2002’s Just the Best Party was the first of many definitive statements made by World/Inferno Friendship Society. Similar to the careers of David Bowie, Bob Dylan, or Glenn Danzig, the group has existed in a number of different manifestations (a change usually trigged by the exit of old bandmembers and the entrance of new ones), but all of those manifestations center around a core structure: Glam rock for Bowie, modern folk for Dylan, horror-punk of Danzig. And it was Party that

I’m a little pissed at my old pal Tommy Gun. When I ran into him a couple months ago, he told me the new 78 Revolutions Per-Minute album was going to be 12 tracks and approximately 20 minutes long. In other words, a full length by punk standards. When I finally got Intellectuals and Other Traitors, it was only 8 songs and about 13 minutes long. Definitely an EP. What have I got against EPs? Absolutely nothing. I’d much rather have 10 or 12 tight minutes then a half hour of crap. It’s j

Despite the apocalyptic tone of the entire runtime of World Wide W.E.B., L.O.T.I.O.N. is clearly having a lot of fun. You can’t discount things like the cheeky album title or the cover which merges soldier of Fortune motifs with Terminator 2. There also seems to be some schizo-juxtaposition thrown here and there ala G.I.S.M. It all adds up to something amusing, but that’s only to soften the heavier message underneath.

L.O.T.I.O.N. make their trade in aggressive crus

I’ve been very forthcoming about my love of Failure Records & Tapes’ Split Hits the Fans split seven inch series. They remind me of the good old days when it seemed like all of my favorite bands were constantly collaborating on these little pieces of plastic. Volume five has done nothing but stoke my enthusiasm. It also happens to be the heaviest one yet, featuring Cleveland’s Ringworm and Detroit’s Child Bite. Failure has always been a punk and metal label, and both of these ba

The Melvins REALLY like Flipper. So much so, that they’ve previously recorded at least four Flipper covers and have routinely played flipper songs live. And that’s not even counting the fact that the band routinely cites the seminal Bay Area band along with Side B of My War as foundational influences.

Unfortunately, in 2019, Flipper is down to two members, Ted Falconi and Steve DePace, and they usually supplement live with guest musicians- most recently mike Watt and David Yow.

If you listened to 2017's Feeling Disconnected it'd come as no surprise why Winnipeg's Mobina Galore blew up so big. Extensive touring and support for bands like Against Me!, not to mention lots of festivals and awards, all felt like something that should naturally follow a two-piece that wore their heart on their sleeves. Through their brand of melodic/indie punk, vocalist/guitarist Jenna Priestner and drummer/vox Marcia Hanson really cut a path with fast-paced punk, shoutalong anthems a

Don’t Give In is the first studio release under the Cro-Mags name in 19 years and possibly more importantly, the first since founding members Harley Flanagan and John Joseph settled their three decade dispute over the Cro-Mags name (legally, anyways). So, now there is Cro-Mags (which includes Flanagan as well as long time ‘mags associates Gabby Abularach, Rocky George, and Garry Sullivan) and Cro-Mags JM (which includes John Joseph, Mackie Jayson, AJ Novello, and Craig Satari).

B

I fucking hate crowd sourcing. It’s probably because I’m a grumpy old bastard. You make the record and then I buy the record. That’s how it works. Why am I telling you this? Because I think it’s important that you know that I supported Benny and the NoGoods’ Nothing’s Cool Kickstarter campaign. It was the first time that I’ve ever done that. I finally cracked for two reasons. 1) I really enjoyed last year’s Fistful of Dullards. It was one of the best pop punk albums of the year,

A lot of people, including the band themselves, refer to Mean Jeans as a dumb band, something that I strongly disagree with. After seeing them live three years ago (you’re welcome to look up my typo-ridden review from back then) I started to gain a very serious appreciation for them, as they showed an impressive amount of talent and also a great amount of wit and quick thinking, which made for one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen. While their music certainly strives for a “dumb” aesthetic,