Rate the albums you have listened to today.

[Teabags]

Bought some LPs yesterday, listened to them this morning.

Minor Threat - st - I shouldn't need to say anything. It's just great.

Minor Threat - Out of Step - Again, it's just great.

ACxDC - Antichrist Demoncore - FAST!

[Stroopy121]

I've been listening to stuff but not posting about it. Naughty cunt that I am. Catch-up time!

 

New Record a Day #3

 

Less Than Jake - See the Light

 

Shitty mood needed Ska to make it better and this worked a treat. Not a stand-out record as LTJ go, but it's pretty solid start to finish with the usual toot-toot parp-parp goodness.

 

4/5

 

 

New Record a Day #4

 

Our Time Down Here - Midnight Mass

 

Slightly heavier than I expected based on the string of "related artists" that brought me here on Spotify, I was expecting more pop-punk, but this was a welcome surprise. Not much to say really, it's a good record and I'll definitely check out more of their stuff based on the strength of this record. I found it a bit forgettable but I'll blame that on listening to it while at work on a sleepy Sunday.

 

4/5

 

 

New Record a Day #5

 

Flogging Molly - Speed of Darkness

 

The trite title should have been a tip-off. It feels like a phoned-in record. "More of the same" is perfectly acceptable to put out, look at Bad Religion or NOFX, or even the LTJ record above.. But this just doesn't have the same fire and energy and life that the other records do. Not a bad record, but if you fancy some Flogging Molly, just listen to Drunken Lullabies again.

 

2/5

 

xx

[TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH]

Luscious Jackson - Fever in Fever out

 

 

All girl alternative rock signed to Grand Royal, which should give you a decent idea of how the record sounds, if you have never heard of Luscious Jackson. The album was produced by Daniel Lanois, which gives it a certainly low-midrange-gloopiness, which in my opinion suits the album. A lot of solid pop songs, that tend to have a woozy, dreamy feel to them.

 

4/5

[TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH]

R.E.M. - New Adventures in Hi-Fi

 

 

Easily my favourite R.E.M. album and I think it's the best thing that they ever recorded. There is so much going on with this records, and the juxtaposition between studio recordings and "live" performances from soundchecks is not as jarring as you might expect. A hugely creative album, and not something that the casual fan might expect when they think of R.E.M. It's fucking brilliant.

 

5/5

[Lemonade]

 

Paul Stanley - Paul Stanley - One of the four Kiss 1978 solo albums. This rocks so fucking hard. It really just sounds like a 70s Kiss album with loads of good singalong / shoutalong bits and loads of awesome hooks and swagger. Paul Stanley makes everything sound so sleazy as well. This is at its heart, an album about fucking. Great album.

Standout tracks - "Wouldn't You Like To Know Me?", "Tonight You Belong To Me", "It's Alright", "Love In Chains".

****

 

 

Ace Frehley - Ace Frehley - Another of the four Kiss 1978 solo albums. It's a lot more glam rock than Paul Stanley's, and also more riff based. It's really bland though, repetitive as hell and there's nothing really exciting about it. Background music.

Standout tracks - "New York Groove"

**

 

 

Elliot Smith - XO - There's some great moments on here, some of Elliott's best work, beautiful whispery thin layered vocals and gorgeous guitar playing, there's a quite a lot of filler as well though. Has great songs, but not a great album.

Standout tracks "Tomorrow, Tomorrow", "Waltz #2", "Oh Well, OK".

***

Edited September 22, 2014 by Lucky Rathen

[Lemonade]

 

Ghostface Killah - 12 Reasons To Die. Pretty good album. Some really lush production, nice beats and Ghostface is always good value. Gets better on side 2.

Standout tracks - I Declare War, The Rise Of The Ghostface Killah, Murder Spree.

****

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul Stanley - Paul Stanley - One of the four Kiss 1978 solo albums. This rocks so fucking hard. It really just sounds like a 70s Kiss album with loads of good singalong / shoutalong bits and loads of awesome hooks and swagger. Paul Stanley makes everything sound so sleazy as well. This is at its heart, an album about fucking. Great album.

Standout tracks - "Wouldn't You Like To Know Me?", "Tonight You Belong To Me", "It's Alright", "Love In Chains".

