MARIO MATTEOLI
"Hard Luck Hittin'" CD
D.I.Y

I've been waiting a long time for this record to be released. I am not dissapointed. Mario Matteoli, best known as the lead singer of The Weary Boys, have managed to put together 9 fantastic songs on this album, which is is first solo-album. Opening track "Come and Be With Me" will get your attention right away. A great song to start the record off with. It's followed by "What to Do", a great tune with more of a country-feel to it. I love it all. The title-track is one of the best songs I've heard in a long while. Matteoli's voice is fantastic on this songs. You got to hear it. At times reminds me a little bit of Will Oldham (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Palace Music). Not a bad thing.
"United Nations" is definitely the most up-tempo song and my favorite one on the record. The piano brings a great sound to a song which sticks to your brain for hours after you listen to it. I was wondering if Matteoli would sound good without The Weary Boys. I now know that he does. I got this record three days ago and I've listened through it about 30 times already. This will be played a lot! Hope to hear more stuff from Mario Matteoli soon!
/CD

HANK III / ANTiSEEN
"Split" Picture Disc 7"
TKO Records

This is a quite cool record. It looks great and it sounds good. Hank III does the Antiseen tune "Ruby, Get Back To The Hills" on his side. On the flipside Antiseen plays one of their own. Antiseen is not my kind of band but "F.T.K" is a great song! Strictly limited to 2000 copies. Collectors item.
/CD

NO ONE'S HERO
"Start A Revolution" MCD
Poor Boy Records

This street punk band from Philadelphia sounds ok, I guess. I've listened through this MCD a couple of times and I feel like I heard it all before. They're good, but that's it. Reminds me of Less Than Jake at times.
Track 4, "What is Freedom?" is a good song, the rest of this MCD is quite dull.
/CD

VARIOUS ARTISTS
"East Coast Compilation - Vol.1" CD
Poor Boy Records 002

There are 20 bands on this compilation and the only band that is worth mentioning is Corrupted Youth from Thurmont, Maryland. Those guys have a pretty good song on this comp. called "Broke". Other than that, this comp is pretty boring.
/CD

EDENPARK
"The......Album" CD
Poor Boy Records 005

I've been trying to find something good to say about this record, but I can't come up with anything. I don't get the idea at all. Lousy sound, crappy vocals, really uneven songs. To be honest it's a really crappy record. Don't buy this one...
/CD

VARIOUS ARTISTS
"Pirates Press 1st Annual 7" Box Set" 6x7" Picture Discs
Pirates Press Records

Pirates Press is so much more than a record label. These guys put their heart and soul into their releases. They even press the records themselves. To celebrate their first year anniversary they have put together this box set of 7-inches. Each disc is a split picture disc 7". All of these discs look absolutely amazing. Different tattoo artists such as Robert Ryan, Tom Wilkinson & Sean Dillon (to name only a few) have designed the truly outstanding artwork. You need to click here to have a look at it yourself!
Well, that's only the look of it! What about the sound then?

On these discs you'll find no less than 12 great bands. What about The Bouncing Souls, The Ratchets, The Explosion, Riverboat Gamblers, The Generators, Street Brats, The Skels, The Pervz, Lucky Stiffs, Sore Thumbs, Black Romeos and The Armed Suspects! Could this box get any better? Probably not...
All of these bands have two songs each and it's all really really good. Punk rockers The Ratchets are my favorites. "Heart of Town" is truly one of my favorite songs right now. I also love "Roll Out The Red Carpet" by The Generators. Or what about "No Revolution" by The Explosion (the old version, a lot better than the new one!), or "Nowhere CA" by The Sore Thubs? The list just goes on and on. 24 punk rock songs totally!
This box set is by far the coolest release I've ever seen, and one of the best ones I've heard in a long while!
It's limited to 1500 copies so Hurry Up!
(You can also get all 6 of the discs separately on coclored vinyl!)
...and it's pretty damn cheap too!
/CD

