Tad - Busted Circuits And Ringing Ears DVD

"Busted Circuits And Ringing Ears" documents the rise and eventual disintegration of the heaviest band around Literally. TAD may have never quite reached the status that other grunge bands achieved in the early 90ies but that didn't stop the band from becoming pretty well-known nonetheless. It could've been a lot more than that because TAD definitely had the potential to be every bit as solid as Nirvana. Unfortunately they went through a lot of label and legal issues that ultimately took its toll. It probably didn't help either that they weren't exactly poster boys like Kurt Cobain.

The DVD shows all of this from the band's beginnings as Tad Doyle’s solo project. Most of Tad’s ex-members are interviewed but the DVD also includes interviews with Soundgarden's Kim Thayil, Nirvana's Krist Novoselic and Chad Channing, Mudhoney's Mark Arm and Sub Pop cofounders Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt. The documentary paints a good picture of Tad, from what they stood for musically to Doyle's warped sense of humor. Or you can watch it as the typical story of a band that signs with a major, doesn't live up to the expectations and then collapses under all the pressure. It's a solid documentary either way!
Score: 8 out of 10
http://www.mvdvisual.com
http://www.myspace.com/tadrocks

Neva Dinova - You May Already Be Dreaming

Neva Dinova is a country/slowcore outfit that got signed to Saddle Creek for their third album after label boss Conor Oberst became a fan along with other Saddle Creek artists such as Rilo Kiley and The Faint. And just one quick listen to "You May Already Be Dreaming" will convince you that the quintet fits right in there on the roster.

One of the strongest selling points of Neva Dinova is that you believe every word that rolls out of vocalist Jake Bellows' mouth. And while three guitars might seem like overkill, it works wonders for this band. "Will The Ladies Send You Flowers" is as pure as anything I've heard this year with Bellows totally nailing the Johnny Cash-like delivery. The absolute highlight for me however is "Clouds" with a distorted riff that would make Neil Young very proud. Or jealous.
Whether they're quiet or loud, Neva Dinova always sounds so incredibly warm. Just like the blanket you used to roll yourself into as a kid. Whether you wanted to forget everything around you or be comforted, "You May Already Be Dreaming" will do the trick every bit as good as that blanket used to.
Score: 8.5 out of 10

http://www.saddle-creek.com

http://www.nevadinova.net

Freaky Age - Every Morning Breaks Out

How do you rebel against your parents if your dad played in a band called Betty Goes Green and your mom worked in the music business for years? The answer is easy... you don't. You start a band yourself, make it to the finals of Humo's Rock Rally three years later, land a record deal and drop a solid garagerock album at the age of sixteen. At least that's what Lenny Crabbe did along with the rest of Freaky Age.

"Every Morning Breaks Out" is filled with the kind of songs that made The Strokes big but you can just as well find traces of Television on the band's debut. Both the guitars and the vocals sound casually bored yet catchy and with a couple of killer choruses and dito guitar licks, "Every Morning Breaks Out" deserves to be head. It might not be very original but there's no real reason why Freaky Age shouldn't be a lot bigger by the time they outgrow puberty.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.v2records.com
http://www.myspace.com/freakyage

Donita Sparks + The Stellar Moments - Transmiticate

One might expect a lot more from seminal riot grrrl band L7's frontwoman but what Donita Sparks does on "Transmiticate" is not very exciting. No flannel shirts anymore for this female, but a whole lot of 80's rock flashbacks instead. Should be okay is what I hear you thinking. Alas, things turned out different. With monotonous rhythms that keep pounding on for song after song and hardly any hooks or riffs worth picking up on, there's really not that much to say for "Transmiticate". Other than that Donita Sparks used to front L7. Which I already stated in the first line of this review. So I guess that about rounds this one up.
Score: 4 out of 10
http://www.redeyeusa.com
http://www.donitasparks.com

Terror - Live June 10, 2004 : The Bowery Collection

Straight from the CBGB soundboard comes a live set by the always destructive Terror. The sound quality may not be top notch but I can easily let it slip because it kinda represents the whole DIY spirit CBGB's was known for. As for this particular show, Terror cranks out eleven tunes of their metallic hardcore and get the place going like they always do. Scott Vogel is obviously enjoying a hometown moment and it makes for a memorable passage with the rest of the band shredding like crazy.

