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The National ~ Trouble Will Find Me / A More downbeat and sombre affair than High Violet, but some of the songs really have gotten under my skin.

9/10

Low ~ The Invisible Way / Bizarrely catchy considering some of the subject matter in the songs, and the sparse arrangements are expertly crafted. Mimi Parker's voice is gorgeous, as usual.

8/10

Mazzy Star ~ Seasons of Your Day / I fucking love Mazzy Star. Bloody damn hell love them.

10/10

RM Hubbert ~ Breaks and Bones / After seeing Hubby live a few times, I did worry that the lack of story telling, which is a big element of his show would detract from the recorded music. Certainly not, still very engaging and emotional music.

8/10

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For your sake I hope at some point in the future you look back with great embarrassment on the fact you only rated Alcachofa 5/10. It's an all time classic. 

 

I still haven't listened to Green Language in full, I like the songs I've heard so far but have a nagging fear I'm not going to like the whole album nearly as much as Glass Swords. Actually looking at your post now I'm not sure which of the two you listened to  :laughing:

 

Oh dear I meant Glass Swords. Getting confused between the two  :laughing:

 

I'd heard that about Alcachofa, but it just didn't grab me. I'll maybe give it another couple of listens to see if it clicks

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I used to love Pennywise, but that new record sounds weird. Jim's voice sounds very aged and padded out with production, though I really quite liked 'All or Nothing' where they ditched Jim and brought in that guy from Ignite. Jim was never a great vocalist anyway.

 

 

Anyway. #20

 

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The Shell Corporation - Mandrake

 

I usually can't stand the sound of ska-punk these days, but this is done pretty well. It's less toot-toot-parp and more Clash, with a bit of Menzingers in there too. A couple of sub-2 minute double-time Bad Religion-style belters as well. Fun. 3 outta 5.

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30 new albums in 30 days #16 (day 18)

 
Youth Lagoon - Wondrous Bughouse
 
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Spacey experimental echoey pop. A lot of weird noises which were jarring at first but I soon came to love it. There are some beautiful soaring melodies in this, and the quirky effects and strange sounding instruments totally compliment it and create this glorious atmosphere. My heart actually literally burst into a million pieces when I was listening to this and I died. Drops off a bit at the end but I still really loved it. 
*****
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#20

 

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Only Crime - Pursuance.

 

I didn't know Only Crime were still going. Their last LP was back in 2007, and it was pretty good. Here's a new 'un from a supergroup that is just about as super as a supergroup can get. Bill from the Descendents, Matt from Modern Life is War, Aaron from Bane and Russ from Good Riddance. If Bill Stevenson is the drummer in your band, then your band is good.

 

With Russ Rankin's distinctive vocals, it sounds like Good Riddance with more strings to their bow. Bill writes some of the songs too, so some of them have a heavy, moody Descendents vibe going on. Some wonderfully discordant guitar work and unexpected time shifts. And it was recorded by Bill at the Blasting Room. If your record was recorded by Bill at the Blasting Room, then your record sounds good.

 

Good vibes. Good record. 4 outta 5.

Edited by Soda van Jerk
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I have some catching-up to do.

 

THREE

 

Sick-Of-It-All-the-Last-Act-of-Defiance.

 

Sick of it All - "The Last Act of Defiance"

 

Look, it's a Sick of it All record: this is only going to go one way. Fast, pummeling NYHC with oodles of catchy grooves and daft gang vocals. As dependable as ever. They'll never release a truly essential album, but they'll never release a dud either.

 

****

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That Pennywise album the other day made me come over all nostalgic for 2001.

 

30 new albums in 30 days #17 (day 19)

 

Bad Religion - True North

 

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Every song on this 2013 album sounds like every other song on every other Bad Religion album. Well all the ones I've heard anyway. But they're all awesome. Bad Religion have no bad songs. They all make me want to get up and start jumping around like a fucking fanny. Catchy, fun, energetic. Yes. BRB, off to play Tony Hawk's 2.

****

 

30 new albums in 30 days #18 (day 19)

 

NoFX - Self Entitled

 

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I've always thought NoFX write fucking awesome songs with fucking awful lyrics. This is no exception. Brilliant melodies and harmonies and a very recognisable sound, but the joke wore thin on their sophomoric lyrics some time around "The War On Errorism" and that was in 2003. The first song is actually laugh out loud funny, and there are a few good songs in there but its mostly forgettable / cringeworthy.

