Review: The Wonder Years – Get Stoked On It!

Blake Solomon Sep 19, 2007

Take a look around. What do you see?

Half-eaten bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos? Check.
Nunchucks hanging on wall (you know, just in case)? Check.
Telescope facing hot co-eds. Triple check (they’re blondes!).
A general air of debauchery and laziness? Check**

Well then, you’re an idiot. Whoa, whoa, whoa, don’t take that as a put-down. You have not been forgotten this time. You can finally dive into the cesspool of discarded expectations and “you had to be there” stories with a sufficiently boisterous soundtrack. For The Wonder Years have created Get Stoked On It! And Ted saw all that he had influenced, and that it was very good. He tried to tell Bill, but Bill had fallen asleep in the phone booth and was transported back to feudal Japan. Moving on.

AbsolutePunk Sep 18, 2007

Usually only once or twice a year, an album comes along, trailing behind it a robust passion for music, an appreciation for the legends of the genre, and above all, the ability to capture the hearts and minds of all those who listen. In 2007, that album is without a doubt Josh Ritter’s The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter. Ritter walks the same traveling minstrel line as Springsteen and the Man in Black himself, producing songs that go far beyond a simple entertainment factor. Many critics believed Josh Ritter might never top his heavily-praised release from seventeen months before, The Animal Years. Switching musical styles quite noticeably, Ritter instead chose to blow the doors off of his earlier work.

AbsolutePunk Sep 16, 2007

Start the takeover.
The Takeover

Almost knowing what was to come, the first words said on Four Year Strong’s full-length debut, Rise or Die Trying, are evocative of the buzz that the band is being adorned with on this release. The band has received a notable following from their insane live shows, positive word of mouth, and critical acclaim from websites (guilty as charged) before their highly-anticipated full-length even hit stores. So, does Four Year Strong’s latest rise over the hype or die as an overhyped effort in mediocrity?

Simply put, this album rocks. Describing their music as “happy hardcore,” the band is essentially a pop-punk band with hardcore elements, thus being accessible to all sorts of fans. If you like singing along to music, you’re covered. If you like screaming along to music, you’re covered. If you like banging your head to music, you’re covered. Dueling vocals, great lyrical content, synth lines…I can go on. Rise Or Die Trying has elements that will capture the attention of any fan of rock music. The band is burning up and hitting up this scene that has become theirs for the taking.

Let me see you put your hands upon the stereo/It’s spitting out a ridiculous frequency/But turn it up turn it up/Break a sweat/’Cause were just burning up and hitting up the scene that was ours to hit up.
Bada Bing! Wit A Pipe!

Rise Or Die Trying is an absolute treat for the ears. The album starts with a warning siren on “The Takeover,” indicating that this album is about to take over–thrash your aural senses while leaving a smile on your face. (Talk about happy hardcore.) The album kicks off with “Prepare to Be Digitally Manipulated” and, while seeming to be a speedy punk tune immediately shifts to the hardcore with former Bury Your Dead singer Mat Bruso putting forth his vocals that let you know that Four Year Strong is not your typical pop-punk band in the vein of Cartel or Motion City Soundtrack, but pop-punk that truly exemplifies the roots of punk with the charm of pop.

Drummer Jake Massucco shines on every track with quick feet on the double bass pedals and crafting some really great fills in between the dual singing of guitarists Dan O’Connor and Alan Day. Their first single, “Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die” is a standout track and the perfect representation of what this band is, especially the dual vocals into the breakdown toward the end of the song.

Try not to make it so obvious/You always make it so obvious/I’m fighting it off.
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Hell

However, it is this representation of the band that underlies the album’s main flaw–the lack of originality. Like I have said earlier, they combine a variety of elements into one package that works but it seems like all of these elements are just taken from other bands. Song titles reminiscent of those popularized by Fall Out Boy, dual vocals, and the use of a synthesizer to enhance the music are just some facets that make this release seem a bit too familiar at times from a band that has not had much time or exposure to distinguish themselves amidst their peers. The lyrics, while they employ metaphor very well on tracks like “Abandon Ship or Abandon All Hope” and take a vengeful view on sex in “Catastrophe” and “Beatdown in the Key of Happy,” are surprisingly solid though many deal with the topic of the opposite sex. The most glaring problem is that the band has essentially done the same thing for eleven tracks so there is a genuine sense of repetition by the end of the album. Although the lack of originality is the main fault of this album, the band’s ability to combine each of these parts and make it their own is no easy task, but it is one that they have excelled at.

Many will decry the slick production and mixing that have been done for this album, but I find that it is one of the album’s appeals, as it is intended to not be a full-fledged raw hardcore release but a pop-hardcore release. The clear sound makes it an easier listen than one that is muddled by murky sound quality and allows the guitar work and Josh Lyford’s synth lines to be heard easily.

Ladies and gentlemen, open up your eyes and ears and listen up.
Prepare to Be Digitally Manipulated

All in all, this is an album that should not be missed. It is a true pop-punk release, a refreshing look into an increasingly stale genre. This is an album that fits with any mood one is feeling, allowing you to sing along or bang your head. Most of all, it is fun and will have a ton of staying power as a result.

