Howler - America Give Up (2012)

This is rock and roll... This is Howler. Their debut album, America Give Up, is vigorous and catchy much like one of my favorite bands of 2011, The Vaccines. The Drums, Surfer Blood and The Soft Pack (plug in other surf-rock influenced band name here) also come to mind, because the surf-rock trend is so hot right now. The 11 track album comes in at just over 32 minutes, which leaves each riff-laden, power pop track to come and go at a '70s punk pace. It is truly structured as an album from a different era. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised anymore due to all the musical virtuosos currently on the prowl, but I am still amazed by the fact that Howler is made up of mere kids. They pull together an amazingly mature and musically-educated sound, while keeping the songs and song-titles playful and carefree. This album is packed with singles, so take a half-hour out of your day, especially while the sun is shining here in California, and have a listen to some youthful summer jammy-jams. 

Slabtown Bender 2011 - Friday Night Preview

While the enitre weekend looks great—I love Nobunny and Holly Golightly—I think Friday has the best lineup from top to bottom. And although I've been a fan of the Beat for ages, especially "Walking Out On Love", Paul Collins isn't even who I am most excited about. That's just how good the lineup is. Here are my top five for tonight:

Pure Country Gold (Portland) garage blues
If there was any doubt if I was coming out (there wasn't), finding out that this could be Pure Country Gold's last show ensured that I couldn't miss their set. This set may require double fisting.

The Tranzmitors (Vancouver, BC) power pop, garage rock
Busy Singles is by far my favorite album I came across preparing for the Bender. Pretty damn excited about seeing them.

The Mean Jeans (Portland) Ramones-style punk rock
Local favorites with energy to kill. Always fun.

The Blind Shake (Minneapolis) garage rock
Supposed to have an amazing live show. Their album Carmel rawks pretty hard, so I am inclined to believe the hype.

Welcome Home Walker (Portland) pop punk, garage rock
"Suds" is stupid catchy, so you might as well shout along.

Mind Spiders - "No Romance"

Apparently, while always excellent garage rockers the Marked Men are on hiatus, co-singer/songwriter/guitarist Mark Ryan decided he wanted to explore some of his other interests in 60's pop and lo-fi. However, he never strays too far away from catchy rock n' roll, as evident on "No Romance" (mp3), a short burst of rapid-fire drumming guitar riffs, all wrapped up in a pop melody.

The Biters - The Biters EP / It's Okay To Like Biters EP (2010)

While The Biters' mix of classic power pop and punk rock could easily find a place on Rhino's now out of print D.I.Y. series, their sound mainly reminds me of Portland's fabulous and doomed Exploding Hearts. Judging from their video, they look like some the guys I see down at Slabtown and the East End, where I am sure someday they'll be warmly received if they ever tour through town.

There are plenty of us-against-the-world lyrics designed to maximize the fist pumping, beer swilling, and maybe some joyful jumping around. "Hang Around" (mp3) sneers and postures, but might just be sweet song of friendship. The bouncing rally cry of "Anymore" has a great celebratory cheer in the middle of the chorus. "Melody For Lovers" (mp3) rides a classic escalating riff and hand claps. I'll definitely keep my eye out for the 3rd EP coming out later this year.

Slabtown Bender 2010 Lineup

Since I didn't know most of the lineup for this year's Bender, I had to hit up MySpace to help plan my weekend. I've included the band's rough genre, based on the few songs I heard, and their hometown, which was necessary for some of the most Google-unfriendly bands. After listening my way through the list I'm pretty amped and I know I'm going to have to bring plenty of extra cash for albums.

Friday 2/5 (Doors at 5, show at 6)
Howie and the Hotknives (Portland) garage rock
Idle Times (Seattle) psychedelic rock/garage rock
Blank-its (Seattle) punk rock
The Bugs (Portland) punk rock
Bipolaroid (New Orleans) psychedelic rock
The Girls (Seattle) post punk/synth rock
Ty Segall (San Francisco) garage rock/lo-fi
Coconut Coolouts (Seattle) garage rock
Bare Wires (Oakland) 70's punk rock/power pop
Head (Seattle) pop punk

Saturday 2/6 Matinee (Doors at Noon, show at 2)
East Wenatchee Iowa/Cougar? (Portland) indie punk/lo-fi
Foxgloves (Portland) boy-girl indie pop/power pop
Junior’s Gang (Portland)
Old Growth (Portland) punk rock/hard rock

Saturday 2/6 (Doors at 5, show at 6)
Thee Headliners (Portland) garage blues
Sons of Bitches (Portland) country punk
The Sandwitches (San Francisco) female-fronted garage pop/indie
Shannon and the Clams - (Oakland) female-fronted punk
Lord Von Raven (Oakland) glam/garage rock
Greg Ashley (Oakland) psychedelic folk
King Louie and the Missing Monuments (New Orleans) garage rock
Cheap Flight (Portland) Steve Turner of Mudhoney's brand new band
The Teutonics (Germany) retro garage rock

Sunday 2/7 Matinee (Doors at Noon, show at 2)
Denizenz (Portland) punk rock
Timecopz (Vancouver, BC) punk rock
Burning Yellows (Portland) indie pop/lo-fi
Nectarine Pie (Oakland) psychedelic rock/garage rock

