Punk Blog, Metal Blog, A little of Everything Blog

Sonic Youth
Post-Punk/Experimental/Rock
New York, NY USA

For Fans Of: The Velvet Underground, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement

Whenever a new Sonic Youth album is released many who are familiar with their work hover more or less around a single thought. Will this be a solid accessible album that we can rock to or will it be a cryptic avant-garde set piece that pushes the boundaries of the medium? The Eternal is a release that is firmly in the former category.

That is not to say that Sonic Youth have gone easy on us in any way. Just because this is not a fifty minute guitar reverb track doesn’t mean that this album is lacking in any way. This is merely the band doing what they do best and it comes across very fluidly. It seems as if they have come to the point of perfecting their style and content to where it seems almost effortless. Listening to this record makes it seem hard to believe that there was never a way to take lessons in guitar feedback and unorthodox tuning.

Sonic Youth has never been a band to pander to their audience and give us what we expect from them. They have given us as albums that seem almost impossible to decipher or understand as ones that seem so punk rock it makes thinking too hard almost impossible. Many times they have taken us to points where, especially to the outsider, we wonder whether what we are listening to can even be classified as music at all. Then they reel us back in with our newly remodeled sense of what is possible with sound.

In this album we are being reeled back just enough to be comfortable. However, it would be hard to consider this album as a mainstream effort or something that resembles Sonic Youth moving into pop. It is hard to even decide if this album has a clear single or not. Whatever the case Sonic Youth has proven once again that they are still very much here to do what they do best and remain leaders in the underground.

(Review written by Chad Ohnstad)

Sonic Youth
Song: What We Know
Album: The Eternal (2009)

Sonic Youth
Song: No Way
Album: The Eternal (2009)

Check Out Sonic Youth’s Myspace!

Comadre
Punk/Rock/Hardcore
Redwood City, CA USA

For Fans Of: Graf Orlock, Lewd Acts, Louise Cyphre

I’ve been listening to this band the last few months. They have a knack for putting together awesome, super creative hardcore punk tunes packed with plenty of emotion.

They started making music together in march of 2004 after the break up of their previous bands: heart cross love and one’s own ruin.

They’re currently on tour so check out their myspace for tour information. For the fellow Phoenician’s who read this blog, don’t miss out on this Comadre show on Sunday, June 28th, in downtown Phoenix!

Stream a couple songs or download Comadre’s “A Wolf Ticket” in our Free Download Lounge! Not a member yet? Join for FREE here!

Comadre
Song: Grow Worms
Album: A Wolf Ticket (2009)

Comadre
Song: Tannerisms
Album: A Wolf Ticket (2009)

Check Out Comadre’s Myspace!

Cheeky
Punk Rock/Pop Punk
Brooklyn, NY USA

For Fans Of: Descendents, ALL, The Muffs

Cheeky has released a very solid, very catchy EP in “Choking on a CheeseBurger”, released on QUOTE UNQUOTE RECORDS.

“Cheeky is a band of three girls and one guy from Brooklyn via Long Island. Choke on a Cheeseburger shows that even though they have only been around for about a year, they are breathing some much needed excitement into the stale homogenized state of punk rock today.

This EP brings back the sounds of classic pop-punk greats (such as Crimpshrine, Descendents and The Muffs) while Phil Douglas’s (Latterman) production helps it stand out as a great sounding classic debut EP that’s happening right now maaaan…” – QUOTE UNQUOTE RECORDS

Stream a couple tunes or download the songs in our Free Download Lounge! Not a member yet? Join for FREE here!

Cheeky
Song: Bad Mood
Album: Choke On A Cheeseburger (2008)

Cheeky
Song: Small Snails
Album: Choke On A Cheeseburger (2008)

Check Out Cheeky’s Myspace!

Jawbreaker
Pop/Post-Punk/Rock
San Francisco, CA USA

For Fans Of: Fugazi, Jets To Brazil, Hot Water Music

My favorite Jawbreaker album, not just because it’s my favorite set of Jawbreaker songs, but I feel Blake Schwarzenbach’s vocals sounds especially good on this record.

Stream a couple tunes or download the songs in our Free Download Lounge! Not a member yet? Join for FREE here!

Jawbreaker
Song: Save Your Generation
Album: Dear You (1995)

Jawbreaker
Song: Shirt
Album: Dear You (1995)

Check Out Jawbreaker’s Myspace!

High On Fire
Doom/Metal/Sludge
Oakland, CA USA

For Fans Of: Black Sabbath, Sleep, Electric Wizard

I’ve been listening to this album a lot lately. I haven’t heard all of High On Fire’s work, but so far Surrounded By Thieves is my favorite record released by them.