Though many will inevitably shy away from this release because of the immense buildup it has received, they are doing their ears a disservice as Four Year Strong has risen above the hype and made an album worth every word of praise it has received.

This article was originally published on AbsolutePunk.net

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Review: Motion City Soundtrack – Even if It Kills Me

AbsolutePunk Sep 14, 2007

Here we are again, Motion City Soundtrack and I. Our sizzling nerd sex is back with their third Epitaph release, Even If It Kills Me. Of course, the question here is not if the performance will be up to par. The question here is whether it will blow me out of the water, in which Justin Pierre and crew are certainly capable. I Am The Movie is justifiably priceless and Commit This To Memory is a careful and successful step into a growing style and sound. When I first heard Even If It Kills Me, I felt the hooks, felt the clever shapes, and felt what could be, but it needed to grow. Now, moments away from release day, MCS are wrapping their vines around my ankles and reeling me in like a helpless fish. What a turn-on.

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Review: New Found Glory – From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II

Drew Beringer Sep 13, 2007

The majority of movies that make a lot of money at the box office are followed up with a sequel: Jurassic Park, Spider-Man, Star Wars, etc. New Found Glory, a band that has already accomplished many things, are trying to make this concept work on record. So, the Coral Springs, Florida, quintet hopped into their De Lorean, signed with the label who jump started their career (Drive Thru for this one record deal), and created the sequel to the fan-favorite 2000 EP, From The Screen To Your Stereo.

This time around, NFG recorded an entire album’s worth of covers from famous movies, such as Donnie Darko, The Breakfast Club, and Napoleon Dynamite. The album also features a large list of guests, featuring the likes of Chris Carrabba, Max Bemis, Will Pugh, Patrick Stump, Adam Lazzara, Sheri Dupree, and Lisa Loeb. The end result is eleven covers that perfectly display the band at their finest: energy, fun, and full out effort. The production of Thom Panunzio (whom produced 2006’s Coming Home) and the band is nearly perfect. You won’t find a better cover album on the market.

Drew Beringer Aug 22, 2007

oppa and Momma DuPree have got to be some of the proudest parents around. Their children have just released one of the better albums of 2007. Hailing from Tyler, Texas, the four DuPree siblings (Chauntelle, Sherri, Stacy, and Weston) and one DuPree cousin (Garron) make up Eisley, one of the finer piano-rock bands making music today. In 2005, they released Room Noises on Warner/Reprise Records, which was received warmly by critics and fans alike and generate some buzz for the quintet. While it was nothing outside the norm of the genre, it was good for what it was. Now in 2007, Eisley have just released their second album on Warner/Reprise, titled Combinations, which proves to be their best work to date. Produced by Richard Gibbs, the ten track album clocks in just under 40 minutes, with no track going over 4 minutes. Each track is composed beautifully, mixing pop sensibilities with bolder moves and noises that help take Eisley outside the constraints of the genre.

Adrian Villagomez Aug 20, 2007

Jack Antonoff (vocals/guitar) and Scott Irby-Ranniar (vocals) began what came to be known as Steel Train playing subways and alleyways in New York. A demo released in 2000 garnered considerable record label interest, and after signing to Drive-Thru Records, the two original members recruited Evan Winiker (bass) and Matthias Gruber (drums) to enter the studio. The newly formed quartet emerged with the band’s debut EP, the wondrous For You My Dear.

AbsolutePunk Aug 9, 2007

From your warm barstool, you watch a new band take the stage. You’ve never seen them before but their opening chords ring in clear and true and damn good. An instant connection between the ear and the instinct, this will be the band in which you rave testimonies. Here at ABSOLUTEPUNK.net, we like to provide you with that same tummy-filling. After we report the news and churn out the reviews, interviews and exclusives, we are here to serve you up with more music to obsess over. That being said, here are 100 blazing up and comers that we, the staff of AP.net, are losing sleep over. Caught between a rock and the big time, these 100 are aimed for a 2007 killing in potential alone. We toast our glasses to them, and to you, hopefully, for giving them a chance. – Julia Conny

AbsolutePunk Aug 6, 2007

It is no small order to tackle a concept album based on Johannes Kepler’s theory of Earth’s tonal orbit, centering around the themes of misery and famine. And surely, this is not a process that becomes any easier when your band loses one of it’s prime creative forces in Casey Crescenzo, who has since gone on to do great things with his Dear Hunter project. So really, it is quite understandable that listeners are rather apprehensive as they first approach The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi, the second studio album from The Receiving End of Sirens. With all factors considered, it sounded like the boys might have bitten off more than they could chew – especially when they were playing with a roster that Crescenzo disciples would (recklessly) consider “crippled.” Nevertheless, the band hit the studio with Matt Squire to take a swing at the expectations laid out before them, and have met them in stride.

