I still have a warm spot for b-sides and collections releases. Usually, they add a certain amount of clarity and closure to a band’s scattered discography. This might not be true in the future, when the need for these kinds of releases will be mitigated by the existence of everything a band has ever released [...]

The Chariot – Daggers
The video comes from the band’s forthcoming album, War And Rumors Of War, due out on Tuesday through Solid State.

It’s been quite a long time since NIGHTMARE OF YOU released a formal full-length, but the time has finally come for the group led by Brandon Reilly to launch their sophomore disc. Titled Infomaniac, the record was produced by Brian Thorn at the Magic Shop studies in Manhattan, NY. The twelve-track disc will see release on July 21, 2009 through the Bevonshire Label.

Short version: LESS THAN JAKE through a FOUR YEAR STRONG filter. It’s a short, three song EP. There’s the usual quibbles. The horns could be in the front of the mix and the guitars could not sound like the came out of Glamour Kills’ ass, but whatever. WE ARE THE UNION is young and there’s something reassuring about the burst of energy and declaration of “I will fight the good fight and I’ll fight it my own way” that is lent authenticity by the “straight out of skatepunk” drumbeat. If you like THE SWELLERS, then you should feel immediately at home, from the first moment in “We Don’t Care If Yesterday Burns, Stoke Up the Fire” to the comparison clinching moment in “Five Out Of Five Kids Who Kill Like Slayer” when the singer Reed Michael belts out “I don’t need bloodstains on my hands to make me feel like a man.” I connect on a musical level and lyrical level and right now, that’s what I want.

According to a recent NPR report, as well as a viral youtube video, humans are not the only animal that can keep a beat. The article centers on a jiving cockatoo with a predisposition to the BACKSTREET BOYS. Here’s a video of Snowball doing his thing: I wonder what would happen if you put some HATEBREED on the stereo for Snowball? The answer to that question comes from a parrot named Waldo, who is also the lead-screecher in the grind-core project HATEBEAK. And yes, it’s really a parrot-led metal band. Check out their bad-ass promo photo: I wouldn’t want to run into that guy in a dark alley with a pocket full of sunflower seeds. You can check out the NPR article here, and for more information on HATEBEAK, look no further than parrot chronicles.com.

From the inbox: Panic Records is very excited to announce that our friends THE EFFORT have joined the Panic Records Family. It’s really no surprise that a band like THE EFFORT would catch the attention of a label like Panic. After label owner Timm McIntosh met up with The Effort in 2008 while on tour with WAIT IN VAIN, it was evident that The Effort was exactly what Timm had been missing about hardcore. Passion, intelligence, and urgency fueled by aggressive, energetic and pissed off hardcore. After becoming friends with the guys in The Effort, it was almost everyday that the band was hounded by Timm to do a record with Panic. The time has finally come and we are honored that The Effort will be releasing their next LP on Panic Records. – myspace.com/xeffortx

I remember seeing CURSIVE with FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES and THURSDAY back in 2002. I was confused by their performance. Very confused. My high-school mind half-assedly attempted to process their noisy, art-rock and big word using lyricist Tim Kasher. As they say, the band was lost on deaf ears, more pumped on massive breakdowns, and [...]

A few years back, a good friend made me a mix-tape containing an APPLESEED CAST track. At the time, I was knee-deep in swoon for bands like THE GET UP KIDS and MINERAL, and THE APPLESEED CAST’s youthful, messy take on post-hardcore was just what my twenty-year-old ears desired. Their eighth studio album, titled Sagarmatha, [...]