****

 

 

 

Ace Frehley - Ace Frehley - Another of the four Kiss 1978 solo albums. It's a lot more glam rock than Paul Stanley's, and also more riff based. It's really bland though, repetitive as hell and there's nothing really exciting about it. Background music.

Standout tracks - "New York Groove"

**

 

 

 

 

These were first-time listens by the way, so I'm sort of playing the new album a day thing too.

[Stroopy121]

New Record a Day #6

 

Antillectual - Testimony

 

Not a huge amount to say really other than this record is fucking spectacular. Had never heard of these lads before, but they certainly are a GBOL with a GBOSongs. Gruff punk rock/hardcore. Listen to them.

 

5/5

 

xx

[Soda Jerk]

Been away for a few days, but listened to lots of new stuff, so I need to catch up.

 

One New Record a Day #4

 

The Menzingers - Rented World

 

A band I really can't decide if I like. The singers are great, and they are one of the best punk rock bands when it comes to quiet/loud dynamics, but they keep going a bit too Gaslight Anthem for my liking, often trying a bit too hard to write a huge, stadium anthem. I think this record is the one I have most enjoyed out of their back catalogue, but it still has a couple of slow, lighter-swaying anthems, which aren't my bag. I wish they just brought the 2 minute rockers. Still, they know how to put together a song. 3 and a half outta 5.

 

 

#5

 

New Model Army - Between Wine and Blood

 

I gave this a spin after seeing it crop up in the New Releases bit on Spotify. I saw them in Bradford back in 2001, and I've never been more bored at a gig. I just don't get them. This is allegedly a change in direction from their usual post-punk (a genre that doesn't really resonate with me), and, to my ears, it sounds like a pub rock band who have forked out for some decent production. A less gimmicky Terrorvision, or a Wildhearts without the fun-as-fuck choruses. There's some decent stuff going on in places, but nothing about this is neither fun or triumphant. Perfectly inoffensive background rock music for me, but I'd never put this on and go "man, you gotta hear this!". 2 outta 5

 

 

#6

 

Royal Blood - S/T

 

These guys seem surrounded by hype at the moment. They even have a TELEVISION ADVERT, where renowned pissboiler ZANE LOWE speaks enthusiastically over clips of Royal Blood songs. He sounds like he likes it, and Zane Lowe's finger is well and truly on the pulse, ain't it? I think? I don't know. Royal Blood. 2 piece riff machine. It's alright. It sounds like something that should rock my world, but I just feel like it should be rawer. Is that a word? More raw. Rawer. There's some belting riffs on show. Total village-destroying riffs. They sound colossal, but it's all a little too perfect. The guitars lack a bit of bite with their slick and rounded polishing, and the vocals are too squeaky clean. If the singer had more of a King Buzzo thing going on, and they turned the guitar's midrange up to 11, this could really kick a few heads off. It's good and all, but it could be better. 2 and a half outta 5. Just listen to a Big Business record instead. They did this stuff better.

 

 

#7

 

Unfun - Shores of Lake Erie

 

New album and more of the same. Jawbreaker with rocks-in-a-blender production, and a thousand distortion pedals. Everything through distortion pedals. Snare drum sounds little hollow? Distort it. Singer can't sing? Distort it. Take the final mix and distort it. Sounds like if 1980's SWANS covered an Off With Their Heads song. Filthy as fuck 90's style downtrodden punk rock for people who are miserable and want to be more miserable. Get in my ears. 4 outta 5.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Soda van Jerk

[Lemonade]

New album a day #4

 

 

Lazarus & The Plane Crash - Horseplay. This is really odd album and difficult to pigeonhole. It seems to be based around old jazz / swing music with bits of Cajun thrown in, but imagine that modernised with weird dark lyrics and occasional electronic parts. At its darkest it channels Tom Waits or Nick Cave, in its more accessible numbers its Franz Ferdinand with trumpets. A real headscratcher but definitely one of the most interesting albums I've listened to recently.

***

 

New album a day #5

 

 

Brody Dalle - Diploid Love. Painfully uninteresting solo album from ex-Distillers frontwoman, a combination of generic Distillers-lite and radio/club friendly turds that are totally, like, still rock man, because they have guitars in them. Did not earn a second listen. Getting to the end of this was a test of endurance. Just listen to Sing Sing Death House instead.

