Mean Jeans – Gigantic Sike (Fat Wreck Chords)

Mean Jeans – Gigantic Sike (Fat Wreck Chords)

“A gigantic sike is an escape plan,” says Billy Jeans. “It’s the idea of being able to just drop a big ‘ol whoopsie-daisies on everything we’ve done up to this point — the songs, albums, the band’s existence, my own personal existence — and play the whole thing off as a goof. It’s a joke on the fantasy of sneaking out the backdoor on a crummy identity you didn’t necessarily mean to create.”

Gigantic Sike is Mean Jeans’ fourth full-length — or fifth, if you include last year’s Jingles Collection, a 23-song assemblage of unsolicited product jingles written for brands like Totino’s, Skoal and Mountain Dew. (“I think the jingles are our best work, but I guess you can’t mosh to windshield-wiper endorsement ballads,” Jeans explains.) The trio recorded Gigantic Sike‘s 11 songs over three days in Los Angeles in December 2018 (the first day was spent learning the tracks; the next two spent hammering them out). Like all prior Mean Jeans albums, Gigantic Sike falls into the category of three-chord, heavily Ramones-influenced party punk.  Um? What else can I say? Thats pretty much it.  Band loves The Ramones and plays fast catchy punk and does it well with a great production.  What are the songs like? Well, The record opens with “Party Line,” and within the first 15 seconds, Billy Jeans sings about Coors Light, cocaine and mentions his actual phone number. Wow imagine AC/DC gave out Angus number on Whole Lotta Rosie. Loons.

‘Basement Animals’ whilst having the Ramones buzz saw guitar riffing away it has a real power pop melody and I’d say more so evident on ‘Just A Trim’.  Sure The Ramones homage is such a mountain to get over but if you can get over that and just appreciate a band knocking out some punk rockin’ power poppin’ rock and roll then there is plenty to enjoy here thats for sure.  Even if they never ever stray from the formula.  I’m OK with that.

‘I Fell Into A Bog’ is inspired by the time drummer Jeans Wilder actually, literally fell into a Florida bog during the Fest and wasn’t located by the band until the next morning (true Story apparently) — ‘Gigantic Sike‘s’ mission statement  is the idea of being able to run away from all of the stupid decisions you’ve made so far in life, ‘Time Warp’ is the exit strategy,” Billy Jeans says. “Siking a misled party life and taking the time warp to start over again is a theme in the record — laughing at what you’ve become and wondering if you can just warp your way out of it.” How can you not have a soft spot for that outlook on life?

At times I’m reminded of one of the finest exponents of wall of sound power pop punk rockers Los Pepes take ‘Stuck In My Head’ as an example and the rather good ‘Buddys Leaving’ before we head back out on the Dee Dee highway of ‘I Fell Into A Bog’.  wait, What a synth? Sure is ‘What The Fuck Is Up Tonight’ is pushing the envelope.  Nah not really but its a welcome sidestep.

Nowadays, Mean Jeans’ members are scattered across three different states, and they’re probably feeling the effects of being in a party-punk band for more than a decade. But Billy Jeans says despite the loose theme of Gigantic Sike, Mean Jeans isn’t going anywhere. “How do you function as a band when you live in three different cities?” he asks. “You gotta wing it. Make up the rules as you go. We never had band practice when we were all in Portland, so what our new strategy presupposes is, maybe that’s punk?” Maybe it is Maybe punk doesn’t even exist anymore in 2019 maybe its just a value or a nostalgia trip you like taking, who knows. Maybe its all things to all men and as long as there are bands like Mean Jeans knocking out snappy two to three minute punk rock tunes the world is still spinning and is still a pretty neat place to live.  Party on dudes

Buy Gigantic Sike Here

Author: Dom Daley

The band head out on a nice tour of North America with the awesome Clowns and Teenage Bottlerockets

catch them at-

·06 Sep in Fort Worth, TX, US @ MASS (Fat Tour)

·07 Sep in Oklahoma City, OK, US @ 89th St (Fat Tour)

·08 Sep in Kansas City, MO, US @ Riot Room (Fat Tour)

·09 Sep in St. Louis, MO, US @ Fubar (Fat Tour)

·10 Sep in Omaha, NE, US @ Lookout Lounge (Fat Tour)

·11 Sep in Green Bay, WI, US @ Lyric Room (Fat Tour)

·12 Sep in Milwaukee, WI, US @ Company Brewing w/ Clowns

·13 Sep in Minneapolis, MN, US @ Turf Club (Fat Tour)

Strung Out – Songs Of Armour And Devotion (Fat Wreck Chords)

Strung Out – Songs Of Armour And Devotion (Fat Wreck Chords)

Strung Out has been together for almost 30 years –You would be forgiven for thinking they are a new band such is the energy of these songs. Produced by Cameron Webb, who was behind the helm of 2009’s Agents of the Underground, it’s a record that has the fire of a new band.