Keep an eye out for a lot more releases in this series as CBGB's has opened their vaults. Other titles already include Mooney Suzuki, The Queers, H2O and The Toasters. With a portion of sales going to the Hilly Kristal Foundation for Musicians and Artists, this will definitely do no harm in keeping the CBGB legend alive.
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.mvdaudio.com
http://www.terrorhc.com

Shooting At Unarmed Men - Triptych

When Mclusky went boom, two new bands popped up. There's Future Of The Left on the one hand and Jon Chapple's Shooting At Unarmed Men on the other. The band's debut was recorded in just three days and their second release was called "Yes, Tinnitus". Do I really need to spell it out? This is one intense band that doesn't like to fuck around.

Nothing these guys do is normal... "Triptych" has 13 songs divided over three CD's. Not the most 'green' thing to do but a good thing nonetheless. Seeing as you can really use the bit of quiet you get when switching the CD. Dropping bombshells left and right and then giving those bombshells names like "Sometimes The Best Thing You Can Do Is Die" or "Happy Birthday Placenta"... yeah, I think it's fair to day I like this band. And if I read a line like 'your Dear John letter had grammatical errors and failed to mention that you're a cunt' then I'm completely sold. You're next.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.toopure.com
http://www.shootingatunarmedmen.com

Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward

Nashville, country capital of the world. But also home to Be Your Own Pet, a young and punky band that shows everyone how to rock the fuck out on their second album, "Get Awkward". No sophomoric slump in sight here, only adrenalin-fueled songs that deal with sex, partying, drinking, drugs and umm... Russ Meyer's "Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls". The songs on "Get Awkward" may not show a lot of depth but they will get any party started and god, how refreshing is it to listen to an album where the band simply said... fuck it, we're not doing a ballad! Vocalist Jemina Pearl has the perfect voice for this kinda music, the rest of the band sounds like The Stooges on speed and armed with more than enough catchy moments, "Get Awkward" is an album that is guaranteed to plaster a smile on your face while you're shaking along to songs like "Becky" or "Zombie Graveyard Party!".
Score: 8 out of 10
http://www.xlrecordings.com
http://www.beyourownpet.com

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

MGMT (pronounced management) are two hip dudes from Brooklyn who borrow freely from 30 years of pop music and then copy/paste those influences into new songs that are extremely hard to classify. But hey, it's catchy as fuck and goes extremely well with the sun and a cold beer. Can you really ask for more?

Opener and buzzworthy single "Time To Pretend" sounds like something The Flaming Lips could've come up with. And whaddyaknow, the producer of "Oracular Spectacular" is none other than Dave Fridmann who in the past has already worked with yup, The Flaming Lips. Sixties psychedelic pop, trendy kitsch a la Air, a little bit of funk, a feelgood atmosphere that brings back The Polyphonic Spree and a lot of things that go bleep in the night... it's all here and it's all interwoven in a great way. I'm ready for the summer!
Score: 8 out of 10
http://www.columbiarecords.com
http://www.whoismgmt.com

Forward Russia - Life Processes

With a nervous mix of post-punk, progrock and dance, Forward Russia attempted to write a concept album of sorts about life with their sophomoric release. All of life's big themes are expressed on "Life Processes" by the vocals of Tom Woodhead while the rest of the band does a pretty good job of keeping things jagged and angular. The biggest difference with debut "Give Me A Wall" is that they actually use song titles this time around and - more importantly - the songs sound more mature.

Songs like "Spring Is A Condition" and "Some Buildings" have no problem maintaining a very high energy level and producer extraordinaire Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Minus The Bear, Pearl Jam) once again does an amazing job of making things sound crispy. Probably not suited for every single day unless you wanna end up on Xanax but pretty impressive nonetheless.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.cookingvinyl.com
http://www.forwardrussia.com

For Today - Ekklesia

A christian band posing with axes and a chainsaw. Hmmm, that somehow doesn't simply pop out and scream 'we love Jesus', now does it? Okay, so Joseph was a carpenter and for that he needed some timber (thanks to the whole immaculate conception thing he didn't need any wood though... get it?) but that's pretty much the only link I see.
Anyway, For Today is yet another mallcore outfit that plays it by the numbers. Everything on "Ekklesia" is executed pretty well but things never ever get exciting. And it's not for lack of trying because the songs stray all over the place in every single song. Between all the chugga chugga parts, cliché breakdowns, screams, grunts, clean vocals and melodic riffing, I simply ended up being bored two songs into the album. Lyrically, it's all about loving Jesus but I strongly doubt the good man himself would approve of this generic drab to spread his word.
Score: 3.5 out of 10
http://www.facedownrecords.com

http://www.myspace.com/fortoday

City & Colour – Bring Me Your Love

For City & Colour, Dallas Green freed himself from the rest of Alexisonfire to do the singer/songwriter thing. While it’s not exactly a novelty for someone from the punk/hardcore scene to take a walk down the acoustic path, I found “Bring Me Your love” to be an enthralling album from start to finish.

