issue #02 pdf - Razorcake

iot like The Clash (“kill Bob Seger
tonight.”). If The Briefs don’t break
up or develop nasty drug habits
before they can peak, these guys
have nailed something new so fucking
perfectly, I just saw about fifteen
records in my collection become
irrelevant. It’s bands like The Briefs
that make me want to choke the shit
(only in print, no real threat, back the
lawyer up), every time Exene or
Penelope Spheeris open their yappers
about how punk died when they
ran out of material and their cash
cow could no longer be milked. The
Briefs are the new, better, more
resistant breed and they’re proof
positive that neither you nor I are
wasting our time. Much like
Smogtown’s “Fuhrers of the New
Wave,” The Gain’s “Ready, Steady,
Smash,” Dillinger Four’s
“Midwestern Songs of the
Americas,” and Leatherface’s
“Mush,” sure, there are predecessors
(much like Chuck Berry was the predecessor
to The Damned), but all
five bands were able to pull a completely
new punk bunny out of a hat
that most folks mistook for an empty
toilet paper roll. Not a stinker on the
LP. Buy a couple and prepare to
spazz. -Todd (Dirtnap)
BUNCHOFUCKINGOOFS
“Barrage of Battery and Brutality”
CD
Primal, metal-tinged hardcore similar
in sound to fellow Canadians,
Dayglo Abortions. I hear a dash of
the Mentors in their sound as well,
although I’m not quite sure if that’s
intentional. Not bad. -Jimmy
Alvarado (God)
CAVE IN
“Jupiter” CD
Utter poo. I should have known it
with the planet picture and the
graphic of a satellite on the cover. I
couldn’t even get through the first
track. -Donofthedead (Hydrahead)
COCKROACH
“Stay Angry” 7” EP
Spastic hyper-core with a singer who
sounds plenty pissed. I’m feelin’ it,
gee. -Jimmy Alvarado (Acme)
CROSSED OUT
“1990-1993” CD
A discography for one o’ them influential
“power violence” bands. Like
so many of the bands currently catering
to this particular musical niche,
the songs are intriguing for four or
five songs, then start to blend into
one another and eventually become
one long, boring drone. In small
doses, though, this was pretty good.
-Jimmy Alvarado (Slap A Ham)
CROWD, THE
“Goes Wild” CD-R demo
It’s a damn shame that these guys
have never gotten their due. They’ve
been slogging it out for 20+ years,
creating some tasty punk rock along
the way, and a good chunk of the
punk population has probably never
heard of them. Hopefully this release
will change that. What I’m listening
to right now is a “rough mix” of this
soon-to-be-released gem and, let me
tell you, this has got some mighty
fine tuneage on it. The songs are
tight, taut and packed with hooks. If
this don’t set the world on fire and
earn them their rightful place as the
punk rock demigods they are, I’m
gonna... well, I’m gonna be very
upset. -Jimmy Alvarado (No
address)
CRUMBS, THE
Self-titled LP
The first two Crumbs albums sound
like they’re pretty much just trying
to rip off the Saints. Which is okay.
The Saints were a great band and the
Crumbs were picking up where the
Saints left off. It worked. The singers
had similar voices and the rhythm
guitar just powered both bands. With
this Crumbs album, though, they
seem to have taken that sound an
expanded it in a strange direction. It
sounds like the Crumbs spent the
past year and a half hanging out in
the backwoods somewhere, listening
to old rock’n’roll radio stations.
There’s a lot of Sun studio guitar
sounds, a bit of country twang, and
even some touches of Ritchie
Valens-style ballads. It works in
some places and doesn’t work in
some place. I get the feeling, at
times, like the band really wants to
rock, like the drummer wants to pick
up the pace, like the singer wants to
scream, but for some reason, they’re
holding back. Then, on songs like
“Out of Range,” they don’t hold
back and I see what a good band they
really can be. On the whole, I really
do enjoy this album, and I appreciate
that they’re growing as a band. I just
prefer the times when they rock out.
-Sean Carswell (Recess)
DANKO JONES
“I’m Alive and On Fire” CD
Didn’t know what to expect from the
ordinary cover art. But lo and
behold, there’s some mighty fine
hard rockin’, gettin’ nasty with
someone you just met kind of music
contained on this five inch disc. Who
said size counts? “Dr. Evening” is
that sort of song, with its throbbing
bass line and talking about, you
know, doin’ it. There’s a lot of
fuckin’ goin’ on here! Who’s to complain?
Great music makes you
wanna fuck anyway. I can’t think of
any higher recommendation than
that! -M.Avrg (Bad Taste)
DAVE BROCKIE EXPERIENCE
“Diarrhea of a Madman” CD
Schizophrenic, vaguely poppy rock
music with some pretty stupid lyrics,
from one of the guys responsible for
Gwar, which explains quite a bit. -
Jimmy Alvarado (Metal Blade)