I dont know, maybe some people that will read this will consider it a blasphemy but I was never considering myself a fan of Rancid. Somehow their records never got to me, never moved me in some way to make me love their music although I know that legions of punk hardcore and skinhead kids consider them to be the best band in the world. They have some punk evergreens for sure, but most of their albums were just too boring for me. This new album is their ninth full length with 17 tracks of street punkrock and ska coming your way. On this new album Rancid explores recent political events that were going on in America and throughout the world. The opener “Track Fast” is just that, kinda little bomb under one minute to prepare the listener for what comes next. “Ghost of a Chance” and “Telegraph Avenue” are nice punkrock anthems with the trademark Rancid mumbled verses, barked choruses and all the other stuff which made them so loved by many. For me the best song on this album is unusually long titled “An Intimate Close Up of a Street Punk Trouble Maker” which is fast paced melodic hit in the head. There are some fillers on this album like “Farewell Lola Blue” and “I Got Them Blues Again” but in all this is good album. Somehow I got the opinion that first half of the album is way better than the second half, but thats just me.
This is the second e.p. by this band from Varaždin, Croatia. I can say that the guys are hyperproductive since there is only three months passed between the debut e.p. and this brand new. Senf plays crossover, meaning metal mixed with punk, hardcore and some greasy stoner riffs thrown in here and there for good measure. Dont get me wrong, the music is fast and aggressive, Ivda has a great growling brutal vocals and the guys really know how to handle their instruments because they have all played or play in different bands from Varaždin like Rectal Destroyer, Fajrunt, Alkotest…This e.p.contains 6 songs, one of them being a kind of instrumental intro. The lyrics are all in Croatian language and they are mostly funny or reflecting some everyday shit and problems. The titles like “Sam u krčmi”, “Mašina”, or “Daj” put a smile on your face if you understand Croatian. If not, I am sorry. This second e.p. is an improvement to the first one and I am sure that the full length will rock my stereo for sure. I urge you to check this guys live because they are tight musically and funny as hell. Good stuff! What is better, you can download it for free.
The Enthused are Italian melodic punkrock band formed in 2010. This is their second studio album released through No Reason Records and Kids and Kicks Records. The album contains 8 great songs of melodic and fun punkrock, almost easycore. All the songs are sung in English language and the song structures with harmonies and melodies are nicely done. I loved the backing vocals in almost all the songs, because I consider them to be very important for this kind of punkrock. If I must compare the band with someone it would be early Blink 182. The vocals are fine, cheesy as they need to be in pop punk, but not overdone. This Italian band is fine example how to do quality melodic punkrock in Europe. To be sure, this record is nothing special, nothing new, thousand times heard but still it worked for me. Top songs:”Best Times”, “Lizzie”.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 