The band are older (obviously) and dare I say it wiser. Yet they play like young men musically and lyricly they view a “big Picture”  as they struggle to make sense of the chaos of the world we live in.

Much of frontman Cruz’s lyrics come from the death of someone he was incredibly close to. That’s something which has exaggerated and exacerbated Cruz’s emotional fragility and continues the spiritual and philosophical journey he says he’s found himself on in recent years. At the same time, though, these songs are also infused with a spirit of hope and defiance.

“I lost my best friend six or seven months ago,” explains Cruz. “It was right before we started writing this record, and that really put a shadow on things. Some of these songs – especially “Monuments” and “Bloody Knuckles” – reflect that loss. But that’s what’s always made our band work. The music is this metal machine and then you get these vocals that express this vulnerability in a melodic way – and there’s love and there’s searching in all that machine. This record starts out hopeful and then it kind of degrades. It sobers and ends with loss. But there are so many things on this record that I’m still figuring it out.”

The albums starts with ‘Rebels And Saints’ and don’t get lulled into a false start becasue its a woven dash and the sunny Californian feel hits you. Melodic and fast. whilst ‘Daggers’ might be darker its almost punk metal in the riffs and pace it tells a story of personal turmoil within the backdrop of an increasingly dystopian America.  Strung Out’s trademark melody and aggression is more metal than Bad Religion and its ebb and flow is maintained throughout the album. Its not really a scene that has taken off massivly in the UK and has a very American feel to it songs like ‘Dissapearing City’ cross over as does the pacey and layered harmonies of ‘Politics Of Sleep’.

Penultimate track ‘Strange Notes’ is bordering on Anthrax metal thrashing mad with a frantic drum roll on the intro like I say some might say it ebbs and flows through the gears throughout the album whilst the next man might say its that constant ebb and flow that pulverises that detracts from the songs as there doesn’t seem too much light and shade throughout the three quarters of an hours worth of music. They could totally land a slot at Download though which might well help US punk cross over to the UK.

The band head out in support of the album for the rest of the year throughout North America where I’m sure they’ll hoover up audiences with their energy alone.  To be fair they’ve always had a tonne of energy  but this is a little more metallic that say ‘Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues’ that was just the right side of this frantic paced style of music.

Buy Songs Of Armour And Devotion Here

Author: Dom Daley

Strung Out will be making the following appearances this fall. Dates below.

SEPTEMBER

18 – Ybor, FL – Crowbar

19 – Gainesville, FL – The Wooly

20 – West Palm Beach, FL – Respectable Street

21 – Jacksonville, FL – 1904 Music Hall

22 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl

24 – Wilmington, NC – Reggie’s 42nd St.Tavern

25 – Virginia Beach, VA – The Bunker

26 – Baltimore, MD – Otto Bar

27 – Asbury Park, NJ – Asbury Lanes

28 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge

29 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall

OCTOBER

01 – Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall

02 – Montreal, QC – Club Soda

03 – Quebec City, QC – La Source

04 – Ottawa, ON – The 27 Club

05 – Toronto, ON – The Opera House

06 – London, ON – London Music Hall – Rum Runners

08 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Crafthouse Stage & Grill

09 – Detroit, MI – Small’s

10 – Chicago, IL – Cobra Lounge

11 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club

12 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room

13 – Englewood, CO – Gothic Theatre

31 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre

NOVEMBER

01 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre

02 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon

03 – Boise, ID – The Olympic

04 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall

08 – Dallas, TX – Three Links

09 – Corpus Christi, TX – House of Rock

10 – Austin, TX – Come and Take It Live

12 – Scottsdale, AZ – Pub Rock

13 – Las Vegas, NV – Dive Bar

14 – San Diego, CA – Irenic

15 – Santa Barbara, CA – Velvet Jones

16 – Sacramento, CA – Holy Diver

17 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s

19 – Fresno, CA – Strummer’s

20 – Morro Bay – The Siren

21 – Lancaster, CA – American Legion

22 – Garden Grove, CA – Garden Amp

23 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre

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Good Riddance – Thoughts And Prayers (Fat Wreck Chords)

Good Riddance – Thoughts And Prayers (Fat Wreck Chords)

A quote from the 1987 film “Wall Street”, kicks off Good Riddance’s 9th full-length album, but still in 2019 the sentiment rings true and we’re faced not with the same fears and worries but bigger ones.

