Go Sailor - Don't Go 7" (1996)

 

Go Sailor - Don't Go 7"

MYSPACE

Tracks:

1. Don't Go

2. Ray of Sunshine

3. Together Forever In Love

4. Every Day

Go Sailor were an indie-pop/twee band on Lookout! Records in the late '90s.  They share members from the awesome Tiger Trap, who sound pretty similar.  They also shared members with Crimpshrine, The Softies, and Henry's Dress.  This is adorable girl fronted pop at it's best.  SO CATCHY.  Really light sounding guitars and fast drumming make it really poppy.  REALLY POPPY.  Awesome riffs and tons of hooks.   It makes you just wanna dance! The lady from this band also has a wonderful voice.  "Together Forever in Love" is my JAM.  They have recently started playing some shows again, although I'm not sure if it's going to be a full time deal.  They are playing in NYC May 19th at the NYC POPFEST.  Soooo if you're in the area check out a band that will probably never play again!  FFO: Tiger Trap, Talulah Gosh, Cub, Lemuria, Vivian Girls

Dillinger Four - Higher Aspirations Tempered and Dismantled (1995)

 

Dillinger Four - Higher Aspirations Tempered and Dismantled

D4's ANGELFIRE PAGE

TRACKS:

1. Shotgun Confessional

2. Unemployed

3. Smells Like OK Soda

4. One Trick Pony

I don't really know what to say about Dillinger Four that hasn't already been said.  If you're checking out this blog you should probably already know this band.  D4 are from Minneapolis, MN and play gruff, raw, and fast pop-punk.  They play a style that has been aped and poorly imitated by hundreds of bands of recent memory, but this is the original and the real deal.  I love the dual vocals, switching between melodies and aggression.  The music is the same way; nice melodies and fast aggressive punk.  The lyrics are very tongue in cheek and satirize modern society and government. Y'know, and pop punk stuff like being poor and lonely.  This is their first release, as far as I can tell, and its definitely a good one.  This stuff is on the "This Shit is Genius" LP that collects their splits and 7" so you may already have this, but whatever.  It's still great.  The band is still around from time to time, and put out the wonderful "C I V I L W A R" in 2008.  Members play in a couple other bands, but Paddy plays in The Arrivals, who you should definitely check out, and Cleveland Bound Death Sentence, who shares members of Crimpshrine!  FULL CIRCLE!  Sorry I don't have a better picture, my scanner is broken.  FFO: The Midwest, Crimpshrine, Toys That Kill, Green Day, Pop-Punk, Latterman

Crimpshrine - Quit Talkin' Claude EP (1989)

Crimpshrine - Quit Talkin' Claude EP

MYSPACE

Tracks:

1. Butterflies

2. Situation

3. Easy Answers

4. Inspiration

Crimpshrine was a band from the Berkeley, CA area in the late '80s/early '90s that was hugely influential on bands in the area and in punk rock in general.  Members went on to form/play in bands such as Pinhead Gunpowder, Fifteen, Tilt, Sweet Baby, Astrid Oto, Cleveland Bound Death Sentence, Thorns of Life, and even Screeching Weasel.  Aaron Cometbus, the drummer, has been in a billion bands since Crimpshrine and publishes the amazing Cometbus zine, still to this day, tracking his adventures over the years.  The band was hugely influential on giants and contemporaries such as Green Day and Operation Ivy.  Their sound is very uniquely their own and modern bands such as The Credentials, Witches With Dicks, Chinese Telephones, Shang-a-Lang, among others, owe their entire existence to this band.  Needless to say this is an important band and this is an important record.  Messy, raw, punk sounding pop-punk.  Calling it pop-punk would be wrong I think however.  It's just poppy punk before there was a name for it.  GET THIS IF YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD IT.  FFO: Witches With Dicks, Screeching Weasel, Fifteen, Green Day

Here is an interview with them from a 1988 issue of Maximum Rock'N'Roll:

http://www.besound.com/crimpshrine/mrrint.html

Tragedy - Vengeance (2002)

This post is to meant to take a break in the black metal uploading I have been doing, (more to come!). This is tragedy a band who is playing Maryland Death Fest, with a shitload of other awesome bands including Buzzoven! Tragedy formed from the ashes of His Hero Is Gone and multiple other current punk bands. This isn't far removed from the intensity of His Hero Is Gone but does push the envelope in structure and song writing. This is their third release and is my personal favorite.
The lyrics are actually well thought out and intelligent usually containing references for those interested in the inserts of their records, so follow up! The music is fantastic fast and exhilarating for those who haven't heard it. Don't miss out on this if you enjoy metal, punk, or the d-beat. After tragedy became a current seminal band many bands began to copy the sound of these records which some refer to as the t-beat, give it a shot you won't be disappointed!

Download
Purchase

Egghead - Knock Off That Evil!!! (1995)

 

FACEBOOK

Egghead - Knock Off That Evil!!!

Tracks:

1. Neighborhood Palmreader

2. Jet Pack

3. Donna's Always Mad at Me

4. Sukeban Deka

I KNOW HOT DOGS TASTE GOOD!  Egghead was a really dorky pop-punk band from the mid '90s from New York.  Listening to them, you can definitely see where bands like The Ergs! and the Steinways picked up a lot of influence.  They definitely aren't the same in sound, but certain elements are very apparent in both like the singing and the dorky/lovey dovey lyrics.  This record shares more in common with like, The Dead Milkmen or The Angry Samoans maybe.  Its fairly slow for pop-punk, mid paced tempo maybe, with Jet Pack being an exception.  Lyrical subjects range from a love song about the local palmreader to praising the exploits of a Japanese superhero team.  Egghead is a band more newer pop-punk dudes should be aware of, and this is definitely a fun and catchy album that is worth a listen.  FFO: The Dead Milkmen, Stiff Little Fingers, Boris the Sprinkler, Angry Samoans, The Ergs!, Screeching Weasel.

Here is footage of them playing acoustically after the power went out at Insub Fest 2007:

Crossed Eyes - Rattled 7"(2007)

MYSPACE!

BUY THIS!

Crossed Eyes - Rattled

Tracks:

1. Rattled

2. 89th Anthem for the Walking Dead

3. Broke Bike

4. Scottish Pop

This is an interesting record that I never see mentioned anywhere.  Crossed Eyes were a band from Raleigh, North Carolina and had members from another band with an awesome name called Street Sharks.  They play a mish mash of all sorts of punk sub genres.  They generally stay around the fuzzy power pop punk kind of stuff that the Marked Men play but totally have audible influences from all over the place including British power pop and '77 punk, hardcore, and real poppy pop punk.  I saw them at a fest one year and was totally impressed.  I think they are broken up now, but the members all have new things that you should check out if you like this.  Sorry State Records has a bunch of links to said bands.  I also think this may be their only release, besides maybe some comp tracks, which is a real shame because this band is pretty fantastic.  Check it out!  FFO: The Marked Men, Chinese Telephones, The Jam, Shitty Limits