Atari Teenage Riot: If you’re looking for one of the best genre-combining bands of all time, Atari Teenage Riot would have to be near the top of the list. Combining punk, industrial, drum and bass, techno, house, and j-pop influences, they are a live powerhouse and know how to make a crowd move. Always a fun hardcore show and a must-see at the Exhibition Hall.

5:00 pm – Com Truise: Producer Seth Haley describes his music as “mid-fi synth-wave, slow-motion funk.” Need I say more? Another Decibel favorite at the Skychurch at the EMP, and will definitely show off Haley’s synth obsession.

6:30 pm – Anti-Flag: If you’re a fan of good, hardcore punk, Anti-Flag is a must-see. With circle pits and enough in-your-face political views, they are one of the pinnacle bands in recent punk history. Catch them at the Exhibition Hall and see more than a decade of punk rock live, in action.

7:00 pm – Tycho: As much as I love Tycho, I feel like it should have lyrics. That being said, Tycho is some impressive atmospheric music. It’s hard to classify and ever-changing, so that’s not necessarily surprising. I’m looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table in the Skychurch.

9:30 pm – Carbon Leaf: “Ether-Electrified Porch Music” is how the band describes themselves. This Americana bluegrass blend is fused with Celtic, folk, and rock for a career that has stood the test of time for more than two decades. Another diamond in the ruff, they are definitely worth the trip to the Mural Amphitheater for their set.

9:45 pm – Symphony Untuxed: Seattle Symphony Music Director Ludovic Morlot is just about to start his inaugural season here in Seattle, so what better time to go see him and select members of the Seattle Symphony play five pieces. Morlot will be emceeing as well as playing the violin on the final piece, a Vivaldi that has not been revealed yet. As a musician, I’m more than a little excited to see them perform at the Bagley Wright Theater.

Come back for more previews and upcoming Bumbershoot coverage from Abby and I here on Popwreckoning!

Fans can now stream the upcoming album Burning At Both Ends by Set Your Goals while raising money for a good cause at the same time. With every 100,000 streams (up to 200k) the band will donate a dollar for every album sold at Hot Topic during the week of release to Keep A Breast, a non-profit benefiting the awareness and research of breast cancer. You can currently stream Burning At Both Ends in full by going here.

The new album hits stores June 28^th via Epitaph Records and offers thirteen tracks of  melodic punk rock with rousing sing along choruses. You can pre-order the album now by clicking here.

In addition, Set Your Goals will be spending the summer months entertaining their many dedicated fans and winning over new ones across the country on the Vans Warped Tour.

For a complete list of Warped dates at which you can see the band, visit www.setyourgoalsband.com/tour

Dylan Champagne claims to wear many musical hats and he’s not kidding. He released an acoustic album in 2008, charting on the CMJ top 200; he sings and plays guitar for a new-wave punk band called The Dysfunctions; he’s a a part of a secret society of composers who meet monthly; and he fronted the now defunct math-core band One Step Shift. And his newest endeavor Love Songs of the Apocalypse, Volume 1 explores punk, prog, and 70′s pop roots with acoustic leanings. Champagne describes it as “Springsteenesque acoustic prog-punk” or perhaps “acoustic lyric-driven rock with strange time signatures, a strong pop sensibility and nostalgic themes.”

Anything with the word ‘apocalypse’ in the title is enough to gain the interest of the Millennial Generation. With shows like The Walking Dead and movies Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland, we seem to have a fascination with brain-eating crazies that pop up at the end of the world. Dylan Champagne says that he’s been having apocalyptic dreams since he was just a boy. “I suppose the reoccurring apocalyptic dreams began when I was about 9. It was the 80′s and Reagan was king,  and everywhere you looked was nuclear this that and the other. Love Songs of the Apocalypse Volume 1 is a shout-out to the mid-sized semi-urban dystopia in my head.”

