Sunday, November 30, 2008 ENERGY
Invasions of the Mind
Bridge Nine Records
Fans of melodic hardcore will appreciate the latest from Energy. While it’s a bit more refined than their previous release, Punch the Clock, Invasions is no slouch. The songs on Invasions mix a good dose of melody with angsty punk aggression to keep everyone happy. They tend to tap into a unique emo-esqe sound, similar to early AFI. Their use of gang vocals and choruses are sure to incite many a sing-a-long in upcoming shows.
TOP TRACKS: Hunter Red, 400, Contact, Satellite and the Hit, Brickstone. Considering there are 11 tracks, two of which are instrumentals and one is 28 second quickie, I’d say that’s a great ratio.
GDEVIL’S VERDICT: I haven’t been able to stop listening to this album. It’s a good change of pace from the usual heavy shit I listen to. Invasions of the Mind is something you can throw on to get past second base with that emo chick you’ve been hitting on.
THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM
The ’59 Sound
Side One Dummy Records
Fans of garage rock rejoice, The Gaslight Anthem has arrived with their fourth full length release, The ’59 Sound. This is my first crack at listening to Gaslight and without knowing a thing about them I knew they were from the rock capital of the United States…New Jersey. The parallels made with The Gaslight Anthem and early Bruce Springsteen are uncanny on this album. It’s evident that they are and have been heavily influenced by The Boss. That may be okay for my dad who is now 60 but what about the kids? Rest easy children. This is intelligent, stripped down, blue collar rock and roll anyone can enjoy.
TOP TRACKS: Great Expectations, The ’59 Sound, Miles Davis & The Cool, The Backseat, Meet Me By the River’s Edge
GDEVIL’S VERDICT: If it ain’t from Jersey throw it back! Jersey has been the birthplace of Springsteen, Bon Jovi, big hair and some toxic fumes. You might as well add The Gaslight Anthem to that growing list of things that rock from the armpit of America!
BLOODCLOT!
Burn Babylon Burn
(self released by Bloodclot!)
NYHC’s godfather, John Joseph is back with his new project, Bloodclot! Truth is the guy has never truly left the scene to begin with. When anyone mentions New York Hardcore there are two frontmen that stand out in my mind. They are, and in no certain order, Roger Miret of Agnostic Front, and John “Bloodclot” Joseph of Cro-Mags fame (I was also a fan of his short lived side project, Both Worlds, a while back). These guys were the blood and sweat that gave the scene its boldness…or its balls more or less. With hardcore taking on different sounds these days its great to see Bloodclot! come out with Burn Babylon Burn. It stays true to the old school hardcore code of delivering a message, not something coated with flashy guitar solos or fashionistas preaching about whatever cause is the trend these days. The album has some serious breakdowns to go along with Joseph’s realer than real lyrics, and if anyone knows how to lay down meaningful and insightful lyrics there’s no one better than John Joseph. But let’s also give credit to the rest of Bloodclot! shall we? As I said before, there are some major breakdowns on this album, sure to make any pit a moving mass of picking up change, fist pounding riot.
TOP TRACKS: Revolution, Parallel Lives, Asleep At the Wheel (great metal chorus which reminded me of Leeway), The Turning Point, Stirring In the Hearts and Minds.
GDEVIL’S VERDICT: In this day and age it seems as if there are millions of bands and with technology and the internet its getting easier for so many of these bands to be heard. Here’s my gripe. If your going to send me friend requests on Myspace, Facebook or any other mind numbing social networking website, HAVE SOMETHING TO FUCKING SAY!!! Seriously, it seems to me that many of these cookie cutter bands follow the same formula and sing about meaningless nonsense. Bloodclot! is not one of these bands and I hope many of you younger cats out there read this and take notice. You may not have grown up on Cro-Mags or Bad Brains, but I assure you without them, many of the bands you listen to today would be irrelevant. On a sidenote, John Joseph has a book out entitled The Evolution of a Cro-Magnon. (published by Punkhouse). I urge anyone who grew up in New York City in the late 70’s and 80’s to go out and buy it.
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