First of all, the dude has an excellent voice and listening to songs like “Confessions” or “What Makes A Man” there’s no going round the fact that he knows how to write a solid song. Sure, it’s kinda sappy and yes, it’s another batch of songs about one dude and his experiences with the opposite sex. But the rootspop of a track such as “The Death Of Me” struck a chord with me and I can’t seem to shake it off.

If you think Dashboard Confessional’s last albums suck or if you wanna hear something similar to Josh Ritter, then you should by all means check out City & Colour’s “Bring Me Your Love”.
Score: 8 out of 10
http://www.hasslerecords.com
http://www.cityandcolour.ca

In Flames – A Sense Of Purpose

When you’re talking about In Flames, the opinions are always divided. Older fans hate the new and more melodic direction the band went in with albums such as “Clayman” and “Soundtrack To Your Escape” while others loved it. With “Come Clarity” the band seemed to go back to a more aggressive sound which gave people new hope. But on their new album “A Sense Of Purpose” they went the other way again and made a very accessible and highly melodic album.

On their new album which they recorded in their own studio with Daniel Bergstrand, they focus on writing downright catchy yet still somewhat heavy songs. Chances are real metalheads will frown at this but I really enjoyed “A Sense Of Purpose”. There are still plenty of powerfull riffs and guitar solos but just like Soilwork, In Flames likes to incorporate singalong choruses that get stuck in your head.

Sure, things may sound alike towards the end but songs like “Alias” and the 8-minutes-long “The Chosen Pessimist” show a band that has truly found its own sound. Vocalist Anders Friden has found a voice that lies somewhere between screaming and clean vocals and while many may not think much of it and go back to playing “The Jester Race”, I’m digging the vocals as much as pretty much everything else on the album.
Score: 8 out of 10
http://www.nuclearblast.de
http://www.inflames.com

Less Than Jake re-issues

While Less Than Jake is busy writing tunes for what will be their ninth studio album, they took some time out to re-release some of their older material with a shitload of bonus material. Fresh out of their commitment to Warner Bros., these ska veterans started their own label Sleep It Off and what better way than to make the first release "Losers, Kings And Things We Don't Understand", the band's first album.

The other re-releases are "Pezcore", "Goodbye Blue And White" and the "People's History Of Less Than Jake" DVD all of which originally came out on Fueled By Ramen. Next to new artwork all of them have a shitload of bonus material on an extra DVD including lots of live action from the Less Than Jakes. It makes these albums not only the perfect introduction for new fans but they will also nicely complete every diehard fan's Less Than Jake collection without making it look like a quick way to make some money thanks to the wealth of bonus stuff.

As for us, we'll always have a special place in our heart for one of our favorite ska bands and we're already stoked about the new album which will hit stores this Summer. In the meantime, these releases will tie us over just fine!
Score: 8.5 out of 10
http://www.cookingvinyl.com
http://www.lessthanjake.com

Minus – The Great Northern Whalekill

Iceland’s noisemongers are back to write another chapter in their own history and right off the bat, they’ve got my sympathy even more than before. It shows a sick sense of humor to call your album “The Great Northern Whalekill” (remember Pantera’s “The Great Southern Trendkill”? wink wink nudge nudge) and then plaster artsy pictures of incredibly fat people throughout the booklet.

But the main thing here is the music. And that is far from a joke! Oldtime fans might need some adjusting because there is less metal this time around. But man, do these guys rock! It made me think of a more urgent version of Queens Of The Stone Age. And as it happens the album was produced by Joe Barresi who in the past has worked with… indeed, Queens Of The Stone Age. The songs are melodic yet never lose their sharp edge and have so much groove that by the time the second and best song - “Black And Bruised” - kicks in you’ve already been nodding along a couple of minutes.

Towards the end of the album things kinda start to sound alike but it doesn’t matter. That only means that if it rocked at the beginning, it keeps on rocking until the very end.
Score: 8 out of 10
http://www.indian.co.uk
http://www.minusonline.com

Rocket From The Crypt – R.I.P.

On October 31st 2005 Rocket From The Crypt played their last show ever at San Diego’s Westin Hotel Ballroom. It’s a shame they aren’t around anymore because they were a great band that rocked as much as they had fun. And those two points are well proven on “R.I.P.”. After the intro the band bursts out in “French Guy” and never looks back from there. They race through a total of nineteen songs that come from the band’s entire back catalog. Oddly enough “On A Rope” is missing from the album but at least it’s on the DVD!