Good Riddance was on hiatus/break up then with the most excellent comeback in 2015 with ‘Peace In Our Time’. Now,  Four years on from that, the band delivers something of a gradual follow up, with a  cheeky sideways glance at the often trouped out sentence, “Thoughts and Prayers”. Hollow words that really don’t mean a whole bunch when politiciens trot them out after a school shooting or mass killing but hey they think they’re hoodwinking the public so…

American politics is always been a giving topic for punk rockers and Good Riddance find plenty of material and inspiration inside the Trump circus currently pitching its tent on the white house lawn that well just keeps on giving.

Anyway, Bill Stevenson has been like the band’s secret weapon since 1999 producing everything the band has released and given them a tight and big sound that really suits their style of punk rock. evident right from the opener ‘Edmund Pettis Bridge’ which is named after a confederate general and #Grand wizard of the KKK. also, the scene in 65 where police opened fire on civil right movement protesters attempted to cross the bridge,  Heavy stuff indeed to open a new album with but educational and interesting.

‘Rapture’  continues the punk rock assault and Good Riddance are showing no signs of slowing up or growing old gracefully and they’ve certainly not lost any of their edge.  If anything, they’ve gone more hardcore than pop-punk. But they have maintained the melody as well so its more a progression than a sea change.

‘No King But Caesar’ might be about someone in particular but the state of society looms large in the lyrics. In fact, the theme for the album is as consistant as the aggressive attack of the playing nor the speed and vitriol.

It’s not all blood and thunder as ‘Wish You Well’ shows a softer side, Whenever they slow it down it’s not for long before they turn up the pressure  ‘Pox Americana’  which gets its head down and sprints off.  Lyrically it doesn’t offer any solutions to these times of unrest but does hold up a mirror perfectly pulled together in the parting shot of  “Requisite Catastrophes”. Sad times indeed but if one kid takes notice then it’s job done besides the music is excellent and the delivery of the usual high standard. Guess I’ll see you back here in a couple more years when hopefully the lyrics will be about hope and better times but I won’t hold my breath.

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Author: Dom Daley

Tour Dates so far with more to be announced –

  • 02 Aug in Biarritz, France @ Festi Lasai
  • 05 Aug in Lindau, Germany @ Club Vaudeville
  • 06 Aug in Tolmin, Slovenia @ Punk Rock Holiday
  • 07 Aug in Zwiesel, Germany @ Jugendcafe
  • 08 Aug in Leipzig, Germany @ Werk 2 – Kulturfabrik Leipzig
  • 09 Aug in Berlin, Germany @ SO36
  • 10 Aug in Hamburg, Germany @ Hafenklang
  • 11 Aug in Eindhoven, Netherlands @ Blue Collar Hotel
  • 13 Aug in Igea Marina, Italy @ Bay Fest
  • 14 Aug in Zurich, Switzerland @ Dynamo
  • 16 Aug in Stemwede, Germany @ Stemweder Open Air
  • 17 Aug in Vyskov, Czech Republic @ Pod Parou Festival
  • 13 Sep in Winnipeg, MB, Canada @ Park Theatre

Tommy & June – Tommy & June (Fat Wreck Chords)

Tommy & June – Tommy & June (Fat Wreck Chords)

I’m not sure what to expect whenever Fat Wreck release a new record long gone are the days of predicting a pop-punk 1-2-fuck you NOFX sing along what with the last Fat Mike album then CJ Ramone doing what he does best then this.

Predominantly an acoustic album with some crushing melodies and harmonies.  The songs are short sharp and right to the point – there isn’t any filler or padding out the record going on here take the awesome ‘Jetlag Blues’ with its subtle cello and drums gently keeping the tempo for its the harmonies that rule here and then to follow that up with the gentle picking of the dark ‘Adulthood’ will blow you away.

‘Ghost Of Paris’ is the first glimpse of what you might associate with the “Fat Wreck” sound but the arrangement is excellent. If you’re wondering just who the fuck these two cats are let Fat Mike explain –

“I never really put a band together before. It seems like a weird thing to do, but some things need to happen. I meet a lot of people on tour. Tommy I met in Israel about 12 years ago. Great singer/songwriter playing in a punk band. He was cool, and I started listening to his solo stuff. It was great, but no one ever came to see him play in the US. I felt bad. One day in SF Tommy asked me what he should do. He said no one comes to see his punk band or his solo shows. I said that’s how it goes. You’ve been doing this for over ten years and if you’re not drawing a crowd now, you never will. He was bummed. I was bummed. He’s a great songwriter, but who cares? Two days later I remembered I met an Iranian Colombian dude on tour that was a great singer-songwriter too. I hadn’t spoken to him in years….I had a weird idea. I emailed both of them and told them to start a band together. I know you live in two different parts of the world….but I think you would make a great two-piece band. Let me produce the record and we’ll see how it goes. You don’t have to tour. Just spend a week in the studio with me. I said record short acoustic weird songs with a new wave edge. They did. We did ten songs that came in at 20 minutes. I fucking loved it. Totally simple and clean and short and catchy and I had never heard a band sound like this before…. AND like Stiff Little Fingers (Protestants and Catholics), no one expects a Jew and a Colombian Arab to be making music together. Like SLF, it’s fucking good.

