Philadelphia based The Menzingers released their brand new studio album with Epitaph Records. I must admit that I was not a fan of such punkrock when I was younger, because I considered it slow music for nerds and pussies. Now, I think different and I love this band. They mix cleverly melodic emotional punkrock with indie and pop influences and they do it in an interesting and great way. There are 12 songs on the record with nice melodies, harmonic backing vocal lines, and I love the feeling of melancholy and sadness that somehow travels through the record, the songs give that vibe. The lyrics are mainly personal, but there are some subtle political tones like in for instance great America(You´re Freaking Me Out) and I must also name some other songs that are kinda highlights for me, that would be Anna, then the title song, ballad I Can`t Stop Drinking and great Strangers Forever. This is a good album, give it a try.
Lostdog Records is a small diy label from Italy promoting punkrock bands and this time they released the new record by Not Now Mark. The record contains 6 songs of nice and melodic punkrock done in the vein of pop punk bands like Descendents or a little bit of Ramones too can be heard in the song structures. The vocals are nice and fit perfectly, backing vocal harmonies too. This is nothing new, nothing unheard, but it works every time for me if done properly and this record is great. The lyrics are in English and deal with everyday personal themes to which we can all relate to. This band could fit perfectly playing at Punk Rock Holiday and would do good at the Beach stage and it would be great to see and hear them play there because it is such music. The songs that I somehow liked the most on this one are Apathy, My Revolution and Stop Your Lies.
Ett Dödens Maskineri from Sweden release their new record with Suicide Records. This record contains 5 songs of hardcore/crust punk done in Swedish style, meaning d-beat topped with some melodic parts in the guitar riffs. But, there are also some atmospheric mid tempo parts like in superb Dodens Maskineri which is for sure one of the best songs on this record. You can hear old school Swedish crust punk in the music of this band, but they also delivered something new and fresh to their sound making them very interesting to listen. The lyrics are in Swedish language, but as I read, they are about todays political situation, loss of humanity, loss of one self, rise of every day racism, fight to keep yourself sane in an insane world, so great themes. The vocals are shouted but sound somehow desperate and crazed so this is another plus for this band. Fantastic band, fantastic songs!
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