Nebraska’s indie-rockers Cursive may not be a household name, but they’ve got a rabid fanbase who recognize Tim Kasher’s ability to write punky, tough songs and deliver them with no-nonsense, Fugazi-like force.  Their latest album, I Am Gemini, is a concept/story record about separated twin brothers who meet for the first time as adults, angels, [...]

Let’s get one thing straight–I don’t buy that your name is really Bunny Ultramod. For one thing, you’re a guy, and I don’t think any parent would be that cruel. But I will say that The Ultramods debut record, a crude collection of profanity, whining, musing, ranting, and internet-leering, is fucking awesome. Recorded on a [...]

Satan’s favorite country rock band’s EP begins with a take on Gallows Pole, the song made famous by Led Zeppelin.  But unlike Plant and Page, who sanitized the song into one about how  the doomed man was such a stud that all the girls wanted to rescue him despite his crimes, Blackwater Jukebox make a [...]

I had a discussion recently with my wife about the 1980s.  We were watching VH1’s “One Hit Wonders” show—a guilty pleasure—and the focus was on 1980s movies.  The themes to both Dirty Dancing and St. Elmo’s Fire made their list, and I was reacquainted with how incredibly awful those tunes are.  My wife was prompted [...]

When was the last time you listened to an album and immediately thought, “Holy crap, are those guys having a blast or what?  For me, it was the last time I listened to Las Kellies’ second album, “Kellies.” Let’s get this out of the way right away: The lyrics are clunky (when they’re decipherable), largely [...]

These days, garage rock bands are a dime-a-dozen.  But it would be a shame to write off The Ladybirds as just another retro act.  This fivesome kicks serious ass. This is their second album. Shimmy Shimmy Dang Tour dates: August 3 – MOTR Pub – Cincinnati, OH September 9 – Headliners – Louisville, KY September [...]

I like hardcore pretty much.  I dig your Black Flag, your Butthole Surfers, your Fear.  Your screaming and shouting over heavy drums and blazing guitar.  Your soft then loud then soft.  It’s cool.  But too often, the screaming is just a substitute for being a drunk with no voice and a sense of urgency.  And [...]

MAN THE CHANGE ARE LOUD. Raucous fucking hardcore with pithy, wise, SHOUTED hooks and lines. Unsigned NYC punk! Rambo vs. Bas Rutten Catch them live: MAY 10 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Acheron w/ Such Gold and Living With Lions MAY 24 – Staten Island, NY @ Warriors Warehouse w/ Tomahawk Chop MAY 29 – [...]

I’m dipping into the mailbag today for two cool submissions from two bands with two of the coolest monikers I’ve heard in a while. Let’s start with The Dead Kenny Gs. First of all, I hate jazz.  Truly.  But this punk jazz thing–part Fugazi and part chaotic Miles Davis and part Morphine?  I’m diggin’ it.  [...]

How to sum up RWTH‘s debut?  It’s a lot of yelling.  And there’s some chainsaw guitar and mad, mad, mad drumming, too. The band is five guys who go by first names only, making hardcore in what sounds like the basement of a Chicago slaughterhouse.  Seriously, though, it’s actually recorded pretty well.  You’re able to [...]