#5- Masked Intruder- Masked Intruder
The Music-
Back when I first picked up the Dan Vapid and the Cheats
record, a good friend and I were discussing the finer points of that
outstanding album, and agreed that the best song on it was “Girl Group.” We
both thought that Vapid’s combining of a doo-wop song with pop-punk (although
definitely not the first time it was done) was genius, and talked about how rad
it would be if he had recorded a whole album with that idea in mind. A couple
of months later I got an incredibly infectious album crammed full of exactly
what we had been discussing. What was weird about it was that it didn’t come
from any of the pop-punk mainstays that we were familiar with. Instead, this
amazing record came from 4 unknown guys dressed up in ski masks pretending to
be criminals. Its gimmicky as hell, for sure, but somehow they manage to pull
it off simply because the songs are just that good. Lyrically, the band writes
witty and humorous love songs about how difficult it can be to pursue the lady
of your dreams when she is completely creeped out by your chosen profession.
They take that admittedly bizarre-sounding concept and put it to a soundtrack
of sugary pop-punk, rounding out the sound with some incredibly catchy doo-wop
style backing harmonies. In fact, the thing that makes the record really stand
apart for me are the vocals. The main vocalist, Intruder Blue, keeps on-key
with a voice almost too pretty for punk, and the backing vocals are not only
plentiful, but placed perfectly as well. All in all, Masked Intruder have made
a record that is as cheesy as it is original, and my only fear is that I hope
the gimmick won’t go stale on the albums that follow this fun and addictive
first attempt.
The Vinyl-
Shortly after this album was released on CD and digital copy
by Red Scare, the band was scooped up by Fat Wreck Chords, who have rightly
decided that this album needs the vinyl treatment. I preordered this thing back
in November, but apparently pressing plant delays are holding it up. It’s
supposed to finally arrive somewhere around February 5th. All I can
say at this point is that Fat generally do a good job of releasing decent
sounding, no-frills records for right around $12, making it really easy to want
to buy a ton of albums in their impressive catalogue.
#4- Gallows- Gallows
The Music-
I was really bummed out when I found out that Alexisonfire
were breaking up. It seemed to me that they were just getting really
interesting, and I was excited to see where they might go next. Just before
that occurred, I found out that Gallows infamous and outstanding frontman,
Frank Carter, was leaving the band because of what he cited as a difference
between him and the band as far as the musical direction each wanted to pursue.
At the time, I assumed that Carter must have wanted to keep Gallows as vicious
sounding as possible while the band wanted a more marketable direction. Soon
after the Alexisonfire announcement it was made public that Gallows’ new singer
was going to be Wade MacNeil, the sometimes singer and guitar player for
Alexis. The idea intrigued me, but I thought there was no way that Wade could
compete with Frank in terms of sheer intensity and showmanship, especially with
this change in sound I was expecting. Frank was the face of Gallows, after all.
Eventually Gallows released an EP with Wade that made it
quite clear that the difference in opinion over sound between Frank and the
rest of the band played out exactly the opposite way from what I had imagined. Death is Birth is stripped down, dirty,
and angry as hell. If anything, it was actually more intense than anything
Gallows had done previously, but still didn’t quite measure up to their
previous output.
Enter Gallows, the
aptly named self-titled record from a band seeking to reinvent themselves while
still maintaining the sound that they are known for. Its damn hard for people
to think of your band as being the same when you change singers, and especially
difficult when its someone as well-known as Frank. Gallows response to that was
to write their most intense and focused work to date. Wade’s full hardcore
growl sounds nothing like the British-accented guttural screams of Frank, but his
voice works incredibly well with the style that Gallows are going for. The
songs are denser than anything on Grey
Britain, with a more universal outlook than on the England-centric concept
album preceding it. The lyrics are as smart as they are vicious, and songs like
“Outsider Art” and “Last June” make one think that Wade wrote these words as a
challenge to anyone questioning his ability to front this band.
At the same time, everything that you have come to expect
from Gallows musically is still present. One of the things I have always
appreciated about Gallows’ sound was that even though they are a modern band to
the core, they haven’t forgotten where hardcore came from. Their songs have an
early ‘80s punk swagger to them that is sometimes lacking in newer hardcore
bands, keeping it simple when it suits the song and lashing out with technical
guitar and drum flourishes sparingly. As with other Gallows releases, I get the
impression that we are only seeing brief flashes of the technical ability that
lead guitar player Lags is actually capable of, but he uses that ability
brilliantly to fit each song.