BROKEN BOTTLES
"Suburban Dream" 7"
TKO Records Round 158


This is the first record I've heard from Broken Bottles. They have actually been together since '98 and have two LP's and a few 7-inches out. It's funny I've never heard of 'em before 'cause this 7" is fantastic!
The first thing I thought about when I heard it was a slower The Stitches. You will hear right away that this band is from Orange County. There's so much energy, even though the songs are not that fast. There's something about this band that I like a lot. I will definitely check up on their older releases...
The b-side is great, the title-track is even better! Go get it! It's limited to 1000 copies.
/CD

BOMBSHELL ROCKS
"The Conclusion" CD
Combat Rock Industries 030

Bombshell Rocks are back with a new album!
Well, actually it's been out since november last year and if you haven't heard it already, I suggest you check it out.
I think it's a lot better than the "Love For The Microphone" MCD. Crippe has become a much better singer and I think that a lot of that "Bombshell-energy" that I've missed since Mårten left the band is back. There are a lot of good songs on this new album and my favorites are "Rome 2005", "Ten Years", "Golden" and the video-track "Bloodbrothers". It's not as good as "Street Art Gallery" (1999) but it's good to hear that these guys still know how to play high energy punk rock! Welcome back!
/CD

THE CHALLENGED
"Home is Where You Hate It" MCD
D.I.Y

The Challenged's simple poppy punk rock makes me nod my head and tap my feet. In some way these guys from Brooklyn remind me of the old FAT Wreck comps. that I used to listen to years ago. That's not a bad thing. As far as I know this type of music is not as common as it used to be. It's good to hear that someone is still playing it! My favorite tracks are "Think Positive" and "5 Years in A Time Capsule". I like this record and you should check it out!
/CD

THE LAST GANG
"The Last Gang" MCD
D.I.Y / Demo

Truly This is Rock 'N' Roll! That's what the website says. Add punk I would agree! This is really really good! I can't understand why this is not released by a label. I'm sure it will be though!
This D.I.Y CD contains 9 amazing songs. Brenna Red's voice reminds me of Brody of The Distillers but even better. The Last Gang's sound is a mix of old school rock 'n' roll and '77-style punk rock! I don't know what else to say. I hope this band gets signed, they are truly worth it. People need The Last Gang! Visit their MySpace to hear it for yourself... This is good stuff!
/CD

THE PAPER CHASE
"Now You Are One of Us" CD
Kill Rock Stars 445

This record makes me think of a haunted house. It's a kind of hard sound to describe, take a lot of noisy guitars, wierd samples, strange sounds, some distorted vocals, a spooky piano and you pretty much have it. Definitely not my style, but not too bad, or maybe it is bad... I don't know. It's a wierd record if your into punk rock, I tell you that much.
The Paper Chase are four guys from Dallas and I think this is their 11th release. Check it out if you're into wierd rock... I'm not. I don't understand this one, sorry.
/CD

I WALK THE LINE
"Desolation Street" CD
Combat Rock Industry 032

I Walk The Line has been playing their melancholy punk rock since 2003 and this is their second album. I like the sound of this one. Really good songs. I think the organ brings a lot of feeling to the sound.
This record actually hit the national sales charts in Finland! Not bad for a punk band.
Me, myself had never heard this band before I got this CD in the mail. I think it's good and all but sometimes the vocals are not a 100%. But, thats just my opinion. I think this band will go pretty far though. This is a great record but not the best I've heard.
/CD

MANIFESTO JUKEBOX
"Strain" LP/CD
Combat Rock Industry 037

After touring the world with their latest album "Remedy" (BYO Records) Manifesto Jukebox came back to Combat Rock to release their new album. This reminds me of Hot Water Music. I like it but it's not really my thing. Great vocals though, Antii has a great voice for this type of music. I think the songs are good as well and I don't think fans of this kind of music will be disappointed at all. This is very professional and you should check it out if you like Hot Water Music, Leatherface and Husker Du.
/CD