The album starts with “Baby in a Bear Suit” and it’s a refreshing listen. Champagne has a wonderful baritone register that he takes full advantage of, and my immediate reaction was a comparison to Jarrod Gorbel of The Honorary Title. He has sometimes painfully honest lyrics and a lot of them are tongue-in-cheek. It’s a nice change of pace to hear songs with a simple and straight-to-the-point message; sometimes you just don’t want to figure out complex poetry and metaphors. Sometime you want to hear it like it is.

Champagne’s songs are certainly lyrically driven and we get a glimpse of apocalyptic feelings with lines like “flying high above the zombie streets/cutting class and breaking bottles in the creek/and your friends all bite their tongues/and you might as well be dead.” The album begins on a soft note and at this point I would definitely call it acoustic. But the tempo steadily progresses through the album with “Dealt” and “The Daily Albatross,” and we reach wailing electric guitars on “California Song.” “Finally Ready” is a welcome break, listeners get a chance to catch their breath for a minute with a calmer piano-infused song. It’s one of my favorites of the album; I have a soft spot for piano in my acoustic-y rock music. “Empty Notebooks” continues with the chilled out theme, and “The Ballad of J Flato” is just what it sounds like: a lovely ballad that might seem to lull a person to sleep, save for the last minute or so that explodes with a burst of energy, carrying the listener through the rest of the album. “Forester Pass in Chinatown Slippers” is a look back at the strictly low-key acoustic beginnings of the album, and the rest of the album is smooth sailing, save for the last song “The Short Goodbye” which is a catchy little sing-along piece featuring a tinkling piano and female vocals to wrap things up on a sweet note.

This isn’t an album I’d normally pick up, but I can honestly say I’m a fan. Put this record on when you’re having a musically ADD day; it features a little bit of everything and in forty-five minutes or so, you’ll be feeling satisfied no matter what your initial craving was for.

Track Listing:

1. Baby in a Bear Suit
2. Dealt
3. The Daily Albatross
4. California Song
5. Finally Ready
6. Empty Notebooks
7. The Ballad of J Flato
8. Forester Pass in Chinatown Slippers
9. Row Homes in the Desert
10. Greenfield Manifesto
11. The Short Goodbye

www.brokeinoakland.com/dylan

Love Notes/Letter Bombs by The Submarines is indie pop filtered through pop punk filtered through the Los Angeles sun. One immediately gets a sense of fun buried in smog. The bass hits hard, and the keyboards are thrilling. I’m reminded of Mates of State, Viva Voice, and other bands anchored by husband/wife duos.

The first two tracks are mid-tempo numbers focusing on the subjects of love and loss. Its weird mix of ’80′s new wave somehow made new. It’s all very interesting. Track three, “Ivaloo” is where things get things interesting.  The song begins with a ukulele and handclaps before the female vocals come out. Shortly, after that the male vocals respond. It’s kind of an argument in song, which is fun.

After that we have another highlight, “The Sun Shines At Night”. This is happy, sugary stuff but it’s pretty infectious. “We’re in love and it feels alright” goes the chorus, and you can’t help but get swept along. I’d usually hate this kind of thing, but it’s so goddamn joyous I can’t help myself.

The album ends with “Anymore”, which might be the best thing here. The song clicks and bleeps as Blake Hazard sings about love and jealousy. The album is best when she takes the lead, as this song proves.

Despite the fact that The Submarines sound like a lot of other bands, they have an originality that I respect. When I first this record on, I thought it was more of the same but it grew on me pretty fast. There is something exciting about this band that I can’t quite put my finger on.  If you’re a fan of indie pop, you’ll dig this.

Track listing:
1. Shoelaces
2. Fire
3. Ivaloo
4. The Sun Shines At Night
5. Birds
6. Tigers
7. Where You Are
8. Plans
9. A Satellite, Stars and An Ocean Behind You
10. Anymore

Massachusetts’ Celtic Punk rockers Dropkick Murphys recently brought their raucous show to Kansas City’s Beaumont Club. Photographer Todd Zimmer was at the packed club party and shares these photos:

You can find more from the Dropkick Murphys here.

For over six years, fans have been direly awaiting the next release from rock ‘n’ roll icons Social Distortion. Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes is the seventh studio album from the Fullerton, CA, crew and has some significant differences from the past albums- for better or worse.