Gallows is a confident
and furious statement from a band more than willing to rise to the occasion. Although
the Carter era was certainly memorable in its own right, I can’t see any fan in
their right mind being able to write off this refocused and rejuvenated triumph
of an album.
The Vinyl-
I preordered this record with Verse’s newest album. The
Gallows vinyl was delayed, so Bridge Nine sent me the Verse record by itself so
that I wouldn’t have to wait to get it. Eventually I got an email from them
stating that the Gallows album was ready to ship, but that unfortunately they
had run out of the color that I wanted for the Verse record. I sent them an
email back explaining that I had already received the Verse record, so all they
had to send me was Gallows. Rather than sending me the color I had preordered,
they sent me the most limited “Cross” variant (limited to 100 copies) of the
album along with a handwritten note thanking me for my honesty regarding the
Verse album. Sometimes being honest can really pay off. The record sounds
pretty good. I wouldn’t say its fantastic, but Bridge Nine is definitely
consistent as far as getting good quality vinyl at a pretty decent price. $13
for most LPs. They have also always treated me extremely fairly, so if you want
to pick this up I would encourage buying directly from them.
#3- The Gaslight Anthem- Handwritten
The Music-
Gaslight have done it again. Their first three albums have
always been in my top 5 records for the years they have come out, and this one
is no exception. There aren’t any huge leaps in experimentation or changes in
sound as far as this album goes. It’s extremely well-produced, and that can
probably be attributed to the fact that this is their first album to be
released on a major label. Luckily Mercury saw no reason to mess with a good
thing, and so we get the same old Gaslight with all the production value you
could possibly want. A good thing to know for those intending to buy this album
is that there are several versions of this available digitally. There is an
itunes exclusive bonus track, and also an expanded edition available through
Amazon. I would highly recommend getting the extra songs from both. The deluxe
edition contains two covers (one of a Tom Petty song and the other by Nirvana)
and an original song called “Blue Dahlia.” Much like the bonus track “She Loves
You” from the expanded edition of American
Slang, “Blue Dahlia” is one of the best songs written during this recording
session, making it well worth the additional cost. The itunes version contains
an acoustic original entitled “Teenage Rebellion.”
If you haven’t heard The Gaslight Anthem, this album is
probably a good introduction to their Springsteen and Petty-influenced style of
accessible punk rock. For those who already know, chances are you will not be
disappointed with this outstanding addition to the Gaslight Anthem canon.
The Vinyl-
I’m always leery of major label vinyl releases. They are
often cheaply made, terrible sounding, and way overpriced. I can recall reading
an interview with Brian Fallon, Gaslight’s frontman, where he stated that they
had brought up the importance of continuing to release quality vinyl for all
future albums with Mercury as part of their contract negotiations with the
label. I’m glad they did, because this album sounds excellent. Its $15, and is
pressed on 180 gram blue vinyl with a gatefold jacket. Nice package and well
worth picking up.
#2- The Menzingers- On The Impossible Past
The Music-
This album is getting a whole lot of attention, and as far
as I’m concerned, it is definitely well deserved. The Menzingers have had an
evolution as a band that has been amazing to watch, putting out three
outstanding records in the last 5 years, with each release being better than
the one that came before. I honestly have no idea how they will ever top On the Impossible Past, but then again,
I said the same thing about Chamberlain
Waits.
Although this album has some fantastic songs that can easily
stand on their own (“Gates,” “The Obituaries,”), I would say that the true
brilliance of On the Impossible Past lies
in the fact that it is so much more than the sum of its parts. As such, it’s a
record that vinyl nerds will probably covet for years since the vinyl format is
particularly geared toward the listening of a whole album. The lyrics on every
song seem to follow a loose association with the theme of growing older and
realizing that the past is gone, and some of the lines in this album are right
up there with the most memorable lyrics from any band I’ve ever heard. As time
goes on, I fully expect it to be one of those albums that inspires someone I
know to get the lyrics tattooed on them.
