Review Archive: B

Heavy Petting  

Bad Manners have been around practically forever, which is probably why I was expecting this record to be better than it is. It IS a good album — Heavy Petting has its good songs ("Happiness", the title track), some with their classic harmonica-accompanied style ("Down Berry Wood"). There are some swinging instrumentals as well ("Don't Knock the Baldheads", "Red River Ska"), and even a surprisingly well-done Monkees cover ("Randy Scouse Git"). Maybe it was unfair of me to have such high expectations for Heavy Petting, but Bad Manners has a reputation of being such a longstanding band for a reason. (If they sucked, they would've broken up when 2-Tone faded in the early 80's.) A decent album overall, and old fans of Buster Bloodvessel & co. will like hearing new material, but I was hoping for a better-than-average album.

All Ages  

All Ages is a "best of" album of Bad Religion's Epitaph days. (Sure, you can accuse Epitaph of cashing in on BR's major label success, but as long as they have bands like Offspring selling millions, I don't think they're too worried about money. But I digress...) A good collection of 22 songs from the beginning through Generator. Granted, I wouldn't have included some of these songs and I think some others are missing; but if you were to ask 50 people to compile this album, no two lists would be alike. Anyway, the cover says it "also includes unreleased live tracks!!" Well, there's only two ("Do What You Want" and "Fuck Armageddon")--I had hoped there'd be more. The CD booklet includes a collage of old show posters and the original lyric sheets. Bottom line: All Ages is for Bad Religion collectors, or those who only own their major label releases.

The Lost Episode  

I have no idea how this CD found its way into my mailbox, but I'm glad it did. This is just bizarre: it's a recording (off a VCR tape for really high quality...) of a television performance Les Baxter did. He conducts what is kind of known today as space age bachelor pad music--often goofy instrumental music he composed mainly for TV and movies in the 60's. It's neat stuff, but personally I like Esquivel better.

Hello Nasty  

For such a good album, Hello Nasty isn't that good. (Huh?) For their latest album, the Beastie Boys have returned to a more old-school style with heavier beats and lots of interweaving rhymes — almost like Paul's Boutique without all the samples (which would cost a pretty penny these days). Unfortunately, it also lacks the originality that Paul's Boutique and the two followups had. No new ground is broken here and normally that's okay, but (a) this is the Beastie Boys and (b) they've had four years since their last record. Plus this 22-track album has its share of experimental filler, and some of the rhymes are weak and seem almost phoned in.
      On the other hand, rap today totally sucks — Puff Daddy and the rest of his contemporaries are doing a great job of making rap as bland as classic rock. (Note: I'm not well-versed in underground rap, where I hope things are better.) Hello Nasty is a very welcome change — there's plenty of ear candy on this record, and when the Beasties are good, they're real good. There are tracks here as good as anything they've ever recorded: "Super Disco Breakin'", "The Move", "Body Movin'", and (of course) "Intergalactic" all have pretty heavy old-school rap influence. The best stuff on the record is all hip-hop; don't expect any hardcore on this record (though "Remote Control" is reminiscent of "Sabotage"). When you skip over the filler and stop listening before the CD falls apart at the end, you got yourself a damn good album.

I liked Bender's album, so it kinda goes that I'd like this, too. And I do. But they've evolved some since Funny Kar, becoming a little harder and tighter (I'm talking about the music, of course). The songs on this record, "Soap Opera" and "Who Cares," are better than anything from their album; the latter even has a slight Sinkhole feel to it, with its abrupt stop-starts (possibly helping to define the "Ringing Ear sound"? Nah..let's not stereotype).

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The Cult of Ray  

Named after writer Ray Bradbury and featuring songs like "The Marsist," "The Creature Crawling" and "Men In Black," our favorite watcher of the skies is writing about his favorite subject: space. Frank wrote all the tracks and produced it. The production reminds me of Television (70's guitar band), because it has Frank's guitar laying down a track and the other guitarist Lyle Workman's guitar dancing all around. Sometimes the guitar work is a slow dance, intertwined and energetic, but other times the two bounce of each other like opposite-poled magnets. Tommy Tutone fans might want to check out "You Ain't Me" for obvious connections, although it also sounds a bit like "Freedom Rock" from Frank's last release. Other fun musical jaunts include "Mosh, Don't Pass The Guy" and the very X-Files-esque "Men In Black." Once again nothing but stars for Mr. Black. [Jamie Quinn]

Bouncing Souls  

I've never really been a huge fan of the Bouncing Souls. For whatever reasons — maybe I never really gave them a chance, maybe I didn't hear the right stuff, or maybe their past stuff just isn't that great — I never thought of them as much more than a decent punk band, but nothing worth going nuts about or anything. But this album, simply titled The Bouncing Souls, is real good — fast punk with some NYC-style hardcore and a little pop-punk mixed in. One thing cool about these guys is that they're into BMX ("East Side Mags"). Another is that they're fiercely proud of being East Coast ("East Coast! Fuck You!"). Oh yeah, they rock, too: This album (16 songs in 26 minutes) doesn't stop from the minute you start it until it ends — each song blasts right into the next. Although the vocals are kind of monotone, it's definitely not lacking energy. "Say Anything," "Single Successful Guy", and "Kate is Great" kick ass. Good album — kind of took me by surprise.