Most Social D albums are a veritable mix of rockabilly and punk, and this album is no exception. Those elements are there, but also has a touch of blues and old school classic rock involved (think Rolling Stones meets Johnny Cash, with maybe a touch of Bad Religion). The album is a touch more mellow and entirely more optimistic than their last album, scorning the general defiance of standard punk in favor of something a little deeper and a lot more emotional. Maybe it is a sign of singer/songwriter Mike Ness becoming a little more comfortable with himself over the years and the band growing older and, dare I say it, possibly jaded, but it lends something a little different to their sound.

The album opens with “Road Zombie,” a track that lends itself to their standard rockabilly sound. The next track, “California (Hustle and Flow)” is probably one of my all time favorite tracks EVER. It’s addictive with catchy lyrics and could be a tribute to the Stones, but it will definitely be put into rotation on my morning rock/metal playlist. Very impressive intro to a strong album, continuing through with more fantastic tracks, such as “Diamond in the Rough” and “ Machine Gun Blues.” They bring a little bit of the old punk rebellion back with these tracks, as well as a lot more of the old sound, before fading into “Bakersfield.”

While I cannot fathom why anyone would name a song after the terrible town of Bakersfield, CA (I was born and raised less than an hour from there and refuse to go back), it is almost worthy of classification as a rock ballad. “Far Side of Nowhere” is a lot more contemporary than a lot of the other tracks, before fading into a rendition of Hank William’s “Alone and Forsaken” with the typical Social D sound, albeit a little slower. This sets the stage for another slow song, “Writing on the Wall,” before turning the tables and cranking up the volume in “Can’t Take It With You” and “Still Alive.”

However you put it, the album is good. It’s really good. Older fans may not be so thrilled with the new direction that Ness is taking the band in, especially since he did produce the new album as well. It’s different, yes, but just as good as the older tracks. If you’re a new fan- congrats, you stumbled across a legendary rockabilly band with deep roots in the scene and a legacy they are proud to continue and change with the times as needed. If you’re a long term fan, take a step back and think about the first time you heard Social D blaring at 11, kicking your butt and giving you a taste of old fashioned rock-n-roll. Listen again, with some perspective (it has been 28 years since their first studio release) and be glad that they are stepping up their game and putting out an album that is different from their “usual” sound. Who knows- you might even like it.

Social Distortion is currently touring the US.

Track Listing:
01. Road Zombie
02. California (Hustle and Flow)
03. Gimme the Sweet and Lowdown
04. Diamond in the Rough
05. Machine Gun Blues
06. Bakersfield
07. Far Side of Nowhere
08. Alone and Forsaken
09. Writing on the Wall
10. Can’t Take it with You
11. Still Alive

Cobra Skulls is well known for their textbook “punk” albums, and their newest EP, Bringing the War Home is no exception. Clocking in at twelve minutes and ten seconds, the five tracks are basically loud, obnoxious and incredibly well written- both lyrically and musically.

The opening track, “Doomsday Parade,” is thrashy and full of catchy hooks, begging for loud speakers and lots of bass in your equalizer. “Ice in the Night” is obscenely obnoxious and tends to grate on your ears over time, but does have some lyrically redeeming qualities. I absolutely adore the groovy guitar riffs in the intro to “Hot Sand” and I can definitely sense some of the influences from my own punk rock upbringing, with their own signature rockabilly twist. David Peralta’s insatiable voice tends to add to the mix of precision drumming, heady bass, and articulate guitar, making this track my personal favorite.

“Give You Nothing” is reminiscent of old Anti-Flag and has more superb shreddy guitar, thrown in with some okay lyrics. I really think this song could have been expanded upon, although I tend to like the bridge quite a bit as it is almost worthy of a good headbang before (something ala older Offspring perhaps). To wrap up the album, “Life in Vein” has a very, very small hint of old Helmet and a touch of Against Me! thrown in for some incredibly interesting sounds and an interesting finish to this album.

