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User
Reviews 26
Approval 88%
Soundoffs 1
Album Ratings 316
Objectivity 68%
Last Active 01-01-70 12:00 am
Joined 01-01-70
Review Comments 37
| My Favorite Finds Of The Year
20 of my favorite bands that I found out about this year. I discovered a lot of great bands this year so I thought it would be fun to narrow them down to my favorites. | | 1 | The Lawrence Arms
Such a fucking amazing band in my opinion. A lot of their songs I can completely relate to perfectly in every way. Their music is a nearly perfect combination of regret, humor, comedy, sorrow, drunkeness and aggression all in one. I've spent a lot of afternoons walking around Cape and listening to this band on repeat, it was how I spent most of my Saturdays this fall. They're also what I listened to almost every school night before going to sleep for the past couple of months or so. I don't know, they're just a completely perfect band for me I guess. It's kind of hard to describe (proof comes from that horrible deion I gave of them earlier). Can't wait to hear some new material from these guys soon as well as some new material from their side projects along with a possible tour. I think I'm asking for too much haha.
Go Buy/Download: Cocktails & Dreams or Oh! Calcutta!
Listen to: Brickwall Views, Boatless Buise Crise Pt. 1, Alert The Audience, The Disaster March, The Devil's Takin' Names, Like A Record Player, 100 Resolutions and pretty much anything you can find from them.
Rocks if you like: Hot Water Music, Descendents, Jawbreaker | | 2 | The Loved Ones
I got Keep Your Heart on a whim back in April and that is probably my most listened to album this year. That's basically a short story of how they became one of my favorite bands. New album exceeded my expectations too. I was expecting a Keep Your Heart pt. 2 but I got much more than that, and I'm glad. I would have been just as happy with Keep Your Heart pt. 2 as well. haha.
Go Buy/Download: Keep Your Heart
Listen to: Jane, Suture Self, Selfish Masquerade
Rocks if you like: Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms, American Steel | | 3 | The Gaslight Anthem
I've been repping this band ever since I found out about them and they've been gaining a lot of recognition ever since The '59 Sound came out and they deserve every single bit of recognition they've been getting. It feels like they wrote the soundtrack to my life sometimes with songs like "We Came To Dance," "Boomboxes & Dictionaries" and "Great Expectations." Their debut, Sink or Swim is absolutely stellar and the follow up to it, The '59 Sound is just as good, if not better. They're just a great band with songs about falling in love, failed relationship, working and just life in general, what's not to like really? I found them when skimming through the pages in Alternative Press' 100 Bands You Need To Know. I thought they didn't look like complete douchebags which is a plus and their deion was pretty appealing so I thought I'd check them out, then they became one of my favorite bands.
Go Buy/Download: Sink or Swim and The '59 Sound
Listen to: We Came To Dance, Wooderson, Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, Here's Looking At You Kid
Rocks if you like: The Loved Ones, The Hold Steady, Bruce Springsteen | | 4 | Murder By Death
The first band I found out about this year. I heard a lot of people on the DF boards talk about them and gave them a go and loved them instantly. In Boca Al Lupo was my most played album on my last.fm for awhile. I love how all of their albums are unique and amazing in their own different way. I love pretty much everything I've heard from them, only I haven't gotten a chance to listen to their earlier stuff when they first formed. I'm not reallysure how to describe their music since everything they've done is different. I guess Western movie soundtrack influenced rock is the closest thing. It's what I've called them for awhile, but I still think that's kind of inaccurate. Oh well, you just have to listen to them to find out.
Go Buy/Download: In Bocca Al Lupo
Listen To: Brother, Three Man Hanging, Fuego
Rocks if you like: Western Movies, epic stories | | 5 | Hot Water Music
Here's another band I wish that I started listening to earlier. I remember writing a whole blog about them about a month ago so I'd just be rewriting most of the stuff I wrote in that blog. I'll just say that "Trusty Chords" is a perfect song in almost every way.
Go Buy/Download: Caution
Listen to: A Jack of All Trades, Remedy, Trusty Chords
Rocks if you like: Alkaline Trio, old Thrice, Jawbreaker | | 6 | Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
If these guys wont get you in a good mood then nothing will. I pretty much listen to Ted Leo whenever I'm feeling shitty and need something to pick me up and it works every time. His political songs are some of his best ones, in my opinion. He also did a cover of "Since U Been Gone" and "Maps" which was very cool to watch. He's also done a lot of other covers which were excellent. I listened to Shake The Sheets nearly every other day last summer and still listen to it pretty frequently. That album never gets old for me.
Go Buy/Download: Shake The Sheets
Listen To: Me and Mia, Who Do You Love?, Counting Down The Hours
Rocks if you like: Against Me!, Jimmy Eat World, The Weakerthans | | 7 | Thursday
A friend encouraged me to listen to more of their stuff earlier this year and I'm glad I took his advice. War All The Time is amazing, as is Full Collapse. I've warmed up to A City By The Light Divided and their side of the Envy split too. I'm sure a lot of people know about them already so I wont go on.
