REVIEW: DETOURNEMENT- “Awaken With Millions From One Heart”

Detournement – Awaken With Millions From One Heart
released December 1, 2009 on Pirates Press

Produced by Pete Steinkopf (Bouncing Souls), Detournement is a band made up of Zak Kaplan, Dan DeSimoni, Rob Ferreira, Tom Petta and Nate Gluck. This EP was recorded in Asbury Park, NJ. Track 1 is fast and has a full-out assault reminiscent of early-Rancid and it’s balanced with enough melody to remind me of Plan A Project as well.Track 2 has a similar feel and the pacing is similar to early Clash. The drums are well done and combined with the melodic prowess of the guitars and bass, lend a decent old-school feeling. In conclusion, a promising EP from a band that clearly has not forgotten how fun punk rock should be. I like this.

Try: 1,2,4

01. Chicago ‘86
02. Jenny Von Westphalen
03. Awaken With Milions
04. Talkin’ About A Revolution

Janitor From Mars 2/7/10: Supershow!

Today marked the beginning of the Spring 2010 schedule for WRUV. Willie was unable to do his show so I covered the Native Metal slot from 12-2pm and my own slot from 2-4pm. Basically, 2.5 hours of metal and 1.5 hours of punk/hardcore. Technical difficulties interfered with my planned theme song for my show but that will be fixed for next week’s show.

For this week, I had several new additions among the likes of the Bouncing Souls, Cute Lepers, Evacuate Chicago, Cave-In and Harvey Milk.

Janitor From Mars/Native Metal 02/07/10 Playlist:
http://tinyurl.com/janitorfrommarsnativemetal

Listen to Janitor From Mars in WRUV Archives:
http://www.uvm.edu/~wruv/?action=archives

(can be found under the show listings NATIVE METAL and JANITOR FROM MARS. As always, show will only be available in the archives for one week)

REVIEW: HARVEY MILK – “S/T”

Harvey Milk – S/T
released January 26, 2010 on Hydra Head Records

Harvey Milk was an experimental/noise rock band consisting of Creston Spiers, Stephen Tanner, Paul Trudeau, Kyle Spence and Joe Preston. They formed in 1996 and were based out of  Athens, GA. This is a properly remastered release of Harvey Milk’s debut album. I’ll go through the tracks that I liked the most.  Track 3 has a pace that is fast, loud and dominated by drums. Track 5 slows with a good dose of melody thrown in. The time signature breaks at 2:45, giving way to a slower, sludgier pace. Track 9 has an epic feel to it and the time signature incorporates rising guitars/bass and cresting drums in an abrupt manner. Track 10 is faster and has a strong Melvins feel to it. In fact, it’s not a stretch to say that this album has a strong Melvins influence going. Personally, I can’t think of anything else to compare with Harvey Milk. It’s certainly an interesting album that laid the groundwork for later albums. Certainly check this out if you’re looking to move into the experimental, progressive noise-rock realm.

FCC: Take your chances
Try: 3,5,*9*, 10

01. Blueberry Dookie
02. Plastic Eggs
03. Merlin Is Magic
04. Dating Pressures
05. My Father’s Life Work
06. Probolkoc
07. Smile
08. Jim’s Polish
09. F.S.T.P
10. Anthem

3.5/5

REVIEW: CUTE LEPERS – “Smart Accessories”

Cute Lepers – Smart Accessories
released January 12, 2010 on 1-2-3-4 Go! Records

Fronted by  Steve E. Nix and containing Stevie Kicks, Josh Kramer, Brian Yeager and two back-up singers (Meredith and Prisilla), the Cute Lepers are described as punk rock infused with power pop, I have many words to describe this album after giving it a preliminary listen. First of all, they’re all about the hooks.  Second of all, the vocals mesh well with the instruments. A few obvious influences pop up, such as  The Damned and Green Day (Track 1), Talking Heads (Track 2),  The Clash and Go-Gos (Track 3)  and Buzzcocks (Track 11).  The opening feel of Track 1 gets you going and even though some tracks are just bursting with poppyness, they never seem to get too poppy. In all, it’s too hard for me to describe how much I like this album. There are so many solid cuts and to think that this is the first time I’ve ever heard the Cute Lepers in my life! If it’s not too early, this is already one of my best picks for 2010 and it takes the pop-punk formula, turns it upside down and makes it fun once again. Thank you Cute Lepers, for giving me a little more faith in punk rock this year.

FCC: 3, 12
Try: *1*, *2*, 5,8,*9*, 10, 11

01. Some Hits  Hurt
02. Smart Accessories
03. Thanks For Not Showing Up
04. You Don’t Have To Belong To The Religious Right
05. No Excuse
06. Berlin Girls
07. Dirty Baby
08. Bob Forrest Song
09. What Happens Next
10. World Of Sunshine
11. Police Lights
12. Young Hearts
13. Fall To Pieces

5/5

REVIEW: CAVE-IN – “Planets Of Old”

Cave-In – Planets Of Old
released January 22, 2010 on Hydra Head Records

This is the newest EP from Cave-In, who have returned from their 2005 hiatus. Originally from Methuen, MA,  they are influenced by bands such as Failure, Unwound and Snapcase. Track 1 starts off dark and slow with sludgy guitars and a time signature that repeats every 25 seconds, complete with breakdowns.  Solid track with competent instrumentation.  Track 2 picks up the pace with a slight thrash feel to it. The drums take more of a role here but in doing so, they seem to drown out the guitars and bass. Track 3 follows a similar formula but has more balance in that all the instruments come through. Track 4 is even better with a hint of aggression and the band never loses a step either. To better describe Cave-In, they play hardcore/post-hardcore that’s true to style and easy to get into. The musicianship is what makes this band and for that, I look forward to a full-length if they decide to put one out. Definitely something to check out.