I introduce to the world Tommy and June…. two kinda boring guys that make really fucking great music together.”  You know what he’s not wrong these guys have great chemistry together and their knack for melodies sounds cool and a great distraction and just how punk rock should be – keeping you on your toes and keeping it fresh and different.  the fact most of the songs are under two minutes means there just isn’t time to get bored and they never labor the point they simply don’t have the time to anyway.

There is never any substitute for a good songwriter there are plenty of great performers or players but not everyone has the chops to write a song and put the time into the melodies and harmonies and Tommy & June don’t fit into that norm.  if you trust Fat Mike then check it out you’ll probably jump on board before the record is over and that’s not very long.

Buy Tommy & June Here 

Author: Dom Daley

C J Ramone – The Holy Spell (Fat Wreck Chords)

C J Ramone – The Holy Spell (Fat Wreck Chords)

Hooray, another day another new album from the Last Ramone in through the door to shout 1-2-3-4.  Solo album number four I believe and once again Fat Wreck Chords have got CJ Ramones back.

What does it sound like?  What do you think it’s going to sound like doofus! C’mon its like a guy who joined one of the best gangs ever, made some records with them, toured the world and lived the dream.  Sure when that all stopped it must have been weird – so take a break recharge the batteries and come back doing exactly what you do you’ve earned it (who wouldn’t) To be fair since being back in the saddle he has made consistently good records under the name CJ Ramone.

He never fell out of love with punk rock and I’m delighted to say that this one is more of the same.  I don’t want my Ramones to break new ground; do industrial, rap, murder ballads or grime.  Hell, I want a steady beat (‘This Town’) I want catchy sing-a-long Chorus and loud guitars.  The occasional hand clap and maybe a dozen songs that put a smile on my face and that’s exactly what CJ does.  Thank God for that.

There are covers like the awesome ‘Crawling From The Wreckage’ to be fair you have to go some to mess that one up and this is a particularly good take.  I mean Dave Edmunds is a legend around these parts so why not tip the hat and give it a good run through besides CJ know it a top tune.  There are highs such as ‘Waiting On The Sun’ wait what’s this an acoustic guitar and some brushes on a snare? Sure is, ‘Hands Of Mine’ is a curveball but man what a great song. CJ’s vocals are warm and the songs flows like a late night red.  A lovely tune and another string to the bow methinks.

Worry not punks ‘There Stands The Glass’ is fast and furious and back in the groove and a great cover it is too. Some Cowpunk al a Supersuckers on ‘Moving On’ and in the home straight CJ pumps a fist in the air on ‘Stand Up’ something he’s always done so well. ‘Blue Skies’ is timeless with a great hook and melody.

Closing this record with ‘Rock On’ is a beauty and a tribute to Steve Soto who passed away last year just before his band the Adolescents played Rebellion which was a moving performance and fitting tribute to their brother and bandmate and this is a heartfelt tribute and one I’m sure Steve would have been proud to hear and I’ve no doubt there will be a ray of sunshine shine down on CJ whenever he plays this live.

Another day another great record fro CJ Ramone and long may it continue. the Holy Spirit is with us all God Bless you CJ Ramone!

 

Buy The Holy Spell Here

Author: Dom Daley

Clowns – Nature/Nurture (Fat Wreck Chords)

Clowns – Nature/Nurture (Fat Wreck Chords)

‘Nature/Nurture’, album number four from Australian punk rockers Clowns, not only sees the band further shape their unique twist on a well-worn genre but also get a (clown-sized?) shoe in the door of the mainstream by signing with Fat Wreck for distribution outside of Australia/New Zealand.

Not being what you might call “your typical Fat Wreck type of band”, I had feared that signing for such a well-known label might have meant that Clowns would be required to come up with more commercial tracks to suit their new paymasters, however it takes just a few bars of the explosive opener ‘Bland Is The New Black’ to put my mind at rest that this is certainly not the case. This is the sound of one angry bunch of muthafuckers as Stevie Williams spits out the lyrics with just as much venom and intensity, as he did on the band’s corrosive ‘I’m Not Right’ debut.

