DeeCRACKS – 20 Years. A Frantic Effort (3×10” set)
Hellbound.ca
by Sarah Riley
1w ago
DeeCRACKS 20 Years. A Frantic Effort (3×10” set) (Pirates Press Records)Since vinyl has retaken the amount of interest that it has among music fans, a fairly impressive amount of time and money has been spent repackaging and reissuing records to let interested parties re-examine a multitude of songbooks – but such endeavors have never really seemed to be in DeeCRACKS’ wheelhouse. On one hand, it could be contended that choosing to release a compilation of re-recorded cuts like A Frantic Effort is very much unlike DeeCRACKS because the band is re-examining a series of songs from a songbook whi ..read more
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The Low Budgets – Leave Us A Loan LP
Hellbound.ca
by Sarah Riley
2w ago
The Low Budgets Leave Us A Loan (Picture Disc reissue) LP (Schuylkill Records) Alright, the fact is that not every punk rock record is golden. Any fan of the music can begrudgingly admit that, and every fan should – because it is the definition or critical thinking. The first step to truly appreciating any music genre is recognizing that some shit is exactly that; it’s shit. That’s how we differentiate between poor records and great ones, and that’s how we’re able to recognize how good The Low Budgets’ Leave Us A Loan LP is. From note one, listeners will be shaken to the foundations by the ol ..read more
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The Drowns – Blacked Out LP
Hellbound.ca
by Sarah Riley
3w ago
The Drowns Blacked Out LP (Pirates Press Records) While the number of ways that a band may choose to change their sound in the name of refreshing it or updating it are almost innumerable, what The Drowns have done on Blacked Out is genuinely impressive. This time out, the band has left most of the punk and hardcore are forms that the band has been developing and refining over the last few years behind and examined an older form of rock that with soul melodies and pop sensibilities in much the same way that The Bay City Rollers and T. Rex both did between 1971 and 1974, and yet still come away ..read more
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Various Artists – For Family And Flag Volume 2 LP
Hellbound.ca
by Sarah Riley
1M ago
Various Artists For Family And Flag Volume 2 LP (Pirates Press Records) While it took a little longer for Pirates Press to return to their For Family and Flag series than anyone likely expected [Volume One of the comp was originally released in 2020 –ed], there’s no question that the couldn’t have picked a more opportune time or angle of approach for a return, as one scans the track list on For Family And Flag Volume 2. Since the inaugural release of FFAF, Pirates Press has released a series of particularly excellent albums by a host of good bands and many have contributed cuts to this new co ..read more
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The Complicators – s/t LP
Hellbound.ca
by Sarah Riley
1M ago
The Complicators s/t LP (Pirates Press Records) While it’s very easy for any critic to come off as surprised when a band reassembles a set of well-used, time-honoured musical cliches and presents something which works, it’s far more difficult to find the flaw which ultimately causes that very familiar structure to fall apart and/or come off as completely irredeemable.How does one do it? How does one point to the problem which ultimately caused the house of cards to fall, while a similar band/album was successful? The problems that may cause one album to completely fall apart aren’t always eas ..read more
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Brigata Vendetta – This Is How Democracy Dies LP
Hellbound.ca
by Sarah Riley
1M ago
Brigata Vendetta This Is How Democracy Dies LP (Pirates Press Records) Okay, after the last few years of pundits both educated and ill-informed questioning the health and longevity of democracy and looking at the concept so closely the eye-strain could easily be attributable to a migraine, the idea of another punk band stepping forward to declare, “Us too!” is almost laughable enough to drive this critic into a stress-induced mental breakdown. Happily though, Bay area powerhouse Brigata Vendetta do not move slow enough on their debut album, This Is How Democracy Dies, to really let anyone lis ..read more
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Spencer Burton – North Wind LP
Hellbound.ca
by Sarah Riley
2M ago
Spencer Burton North Wind LP (Dine Alone Records) Since going solo in 2010 with Grey Kingdom (his project following the first lapse in Attack In Black’s activity), there’s no question that Spencer Burton has successfully developed an excellent and unique authoritative voice both as a singer and songwriter – but the greatest surprises have come his turns toward folk and country music. While 2021’s fantastic Coyote album established a new peak in Burton’s development, North Wind presents an excellent counterpoint to that album which continues some of the ideas from its predecessor but does not ..read more
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Billy Liar – Crisis Actor LP
Hellbound.ca
by Sarah Riley
2M ago
Billy Liar Crisis Actor LP (Pirates Press Records) It feels unlikely on the surface because, like Henry Ford, punks often want to proclaim that, “history is bunk” – but the fact is that some of the permutations of punk rock that have passed through the mainstream are possessed of an undeniably accessible quality. Even on first listen, sometimes there’s just something about the music which is capable of hooking listeners really really hard – and that thing doesn’t let go until the proverbial needle lifts. That enduring appeal is easy to find in the music of Blink 182 and The Gaslight Anthem an ..read more
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The Dwarves – Concept Album LP
Hellbound.ca
by Sarah Riley
4M ago
The Dwarves Concept Album LP (Greedy Media) To say that The Dwarves have been around and weathered a lot of pop cultural storms is an understatement. Since forming in Chicago in the mid-Eighties, The Dwarves have reinvented the concept of the revolving door; they’ve gone through band members (dozens of them – but guitarist Pete “HeWhoCannotBeNamed” Vietnamecheque and singer Paul “Blag Dahlia” Cafaro are the group’s core members), record labels (at least five) and bases of operations (Chicago first – but last reports indicated that the band was calling San Francisco home) at roughly the same r ..read more
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Pierre Omer’s Swing Revue – Tropical Breakdown LP
Hellbound.ca
by Sarah Riley
4M ago
Pierre Omer’s Swing Revue Tropical Breakdown LP (Voodoo Rhythm Records) Ever since Swing Kids came out in 1993 featuring a cast of very talented dancers, hipsters have wanted to revive swing music and dancing and make it their own. The reasoning for that desire is really easy to understand; the music is wildly infectious even without the benefit of distortion pedals, and the gymnasts who dance to it in the movies make it look REALLY fun to do. The catch is that swing dancing looking fun in the movies is very different from trying to throw a woman around on a dance floor – many women will play ..read more
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