FCC: Take your chances
Try: 1, 3, *4*

01. Cayman Tongue
02. Retina Sees Rewind
03. The Rad Trail
04. Air Escapes

4/5

REVIEW : EVACUATE CHICAGO – “Veracity”

Evacuate Chicago – Veracity
released January 26, 2010 on  Rock Ridge Music

This is a side project from three members of Psychostick (first time I’ve heard of them) and apparently, they’ve been working on this project for several years. They started this project to focus on writing subject matter that’s more serious than what they’re used to. Track 3 has a sludgy, basic hardcore formula to it with guitars and bass that kick in, evoking a sound that is reminiscent of early AFI more than anything. Track 4 has a similar formula but the bass seems to pick up more  and they throw in just a lick of melody. Track 7 seems to take both formulas they’re experimenting with and combines them into one. Vocals are ok and instruments seem to be where they could be. I think it’s fair to say that they have the kind of sound that probably would have been embraced if they had released this on Victory Records in the mid-90s. Otherwise, it’s pretty average hardcore with some melody thrown in. Not bad if you’re looking for something new but I can always recommend better.

FCC: 2,5,6
Try: 3,4,7,8

01. Occasional Letter Number One
02. Nothing Like You
03. Deny
04. Perfect Ratio
05. The Hole
06. The Damage Has Been Done
07.Proof of Dark Matter
08.Progress Beyond Repair
09. Velociraptors
10. Time Lapse Photography
11. Peace, Love and Santa Claus
12. Forgiveness Epidemic

3/5

New timeslot for Janitor From Mars

Starting this Sunday, February 7th, Janitor From Mars will be airing every Sunday from 2pm-4pm!

This will continue through sometime in April or May. Thank you for your support and I hope to continue to bring you some of the new stuff.

Speaking of new stuff, I have a pile of new music that will be reviewed and added to the show this Sunday!

REVIEW: BOUNCING SOULS – “Ghosts On The Boardwalk”

Bouncing Souls – Ghosts On The Boardwalk
released January 12.,2010 on Chunksaah Records

2009 marked the 20th anniversary of the Bouncing Souls and to mark that,  they released a brand-new song for each month in 2009. This CD is a compilation of all of those tracks. If you consider yourself a fan of melodic hardcore and you’ve never heard the Bouncing Souls, you owe it to yourself to check this out.  Track 2 starts off on a poppy note, retaining the classic Bouncing Souls sound, stripped-down and no-frills melodic hardcore. Track 3 was on the 2009 Vans Warped Tour compilation and the lyrics suggest an ode from one lover to another. The kids are obviously all over that stuff but why stick to this track when there are better ones?  Track 4 shows the maturation of the Bouncing Souls, leaning heavily on melody and taking on a sound that in a way, is reminiscent of  Rancid in the bass line. Definitely one of their better songs. Track 5 bemoans the current state of airport security, bearing a slight resemblance to the Pixies in the structure. I bet you’re looking at this review and thinking, “did he just compare a Bouncing Souls song to the Pixies?” My reasoning for picking out bits and pieces of other influences is to help show that the Bouncing Souls have not only retained their classic sound, but they’ve actually expanded upon it as well. I could go further into detail but I will sum up this compilation of tracks (not quite an album in the band’s words) as something that any Bouncing Souls fan would be a fool to pass up. Worth checking out if you like the band and the style.

FCC: 1,6
Try: 2, *4*, 5, 10

01. Gasoline
02. Never Say Die /When You’re Young
03. I Think That The World
04. Ghosts On The Boardwalk
05. Airport Security
06. Badass
07. The Mental Bits
08. Dubs Says True
09. Boogie Woogie Downtown
10. Big Eyes
11. We All Sing Along
12. Like The Sun

3.5/5

Jan 2010 Band Of The Month: Death

Even though their album, “For The Whole World To See” was re-released in early 2009, it is an album that has been getting spins from DJs of various genres at WRUV 90.1FM. What’s even more cool about Death is that it contained two members of Lambsbread, Dannis and Bobby Hackney. What’s even cooler than that is that Bobby’s sons are part of the band Rough Francis, native to Burlington, VT.

I define the music of Death as a fore-runner to the punk rock explosion of the late 70s. Like many bands of their era, they played stripped-down rock and roll with a heavy garage feel. When you listen to “For All Of The World To See”, you will notice similarities with hardcore bands such as the Dead Kennedys.

They have played a few shows here and there with Rough Francis and much like Death, Rough Francis carries on the tradition of playing raw, gritty punk rock that sounds like much more.

Death truly were pioneers and for that, they deserve the recognition that they’ve gotten and will continue to get.

Janitor From Mars 01/31/10: 70s-80s Punk

I decided to check out the older punk rock in the station library, mainly stuff from the 70s through the early 80s. I managed to set up a decent playlist, even though one of the negatives is the over-use of compilations due to a lack of individual albums for certain bands. It was still worth it to showcase bands that rarely get showcased nowadays.

Next Sunday, the WRUV schedule should return to normal. Stay tuned for an update on my new show slot for the Spring semester.

Janitor From Mars 01/31/10 Playlist:

http://tinyurl.com/janitorfrommars013110

Listen to Janitor From Mars in WRUV Archives:
http://www.uvm.edu/~wruv/?action=archives

(can be found under the show listings PANDAMONIUM with The Zookeeper (1 hour) and MAKING OUT IN THE ART ROOM with DJ Jellybonez (2 hours) . As always, show will only be available in the archives for one week)