In case you aren’t familiar with High On Fire, where the hell have you been?!? They were formed back in 1999 by Guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike, bass player George Rice, and drummer Des Kensel. Which was shortly after Matt Pike’s other band, Sleep, came to an end.

Stream a couple tunes, watch the video, or download Surrounded By Thieves in our Free Download Lounge! Not a member yet? Join for FREE here!

High On Fire
Song: Speedwolf
Album: Surrounded By Thieves (2002)

High On Fire
Song: The Yeti
Album: Surrounded By Thieves (2002)

Check Out High On Fire’s Myspace!

Knuckle Scraper
Hardcore/Thrash/Punk
New York, NY USA

For Fans Of: Infest, Trash Talk, Weekend Nachos

A man once said to me “There is more than one way to become a caveman. Living on raw meat in the wild is one way. Listening to Knuckle Scraper is another.”

They released Max Isn’t The Bastard (2006) with 625 Productions.

Stream a couple songs or download the Max Isn’t The Bastard in our Free Download Lounge! Not a member yet? Join for FREE here!

Knuckle Scraper
Song: Dona Thrash
Album: Max Isn’t The Bastard (2006)

Knuckle Scraper
Song: Big Man
Album: Max Isn’t The Bastard (2006)

Check Out Knuckle Scraper’s Myspace!

Teenage Cool Kids
Punk/Rock/Pop
Denton, TX USA

For Fans Of: Meneguar, Ringers, Jawbreaker

I just ran across this new video by the Teenage Cool Kids (TCK), it’s pretty hilarious/awesome. Stream the video below.

Also, in case you haven’t heard. Rumor has it, the rap duo that calls themselves “Cool Kids” had their lawyers serve a cease & desist of sorts to TCK . They’re saying that TCK’s name is an infringement on the “Cool Kids” name. Gimme a break right?

All of this has lead to a delay of TCK’s latest record “Foregin Lands”, if it get’s released at all now, I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see.

You can read more about the legal trouble here.

Check Out Teenage C*** K***s Myspace!

Lenguas Largas
Punk/Pop/Electro
Tucson, AZ USA

For Fans Of: King Khan, NoBunny, Shark Pants

Another Tucson band, tearin’ it up. If your main staple music is Punk, then Lenguas Largas is for you. If instead you enjoy ambient, experimental, electro pop, well, then Lenguas Largas is for you too.

Check out “No Me Gust La Pepsi” for some fast thrashy punk sounds. For something more offbeat, click on “Entity Me”

Stream a couple songs or download some Lenguas Largas mp3’s in our Free Download Lounge! Not a member yet? Join for FREE here!

Lenguas Largas
Song: No me gusta la Pepsi
Album: Lenguas Largas?

Lenguas Largas
Song: Entity Me
Album: Lenguas Largas?

Check Out Lenguas Largas’ Myspace!

Guns N’ Roses
Hard Rock/Metal
Los Angeles, CA USA

At first listen it seems like a bad dream. Not the kind of bad dream that Sabbath or Sleep evokes. But more of a Raffi or Barney/Baby Bop dancing around handing
children strangely coloured lollypops.

Something so silly is hard to take seriously but we can try. This is the first album of G n R songs in well over a decade.

The build up to this album could have been outdone only by a re-uniting of The Beatles, matched maybe by new tunes by The Smiths. The album however
is so forced and ancient sounding it proves too hard to swallow.

Axl, if your reading this, don’t take this as a que to quit. This is an opportunity to bring back that magic, maybe give it an upgrade. Bring this to 2009 and we will definitely have something.

(Written by Chad Ohnstad)

Check Out Guns N’ Roses’s Myspace!

Unwelcome Guests
Rock/Pop/Punk
Buffalo, NY USA

For Fans Of: Hot Water Music, Jawbreaker, Husker Du

Just played a show with these dudes last Friday. Super fun house show! Unwelcome Guest’s are from good ol’ Buffalo NY and have put out a variety of 7″ records. You can pick those up on their myspace as well as check out their tour dates!

Stream a couple songs or download a random collection of Unwelcome Guest songs in our Free Download Lounge! Not a member yet? Join for FREE here!

Unwelcome Guests
Song: Put Down Your Gun
Album: The Painter 7″ (2008)

Unwelcome Guests
Song: I Just Wanna Get Drunk
Album: The Painter 7″ (2008)

Check Out Unwelcome Guest’s Myspace!