When asked, I find it really difficult to describe The
Menzingers sound. I wouldn’t necessarily say they are a pop-punk band, although
those elements are certainly there. In fact, even though they are branded as a
punk band, I’m not sure that they even really fit into that genre. As with most
truly great bands, they have a sound that is instantly recognizable as theirs,
but that is really hard to attach definitive labels to. So, I’ll just leave it
like this: The Menzingers are one of the best rock bands to emerge in the last
ten years, and if you haven’t done so already, you should rush to make their
acquaintance.
The Vinyl-
As I mentioned in the music review, I think this album is a
vinyl lover’s dream come true, which is why its incredibly frustrating to me
that this is one of the worst sounding pieces of vinyl I own. The volume is
incredibly low on this record, with a limited range and excessive pops and
clicks. I kind of expect that with well-used records I have bought that came
out 30 years ago, but this one was brand new when I got it. I should note,
however, that I did get this on the blue variant limited to 500 that Epitaph was
selling as a preorder in their webstore, so I can’t really speak from personal
experience on how the black version or subsequent pressings may sound. I will
say that it doesn’t require much searching on nerdy vinyl message boards to
discover that lots of other people aren’t happy with their copies either
though. Maybe try picking this up when it gets repressed.
#1- Propagandhi- Failed
States
The Music-
While compiling this list, there were several really
excellent albums that I was sure would make it into the Top 10 that didn’t even
end up on the list at all. Albums like Baroness’ Yellow and Green and Teenage Bottlerocket’s Freak Out! seemed like no-brainers at the time that I heard them,
and the fact that they didn’t make the Top 20 still kind of bugs me. (Those are
both praiseworthy albums you should make an effort to hear, by the way.) Some others, like Converge and Gojira,
continued to sound better with each listen, prompting me to move them up the
list. Through all of these adjustments, Failed
States remained firmly planted as my absolute favorite album of the year.
Propagandhi are a band who have always gotten considerable
praise for their releases. Even when making fairly large stylistic jumps (the
biggest being between Less Talk, More
Rock and Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s
Ashes) they have always managed to impress and to continue to expand their
fanbase. They never write the same album twice, and the sound they have been
tweaking for the last three albums has only gotten tighter and more focused with
each release.
With Failed States,
Propagandhi have continued this evolution to a place even farther on the
outskirts of punk rock than their sound had been before. The thrash metal and
progressive rock influences that were always present have been pushed more to
the forefront, making this album their most technical and diverse work to date.
Every musician in this band seems to have stepped it up on this release, which
is kind of an amazing feat for a band that has been around for more than twenty
years. Each song seems to have been pain-stakingly constructed to ensure that
just the proper amount of face-melting and jaw-dropping technicality is
achieved, all while being insanely melodic and thought-provoking. There is not
one song on this whole album I would consider skipping, and that goes for
Todd’s denser and heavier numbers as well as Chris’ melodically brighter and
more technical arrangements.
I knew after the first couple of listens that this record
was definitely a contender, but it wasn’t until I was urged by a friend to sit
down and read the lyrics while listening that I knew it was going to be one of
my favorite records ever. This band writes some of the most scathing and
intellectually savvy lyrics out there, taking aim at social conventions and taking
stands on political issues in nearly every song. That has always been something
that Propagandhi has been known for. On this record many of the songs sound
more mature and reflective than in the past though, and when this is combined
with their trademark intellectualism it can make for songs that are some of the
most beautifully descriptive and highly enlightening that I have ever heard.
With Failed States,
Propagandhi has released the crown jewel of their already impressive career.
It’s the best they have ever been, and that’s something a band that’s been
around this long should be incredibly proud of. Also, if you combine Failed States with the output of the two
impressive albums preceding it, it becomes easy to make the argument that
Propagandhi are THE best punk band currently operating.
The Vinyl-
Like the Menzingers and John K. Samson, this is another
Epitaph release that made this list, but luckily this pressing has none of the
issues that the Menzingers has. There were several pressing delays associated
with this album, and the emails that I got from Epitaph apologizing for the
delays stated that the label and the band kept rejecting test presses because
they didn’t sound good enough. Maybe Epitaph learned their lesson from the
Menzingers release earlier in the year? No way to know for sure, but I am
extremely glad they took the time to get it right for this one. The version I
got is on standard weight blue vinyl, which was the limited color for American
shoppers (orange for Canadians.) It’s got a standard jacket with really rad
artwork and a full-color inner sleeve with the lyrics printed on it. Overall,
an excellent sounding and solid vinyl release for $15.
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