I know they have a big fanbase but I'm just doing this to keep with the trend
Go Buy/Download: War All The Time
Listen to: Signals Over The Air, Division St., Cross Out The Eyes
Rocks if you like: Thrice, At The Drive-In, Cave In | | 8 | Broadway Calls
Technically, I found out about this band last year but I didn't really start listening to them until March or so because it took me forever to find their album. Once I got their self/titled album, it was hard for me to stop listening to it for weeks. The first 12 songs are fucking gold, some of the best pop-punk I've heard from a newer band. I've been repping this band for awhile too so most people have heard me praise them before. Righteous dudes, too. Their blog about Warped Tour and their year end wrap up were good reads. "We played Bamboozle left this year and there were some fucking HORRIBLE bands there! But there were some amazing ones there too." Haha. Wish I could have seen them live, but that would have involved going to Warped tour and I was in my "Fuck Warped Tour" phase at the time so I had to miss out on all the fun. They better come back to Maryland soon.
Go Buy/Download: self/titled
Listen to: Back To Oregon, Fuck You Seattle, Call It Off
Rocks if you like: Saves The Day, Lifetime, old blink-182 | | 9 | Strike Anywhere
Imagine an even more pissed off version of Rise Against only these guys are much more on the heavier side than Rise Against are now (nothing against new Rise Against). Okay, less about RA and more about SA! Change Is A Sound is what got me hooked for sure. Their lyrics are a bit more political and outspoken than I usually like but they're well written so I digress. All three of their albums are fucking solid, with a sound that will pound you into next century. Yeah, I couldn't think of any better deions. Fucking sue me. :P
Go Buy/Download: Change Is A Sound
Listen To: Sunset On 32nd Street, Chalkline, Prisoner Echoes
Rocks if you like: Rise Against, Strung Out, Comeback Kid | | 10 | Electric Wizard
Some of their stuff is a serious mindfuck, but in a good way. They are probably the heaviest band around today and sound like nothing you ever heard before. Imagine Black Sabbath with heavy influence on drugs, Satan and distortion, so they sound like something but nothing you've really heard before. Every other stoner metal band just fails in comparison to them. Witchcult Today is a damn masterpiece. Dopethrone fucking destroys as well, but it's kind of a mindfuck after you listen to it too much.
This was a really incoheret summary. Just listen to this band and tell me they aren't awesome.
Go Buy/Download: Witchcult Today
Listen To: Dunwich, Saturnine, Funerapolis
Rocks if you like: Black Sabbath, Queens of the Stone Age, Candlemass, weed, drugs, satan | | 11 | Scar Symmetry
New album, Holographic Universe is one of the best melodic death metal albums of the new millenium, no joke right there. Their vocalist (who recently left the band :( ) has one of the best ranges I've heard in awhile too. It's a definite top 5 contender of the year but I'll get to that album in another blog. This band just knows how to combine heaviness and melody almost perfectly. I hope this band can recover after Christian left since he was what made the band a real force.
Go Buy/Download: Holographic Universe
Listen to: The Illusionist, Ghost Prototype II (Deus Ex Machina), Morphogenesis
Rocks if you like: Soilwork, In Flames, Arch Enemy | | 12 | Baroness
This band took two or three listens to grow on me but I love them now. The Red Album is nearly a perfect combination of sludge metal, post-rock and progressive metal. The instrumental passages are amazing, probably my favorite thing about them. I can listen to the Red Album over and over again and never get tired of it. The lyrics are really interesting too after you read them.
Go Buy/Download: Red Album
Listen to: Isak, Rays On Pinon, O'Appalachia
Rocks if you like: Isis, Mastodon, Torche | | 13 | Kid Dynamite
I had been meaning to listen to this band for such a long time but I couldn't find anything by them but I stumbled across their material one day and fell in love instantly (wow, that expression sounded lame). It's fast, agressive, catchy, fun and has that "bro" type feel which is usually lame but awesome when it's done right. If you can't get down with "Heart A Tact" then something is very wrong with you. They also did a cover of Black Flag's "Rise Above" which outdoes the original in my opinion. I know that's blasphemy but I don't care. Their split with 88 Fingers Louie is what got me hooked. Both sides of it are amazing.
Go Buy/Download: split with 88FL and self/titled
Listen To: Heart A Tact, Bookworm, Rise Above cover
Rocks if you like: Lifetime, Avail, Black Flag | | 14 | Saves The Day
Another band that I've heard of for years but never listened to them until earlier this year. I'm mostly into Stay What You Are but that has some of the best pop-punk songs ever on it. There are songs on there that will get stuck in your head for weeks. A lot of the lyrics I can relate to personally too so that's why I prefer that album over everything else I've heard. Most of you have probably heard about them already and know most about them so I wont go on.
