Sex Positions - Sex Positions
Deathwish Inc.
By: Frank Realitos

You've got to love a band that doesn't conveniently fit a sound or genre. A record that reminds you that people ARE still willing to be innovative. I suppose it still falls under the broad guise of "hardcore", but then again, so do bands as diverse as Black Flag, An Albatross, and Envy. Panic, rage, despair, success, failure, fatalism, confusion, resolution...all in just 11 songs. Ok, so you want some sort of benchmark? Think Hot Snakes but a lot harder...

Various Artists -This One's For The Fellows
BlueDisguise Records
By: Poizen Ivy

The Young Fresh Fellows are one of the best bands to spring forth from the Seattle underground and yet you've likely never heard of them. This "sonic salute" opens with a spoof of the intro to their 1984 debut album "Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest," followed by The Presidents of the United States of America rocketing into the Fellows' timeless "Rock & Roll Pest Control." The Makers, Robyn Hitchcock, I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch In The House and The Groovie Ghoulies are just a few of the bands that make appearances. By the time you get to the bonus version of "Teenage Dogs in Trouble" featuring YFF vocalist Scott McCaughey backed by The Mono Men you'll be racing to the record store to buy one of their numerous albums so that you can hear the originals.

The Hangmen -Loteria
Acetate Records
By: Poizen Ivy

Bryan Small has been busting guitars and crafting gritty, street-smart songs since 1989. In 2000, with a new lineup, The Hangmen returned with the critically acclaimed release "Metallic I.O.U." followed by a live album in 2002. Their latest release, "Loteria," sizzles with desire; desire for love (Blood Red), security (Sleepin' On The Floor) and as a way of dealing with past addictions, drugs (Pills). It's sleazy, Hollywood glam-punk and it's a splendid collection of some of the most raw, pure and hard rockin' music you'll find today.

Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
(Epic records)
By Jason Aragon
 
With major label backing, and the recent replacement of long time drummer Jeremiah Green, maybe Modest Mouse had already seen its best days. But my concerns quickly faded as I heard the first few chords. Through colorful, image-laden lyrics, Isaac Brock delivers his message in a strong new optimistic tone. And in keeping with the Modest tradition, this recording is creative and diverse with an inviting array of instruments including banjo, upright bass and horns. With mixing by the Flaming Lips and production by Dennis Herring, you've got good news for Modest fans everywhere.

Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Sony Records
By Amey Tygart

You throw in the debut album by Franz Ferdinand and unsuspectingly find yourself dancing harder than your drunkest Club Bang! experience. F.F. is currently the hottest thing in the U.K., and it won't be long until "Take Me Out", the bands first single, is spinning in sets of every American DJ worth his wax. The band's romantic past seeps out through smoky Libertine-style vocals, backed by an addicting hybrid of funk and indie rock. It is obvious that the male sexpot artists who made this music were crazed when they wrote it and that energy translates into a seriously good time. Franz Ferdinand has found what Hot Hot Heat, The Rapture and The Killers were looking for.

Jackass - Plastic Jesus
BYO Records
By: Lenny Nero
 
"13 Rounds of hardcore country sounds" is what the album cover claims, and it couldn't have said it better. Jackass takes country music to a new level. This ain't no Dixie Chicks bullshit, this is the real deal, and Hank Williams Sr. would be proud. Jackass put a punk rock spin on the twangy heartache music we've all come to loathe. Toby Emory's sincere whine mixed with Ben Dayo's fierce Guitarron picking make even the biggest hater of country music want to get up and ho-down. "Country" and "Fuck-O-Dear" make you want to slap your knee, while more mellow fare like "Leg To Stand On" and "Wreckage" will bring a tear to your eye. Kudos to Jackass' outrageous covers of "I Want It That Way" and "Music." Highly recommended.

Alkaline Trio/One Man Army -
BYO Split Series Vol. 5
BYO Records
By: Lenny Nero
 
Gloomy Chicago heartbreakers Alkaline Trio team up with San Francisco punksters One Man Army on this, the fifth installment of the BYO Split Series. Alkaline Trio slow it down a bit on the 6 tracks they offer. Only one song, "Dead and Broken" truly rocks. The other tracks, while dark and insightful, leave the listener wishing for more upbeat hooks and sing-along anthems. Even their cover of the Damned's "Wait For The Blackout" lacks the excitement generated by their pervious covers. One Man Army, on the other hand, offer up 6 tracks of danceable, new wavey punk. Think Oingo Boingo meets the Dickies. Their catchy rants on TV and mainstream radio are just funny enough to get you to perk up and pay attention. The Alkaline Trio music will grow on you with repeated listens, but one can't help but think they'll never capture the magic of their self-titled 7"/rarities collection ever again.

A Wilhelm Scream - Mute Print
Nitro Records
By: Homie

New Bedford, Mass. Rockers A Wilhelm Scream closed a deal moving from JumpStart Records to Nitro in January of 2004 with their finest effort to date "Mute Print." Searing guitars mixed into an overpowering rhythm section take this speed-punk/metal act into the foreground of aggressive music today. The lyrical content is downtrodden with a glimmer of hope dispersed in small doses through each story.

 

Paris Texas - Like You Like An Arsonist
New Line
By: Homie

Power Pop-Rock never sounded so...not...tainted. PTX is yet another group with a new home this new year thanks to movie buffs New Line. Those familiar with their old home will no doubt recognize the track "hip replacement" but the strength is in numbers with the record growing more powerful track after track. Songs carry hints of Jimmy Eat World and Incubus in them that may catch new listeners off guard but not to worry, it's just PTX, doing what they do.

From A Second Story Window -
Not One Word Has Been Omitted
Black Market
By: Homie

Defenstration is a word that comes to mind with a band that has thrown tradition out of the window. Instrumentally the group has managed to tame and define a chaotic genre of hardcore making something so aggressive yet so accessible. Stomach turning vocals shriek and growl battle with the ride of the kit. "Simply put, we are trying to make music for attention-deficit people." I couldn't put it any better.
 

The Kite Eating Tree -
Method: Fail, Repeat...
Cowboy Vs Sailor/Suburban Home
By: Homie

No, this isn't the once fabled Snapcase side-project, it's a band you may have formerly been familiar with by the name of hyphen. Kite Eating Tree represents a breath of newly spun indie-pop emerging from Southern California. Featuring former members of Jealous Sound, Liars Inc and Sunday's Best, this is perhaps a snapshot of what could have been and fortunately will become. Rhythmic and soulful rock with a passionate vocal resonating strong.

Some Girls -
All of My Friends Are Going Death
Deathwish Inc.
By: Frank Realitos
When your band can boast the fact that it features current members of The Locust and Give Up The Ghost and former members of Swing Kids, you know it's going to be massive. Equal parts thrashy, screamy, and pointed, Some Girls is a refreshing change of pace for the hardcore scene. Wes Eibold brings his featured style to the recording, but offers a much more spazzed out take on it. Musically, it's frantic and panicked...just the way hardcore should be. As if Justin Pearson, the other brainchild behind Some Girls and focal point of The Locust, would have it any other way. This isn't for the tough guys in the pit...this is for the kids in the back. Hardcore that isn't' ashamed of being hardcore and isn't for the "bro-core" sect.