The Quakes - Negitive Charge (2009)

Howdy people, startin' out "Sande's Poor Man's Throwbacks — Good Bands You Forgot You Own" segment with The Quakes. The Quakes are a punk/rockabilliy band that started out in the 80's and Negative Charge is their latest album which came out last year. If you're a Tiger Army, Pennywise, or Offspring fan I'm thinking you would dig these guys. They got that indefinable, throw-caution-to-the-wind, punkish swagger. The Quakes are more popular in Europe, so you might get a little taste of British punk in there mixed in with the heavy drums and stand up bass. Whenever I hear them wailing, it always makes me want to get back in the tattoo parlor REALLY bad, especially "Seven Seas Alone." Something about really good bands that never made it big for no apparent reason other than bad luck, have always had a special place in my heart. I repeatedly blast The Quakes whenever I overcome some small obstacle just to even the score. So, if you ever want to cut loose just cause you deserve it, I suggest cranking up "Ghost Town," "Negative Charge," or "Straight to Valhalla," drink too many whiskey sours and get some more reckless ink, because why the fuck not?

The Heavy - The House That Dirt Built (2009)

Man, did we ever drop the ball on this one. The band from Noid strikes again, and the QCers are caught with their pants down. After Nuts broke The Heavy back in May of 08 and then they slotted in at 21 on QuickCrit's Top 35 Albums of 2008 it should have been a given that their sophomore release, The House That Dirt Built, would have been quick out of the gate, but alas all we plugged was the video for "How You Like Me Now?" Don't let our neglect fool you, this album rocks some serious soul sauce. After much deliberation, someone, I forget who exactly, decided the only way to classify the sexy, gritty swagger of Kelvin Swaby's vocals and the funky, dance-inducing grooves is as hot, sweaty "stripper soul." And with The Heavy a new genre was born. Well, I won't linger too much cause it's obvious that you should either: (a) already rock this band heavily, or (b) will be doing so shortly. Other tracks to get in your all-purpose play-list immediately are: "Sixteen," "No Time," "What You Want Me To Do?" and, my personal favorite, "Short Change Hero." Also, let it be known, this is the last time I put something so awesome off for so long.