Go Buy/Download: Stay What You Are
Listen To: Firefly, Freakish, Jukebox Breakdown
Rocks if you like: Say Anything, The Get Up Kids, Bayside | | 15 | Crime In Stereo
These guys have progressed with each album and get better and more interesting everytime. They've gone from a hardcore band to a progressive rock band within a somewhat short amount of time. The Troubled Stateside is nearly a perfect combination of progressive rock and hardcore punk, so much emotion on that record too. ...Is Dead is more on the progressive side but it's very good as well. I wouldn't say it's better than The Troubled Stateside but it's definitely worth a listen.
Go Buy/Download: The Troubled Stateside
Listen to: I Stateside, Small Skeletal, Sudan
Rocks if you like: Strike Anywhere, Brand New, Thrice | | 16 | Bane
"Fuck yeah I am still holding on!!" One of the best hardcore bands I've heard in awhile, wouldn't say that they're the best but they're up there for sure. I'm more of a fan of Give Blood than any of their other materail, one of the most intense hardcore albums in recent years. The vocals kind of took a few listens to get used to but other than that, there's not much to dislike about htis band. Intense live shows, amazing lyrics and a sound that just comes out and punches you right in the face. "I'M ALL IN!"
Go Buy/Download: Give Blood
Listen to: Ante Up, Ali v. Fraizer I, My Cross To Bear
Rocks if you like: American Nightmare/Give Up The Ghost, Black Flag, Blacklisted | | 17 | Lucero
I'm just going to say that they are an alt-country band and that will probably turn off most people from them since it's "in" to hate country right now but trust me, this band rules. It's almost like Jawbreaker songs played by a cowpunk band. They have lyrics I can really relate too and have the perfect kind of sound that fits on those lonely nights where there's nothing to do but just listen to music and think about life. They're coming here in February too so I'm definitely going to that.
Go Buy/Download: Tennessee
Listen to: Nights Like These, The Mountain, Slow Dancing
Rocks if you like: Jawbreaker, Social Distortion, The Gaslight Anthem | | 18 | Street Dogs
I had the chance to see this band once last year and twice earlier this year despite not knowing any of their material (I was going to see the band's headlining) but I ducked out of both times. That was an epic fail on both counts because I missed finding out about a great fucking band and seing them live. This is exactly the kind of punk that I like. I checked out their new album first not expecting much but I really liked what I heard and it grew on me a lot. Then came Fading American Dream which I liked even more, thanks to the song "Hard Luck Kid." Only a few days ago I got my hands on Back To The World which is also ace and probably a runner up for my favorite album from them already! haha. Wish I had knew this band sooner. Maybe if I listened to them earlier then I would have had more motivation to go to the shows I missed.
Go Buy/Download: Fading American Dream
Listen to: Hard Luck Kid, Two Angry Kids, You Alone
Rocks If You Like: Dropkick Murphys, Bouncing Souls, Time Again | | 19 | Off With Their Heads
"For Fans of Orgcore" is what made me want to check this band out and as despite how lame the term "orgcore" is, it really classifies a lot of great bands into one genre, one of them is Off With Their Heads. It only took one song for me to get hooked on this band, that song being the first one on their myspace player, "I AM YOU." What a catchy fucking track. The rest of their songs are ace too, ulthough I prefer From The Bottom more than their earlier work because the production is much better. Signing to No Idea really helped them out with that. The lyrics have to be some of the most heart-felt and honest ones I've heard from a punk band in awhie too.
Go Buy/Download: From The Bottom
Listen to: I AM YOU, Until The Day..., Fuck This I'm Out, SOS
Rocks if you like: Dillinger Four (yes, again!), Dropkick Murphys, The Briggs | | 20 | American Steel
I made the stupid decision of not listening to this band until after I saw them open for Alkaline Trio. It was a stupid decision because a bunch of their songs are perfect to shout along to at concerts and their set would have been ten times as better. They were great as it was though, I was impressed enough to check out their latest album, Destroy Their Future which I loved. Seriously, some of the songs on that album are perfect to sing along to live. Mainly, "Old Croy Road," "Mean Streak" and "Razorblades." There was a brief sing along to "Mean Streak" and "Smile On Me" at the Alk3 show but only a few people knew it.I really wish I was one of those few people. Defiintely a nice surprise for me this year. Their old stuff is great too, catchy as fuck.
Go Buy/Download: Destroy Your Future
Favorite Songs: Razorblades, Old Croy Road, Sons of Avarice
Rocks if you like: The Lawrence Arms, Against Me!, Dillinger Four | |
iarescientists
12.31.08 | cool | BallsToTheWall
12.31.08 | List is sexy. | StreetlightRock
12.31.08 | I see you like awesome punk | DaveyBoy
12.31.08 | Another absolutely sensational list of yours Corey... You are quickly becoming Sputnik's #1 LIST GUY!
This list reads like my own list of bands I want to give more of a listen to... Especially 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 9. | Yotimi
01.02.09 | Stay What You Are is The essential Pop/Punk album. |
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