In the six years that have passed since that amazing debut album first impressed the hell out of most of us back over at our old Uber Rock haunt, Clowns have certainly broadened their palette of sound and in many ways ‘Freezing In The Sun’ (the lead single from the album which I first saw live back at last year’s Rebellion Festival) is the benchmark by which they are likely to be measured on subsequent releases. Largely because this track is the perfect example of how to play heart and soul punk rock music whilst adding your own identity into the mix.

I’ll admit there’s a moment during the intro to ‘I Feel Again’ where I fear that the five-piece may have taken the “light” (in their light and shade sound) a little too far and during the aural onslaught that is ‘May I Be Exhumed?’ they perhaps go a little too dark, but you know what, in the context of the album it all fits together perfectly, and that ladies and gentlemen is what makes ‘Nature/Nurture’ such a thrilling listen.

Influences fly at you thick and fast just like the eleven tracks that make up the album’s 35 minutes running time and you’d be pretty ambivalent to what constitutes great music if you didn’t get reminded of bands like The Bronx, Fucked Up, The Explosion or (yes I admit it) Jane’s Addiction along the way. The thing is Clowns don’t merely imitate these great bands they innovate and that is what makes them oh so special, whilst only adding to the ‘Nature/Nurture’ debate you could have about the band themselves.

Whether it’s the brutal Clowns of old that you are looking for (in which case check out ‘1:19’, ‘Soul For Sale’ or ‘Prick’) or the more “polished” Clowns of 2019 (which is perhaps best exemplified by album closer ‘Nurture’ which even contains a hint of The Verve about it) this a record designed to make you stop in your tracks and think.  This is music for people who want to change the world, and if one listen to ‘Nature/Nurture’ doesn’t immediately make you appreciate these guys are the real future of rock music in 2019 then you might as well just go buy a fucking Greta Van Hire (or whatever the fuck they are called) album instead.

‘Nature/Nurture’ is quite simply essential listening.

 

Buy Nature Nurture Here

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Author: Johnny Hayward

Swingin Utters – Peace And Love (Fat Wreck Chords)

Swingin Utters – Peace And Love (Fat Wreck Chords)

Dom Daley.

These Bay area punks have been doing this now for over twenty-five years and show no sign of letting up as they release their new album for Fat Wreck Chords they’ve toured relentlessly and consistently made records on their own terms and done so with class and a style that has delighted thousands of fans around this globe and on this evidence shows no sign of slowing down.

‘Undertaker, Undertake’ begins with a huge fat bass line that isn’t so much rumbling but thundering through the speakers at a fierce pace with a great hook its a hell of an opening salvo – the Swingin’ Utters are coming out swinging haymakers and this sounds fantastic!

The Thunder might have passed momentarily but ‘Sirens’ is a smooth rolling melodic song that breaks out for the chorus and is like a rainbow pouring out of the speakers filling all available space with its happy go lucky sounds. ‘Louise And Her Spider’ is only the third song in and its another string on the bow and an altogether piece to the opening two tracks. As the rhythm stutters behind the hypnotic riff. With a new drummer and bass player seemingly working some magic in these tracks, a new dawn for The band is given a real shot in the arm and a vibrancy that is noticeable.

I love ‘Constant Companion’ and then to follow it up with the laid-back opening of ’Deranged’ before that rhythm section takes ownership of another belter. Jonny Bonnel stated that this would be a political affair and when sexism, racism, and fascism were on the agenda it was time to speak up and boy do they speak up. All power to the Utters I say.

‘Human Potential’ is the first single off the album and a fair indicator for fans as to how this record generally pans out. It’s a touch of class and has all the hallmarks you’d want in a new record by the band. ‘Yes, I Hope He Dies’ is as to the point as punk rock has ever been and another reason to pick up a copy of this new record. It’s no surprise that this is full of surprises and contains plenty of great songs ‘Imitation Of Silence’ sounds vital and that rhythm section is fuckin’ thunderous as it pummels through the final throws of this great twisting and turning song.

To throw a final curveball ‘H.L.S’ is acoustic guitar and voice of Jack Dalrymple as he pays tribute to Heiko Schrepel who he played with him in One Man Army who sadly passed away in 2015 and its a fitting and warm tribute even when the band joins him to take this record home. Swingin’ Utters hit the spot with ‘Peace And Love’ and deliver one of the years finest punk rock records right up there with The Adolescents proving that class will always stay and when you’ve got it man you’ve fuckin’ got it. Still killing it in 2018 pace and love indeed.

Buy Here