*

Edited September 23, 2014 by Lucky Rathen

[Stroopy121]

New Record a Day #6

No Use For a Name - Hard Rock Bottom

 

Just fucking amazing punk rock from top to bottom. It's a crime that I never listened to this until yesterday.

 

5/5

 

 

New Record a Day #7

 

Strung Out - Another Day in Paradise

 

Just fucking amazing punk rock from top to bottom. It's a crime that I never listened to this until now.

 

 

5/5

 

xx

[Lemonade]

Up the punx.

[Alkaline]

New Record a Day #6

No Use For a Name - Hard Rock Bottom

 

Just fucking amazing punk rock from top to bottom. It's a crime that I never listened to this until yesterday.

 

5/5

 

 

New Record a Day #7

 

Strung Out - Another Day in Paradise

 

Just fucking amazing punk rock from top to bottom. It's a crime that I never listened to this until now.

 

 

5/5

 

xx

Seriously...

Listen to Pulley as well if you haven't already.

[Stroopy121]

Seriously...

Listen to Pulley as well if you haven't already.

 

Pulley are pretty tidy, though there's this band called Green Day I've just gave a spin - their first few records are pretty awesome! Can't wait to hear how good the newest stuff is!

 

xx

[Soda Jerk]

I never really took to Hard Rock Bottom.

 

More Betterness though. That one has all the hits. An absolute favourite in my teenage years.

[Soda Jerk]

One New Record a Day #8

 

Joey Cape's Bad Loud - Volume One

 

I'm a big fan of Joey Cape, but there's still a bit of his solo/offshoot stuff that I've not heard yet, and this is one of them. This is an album of full-band versions of some of his acoustic songs from the 'Bridge' and 'Doesn't Play Well With Others' albums. Sounds like a stripped back Bad Astronaut. Well, the more rocking BA songs. Cape is a great songwriter, and he's brought these songs to life, as I wasn't really taken in by his acoustic records. This is a good record, despite the crap name and art work. 3 and a half outta 5.

[Woodsinho]

#6

 

Royal Blood - S/T

 

These guys seem surrounded by hype at the moment. They even have a TELEVISION ADVERT, where renowned pissboiler ZANE LOWE speaks enthusiastically over clips of Royal Blood songs. He sounds like he likes it, and Zane Lowe's finger is well and truly on the pulse, ain't it? I think? I don't know. Royal Blood. 2 piece riff machine. It's alright. It sounds like something that should rock my world, but I just feel like it should be rawer. Is that a word? More raw. Rawer. There's some belting riffs on show. Total village-destroying riffs. They sound colossal, but it's all a little too perfect. The guitars lack a bit of bite with their slick and rounded polishing, and the vocals are too squeaky clean. If the singer had more of a King Buzzo thing going on, and they turned the guitar's midrange up to 11, this could really kick a few heads off. It's good and all, but it could be better. 2 and a half outta 5. Just listen to a Big Business record instead. They did this stuff better.

 

 

#7

 

Unfun - Shores of Lake Erie

 

New album and more of the same. Jawbreaker with rocks-in-a-blender production, and a thousand distortion pedals. Everything through distortion pedals. Snare drum sounds little hollow? Distort it. Singer can't sing? Distort it. Take the final mix and distort it. Sounds like if 1980's SWANS covered an Off With Their Heads song. Filthy as fuck 90's style downtrodden punk rock for people who are miserable and want to be more miserable. Get in my ears. 4 outta 5.

 

16 minutes is exactly the right amount of Unfun for an album.

 

You're also correct about Royal Blood but I've got no beef with them. If 17 year old me had heard this on Radio 1 in 2001 I'd have been all over it and if that ended up with me listening to Big Business before I turned 27 then that would have been even gooder.

[Soda Jerk]

I have no issue with the hype surrounding Royal Blood. It's good that a RIFF band is doing well, and I quite enjoyed the live set I saw on telly recently. Leeds/Reading, I think it was from. I think that set did them more justice than their record does. I just wish it had a bit more kick to it. It's mostly the soft vocals that turn me off a bit. Singing is for choirboys. Get your shout on!

