Phantom Planet | Raise The Dead | (Fueled By Ramen) | Ten years and a handful of albums later, Phantom Planet, is making a strong comeback. But did they ever leave? Not really. Their new album, Raise the Dead, is definitely resurrecting old Phantom Planet fans. Raise the Dead is far from the Phantom Planet I remember listening to as […]

Does It Offend You, Yeah? | You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into (Virgin) | So here’s the scenario: I’m walking around Virgin Records tripping over stuff and being entirely too loud for my age. Low and behold, I turn to the majestic wall of germ infected headphones and volume knobs that never work, and find Does It […]

Select Start | The Rotary [EP] | Nowadays every band has some kind of synth influence to them. The problem with this is that too many of said bands overuse this element of manipulation. Select Start however has found a way to structure their sound around that tool, not the other way around. First we’re hit with the hopeful “Sweet […]

KirosA Single Strand Ticket-less and pretty much stranded, a friend and I strolled around a gas station near the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, CA where day one of the second annual Bamboozle Left festival would be held. Much to the comparison of some indie movie involving 2 adventurous teens, my friend and I unknowingly stumbled upon a van withholding […]

Dear And The Headlights | Small Steps, Heavy Hooves | There’s something so fresh and alluring about Dear And The Headlights. You notice it the first time you listen to Small Steps, Heavy Hooves. The warmth of Ian Metzger’s voice accompanied by the melodies from both guitars and bass, and the pulsing of the drums. Every song could be the […]

New York Dolls | Live At The Fillmore East | Rating: 7 / 11 | Recent, and not exactly scientific, evidence has proven that punk’s authenticity can be proven not with a specific number of safety pins in one’s shirt, but when one has at least three times as many live releases as studio albums. Following in the footsteps of […]

I’m not sure how recycling works but if you gathered a years worth of PBR cans, threw them in an aluminum shredder (I’m pretty sure they crush cans but bear with me) and just let them do their thing that would somewhat give you the idea of Wisconsin’s own Father Phoenix. Formed out of the vibrant Milwaukee hardcore scene, Father […]