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Review: Park – It Won’t Snow Where You’re Going

Adrian Villagomez Aug 4, 2007

When a band includes a disclaimer in their lyrics booklet explaining that musical themes of suicide should not be acted upon by the listener, they must really mean business. I hear the phrase “summer album” thrown around often in connection to upbeat and poppy albums. In contrast, Park’s It Won’t Snow Where You’re Going is the kind of album needed for warmth through the coldest of winters. Though there is little to nothing that can be described as cheerful in vocalist/guitarist Ladd Mitchell’s lyrics, there’s something encouraging in screaming ‘Let’s give up / Let’s give in’ during times of personal strife.

Though his lyrics are one of the main draws to Park, Mitchell’s vocals are nothing extraordinary. There’s something humbling about this, though. It makes him an everyman, someone whose troubles are easy to relate to. With that being said, at certain moments on the album his voice does shine brighter than usual. There’s an unmistakable build up on the track “Pomona for Empusa,” and for a few moments before the chorus Mitchell conveys his current frustration excellently with the single lyric, ‘Jesus Christ, what was I thinking?’ This short pause is made even better with limited accompaniment by guitarist Justin Valenti, who dwindles towards lower notes on the fretboard as a representation of Mitchell’s sinking state.

Jason Tate Jul 31, 2007

This summer reads like a pop fan’s wet-dream.

We find July bringing the trifecta of “must-own” summer albums to a close. For those who lean toward the pop persuasion, The Starting Line will come as a fitting end to a two week burst of purchases that is sure to include multiple trips to the record store in search of Yellowcard and MxPx. This gives you two full weeks to play both of the aforementioned albums – because once you’ve purchased Direction, it’s unlikely to leave your stereo for quite some time.

AbsolutePunk Jul 27, 2007

On their recent tour stop in Newport, Kentucky, I had the chance to sit down with Zach and Rick of Jimmy Eat World. We discussed items related to the record and upcoming release of Chase This Light, and also had time to go back and discuss some other topics. Like what really happened with Mark Trombino? And what do they think of everyone being all over Clarity’s balls? Read on to find out these answers and more.

Drew Beringer Jul 23, 2007

Everyone wants to be a pop punk superstar. There are those who embrace it, while others despise it, but secretly wish to be it. With all the success that Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, and their peers have had, it comes as no surprise that many new bands try to emulate it. All Time Low, June, and countless others have tried their hand at it, with mixed results. Enter Scenes From A Movie into the pop-punk arena. If you took Brendan Urie’s vocals and dubbed them over Fall Out Boy’s Take This To Your Grave, you would end up with The Pulse, the debut album from the quintet. What it lacks in originality, it makes up with catchy hooks, infectious melodies, and an energy many bands in the genre lack these days.

AbsolutePunk Jul 23, 2007

This is a weird album for me. I strongly dislike it, but a part of me enjoys it. Yeah, I know, it doesn’t make much sense. It can be described like an ex you hate but a part of you still loves. I’ve listened to Sum 41 for five years, and Underclass Hero is their only album that has disappointed me. How could I possibly dislike an album that has melodies that remind me so much of singing along to All Killer No Filler?

I’ve been anticipating Underclass Hero for months. Once I finally received it, I thought to myself, if only this could be the poppy, anthem-filled follow-up I’ve been waiting for since All Killer No Filler. I certainly thought so as the album kicked off with the title-track “Underclass Hero.” Filled with juvenile-themed lyrics (“Now it’s us against them / We’re here to represent / And spit right in the face of the establishment”) and a re-hash of the chorus to a previous b-side “Subject To Change” (Irony, much?), “Underclass Hero” left me with a constant need to look at Winamp to see if I wasn’t playing “Fat Lip.” The song quickly climbed the charts of my last.fm’s “most played songs” through repetitive plays. All is well in the pop-punk spot (a very, very large spot..) of my ears after “Underclass Hero” is over.

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Review: June – Make It Blur

Blake Solomon Jul 23, 2007

I am nowhere naive enough to believe the words in this article will slow or deter June in any way. As my stuffed animal (a dog named Hank) and my comic book-collage mock me in the house of my parents, it’s hard to feel like I have any actual influence. This isn’t a question of power, though. Make It Blur, much like my room and existence, is ordinary. What a foul word. Just a few years ago this sound would have been dandy, even refreshing. But nowadays everyone wants “that” moment; the fleeting sensation where one can close their eyes and drift away from all things unattainable. The last thing we want is to remember how alike everything is and how it always will be. June’s new album is my stuffy bedroom, and I’ll be damned if I spend another day in this prison.

Review: The Wonder Years – Get Stoked On It!

Review: Josh Ritter – The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

Review: Four Year Strong – Rise or Die Trying

Review: Motion City Soundtrack – Even if It Kills Me

Review: New Found Glory – From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II

Review: Eisley – Combinations

Review: Steel Train – For You My Dear

The Absolute 100 (2007)

Review: The Receiving End of Sirens – The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi

Review: Park – It Won’t Snow Where You’re Going

Review: The Starting Line – Direction

Interview: Jimmy Eat World

Review: Scenes from a Movie – The Pulse

Review: Sum 41 – Underclass Hero

Review: June – Make It Blur