The Evens - The Odds (2012)

Probably some of you who are reading this have been thinking that this blog was lifeless once and for all. You haven't been totally wrong. Flannel & Beards its been riding the flatline for the past months, and I didn't really have the will to revive it. But there are sometimes that dying things get back on their feet and show a little spark of vitality. Today F&B did this just because there was a big reason for doing it. I just found that The Evens released a new LP and of course this is a huge reason for resuscitation.

After all this boring speech, let's get to what matters. Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina are back 6 long years later with a new LP entitled The Odds. For the ones who are not familiar with this band, it involves Amy Farina at the drums and Ian playing the baritone guitar, both of them singing and the kind of genius that you could expect from post-hardcore Washington d.c. musicians. I could not give an exact definition of how they sound like, because it is just so simple and so rich at the same time that it escapes me. You just have to give it a listen and discern if you enjoy them, what you probably will. And if not, well... I pity you.

1. King of Kings
2. Wanted Criminals
3. I Do Myself
4. Warble Factor
5. Sooner or Later
6. Wonder Why
7. Competing With the Till
8. Broken Finger
9. Architects Sleep
10. Timothy Wright
11. This Other Thing
12. Let's Get Well
13. KOK

Slight Similarities With: Fugazi? The Warmers? None of them?

Download it HERE

Sundials - When I Couldn't Breathe (2012)

 

Lots of releases and leaks this week. Some are freaking out to get the new NOFX album, some other are amazed by the new Gallows and there's some legitimate others who are constantly talking about the new Title Fight LP. But there's another record being released this month that may not catch that amount of attention but in my humble opinion is double worth it. With the terrible news of Spraynard's break-up the world needs some turn on Fortune's wheel and thanks to heaven or Asian Man Records, Sundials have a new album to comfort us and make this bad news easier to swallow.
This new record is not far from their previous releases, they have the same sound and they haven't made so much experimentation, but the compositions are even better this time. Perfect balance of clean and sweet guitars and raw distiortion, lots of great melodies and a way of singing that delights us with its simplicity and softness. This is the perfect piece to cheer us up, give your tortured minds some relax and happiness. Treat yourself.

01. 710
02. New York Crunch
03. When I Couldn't Breathe
04. Seventy-Five
05. Completely Broken
06. Unpredictable
07. Mosby Blues
08. Untitled
09. When I Couldn't Breathe (Reprise)
10. Brain Waves
11. The Mad Stork Makes Another Movie
12. Some Kinda Time
13. Strange

Slight Similarities With: Spraynard, Thousandaires, Bangers.

Download HERE

Propagandhi - Failed States (2012)

Celebrating three decades of life in the political and musical hinterlands, Propagandhi will release their sixth studio album, Failed States, on September 4th. Fans can pre-order Failed States now at The Epitaph Store. Additionally, Propagandhi will kick off a North American tour in September with support from Comback Kid.

Failed States willfully careens between brazen metallic tendencies and the ragged punk rock roots of Propagandhi's earlier work, further raising the lyrical and musical bar set by their critically-acclaimed 2009 release, Supporting Caste.

01. Note to Self
02. Failed States
03. Devil's Creek
04. Rattan Cane
05. Hadron Collision
06. Status Update
07. Cognitive Suicide
08. Things I Like
09. Unscripted Moment
10. Dark Matters
11. Lotus Gait
12. Duplicate Keys Icaro (An Interim Report)

Slight Similarities With: I Spy, Good Riddance, Strung Out

Download it via Skatepunkers

Amarzakill - Albüm EP (2012)

Where did this noise come from? Why does their name sound like "Ten Dicks" in Basque? And why the hell do I love this band so much? The answers are easy. Amarzakill are a thrash punk band from Mugerre (Bayonne), and they kick ass so much that you won't be able to sit after listening to their songs. With members of other awesome bands like Antifun Krieg or Xubung, this four-piece thrashin' machine is perfect for skateboarding, partying and chewin' skulls.

This is their first release and you can download it "name you price" from their Bandcamp page.

01- Master Disastrer
02- Rucks Should Be Forbbiden
03- Doomed By Cresus
04- Usm Maul Machine
05- Burning Alive
06- X-Ray Jesus
07- Forceps Criminal

Slight Similarities With: Municipal Waste, Suicidal Tendencies, Bones Brigade.

Download it from their BANDCAMP PAGE

The Holy Mess - Cande Ru Las Degas (2012)

I've been incredibly lazy about looking for new releases and even lazier about posting them here, but this one deserves to be posted inmediately. The Holy Mess are a band from the musically prolific city of Philadelphia and if you haven't previously tasted their tunes I would say that you're gonna love them if you enjoy bands like The Flatliners, Elway, Banner Pilot or Red City Radio. So energic, so catchy, so sarcastic and so fucking funny that you will put the album on repeat at minute one. This is their first LP and it could never disappoint their previous fans because it keeps the sound and the vibe of their early EP's. You should be grateful by now for this awesome band writing music and making it to your ears. If not, fuck off.