I enjoyed the album for what it is- an EP, but frankly they could have done a heck of a lot more with it. The current selling price for the iTunes/CD version is at $8 and is not really worth it for an album 12:10 in length. However, Fat Wreck Chords is selling it for the same price on vinyl- which could be very, very worth it. I would wait for the price to drop or pick it up on vinyl (which is going to be better ANYWAYS, as vinyl tends to be). Recommended for diehard punk fans or vinyl connoisseurs.

Track Listing:
01. Doomsday Parade
02. Ice In The Night
03. Hot Sand
04. Give You Nothing
05. Life In Vain

When a young band gets booked at a large venue you never know how they’re going to react. It’ll either be the egos that grow or their appreciation for the fans. In the case of The Gaslight Anthem it was the latter. Having plugged in an entire three years on the music circuit, it was quite surprising that they were placed in a venue like the Midland. A venue that seats over 3,000 people generally houses acts like B.B. King, Steve Martin and Ok Go, and so it wouldn’t have been a surprise for anyone if the band had thought themselves rock stars in that place. But when the four members walked out on stage, there was nothing but genuine ear-to-ear smiles on each. To this the crowd appropriately reacted with their own glee and thus the show began.

From the new album came songs like: “American Slang,” “The Spirit Of Jazz” and “The Diamond Church Street Choir.” “American Slang” got everything going with its alt rock beats paving the way for a little guitar pitched up to an octave generally only seen in the likes of pop rock bands. Yet for this song, it’s that octave that was the perfect place for the cheerful sentiment that inevitably resulted.

Staggered between the newer selections were a few solid and slightly older hits. One of these (“Old White Lincoln”) seemed to groove on a slightly different frequency than the rest, but still proved to translate to the stage almost seamlessly. The fairly monotone rhythm section though not really defining, did manage to bring in a The Killers kind of dance (or sway rather) from the audience.

“This next song proves that Miles Davis is cooler than me.” When Brian (lead vocals) uttered these words, there was an instant increase in respect. This naturally stemmed from the vast appreciation of Mr. Davis and his music, but also from the reassuring fact that Gaslight still believes that they are at the beginning of their careers and have much to learn. The point of this was not to do anything just mentioned, but rather to preface the song “Miles Davis And The Cool.” A song while not directly influenced musically by the classic jazz of the 60’s, still referenced a feeling ever to familiar to Miles – the blues. Again a comparison to The Killers pops out with the repetitive and quick motions from the guitars and lyrics that sound like they come out of a man who was just beaten down by love.

An hour long set ended and an audience full of mid-to-late twenties begged for more. At one point they actually randomly started chanting a soccer saying, which was odd, but apparently effective. After a quicker than the normal “fashionable wait for encore” time, the boys were promptly back on stage. While the wait was shorter than normal, the encore was longer. Six songs made it on the list, like the song “Film Noir.” A song that was positioned for a guitar solo, however this solo was surprisingly impressive. Though fairly simplistic in nature, it screamed of 80s classic. It was the type of guitar talent similarly seen in a band like Cream. That type of rock faded for some punk rock gut wrenching screams so raw and raspy you’d swear it was Tim, veteran punk from Rise Against.

The night ended with their huge hit from The ’59 Sound album called “The Backseat.” It squeezed out what little energy that crowd had left with its choruses bursting with emotion and chord progressions that just wouldn’t let go. Those feet that were previously merely tapping had convinced the entire body to let go.

The masses of people that flocked to the show came without expectations. They only wanted to hear one of their favorite bands perform. No fancy effects or expensive equipment was needed. And that just what Gaslight was happy to do.

A lazy journalist could easy get out of actually reviewing American Slang, the newest album from Gaslight Anthem. It honestly wouldn’t be that difficult to revisit reviews of The ’59 Sound, referencing the same bullet points and similarities. At the end of the day it would look something like this: One part witty Bruce Springsteen reference here, respect for the New Brunswick music scene there. Throw in 500 words about the differences between punk and radio friendly power pop bands and you’ve got copy. Yet reviews like that, made famous by trash rags like Absolute Punk and Pitchfork, run rapid as the leaders of music journalism.  But, they really are just bullshit reads, hiding behind its falsely perceived elitist views of music folklore and punk history, aren’t they?  I mean, seriously, do you really think “God Save the Queen” and “Rudy Can’t Fail” will be historically better pieces of art if Green Day hadn’t existed to destroy punk?

