Category: Music

Hey, all right… SideOne Dummy seems to have found a replacement for Madcap. That’s good. As diverse as the label is, it’s good for them to have a streetpunk act. Granted, there’s nothing that sets the Briggs apart from the Casualties, Madcap, One Man Army, or the Swingin’ Utters, but they sound pretty tough.

Leaving the Ways is pretty much five songs of straight-ahead oi- typical brusque lyrics with meancing delivery and guitars that are more punk rock than straight punk. The last track is, well… not oi. The EP’s final song, “Top 40”, is a complete dub-wise tune that threatens to blow out the subwoofer on your stereo.

Not a bad EP, and if you’re into any of the band mentioning previously, it’s worth a spin or two in your CD player. For your average punk fan, though, it’s not going to really blow your skirt up.

SideOne Dummy Records
the Briggs

There’s a part of me that simply wants to dismiss Communiqué as a Hot Hot Heat rip-off act, and leave it at that so I can go back to playing solitaire. Unfortunately, the band is not that easily summed up.

The band does, in fact, sound an awful lot like Sub Pop artists Hot Hot Heat. However, where Hot Hot Heat is more punk and abrasive, Communiqué goes a smoother route. For the first thing, Communiqué is a much more pop-oriented act. Rather than go for an angular sound, they lean towards more mellow song stylings. In fact, it’s almost as if the act is an organic version of the Postal Service. They’re the same mellow dance-oriented sounds, only played with instruments, as opposed to being programmed into a computer.

The vocals, at times, resemble pop-era Police and the keyboards are more New Wave synth-style than most acts that attempt the sound. There were a few times I thought I was listening to Pleasure Victim-era Berlin, they hit the early ‘80s sound so well.

Certainly, it took several listens to Poison Arrows before I got over the similar sounding nature of Communiqué, but I am now trying to pass off the name of the band to anyone I can. It’s not an instant “holy shit” listen, but the album is certainly well worth the time it takes to grow on you.

Lookout Records
Communiqué

Another year, another Warped Tour compilation in the stores. As per usual, it’s a sampling of all the bands that have played and will play the tour. Granted, if you’re a fan of any of the bands on the comp, then you most likely have the songs that are contained on the two discs.

That’s sort of the downside of the Warped Tour comps, really… they’re pretty much all previously released material. And while that might make for an easier job for SideOne Dummy, in that they don’t have to pester bands for unreleased or live stuff, it makes the cds less of a necessity for fans.

Granted, the cds are pretty damn cheap, and while you get a healthy dose of bands you’ve probably heard before, there’s also a heaping helping of bands you’ve probably never heard before. I mean, while I’ve heard of Hazen St. before, there’s gonna be some kids out there who haven’t, and this is going to introduce them to the band.

When it’s all said and done, this is a pretty cheap two disc set, and if you’re the sort of person who’d rather sample bands via purchasing music instead of downloading it, this is a good set. Two discs, fifty bands, a cheap price tag, and the opportunity to hear some new music. Think of it as a licensed mix cd with good cover art.

SideOne Dummy Records
Vans Warped Tour

What the fuck is up with poppy music becoming a bad thing in the punk scene? You’d think a band would be happy to be melodic and catchy, and kinda-sorta mellow. But no, they have to be hard and heavy, and completely screw up what could be a good record.

Hawthorne Heights could be a very good mellow, poppy indie band. However, those bands (with the exception of Death Cab For Cutie and a few others) don’t get into rotation on regular radio stations. So, they have to be slightly heavy and angsty.

Basically, what that means is this: you take a typical, run-of-the-mill indie rock release and add in a screamer. Everyone is credited in the liner notes with “vocals.” Someone needs to be credited as “asinine jackhole who ruins perfectly good songs by screaming instead of actually singing.”

Now, don’t get me wrong. I like bands like Poison the Well, Atreyu, and Thursday. However, these bands are unequivocally HEAVY. They have breakdowns, they rock, and are music to which you can headbang. Hawthorne Heights, on the other hand, is band that (were it not for the fucking random shrieks) is much more suited to shoegazing and mild head nodding at best.

The Silence In Black and White is not an anomaly, unfortunately. I could stand with it being the only example of its kind. The sad fact of the matter is that Hawthorne Heights is not alone in its need to add some hardcore cred to an otherwise poppy sound. See, even New Found Glory has gotten into the act, and you can hear it on their new single, “All Downhill From Here.” Listen closely, and you can hear screaming in what is otherwise a perfectly normal pop-punk song.

Dammit. This could be a really good record. And even if it wasn’t above average, it’d still at least be good. This, sadly, is an exercise in annoyance. Maybe if someone on the ‘Net gets clever and removes the screams and returns it to normalcy, I’d be able to listen to it again. As it is, I’m not even going to sell it to the record shop down the street. I’d be too afraid that someone else out there might actually buy it.

Victory Records
Hawthorne Heights

Finally, a band that isn’t fucking confused as to what they want to sound like. Atreyu’s debut album was rich with promise, but lacked a lot of focus. The elements of hardcore, metal, and melody came together on songs like “Lip Gloss and Black” and “Ain’t Life Grand?” but failed on others.

Happily, with The Curse, Atreyu has found a sound that fits them like a glove. Rather than try and meld hardcore and metal, the band has gone almost completely in a direction that mixes the driving force of Slayer with the lyrical musicality of Iron Maiden. There’s no random shrieks or screams on this disc. The band manages to mix the singing with the screaming in a way that shows they know what their sound is supposed to be.

This is a band that wants to be heavy. And damn if they don’t succeed… and well. The guitars are sickeningly crunchy, and the drums and bass boom with authority. “Bleeding Mascara” has next to no hardcore influence, and is amazingly metal for a Victory act. There’s a definite reason Atreyu is on this year’s Ozzfest. They’re going to fit in just fine alongside Judas Priest.

Victory Records
Atreyu