**

Edited by Lucky Rathen
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I've always thought NoFX write fucking awesome songs with fucking awful lyrics.

 

 

I largely disagree. I don't think NOFX have put out a good record since Pump up the Valuum, so that's over 14 years ago, but lyrically, Fat Mike is mostly very good, or at least he is on the 90's NOFX records, so long as he's not writing about lesbians.

 

The Decline is a punk rock masterpiece.

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I largely disagree. I don't think NOFX have put out a good record since Pump up the Valuum, so that's over 14 years ago, but lyrically, Fat Mike is mostly very good, or at least he is on the 90's NOFX records, so long as he's not writing about lesbians.

 

The Decline is a punk rock masterpiece.

 

Fair point. I only have three of their albums so I don't have a huge frame of reference (Punk In Drublic, Pump Up The Valuum, The War On Errorism) and there are some terrific songs on there when his lyrics are reigned in a bit. Bottles To The Ground, Dinosaurs Will Die etc. He has a good turn of phrase from time to time. But then there's all the ones about vaginas and silicon cocks and I'm like:

 

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Edited by Reinhold Messner
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Have been listening a lot today to the debut album by Honeyblood - a splendid new duo from Glasgow.  Thrilling indie pop with excellent, slightly '90s sounding' guitar hooks and harmonies.  Cracking stuff with pretty much all the songs being good to great and at least some suggestion that band might develop in interesting ways in the future.  In Pitchfork style I'm giving it 8.2/10.

 

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30 new albums in 30 days #19 (day 19)

 

Bad Religion - The Empire Strikes First

 

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What I said on the last page about all Bad Religion albums sounding the same is incorrect, because this one is different. This is an angry protest album with recurring themes of war, religion, and politics that rages and snarls from the first track. The songs are a little more varied, with some different arrangements, definitely more of a complete album than just a collection of songs, though I don't think the songs on this are as instantly memorable as some of their other songs. Would make a good companion piece to American Idiot wouldn't it.

***

 

30 new albums in 30 days #20 (day 19)

 

The Reverend Horton Heat - The Full-Custom Gospel Sounds of the Reverend Horton Heat.

 

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The Rev's debut album "Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em" is one of my favourite albums ever, so I don't know why I've never checked out any of his other stuff. This album is the follow up to it, released in 1993, so it seemed like a good place to start. The style hasn't changed, it's catchy punky rockabilly performed with biting wit, however it's faster, frantic, more fun; absolutely demented. It's like it was recorded during an all night speed and Red Bull binge at a barn dance. Absolutely outstanding. Though narrowly misses out on 5 stars because the last three songs are self-indulgent piffle. I'm going to listen to this album a lot.

****

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#22

 

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NOFX - Liberal Animation

 

All the NOFX chat urged me to finally listen to the first album that I never really bothered with. I remember having a couple of songs from it that I downloaded from NAPSTER many, many years ago. 1999-ish, I'd guess. They sounded pretty horrible at the time. I appreciate this a bit more than the samples I heard from it when I was 13 or so, but it's still not great. Full-pelt RKL rip-offs, despite being nowhere near as good musically at the time. I like the snottiness of the vocals, but not how jarringly out of tune they are. The improvement between this and S&M Airlines in just a year is pretty huge. It's best to just pretend S&M Airlines was their first LP. 1 and a half outta 5.

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FOUR

 

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Geezer - "Handmade Heavy Blues"

 

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Big, ballsy, swaggering blues rock that's cranked-up to 11. Loads of fat grooves, slide guitar and songs about devil women. Nothing new, but serious jams. The kind of music that Dusty Rhodes unwinds to with a glass of bourbon and a massive cigar after a hard day. If you like the groovier side of stoner rock then you'll probably dig it.

 

***

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#23

 

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Code Orange (Kids) - I Am King

 

I saw Jake mention them on Facebook, which urged me to revisit them. I didn't know they had a new record out this year. I didn't mind the first album, and this is more of the same, but a little more refined. Kurt Ballou recorded it, so it sounds violently colossal, like a monster truck colliding with a zeppelin. Slow, turgid hardcore that sounds like if you played a Botch record at half speed. It borrows as much from that old AmRep style scum rock as it does from Converge. Ridiculous chugs and bass grooves beneath quite a varied vocal delivery. I'm not so fond of the faster songs actually. They just don't have the same vibe when they're doing the blastbeats, but the slow chuggy sludge is inhumanly heavy. GOOD. 4 outta 5.

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