Saturday, September 26, 2009

Reviews - 9/26/09



Smash It Up


















Smash It Up - Not Aiming, Just Swinging - Smash It Up certainly has an animal for a drummer, a couple of hotshot ax-wielders and a singer with a pretty decent sounding snarl. But, I can think of one, maybe two moments on this 13-track album where my attention was grabbed. One is on track 7 - "Babylon's Calling" - where there's a pretty heavy change of pace into a mosh-inducing breakdown. The other is...shit, I don't remember.

It's like there are some competent parts of songs going on, but there's nothing to set them up and make them mean anything. Even the track titles ring a little generic to me. I.E. "Drunk and Mean", "Die Hard", "Heroes", etc.

By no means would I go so far as to call Smash It Up "mall-punk" or anything like that, but I guess they're like a street-punk version of Rush for this reviewer. They know how to play them instruments and everything's tight, but they didn't move me. I bet they've got a following and that's cool. Just didn't really do it for the Beercan staff. (www.smashitup.se)


Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Reviews - 9/22/09

The Scraps


The Scraps - Demo - I could never bring myself to fully tear into these guys as you can tell that the music means a lot to them as a vehicle for personal, and perhaps social, improvement. In fact, the first two tracks on this little 3-songer - "Shotgun" and "Even Up" - are legit good, albeit shabbilly, recorded tunes. Maybe kind of Social Distortion-ish? In any event, if shabby recording is a crime, then let every band I've ever been involved in as well as 60% of the bands I've enjoyed in the last 15 years...be guilty!

That being said, track 3 is a real fucking stinker. Like, really, really bad.

So, 2 for 3. Nothing mind-blowing, but not too shabby (outside of the recording quality).

(www.myspace.com/thebinkleys)

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Reviews - 9/5/09

Brawlers

The Baker Street Brawlers - The Drunken Fury of the Baker Street Brawlers - This has been touched on before on this blog, but we're usually against drum machines. However, in the case of the Baker St. Brawlers, you make an exception. Because A.) you can tell that these guys were like, "fuck it, we've got some good tunes ready to go, let's record 'em. Don't need a drummer" and B.) it doesn't sound like it would be a good idea to get on the wrong side of these cats.

This is a bunch of real solid, mean-spirited odes to the pursuit of debauchery, obtaining and engaging in debauchery and the consequences (both good and bad) of said debauchery. Juiced-up R'n'R guitars and growling vocals belting out tracks such as "Start a Fight", "She Spit In My Face" and my personal favorite, "Sold to a Narc". This is some good shit and the if the Brawlers can round out to a full band, they're on to something.

Favorite part about this CD is that by the time they get to Track 7, the singer's voice is gone, or at least well on it's way, leaving this humble reviewer to think that these fuckers go balls-out and let the proverbial dust settle where it may. Dig it! (www.myspace.com/bakerstbrawlers666)