Sunday 2/7 (Doors at 5, show at 6)
TherapistS (Portland) punk
Indian Wars (Vancouver, BC) garage rock
Manic Attracts (Vancouver, BC) punk rock/lo-fi
Dirty Cupcakes (San Francisco) female-fronted punk rock
Pity Fucks (Portland) garage rock/punk rock
Dead Ghosts (Vancouver, BC) garage rock
The Leaders (Portland) psychedelic rock
Pure Country Gold (Portland) garage blues
The Mean Jeans (Portland) Ramones-style punk rock
Spider Babies (Portland) punk rock
Pierced Arrows (Portland) hard rock/garage rock

Mean Jeans - Are You Serious? (2009)

Portland's Mean Jeans are one of the bands I am most looking forward to seeing at Slabtown's Bender. I didn't pick up their album of juvenile and manic Ramones-style punk rock, Are You Serious?, until late in the year and although I immediately liked the album, I kept missing their shows. The songs are repetitively catchy and all sound like should've been classic punk hits. Their singer, Billy Jeans, even sounds like Joey Ramone. The album kicks off self-mythologizing "Born On A Saturday Night" (mp3). A definite party jam. The band hardly seem to take a breathe, counting it out, and bashing out rapid fire riffs. "2 Much Cocaine" explains how even punk rockers have their limit. It all adds up to a fun album and what should be a killer show.

The Idle Hands - The Hearts We Broke... (2009)

The very respectable rock traditions of Minneapolis and Ireland, although not usually in one package, bring to us The Idle Hands who do an excellent job of making it very easy to like their music on The Hearts We Broke On The Way To The Show. It is catchy, well-written and filled with charming hooks and the always-popular Irish accents. The upbeat, pop-punk and indie rock songs make for good listening for most rollicking, feel-good moods and occasions, from party to gym to lazy stretches where a pick-me-up is needed. Tracks, like the first single, "Loaded," (which if you haven't checked out yet, do so immediately) the toe-tapping "Liver and Brains," The Dandy Warhols-esque "Married Life," the aptly named "The 80s Killed Your Boyfriend," and the sing-a-long chorused "Sunshine on the Tenements," bring you way up, while, the also excellent "Secretary" and "Queen of Air and Darkness" smooth you out and nicely balance the album. There is a lot to like, and nothing that I can think of to dislike, except for the fact that album title is really, really long. Hopefully The Idle Hands will hit the road soon in support of this very mature, fun album.

Stellastarr* - Civilized (2009)

He says: Stellastarr* has a recurrent knack for writing songs that I feel like I can sign along with the first time I hear them. I accredit this to the infectious oohs, aaahs, and la la las that are paired with *'s repetitious and concise power pop & pop punk choruses. There are no let-downs on Civilized, an album that is much more lively power pop and punk than indie dance rock, like off of *'s debut album, Stellastarr*, or melodious love songs, off of their sophomore effort, Harmonies For The Haunted. In fact, I don't think I have ever heard a * song that I didn't like. Single worthy tracks like "Numbers" and "Warchild" have been available via the social networking outlets for some time now, so these tracks may have had some of their power diluted, but the other songs, like the playful "Prom Zombie," the touching "Sonja Cries," and the rambunctiously rockin' "Robot" all encompass the unique sound and style that only * possess and has mastered. Fun power pop all the way on this one, great for both loyal fans and Stellastarr* newbies alike.

Jay Reatard - Matador Singles '08 (2008)

More Jay Reatard. Hell YEAH! Wait, another singles collection? Apparently, the vinyl versions of these Matador singles are heating up eBay and for good reason. The CD is packed with 13 short bursts of awesomeness, each song being more of what I've come to expect from Jay in his solo state: fuzzy guitar hooks, catchy choruses, and tons of energy, all in (usually) around 2 minutes. "An Ugly Death" has me gleefully singing "For YOU, for ME, for all to see-e-e-e" about the ugly death of a pretty girl just shortly after singing about how "She creeps me out" on "See/Saw" and before the creepy "Trapped Here". Dude has some issues. Ladies may want to heed the warnings that string through his best songs. But he rocks hard and "Always Wanting More" (figuratively) kills me. It's simple lo-fi garage crunch at its best. Thank Jay Reatard for bringing back pop punk's good name.

Jay Reatard - Singles 06-07 (2008)

Hell yeah! Finally. Although I've been rocking some of these songs for a while, picking up the random track off a single, this collection fills in some holes. Jay Reatard specializes in quick and poppy Ramones-influenced punk rock. He packs a lot into less than 3 minutes: choruses, organ riffs, changing speeds, guitar hooks, oohs and aahs. It's all there. He compresses and mashes pieces of songs together in a way that makes the songs feel full and complete. He growls, sings, hollers, and coos, sometimes all in one song. The first nine or so songs are must for anyone who liked Blood Visions. "Another Person" and "All Over Again" are two of his best songs. The last five songs are earlier versions of some of the better tracks off the album and while still good, they aren't a revelation or all that necessary. "It So Useless" is another must listen.

The Huxtables and Dan P. @ The Red Room

I can’t remember the exact words, but I think that the call from the crowd towards the end of The Huxtables set was: “Where can we buy the album?!?” Of course this was answered by a bit of a laugh from the band, and those in the know, because after a decade or so of live shows The Huxtables have yet to produce a tangible release... that I know of. The power-pop / pop-punk quintet, firmly anchored by playful lyrics, enthusiastic backing vocals and a stellar rhythm section, plays FUN music accompanied by humorous showmanship and theatrics—nothing short of entertaining.

Dan P. writes catchy pop songs with hilarious lyrics. I recommend catching them both at a smoked-filled, dimly-lit dive bar near you… if you happen to live in Santa Cruz.


Ultimately, this is less of a review and more of a reiteration of the call from the crowd: “Where can I buy the album?”