Life In A Bungalo

Take one look at El Maz’s custom designs or the stunning imagery on his first production piece for the Gwin toy series and it’s hard to imagine that this 27 year old Northern California native was raised knee deep in the graffiti game. His paintings, be they on vinyl or canvas, conjure emotions of desolate creatures and stark nature. His black trees look dead against color-soaked backdrop, his birds seem sad and lonely, almost soulless. The paintings, however, are not dreary. His use of colors (perhaps adapted from his graffiti past) embellish the work, making the viewer stop and ponder how such a tortured creature could live in such a magnificent world.

Maz has taken the same approach to his upcoming art exhibit. Aptly titled Yeast Infection, Maz distributed dozens of Pillsbury DoughBoy figures to the creme de la creme of toy customizers to manipulate the wholesome figure any which way they want. The results are amazing. Life In A Bungalo grabbed Maz to find out more about his art, yeast infections, and his custom ventures. Read more »

Have Heart
“The Things We Carry”
Bridge 9

This is the best hardcore record of the year. “Life is Hard Enough” will make you want to karate kick your mom and do a front flip off your couch. Put those Gorilla Biscuits records back in the crate they came from and show some respect to the new kings of Hardcore. And wait until you hear the mosh parts!

“The Things We Carry” is the closest you’re going to get to a modern day Chain of Strength. I wish I was five years younger so I could go see this band play every weekend. This young band from the Boston suburbs is doing exciting things. What really makes them stand out is the amount of energy that comes across on the release. “Armed With a Mind” is a rallying cry to think before you use your fists. Have Heart are a straight edge band, but they’re lyrics aren’t cheesy. Hardcore is supposed to be brutal, honest, and in your face…and this release encompasses all of those qualities.

I’d throw this release alongside American Nightmare’s “Background Music” and Modern Life is War’s “Witness.” These are the classic albums that will define hardcore for years to come.

Doesn’t Rock l Kinda Rocks l Rocks l Really Rocks

Misery Signals
“Mirrors”
Ferret Music

The first shouted vocal assault on this record goes like this: “YOU BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELF!” Take one part Most Precious Blood and add a bit of Coalesce and you’ve basically got Misery Signals. Misery Signals have a new singer named Karl Shubach and he adds a whole new element to this crushing sophomore effort.

“Mirrors” makes you want to put someone’s head through a brick wall. It is a wall of heavy guitars with glimmers of melodic parts. Don’t worry kids there’s minimal singing on this release. Terms like brutal and unrelenting, as clichéd as that sounds, come to mind. Recommended if you like you hardcore pretty tough. Don’t let the Emo cover and name of the record fool you. This ain’t for wimps.

Doesn’t Rock l Kinda Rocks l Rocks l Really Rocks

Alexisonfire
“Crisis”
Vagrant Records

Despite putting out two mediocre records, these Canucks have finally gotten the right formula down. This is more than your run-of-the-mill screamo record. Singers Dallas Green and Wade Macneil trade screams and beautifully sung vocals that are reminiscent of “Jupiter-Era” Cave-In. “Crisis” is the biggest surprise of the year.

“Crisis” is an epic record. The first 5 tracks are mind blowing. “This Could Be Anywhere in the World” should be a huge hit for this band…the two tracks that follow it should also be huge hits. Think a more melodic Atreyu without the vampire imagery. In fact there’s nothing cheesy about this record…except the horrid throwaway track “You Burn First.” “You Burn First” is a bad experiment bordering on Goth that is better left forgotten. Lyrically the band tells the story of the Blizzard of 1977 that devastated Upstate NY/Canada…and hey if bands like Mastadon are writing full albums about Moby Dick, than why not let these kids sing about a Blizzard. The sing-along parts are really fun. There’s “woahs,” handclaps, and even a slower ballad that closes the record.

Dallas Green is the best part of Alexisonfire. The vocals are just so strong. If you’re not screaming along “My youth is slipping away!” there’s something wrong with you. Bands like Alexisonfire and Boys Night Out stand above most of the major label bands with pretty haircuts that get signed these days. These songs are anthems for a younger generation. On October 11 they’ll be playing the School of Rock in South Hackensack with label mates Moneen. Check it.

“Rockin’ Bones”
Various Artists
Rhino

Goddamn! This is a mother of a box set–101 songs on four discs… primal, original-era rock n’ roll and rockabilly… dense, detailed track-by-track liner notes and an ace package (the whole thing comes in a hardcover book and looks like a dime-store pulp novel).

On top of tons of one-”hit” wonders, you get original/alternate takes of some classics (dig Elvis’ “One Night of Sin” which was neutered to become “One Night with You.” See also: balls-out “Rock Around with Ollie Vee” by Buddy Holly).

Highlights: title track “Rockin’ Bones” (Ronnie Dawson), “Little Girl” (John & Jackie–is she having an orgasm singing this song?), “Sunglasses After Dark” (Dwight Pullen), “One Night of Sin” (Elvis), “Spin the Bottle” (Benny Joy), “Action Packed” (Ronnie Dee), “Fujiyama Mama” (Wanda Jackson).

Spit on the next bunch of shaven-headed retards who claim to have rediscovered their musical roots in stupid psychobilly, this is REAL ROCK AND ROLL.

Doesn’t Rock l Kinda Rocks l Rocks l Really Rocks