[Teabags]

Famine - 7" - Awesome powerviolence from Yorkshire. They were the stand out band when they played Downstairs a few months back and the 7" is fucking great. Lots of fast, lots of riffs, lots of mad.

[Soda Jerk]

Doing another for today, as I just bought this down in Bristol at the weekend for a fiver. Great find.

 

One New Record a Day #9

 

Rich Kids on LSD - Greatest Hits Double Live Beanie Invasion Berlin '88 2LP

 

Great band, one of my favourites, but I'd not heard the live record, as I tend to not be a fan of them in general, but I'd heard good things about this. Lightyears ahead of any 80's punk band, IMO. They don't really get the credit they deserve. Probably because NOFX took it all instead. This is a good summary of their output up until 'Rock and Roll Nightmare', and it sounds better than any of their actual records up until that point. The songs are faster on here too, because drugs. Probably. The best. 5 outta 5.

[Stroopy121]

New Record a Day #8

 

Face to Face - Face to Face

 

NOFX-style punk rawk. Lots of octaves, the bassline pinging away in the background, fast, woahs, harmonies. Fucking great. 

 

5/5

 

xx

[Lemonade]

I didn't listen to any albums yesterday because I had new podcasts

[Soda Jerk]

One New Record a Day #10

 

The Evens - The Odds

 

3rd album by DC two-piece, featuring Amy Farina of The Warmers/Ted Leo, and Ian MacKaye of, well, you know. Drums, baritone guitar and joyous vocal harmonies. I thought the first album was okay, but I didn't like the second album at all, so I wasn't really interested in this record when it came out (in 2012). That was a mistake, because this record is pretty sharp. Farina is an excellent vocalist (and drummer) and you hear it more on this record than the other two. The instrumentation is as minimal as possible, but this is all about the vocal melodies. This floors the other two records overall. The balance between sparse fragility and jaunty choruses is perfect. A bloody nice record. 4 outta 5.

[Soda Jerk]

Another for today.

 

(sometimes more than) One New Record a Day #11

 

Elvis Costello - Brutal Youth

 

I don't believe I've ever bothered with a Costello album after Goodbye Cruel World. I didn't care for his meandering into jazz and country, so didn't really explore any of his 90's output until recently, which is incredibly patchy, but this album stands out a mile. Reunited with his original backing band, The Attractions, and it's not far removed from those first 3 records he did with them. Raucous power pop with infectious melodies. 'My Science Fiction Twin' sounds like it could be a single from This Year's Model. It's arguably 2 or 3 tracks too long. 56minutes is pushing it for a record of pop songs, but it's still a great listen, and worthy of your time if you're a fan of his earlier stuff. 3 and a half outta 5.

[Lemonade]

New album (almost) a day #6



The Nipple Erectors - Bops, Babes, Booze & Bovver. Up the punx record featuring a pre-Pogues Shane McGowan on vocals. Fairly standard 80s punx with rock n roll influences, put me in mind of a poppier Stiff Little Fingers or Sham 69. Some catchy tunes.

***

Edited September 26, 2014 by Lucky Rathen

[Soda Jerk]

Loads of New Albums a Day #12

 

Jello Biafra & The Melvins - Never Breathe What You Can't See

 

If the Dead Kennedys were still going, this probably isn't far off what they'd sound like. It definitely doesn't sound much like the Melvins, until the last song. Adam Jones of TOOL plays guitar on some of the tracks too, though I can't really tell where. Jello Biafra himself is probably an acquired taste, and it's a very vocal-heavy record, so you probably need to like Jello Biafra, or you'd be wise to give this one a miss. In his old age, his voice has lost a bit of bite, and he sounds a bit like Fred Schneider sometimes. S'alright. 2 and a half outta 5.

 

 

As Many New Albums I Want A Day #13

 

Jello Biafra & NoMeansNo - The Sky is Falling and I Want My Mommy

 

If the Dead Kennedys were still going in 1991, this probably isn't far off what they'd sound like. Though, this one sounds a lot more like the backing band than The Melvins album does. This was released just a couple of years after NoMeansNo released Wrong, which is an excellent record, so NMN were still at their peak, and Jello doesn't sound like an old man at this point. This album is a bit more frantic, and downright sillier. A solid rocker. 3 outta 5.