More importantly, that mentality does nothing to actually promote a band for their accomplishments on an album they’ve worked hard to complete. I meant, if Gaslight Anthem wanted us do nothing but reference their previous albums and influences, what would be the point of even recording a new cut?  Why ignore the constant lyrical content, catchy guitar riffs and strong story lines to simply state, “Hey, this album sounds like the last one.”

I mean, if you take a second and look at American Slang as a unique piece of Americana, rather than a chapter in Gaslight Anthem’s novel of a music career you’ll see it not only stands perfectly fine on its own two feet, but hits the ground running from the word go.  Flooded with working class references and blue color pride, the music represents exactly what the band itself stands for; clocking into and doing what it takes to earn your paycheck.  The band has earn the respect of both press and fans by touring endlessly and promoting themselves extensively along the way. That’s why they’ve landed spots on festivals stages and radio stations nation wide. It’s not selling out. It’s not taking the safe road following the success of a brilliantly constructed album. It’s not because they sound slightly similar to The Boss. It’s sticking to their roots.

Giving this band anything less than your respect for that is a cop out by the banner waving lowest form of music critics selling you their copy with insults for sake of insult.

Track Listing:
1. American Slang
2. Stay Lucky
3. Bring It On
4. The Diamond Church Street Choir
5. The Queen of Lower Chelsea
6. Orphans
7. Boxer
8. Old Haunts
9. The Spirit Of Jazz
10. We Did It When We Were Young

Admittedly, I am only a recent Avett Brothers fan, drawn in by their 2009 album I and Love and You. So when I got a ticket to see them at the Missouri Theater in Columbia March 2, I went to a veteran listener for his opinion on the band’s live performances. “Totally different experience,” he told me. “Much more raw: punkish even. Harmonious, mountain-man punk.”

The Low Anthem, a folk-rock group from Rhode Island, opened with a wild variety of instruments and the male singer’s impossibly high vocal range on the soft ballad “Charlie Darwin.” Other members took turns on clarinet, saw, something called a Tibetan singing bowl and cell phones. Explanation: Before playing one of their final songs, the group asked for audience participation. Without describing what the effect would be, crowd members were told to take out cell phones, call their seatmates on speaker phone and hold the phones together. Skeptical. In the end, though, in the darkened theater and accompanied by the hushed final strains of the song, this phone trick produced something like the sound of dozens of electronic crickets. It was a lush end to a set that had started quiet and escalated into raw, funky Americana.

Again, being new to the Avett obsession, I wasn’t expecting the level of joyous anticipation and raucous appreciation from the audience. The band opened with “January Wedding” from I and Love and You, but the remainder of the hour-and-a-half set jumped all over their decade-long career. Every one seemed to know the words. Every one had some obscure request from a 2003 EP. Other selections included “Offering,” “Bella Donna,” “Hard Worker,” “Tin Man” and “Kick Drum Heart.”

Midway through the main set, the Avetts brought out the title track from I and Love and You, which ends on the forlorn harmony of those three words. The sold-out crowd was more than singing along—rather, each member seemed to be expressing its fanatic love for the group on stage.

Punk was a good word to describe it as the three (or four or five, depending on the song) band members jumped around with guitar, banjo and upright bass during “Shame” and the rowdy finale of crowd-favorite “Laundry Room.” The experience also resembled some kind of Southern church evangelization. The band’s infectious enthusiasm and shouted lyrics fed the giddy, beaming crowd. Guitarist and sometimes-vocalist Seth Avett took the stage for the “Slight Figure of Speech” encore with the graciousness the band displayed throughout the show. He said, “We would love nothing more than to play another! Thanks for asking.”