01- My Boring 90′s
02- Within The Range Of A Raven
03- The Saddest Girl To Ever Hold A Martini
04- Cold Goodbyes
05- A Song For Tim Browne To Sing
06- Hospitals
07- Asleep In A Room Full of Dog Shit
08- Half That and Dublin
09- Weren’t No Fun
10- All Those Words

Slight Similarities With: The Flatliners, Elway, Banner Pilot.

Download it HERE (torrent)

The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten (2012)

I personally have to admit that my hopes for this album were quite low because I didn't really like American Slang, it sounded pretty boring and I didn't really enjoy what TGA delivered in that one. But Handwritten has revived my hopes in this guys and it's always satisfying to re-like some band's work when you really enjoyed them in the past (Sink or Swim and The 59 Sound will always be unbeatable).
But I won't bore you guys with my thoughts in TGA, I prefer that you download this new record and decide for yourselves. Not best album of the year for me, but it is quite good, and Too Much Blood is already one of my favourite TGA songs ever.

Note: It is a rip from NPR and I've read that the last song is cut at minute 2.10 or so; I'll try to find other files, but for the moment it's all I've able to find.

01. 45
02. Handwritten
03. Here Comes My Man
04. Mulholland Drive
05. Keepsake
06. Too Much Blood
07. Howl
08. Biloxi Parish
09. Desire
10. Mae
11. National Anthem

Slight Similarities With: The Horrible Crowes, Bruce Springsteen, Against Me!

Download HERE or HERE or HERE or HERE

Teenage Bottlerocket - Freak Out! (2012)

And more pop-punk for the masses!
Here we got the vanguard of bubblegum riding their skateboards and pleasing our ears with some new tunes and lots of "whoa-oh"s. Always catchy and always fun, Teenage Bottlerocket has just released what its their fifth full-lenght, second one with Fat Wreck Chords. 14 songs of pure pop-punk energy for all the ramones' lovers. Rip it up!

01. Freak Out!
02. Headbanger
03. Cruising For Chicks
04. Necrocomicon
05. Maverick
06. Done With Love
07. Punk House Of Horror
08. Never Gonna Tell You
09. In The Pit
10. Mutilate Me
11. Who Killed Sensei?
12. Radical
13. Summertime
14. Go With The Flow

Slight Similarities With: Screeching Weasel, The Copyrights, Riverdales.

Download it HERE or HERE

Mixtapes - Even on the worst nights (2012)

It's been a while and I'm sorry for not updating the blog so often, but I think this one is going to excuse me pretty well. Because Mixtapes did it once again. Maura, Ryan & Co. are still delivering some of the best male-female fronted kind of pop-punk. This time they don't include many acoustic songs and it's mostly straightforward pop-punk with great vocal melodies and the type of songs that will make your day. It's really awesome to know that some bands haven't changed and still write the kind of music that made us fall in love with them.

01. Seven Mile
02. Something Better
03. Hey Ma PT. 2
04. Even On The Worst Nights
05. You Must Not Be From Around Here
06. You & I
07. I'm Wearing The Device (Bridge, Water)
08. I'll Give You A Hint, Yes
09. Russian House DJ
10. Anyways
11. Indian Summer
12. One For The Ozarks
13. Just When You Thought It Was Over
14. Golden Sometimes
15. Basement Manners
16. Mt. Hope

Slight Similarities With: Direct Hit!, House Boat, The Ergs!

Download HERE, HERE
Or in FLAC -> HERE

Yaw - Atlantida Zuzenean (2012)

Our personal favourites Yaw did a live recording at Atlantida Studios and they have just uploaded it for everyone to get a bite of their music (as they always have). It features two previously unreleased songs that keep all the vibe from their Australia EP. It's still shouted, still music from the heart and mind, still in basque language and still great. Pay special attention to "Kontraesana naiz", something a little bit different from what they usually deliver. You'll fucking love it.

The archive contains all the lyrics in basque, spanish, catalá and galego.

01- Hemengoa lazgarri zait
02- Kontraesana naiz

Slight Similarities With: Touché Amoré, old Gallows, Refused.

Download HERE

Bandcamp
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Sport - Demo (2011)

Very interesting band from Lyon, France. They play some kind of post-hardcore with a delicate scent of post-rock but it is really difficult to label it, it's got some emocore influence too. Reminds me of lots of bands in each song, from Iron Chic to Explosions in the sky. Quite wide style. Gruffy voices and clean and delayed riffs.

01. Athènes, 1896
02. Calgary, 1988
03. Cortina d'Ampezzo, 1956
04. Mexico City, 1968
05. Los Angeles, 1984

Slight Similarities With: Iron Chic, Explosions in the sky, Latterman.

Download HERE