Things sound great… The guitars are nice and raw, the horns are as awesome as ever and Speedo's vocals are even grittier than on the band's albums. If you missed out on this band in the past, this is a great opportunity to do some catching up and if you were a fan in the day, you don’t want miss out on this one either. As far as live albums go, this one’s pretty good capturing both the band, the audience and the mayhem ensuing from it.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
http://www.vagrant.com
http://www.rftc.com

Nasum – Doombringer

Live album number two this month from bands that aren’t around anymore. Nasum’s history came to a sudden halt in 2004 after lead singer/guitarist, Mieszko Talarczyk, died in the tsunami while vacationing in Thailand. But not before he and the rest of Nasum made quite a big splash (no pun intended) in the grindcore scene with their albums and more than anything else, with their charged live performances.

Relapse now unleashes the final chapter with “Doombringer”, a 25-minute live set the band recorded in Osaka on their final Japanese tour. Everything sounds great and even a non-grindcore fan like yours truly got sucked in by so much energy. Just like a nailbomb, this is fast, brutal, lethal as hell and highly effective. Talarczyk already let us know from the other side, that he agrees and that you should always go to bed with a surfboard… just in case!
Score: 9 out of 10
http://www.relapse.com
http://www.nasum.com

Good Riddance – Remain In Memory : The Final Show

While it would be easy to make a lame joke here about Good Riddance and their final show, truth is I’m gonna miss this band. Ever since I first heard them back in 1996 on the Fat sampler “Survival Of The Fattest”, I’ve been a fan of Good Riddance. They’re nice guys and they play great music that comes with a message and is played with absolute conviction. So it’s a shame to see them go. Until they reunite obviously.

Until then we’ll have to make due with this live album which comes with a selection of songs spanning the band’s entire career. The main reason the band called it a day last spring was because punk music had changed and they felt left behind. Listening to this album and hearing the fans cheering like crazy and singing along I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who will be missing them and it makes me wonder if they made the right decision. From “Mother Superior” to “Yesterday’s Headlines”, it’s all on here and they’re all still a pleasure to listen to. Guess it means we’re one solid band less and one step closer to songs about heartbreak completely taking over the punk scene.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
http://www.fatwreck.com
http://www.myspace.com/goodriddance

Victims Of Circumstance – Do It Yourself

Florida-based Victims Of Circumstance are all about doing it yourself. They started their own label, are taking care of all the promotion and marketing and even named their album after it.

They play this kind of grown up version of poppunk with a twist of ska mixed in. They do the punk thing pretty good but when it comes to the ska parts, they could use a little more work. Like “Brandon’s Challenge” which is a pretty cool song up to the chorus. Oi punk is attempted as well in “Rocks And Human Bombs” but I’m sorry to say it’s a sound that completely doesn’t suit them and the song is kinda misplaced in between the other more mellow tracks.

I would advise them to stick with their poppier sound that has enough of that Mighty Mighty Bosstones grit to make it stand out. “Do It Yourself” is worth checking out even if it’s just for the pic of the extremely hot blonde on the cover (can someone get me her email address?) or if you’re into the Bosstones’ sound, but with a little more time under their belt, I think we’ll hear a lot more from the Victims Of Circumstance in the future.
Score: 6 out of 10
http://www.financialrecords.com
http://www.thevoc.com

Keith Caputo – A Fondness For Hometown Scars

“A Fondness For Hometown Scars” is the title of solo album number three for the little Life Of Agony frontman with the big voice. The new album opens with “Crawling” and that’s exactly what this album does, except not really so on that first track which takes a little too long before it gets underway. During its finest moments however, it crawls under your skin with haunting melodies and Keith’s soft voice. Tracks like “In December” or “Got Monsters” are easily some of his best work yet.

But Caputo can’t leave the rocking completely behind him and so he bursts out in some good old-fashioned rock n roll with “Troubles Down” and “Devils Pride” proving that he would make an excellent replacement for Scott Weiland in Velvet Revolver.

While the track listing may feel a little awkward at times with those two barnburners thrown in there and while not every song is worth remembering, this is still a damn good album from a guy that is not only blessed with a beautiful voice but also with some solid songwriting skills.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.suburban.nl
http://www.keithcaputo.com

Minus The Bear interview

Here's a short email interview we did a while back with Minus The Bear. The band's line-up boasts current and former members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving and if you like adventurous rock music then you should definitely check out their latest album "The Planet Of Ice"!

PRT: Who are you and what would you like to tell our readers about yourself?
Jake: I am Jake and I am in the band Minus the Bear. It's what I do.

PRT: What were you doing ten minutes prior to this interview?
Jake: I was eating pork at a mexican restaurant.