Hopeless Romantic   

I'm going to have to rethink my position on the Bouncing Souls. I never really cared for them that much; sure, they had that song about 80's movies, but that might've been a fluke. But their 1997 self-titled album really turned me around. Hopeless Romantic didn't hit me right off like The Bouncing Souls did, but it's really grown on me. They still play very catchy power-chord punk — no real change in style, though a slow song ("Undeniable") and a couple 4 minute epics ("Night on Earth", "The Whole Thing") help break their mold a bit. But for the most part, it's just fast songs that you can't get out of your head: "Fight to Live", "Monday Morning Ant Brigade", "Ole" (which is bound to be a sing-along at their live shows), and the title track. Sure, Hopeless Romantic isn't exactly a groundbreaking album, but it's fun, and often times that can be better.

Savage Island!  

I'd be lying to you if I told you I was an expert on surf rock. Hell, the only stuff I really know are Man...or Astroman?, The Ventures, Phantom Surfers--and now the Bomboras. But I'm not lying when I say that this is a great album. Combining regular surf rock with "ritualistic melodies and seductive rhythms of the natives of distant jungles" (or so the CD case says) make for a very fun album. There's not one song on Savage Island you'll need to skip over; there are several ("Slinky," "Monsoon," "Tortilla") you'll definitely want to hear over and over, though.

Street Art Gallery  

What's Swedish and sounds a lot like Rancid? Bombshell Rocks. And you know, there's nothing wrong with sounding like Rancid (hey, at least they don't sound like Eve 6). The fact is, Bombshell Rocks does it damn well — how many NOFX-soundalike bands are out there that don't even come close to the original? Street Art Gallery is early Clash-inspired punk at its bestand it just rocks from beginning to end — no mixing in a little ska here and there; it's just 12 tracks/30 minutes of loud power chords played fast, most with anthemic refrains that get you chanting along (even if you don't know the words yet). There's not a whole lot of variation through the album, but it doesn't get old — they just plow through every song at full force. 'Nuff said.

Frame and Canvas  

Where can I start? This is my favorite record of 1998 and may retain the title in 1999. I listen to this almost every day and never tire of its greatness. Braid combine solid hooks, awkward changes, dual vocals and bleeding heart lyrics to whisk me too quickly through the best 40 minutes of my everyday. If you only buy one record this year, make it "Frame and Canvas." You won't be sorry. [Brian Tunney]

The Bruce Lee Band  

Mike "Bruce Lee" Park, now ex-member of Skankin' Pickle, had a bunch of songs he had written over the years that were never recorded by SP. So he did what anyone would've done: got Less Than Jake to play and record the songs with him. The result is good ska-core (leaning more toward "core"), with lyrics you'd expect from Bruce Lee — the Brady Bunch, his love of playing music, some NorCal guy who does show listings, plus two songs sung in Korean. And if that weren't enough, the Band reworks an older Pickle tune ("Song #3"), tackles a classic TMBG song ("She's an Angel"), and tosses in a couple of "hidden" tracks on the CD.

Kill Trend Suicide  

With a name like "Brutal Truth" you can guess what this band sounds like. (Hint: it's not exactly in the same group as Heavenly.) Some people are still trying to get me into this kind of metal/thrash/stuff, but it just ain't working. This is better than the last Neurosis album I forced myself to listen to...but then again, so's root canal.

Budget kinda sounds a little like a Big Drill Car/All/Green Day mix, with the outcome not quite being what you expected. Unfortunately, unlike those other bands, Budget doesn't have the edge or energy (at least not on this record) that makes you want to jump around the room like an idiot. These three songs don't quite seem to reach the band's potential, though "She'll Change" comes the closest. It's good stuff, but there's better pop-punk out there.

Four songs of pop/punk/rock stuff. Nothing fancy, nothing punque, nothing amazing, yet surprisingly good. Not as catchy or memorable as, say, Big Drill Car, but worth a listen if you're into that kind of music (as I am). The b-side ("Bugsy Cogsy" and "Slimy Record Label Guys") has the better of the songs, but they're all good.