What We Hate

Resonance - Transfuse

Review written by Mike French, who still lives in the Stone Age, thus his computer being unable to handle TypePad's next generation editor. Thanks Mikey!

Personally, I can’t stand bands that sound like Kid Dynamite but aren’t Kid Dynamite, so my stubborn, fanboy ass was reluctant to pick up Resonance’s Transfuse after numerous said comparisons in the past. Though, with some obvious nods to the band and the preceding and possibly more influential Lifetime, Resonance’s sound is just as rooted in the late `80s D.C. scene as New Jersey; in fact, between the perfectly imperfect nature of the unstable shouts to off-key singing and the shifty major chords (with that slight arpeggio…Dan Yemin knows what I mean), this record sounds like Embrace got back together and did a Kid Dynamite cover album. So have I found a band that’s challenged my own standards? Yes.

More words after the jump.

Two Cow Garage - Speaking in Cursive

Review written by Mike French, who still lives in the Stone Age, thus his computer being unable to handle TypePad's next generation editor. Thanks Mikey!

I asked my 10th grade English teacher once for advice on writing, and she replied with the "write about what you know" cliché. Ah, and success it was; I walked away a different person with this newfound knowledge and planned on applying it to future written efforts. Later the other night, after immensely enjoying Two Cow Garage's Speaking in Cursive, I thought to myself: "Come on, Mike, you're punx; why listen to anyone?" So here I am writing about a subgenre of punk I have very little knowledge about and the chances of making an ass of myself are pretty high. As long as I have an opinion, it should make me somewhat qualified...I think.

More words and streaming music after the jump.

Monikers - Wake Up

I've heard this before and so have you. Gruff, gritty pop-punk. Sub-two minute stories about drinking, shitty jobs and slacking. Bands like Monikers seem to be a dime a dozen these days (even the press release I got with this thing openly acknowledges that), so why do we the listeners value some bands over others? Timing? Availability? Relatability? Memories? It could be all of those things or none of them, I'm not really sure. What I do know however, is that I should love Wake Up a lot more than I do, but I just don't and it bums me out because music like this is typically right in my wheelhouse.

That's not to say you won't love it, though.

More words after the jump.

Tigers Jaw - Tigers Jaw

New bands almost never live up to the lofty comparisons to other, more seminal bands made by people like me, but that's not gonna stop me from telling you that this self-titled full-length from Tigers Jaw is probably something you'd like if you're into The Get Up Kids or any other 90s emo band. Just fill in the blank, really. And while Tigers Jaw may be nodding to their influences, they're doing so inconspicuously, offering a fresh take on a genre that should have gone bad years ago.

More words after the jump.

The Serious Geniuses - You Can Steal The Riffs, But You Can't Steal The Talent

Listening to The Serious Geniuses' hilariously named debut You Can Steal The Riffs, But You Can't Steal The Talent is like climbing aboard the wayback machine and traveling back to a simpler time, when gas was cheap, people left their doors unlocked at night and bands like Superchunk ruled the underground. The beauty of this release lies in its simplicity; these guys aren't trying to melt off anyone's faces or break new ground, instead vying for a competent re-imagining of a scene long forgotten and buried in favor of other bands who tried to do too much.

More words after the jump.

The Measure [SA] - One Chapter in the Book: A Collection of Standard Waits and Measurements

In this revival of sorts that's been happening for the last few years in the pop-punk underground, The Measure [SA] have been one of the brightest spots to emerge from the Hellishly hot basements of New Brunswick, New Jersey. After their full-length Historical Fiction was met with great acclaim from many in the community, the band continued to document their love and preference for vinyl releases with a slew of 7" singles, as well as splits with bands like O Pioneers!!!, Modern Machines and Off With Their Heads. A collector's dream to be sure, but for those who are either less inclined to peruse record store shelves to seek out these precious mementos, or who are simply late getting into the band, most of these songs have been compiled onto one convenient release, One Chapter in the Book: A Collection of Standard Waits and Measurements.

More words and streaming music after the jump.

Dillinger Four - C I V I L W A R

After six years of shit talking, I was beginning to wonder if Dillinger Four's C I V I L W A R would become anything more than an urban legend, so it was to my great surprise that I was (to be fair, unrightfully) given the pleasure to hear a said Fat Wreck "exclusive stream". Now, without trying to pick apart old scabs, I gave it one listen and "closed the tab" till October trying to hold on to any ounce of romantic sentiment left of holding and listening to a highly anticipated record.

Mitch Clem - Nothing Nice To Say [book]

Nothing Nice To Say is the first foray into the dirty underbelly of print comics for Mitch Clem, and this collection of strips serves not only as a nice addition to any punk's second-hand coffee table, but as a surprisingly strong introduction to new readers.

More words after the jump.

The Riot Before - Fists Buried In Pockets

Fists Buried In Pockets is the first full-length for The Riot Before as a full band, but you'd never know it considering how accomplished and seasoned their brand of folk-punk sounds. And don't let the term 'folk-punk' discourage you -- this isn't your typical gruff, indecipherable noise that's often unfortunately associated with that label.

More words and streaming music after the jump.

Memorial - The Creative Process/Berlin

The Creative Process/Berlin was originally two 7" scheduled to be released by Revelation Records before that label ran into some problems. It would've been an ideal fit, too -- the sprawling music of Memorial is in line with the post-hardcore heavyweights that worked with Revelation in its heyday, bands like Texas Is The Reason and Quicksand, among others. Alas, Flightplan Records picked up the slack and gave us these two releases on one 12" record, and we should be thankful they did.

More words and streaming music after the jump.