PRT: Who are the other band members and what would they give me if I were a homeless beggar
Jake: Erin, Dave, Cory and Alex. Maybe they'd give you some change, but most likely they wouldn't give you the time of day!

PRT: Can you give me a short history of the band written in less than one minute?
Jake: Dave, Erin, Cory and Matt got together and I joined soon after, did an ep with Suicide Squeeze followed by several other releases. Insane amounts of touring in the USA and over seas, and writing over the past few years have given the world what we now know as Minus the Bear.

PRT: If Minus the Bear was the brain child of two (or more) older bands, who'd be mommy, who'd be daddy and in what Kama Sutra-position was Minus the Bear conceived?
Jake: Mommy would be The Police and Daddy would be Pink Floyd. We'd have been conceived in the 'Yawning' position

PRT: What would you like to tell us about 'The Planet of Ice'?
Jake: What would you like to know? It's a rock n roll record. Much more rockin than our old stuff. Generally more guitar riffage.

PRT: Titling the album 'Planet of Ice' made me think you disagree with Al Gore over the whole 'global warming'-hype. Do you think it's just a trend to be environmentally aware or is the global warming a natural thing that happens every couple of thousand years?
Jake: It has nothing to do with global warming. Global warming is obviously real and supported by science, it's not a trend and its effects are being seen now...we may be past the point of no return regarding the Earth's environment.

PRT: In what way has the band evolved over the course of three records?
Jake: Not sure...I think we've progressed and created more interesting musical tapestries. We've let ourselves branch out more recently and I think we'll become more experimental in the future.

PRT: I read somewhere that after the first record, you got labelled as a funny band (great music with funny titles and lyrics about drinking and girls) but you wanted to shake off that stigma. Why? And did it work out?
Jake: I never thought the lyrics were humorous whatsoever. Sometimes light hearted, but there is not a single joke in the lyrics of a minus the bear song. A lot of songs are about drinking and most songs are about girls in one way or another, so not sure how that's funny. The song titles were just jokes. Not related to the lyrics. We want to shake off the stigma because people keep talking about it instead of the music (kind of like now!). It's not like we're the only band that had funny song titles...just the one that gets picked on.

PRT: Are you still haunted by the Botch-history of some band members?
Jake: Only dave was in botch. Not reallly. Sometimes kids yell 'botch' at shows and it's neither funny nor cute...just annoying

PRT: Many people file Minus the Bear under 'indie'. I, however, see it more as smart pop music for music lovers. Where do you classify Minus the Bear yourself?
Jake: I think we're a rock band. We're indie because we're on an independent label. Indie doesn't give any impression as to how music will sound...an 'indie' band on a major label for instance is an oxymoron.

PRT: Music-wise, Minus The Bear is in the top league, pretty technical and, well, hard to play (perceived by a mere amateur). How do you guys challenge yourself in song writing and playing? And is there still any room for progress?
Jake: We simply try to make music that's interesting to us. There's always room for progress...I don't think we've scratched the surface of our potential.

PRT: In addition to that, how haard is it to write complicated music that is still accessible?
Jake: Yes, that can be difficult. But that's this band's challenge. We always want to be able to marry the complex and the catchy.

PRT: Even more than on 'Menos El Oso', 'Planet of Ice' focuses on atmosphere in the songs with these soundscape-y things. A conscious choice?
Jake: Yes.

PRT: What would be the three main differences between 'Planet of Ice' and Justin Timberlake's FutureLove/SexSounds?
Jake: POI has more guitar, worse singing and a much lower recording budget.

PRT: Hey, I just stole your iPod. What bands are on there that I should definitely check out?
Jake: Tiny Vipers, Subtle, Cloudded, Pink Floyd, The Who, etc.

PRT: Why did Minus The Bear cross the road?
Jake: To fuck the chicken

PRT: If you'd have to write a musical, what would it be about and what would it be called?
Jake: It would be about cooking pork. It would be called 'Pork Funk'.

PRT: What's the biggest Spinal Tap- moment in the history of Minus the Bear?
Jake: Pretty much every show. It seems like we have moments that are ST worthy all the time....last night for instance I couldn't find the stage to save my life.

PRT: Can you give us three reasons to buy 'Planet of Ice'?
Jake: It's a fucking killer record, we need the money and people love it. In general

PRT: What does the future look like for you guys?
Jake: Very bright. We're going to tour our asses off and hopefully start writing soon. We're going to be everywhere all over the world.

PRT: You have ten seconds to type your last words. Go!
Jake: Holy shit, only ten seconds! And then, what, I'm dead? Damn...this is awful news...