I had great expectations from this book when I bought it because it features some of my favorite punk rock bands like Bad Religion and Nofx, plus I love Californian punk so I was interested how some of the albums got so popular, what drove Green Day and Bad Religion to major label, how Epitaph Records rose from nothing to one of the biggest independent labels, rise of Fat Wreck Chords, plus some of the anecdotes behind the scene that I did not know and were interesting to read. The book also nicely describes how Rancid formed and wrote some of the best and most iconic albums in punk rock of the nineties. Pennywise are also featured along with one or two great stories about their legendary guitar player Fletcher Dragge and his exploits. It also shows some of the nastier sides of label business, a nastier side of Brett Gurewitz, Bad Religion guitarist and Epitaph Records founder and owner, like also war between Green Day and The Offspring and how it started, so this one is indeed a great read if you like punk rock and history about some of your favorite albums.
Something’s Cursed are from Queens, New York and this is their new release. This one contains five songs of emotional melodic punk rock with some pop punk and even horror punk influences in some songs. The songs are mainly mid tempo with some more aggressive up tempo excursions like in awesome I Remember That Fall, one of my personal favorites on this little record. Vocals are nice, remind me at times of Greg from Bouncing Souls, some music too. The songs are really written nice with some memorable melodies that you catch yourself humming or whistling afterwards not even realizing that this is from this little release. Lyrics are personal and songs like Cigarettes & Therapy or maybe Societal Lobotomy are about to win you over. Good punk rock.
Topsy Turvy’s are no strangers to this zine, this melodic punk band from Poitiers, France has already been featured with their singles announcing this full length and finally it is here! This beauty contains 11 songs of melodic pop punk, old school one, reminding of all those nineties melodic punk bands, not fast but punk rock done with heart and emotion. Dual vocals fit in such perfect harmony, that in some songs they made goosebumps upon my skin. Lyrics are in English and songs deal with you everyday themes to which all of us can relate to in more or less way. I enjoyed this one so much that 2023 started, but it is already a candidate for one of the top releases of melodic punk this year. This is not your fast skate punk as you might have been used from some Californian bands, but the songs remind me a lot of No Use For A Name how great they are written and the melodies they deliver. I would certainly love so much to check this one out on stage, they are so sweet. My personal highlights and favorites on this album change from listening to listening, but I will try for this review: Forever Alone, Not So Long and Are We Still Alive?
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 