A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Cold War Classics Vol. 2 LP by Alabama 3. Before anyone gets nervous about what they might have missed, it’s important to point out that Cold War Classics is not the first Alabama 3 album to feature the erroneous numeric identifier Volume 2 (2002’s acoustic experiment Last Train to Mashville was listed as a Volume 2 as well – although there was no “Part 1” in that case either) – they’ve...

Photos by Bernardo Jimenez...

METZ are a reckoning band for me. Their music sounds endlessly complex and simple at the same time. I know I like them (more than like them, actually), but their music just doesn’t stick once I turn it off. Really, the only time that has happened to me with their music is with A Boat to Drown in. I love that song, and it’s safely stored in my memory bank. It’s what I think of when I think of METZ....

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the 20 Years. A Frantic Effort 3×10” set by DeeCRACKS. Since vinyl has retaken the amount of interest that it has among music fans, a fairly impressive amount of time and money has been spent repackaging and reissuing records to let interested parties re-examine a multitude of songbooks – but such endeavors have never really seemed to be in DeeCRACKS’ wheelhouse. On one hand, it could be contended that choosing to release...

Gentleman Jesse Where Time Stands Still (7 Inch) (Drunk Dial #12) I came about Gentleman Jesse in an ideal way: through a recommendation from a respected source. Back in the day, before my day job and kids took up most of my attention, I would do band interviews (believe it or not!). The frontman to one of my favorite bands recommended Gentlemen Jesse and His Men (are they still called that?). That was all I needed. Gentleman Jesse checked all...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Leave Us A Loan Picture Disc reissue by The Low Budgets. Alright, the fact is that not every punk rock record is golden. Any fan of the music can begrudgingly admit that, and every fan should – because it is the definition or critical thinking. The first step to truly appreciating any music genre is recognizing that some shit is exactly that; it’s shit. That’s how we differentiate between poor records...

Fast X Has the Fast and the Furious franchise jumped the shark? I know it’s a silly thing to say, because the whole franchise is a shark jump, but here, in its 10th iteration, the franchise seems to be double, tripling, octupleting down on its concepts and setups. But let’s back up a second and look at the whole thing. Fast X sets up the last trilogy of the series, meaning there’s going to be a Fast XI and...

I was excited to see the Sadies for many reasons, but mostly because of the opportunities it brought. First of all, it’s exciting to see a band you’re a fan of that you’ve never seen before. Then, I remembered I HAD seen them before. In 2007 in Madrid opening and then backing up Jon Spencer. Of course they made an impression because I’ve been a fan ever since. Another opportunity is to see a band who, mysteriously, released their best...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into The Drowns’ Blacked Out LP. While the number of ways that a band may choose to change their sound in the name of refreshing it or updating it are almost innumerable, what The Drowns have done on Blacked Out is genuinely impressive. This time out, the band has left most of the punk and hardcore are forms that the band has been developing and refining over the last few years behind and...

WHO: Pissed Jeans WHAT: Half-Divorced WHY: Punks can be scary and funny. They also cry. I’ve never heard a band that combines such fury, aggression, and rawness, with hilarious observational humor. Half-Divorced is only a half hour long (as albums like this SHOULD be), and frontman Matt Korvette barks about helicopter parents, the downsides of where we live, and of course, being happy that he’s ONLY $62,000 in debt. This stuff is aggro as shit but brings a smile to...