The Reunion Show Kill Your Television (cd) (Victory) I've heard references made to The Rentals and such, and I suppose it's not that far off, but The Reunion Show is a band all of its own style. Combining the moog-heavy stylings of the new wavey rock (like, say, The Beans) and kicking into occasional spaz-out rock-out sessions and you have yourself one all-out fun record. Demonstrate your style to the feverish "Television", ooh-ee-ooh along to "Stuck On You" and drop-kick that tall obnoxious guy in front of you with "On A Scale From One To Awesome". On second thought, don't drop-kick people at shows. The Beautiful Mistake Light a Match For I Deserve To Burn (cd) (The Militia Group) Dynamic like Thursday, chunky like Finch, and with melodic clarity like Sunday's Best, TBM delivers their first LP like seasoned veterans. This full-length is lined with thick angular guitars and solid drums matched with a seemingly tireless crew to churn out rock. Check out "On Building", "Silence" and "Anonymous vs California". Be sure you're not operating any heavy machinery. The All-American Rejects Self-Titled (cd) (Doghouse) Despite the fact these guys were born in the eighties, it appears they grew up worshipping the rock and pop gods from that decade. Take your sweetest memories of metal guitar harmonics, the catchiness of new wave, and grind them together with superior emo sensibilities and you MIGHT get an idea of exactly how good this record is. How good is this record? Where do I begin? It's as if they know exactly what buttons to push to get right into your head. See, I've had this cd in stuck-rotation (as in it was stuck in my stereo) for a good week and a half before I even thought about changing it. Start with "One More Sad Song", but then you're taking over the wheel after that. Swerve all over this cd as you like, I'm sure you'll find your way. Churchbuilder Microdancer EP (cd) (Shelflife) Those Akron new wave wiz kids are at it again. Small like the title, this ep is a home to four of their latest offerings to the non-binary world. They demonstrate their signature wistful melodic style by way of beep-jangle-rolling out pop-rocking deliciousness, as evidenced in their title track and "new critics". Check out how much they retained from their Spanish classes on "spanish song" and turn down the lights with the closer "snow in april". Rescue Volume Plus Volume (cd) (Dead Droid) Rescue's a tricky band to put a finger on. They rock, oh they rock, but their mood seems to rollercoast over severe peaks and valleys and it's complicated further with complex time signatures (sort of a throw back to the early 90's jazz-influenced rock scene out of Chicago). The (main?) singer has a voice you haven't heard since prog rock ruled the land. Definitely a unique band among today's popular sound, definitely worth checking out. Taking Back Sunday Tell All Your Friends (cd) (Victory) In an amazing display of respecting the old school while rocking the new school flair, TBS's Tell All Your Friends soars in ten songs of pure emotional hardcore energy. As cheesy as that might sound I can't help but feel charged up when I have this CD on, whether I'm on the subway or at work or wherever. I'm talking about everything I liked about the older DC hardcore style, combined with the melodic guitar work of the new school. What more can I ask for? Enough about me, I've already made one new fan at work -- I'd ask him for a quote but he's really busy. Consensus favorites include "Great Romances of the 20th Century", "You're So Last Summer", "Ghost Man On Third" and "Timberwolves At New Jersey" (nba reference? oh hell yes). I'm bummed I missed them at the Victory show but seeing how they're from Long Island I hope to catch them again. Rocking Horse Winner Horizon (cd) (Equal Vision) To me, Rocking Horse Winner is a great pop band influenced by 80's britpop, but backed with serious hardcore cred. It's cool to see the punk/hardcore masses via Equal Vision embrace a band like this, which goes to show the kids aren't just all about a specific sound and singing style. With vocals often compared to that of Harriet Wheeler's (the range, but not as twee), you just don't hear many singers of Jolie's caliber anymore. Lay that over solid pop-influenced guitars and insanely tight drums, and you get two (three?) great tastes that taste great together. Tullycraft Beat Surf Fun (cd) (Magic Marker) Tullycraft fell off the radar for a little while (as far as I know), but they're finally back and, damn, it's about time. They pretty much pick it up from where we last heard from them, that clatter-crash-jangle-strum-lo-fi-guitar-pop we can't get enough of. everything from the mercilessly name-droppy "twee" to a revisit of "christine, nd" (but a totally different version from the previous version) to the josie-esque "cowgirls on parade" to the doot-doot electronic "sent to the moon", this CD is packed with mixtape-ready favorites from start to finish. Laura Watling Winter EP (cd) (self-released) Even though this is titled the Winter ep, the cozy, pretty pop stylings of Laura Watling can be enjoyed in any season. The 5-song ep's opener, the skip-a-long-able "spend the winter with me", is easily my favorite track with the parasol-twirl jangles and all-around sunny charm. I always listen to it a few times before continuing on. I also like "loss and hope" and its demonstration of the sad, melancholy side of indiepop. Also check out her cover of True Love Always' "the winter months". Rock Music: A Tribute To Weezer various artists (cd) (Dead Droid) If you're like me, you might be skeptical about a tribute album for a band that's still alive and well and haven't been around *THAT* long. But you know you're a fan and if you're still listening their earlier recordings, as well as bands in the key of emo/harcore you're destined for some Good Times with this one. Serious heavyweights pay their respects here: namely Piebald (doing "No One Else"), Further Seems Forever ("Say It Ain't So"), Midtown ("Suzanne"), The Ataris ("Butterfly"), and Dashboard Confessional ("Jamie" -- my favorite track on the whole thing). I love it when bands don't cover a song exactly like the original, and that's why I often go back to the tracks by Christopher John ("The World Has Turned...") and Mock Orange ("Only In Dreams" -- my favorite =w= song). This compilation gives you exactly what you want and it's so nice to have something you can count on. Charming Champagne and Magazines (cd) (Shelflife) The sparlking sophisticated pop stylings of Charming really shines on this latest release. This is one of the rare times when *good* production really works for me, as high fidelity rightly has a place in charmingville. Charming are made up of very accomplished musicans for sure, but what really sets them apart has got to be Nicole's contributions as the sweetest pop-crooner this side of Nina Persson. Grab the dancing shoes for "let me take you out", drop the disco ball for "downtown" and wind down to the title track. Alkaline Trio / Hot Water Music split EP (cdep) (Jade Tree) This is one of the Jade Tree split EP series CDs, and even though it's the only one I have I'm convinced it's the best one. And really, Alkaline's "Queen of Pain" is worth the price of admission right up front, followed by Hot Water Music's rendition of the Alkaline classic "Radio"... so you can say I have made myself believeing "Queen of Pain" is better than all the other EPs all by itself. So what's the whole EP like? Alkaline has the first three songs, last one a HWM cover, burning through each verse-chorus-verse with their catchy, muscular emo. Hot Water Music keep it hot, in their Gainesville hardcore style, punching their way through two originals and two Alkaline covers (one being the aforementioned sweet rendition of "Radio").
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