Record Reviews

Fucked Up - Hidden World - Jade Tree
When your band is already being described by some publications as "mysterious" and "filled with controversy," what better way to feed that than to compare yourself to Pink Floyd and have psychedelic art work on your debut full length? I'm not quite sure where the Pink Floyd comparison comes from, but according to the band, some of their "drawn out shit," sounds like Pink Floyd. What I hear is an aggressive, angry hardcore effort that's trying really hard (but not too much) to make hardcore credible again. This record is extremely smart and well thought out; definitely a "thinking man's" hardcore album.
Previous to this release, Fucked up was exclusively putting out 7" singles in limited runs and the ones that I have are all incredible. Now that I've hyped this up, you're probably wondering what this sounds like. It's honest and angry, yet uplifting, kind of like an AVAIL record, without sounding like AVAIL. Every riff on this record sounds well thought out and is exactly where it belongs and every bass line and drum beat is thought out and crafted. The vocals on the other hand definitely sound like they were going for pure feeling and emotion (which is the way this kind of stuff needs to be delivered) and bring to mind Detroit's Negative Approach. I can honestly say that if I were 14 and hearing this for the first time, this would more than likely be the record that would get me into hardcore. If this record doesn't end up on some "best of" lists at the end of the year, there is something wrong with this world.
Fucked up is rumored to be hitting Chicago in December.
Jade tree

Get Rad - Say Fuck No to Rules, Man - Hyperrealist
Get Rad are pretty much all about 80's BMX culture and being awesome. They play a brand of hardcore that's fairly common and rarely done well, but these kids pull it off with flying colors. The music is thrashy in a very early 80's sort of way and screamy in a very "now" sort of way. Blend this with overt BMX geek references and a tounge in cheek Minor Threat cover (Peein' Red), you have the formula for and extremely fun hardcore record.
I listened to this record a couple times on Saturday (after seeing them on Friday) and I think the name is really fitting. If you happen to pick up the LP, it's half electric blue and half hot pink. Think mid-80's Haro and GT bikes and that's what you have.
Hyperrealist Records

----Rediscovering My Record Collection----

The Monsignors - Are You There God? It's Us, the Monsignors - Harmless Records
Sometimes I find myself saying "when did ska become retarded?" There was a time when ska was considered "legitimate music" or whatever and somewhere around the mid to late 90's ska became another form of party music for frat boys to get drunk to and pretend they have some sort of identity. Wacky hit makers like Save Ferris, Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger brought what was going on underground in the suburbs of America to the forefront of popular culture. These were some pretty annoying times.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, bands like Slapstick, the Blue Meanies (who would later get signed to a major and put out a failed pop record) and the Monsignors were playing a much different brand of ska. These kids were blending speedy punk riffs, hardcore and some aspects of Mr Bungle to the mix. In the case of the Monsignors, you had the wacky lyrics of your typical goofy ska band, but the music was straight up punk and metal with horns, yet crazy and dancable.
I remember seeing this band once with Mustard Plug, Skavoovie and the Epitones and Tango Wedding Band and I left that show with the impression that this band was going to be pretty huge. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. After listening to this album, aside from all the nostalgia and good times that go along with it, a lot of the songs run into one another. That's not that big of a deal, because the record is pretty short and falls in the "stupid fun" category. I have specific memories of playing a show in Berkeley/Hillside and on our way to the show, we were listening to this record and having a great time. It also reminds me of hanging out at my friend Mookie's house and hearing a drunk frat boy who crashed the party point out to all of us that the Operation Ivy record we were listening to was "ska" and that it was "the wave of the future." I think Mookie proceeded to pick a fight with him.
This record is a great walk down memory lane, but I'm not sure if it's something I'm going to be listening to on a regular basis again.
Harmless Records