Pet Shop Boys
Yes
Astralwerks
7/10
Pet Shop Boys have been making electronic dance music since the early 1980s. Their sound has evolved with the years. What started out in keeping with the breakbeat/new wave sound of the time on songs like “West End Girls” has developed into a more house oriented sound since the nineties.
This album sounds not unlike their previous releases spanning the last decade. To that effect, aside from being generally good, it doesn’t offer anything new and exciting aside from the music itself on tunes like “Love, etc.” the first …

The Believers
Lucky You
Chinese Baby
8/10
Alt-country isn’t exactly mainstream. There are probably a handful of those who’ve done it well- most of them either dead or squeezing out the last minutes of careers on HBO-and in walks The Believers. In less time than it takes Leann Rimes to hit a high C, the two injected the genre with a heavy dose of grunge and rock. The result Lucky You, is a high octane companion of bluegrass, country and attitude that is bound to send Alison Krauss and Union Station …

Time and Distance
Gravity
Not Alone Records
8/10
West Virginia isn’t exactly known for producing musicians. That is about to change. With the release of their third album Gravity, Time and Distance expands upon the foundation of frenetic guitars and teenage grit that has won them stage time alongside such acts like Boys Like Girls and slots on the Vans Warped tour. The result is a richly woven album full of angst, regrets, and wit that skirts the clichés of rock and delivers honest truths, straight up. Judging from the gossip …

NOFX Backstage Passport
Fat Wreck Chords/Fuse
8/10
I’ve always maintained that there are two main branches of punk music- not genres, but branches. There’s the punk music that has a social message, and there’s the kind that wants to party, drink and fuck. NOFX has always been the epitome of the latter. Punk in Drublic was the first punk album I ever purchased. So, I was stoked to get a DVD of the Backstage Passport show that NOFX put together with Fuse documenting their massive year-long world tour.
NOFX shows off that after …

The Riot Before
Fists Buried in Pockets
Say/Ten Records
The Riot Before doesn’t let down, and they don’t astonish. Fists Buried in Pockets is another energetic fundamental folk-punk album, steadily sticking to that original folk-punk sound. The “folk” branch of punk rock is now too heavy to just exist as a branch – it’s got its own tree with roots in Plan-it-X Records, who released the first Against Me record. While others surely helped in creating “folk-punk,” Against Me swooned millions nearly 10 years ago, recruiting various punk fans to come together and realize …

Miss Derringer
Winter Hill
Nickel & Dime/Triple X Records
8/10
I am not the only one who judges a book by its cover, or in this case, an album by its cover. Or even a band by their picture… Well, you get the idea. Anyways, so the cover art includes a razor blade with a heart shaped hole in the center, drippy-blood and what appears to be Nazi birds sitting on a high heel. Automatically I am thinking of incomprehensible female screeching about how they can rock out with the boys. The picture shows …

YEAH YEAH YEAHS
IT’S BLITZ!
Interscope Records
8/10
The new offering from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs bursts open with its hand showing for all to see, and it seems to read: “Ladies and gentlemen, we have been listening to a lot of new wave.” The opening track, “Zero,” is equal parts Gary Numan and Duran Duran, while the following track, “Heads Will Roll,” brings Annie Lennox and the Eurythmics to mind.
The departure from a purely rock-inspired sound doesn’t stop there though. “Soft Shock” has atmospheric space rock undertones that are nicely complemented by …

Mouthbreather
Thank You for Your Patience
Kiss of Death Records
7/10
I saw these guys a year ago on Modern Life is War’s last tour in Mouthbreather’s hometown of Richmond, VA. I remember being unimpressed and put off at the time. When I gave them a listen later, I realized that Mouthbreather is not put-off worthy- I just had them pegged as an odd band to throw on that line-up. However, Mouthbreather is undeniably hardcore, and mid-tempo at that, sorting them into the same subdivision as Modern Life is War. It’s the other …

Japanese Goth
Tiffany Godoy & Ivan Vartanian
Universe Publishing
4/10
What I expected to be a history of Japanese Goth culture was simply a picture book. From creepy ass dolls to hot (but probably underage) chicks in Alice In Wonderland type dresses, Japanese Goth allows pedophiles to view manifestations of all of their fucked up school girl fantasies. If you are not a sexual deviant, it’s an interesting insight into a subculture that I have no knowledge of whatsoever. So, overall, interesting, but weird and slightly perverted.
–Jonathan Yost

It started as a simple idea fueled by a wish to create change, and now their impact can be seen all over the world, among people young and old. Stylish, fun, and influential, TOM’s Shoes is changing the world, one foot at a time. In celebration of their third birthday, I’d like to share a bit about the spectacular company.
Three years ago, Blake Mycoskie visited Argentina and was inspired to use his brain and his resources to do some good in the world. He came up with a unique …

Los Angeles Sol vs Sky Blue FC
Home Depot Center
May 15th, 20098/10
Soccer girls? Awesome. 22 of ‘em on the field and many more on the sidelines? That much more awesome. Oh, look at them running around, knocking each other over, all trying their damndest to be the best. I love this effing game.
Honestly, I expected LA Sol and their Brazilian epic mega star Marta to rain down shot after shot on Sky Blue. Imagine my surprise when Sky Blue’s defense more than held their own, putting the pressure on …

Karate High School
Invaders
Eyeball Record
8/10
Fuck. Yes. Where pop punk has become mired in shitty haircuts and band members taking themselves seriously, Karate High School remembers that pop punk should be about having fun, making jokes and of course, three-chord-catchy-as-fuck songs. It does not hurt that they have songs about two of my favorite things: zombies and robots. From the second that “Zombies Everywhere” blasted from my speakers, I was hooked.
Starting off with a catchy little chorus was just the beginning, moving into the realms of robot girlfriends, home turf pride …

The Motel Life began in 2007 in the city of Ontario, California. The band spawned from the breakup of several local bands that buckled under the pressure of pop music. Discouraged by the failures of their previous bands, the members of The Motel Life took a different path with their new project. Drawing from their influence of bands that span across many genres, The Motel Life came together with a desire to create music more mature than their earlier efforts.
Consisting of Michael Escanuelas on vocals, Judcody Limon on guitar, Nick …

Manchester Orchestra
Mean Everything To Nothing
Favorite Gentlemen Records
9/10
I loved Manchester Orchestra’s last record. It was a perfect blend of melancholy, anxiety and introversion. However on Mean Everything to Nothing, the band’s proverbial balls have dropped and it’s fucking amazing. Distorted guitars, shredding riffs, and some pit and snarl on the band’s behalf makes their latest LP badass.
While it’s not anywhere near metal or anything, Manchester Orchestra is more like what Chris Carraba should have done with Dashboard. You know, not suck. Back in a day where emo meant argyle sweater …

One Win Choice
Define/Redefine
Jump Start Records
6/10
I’m not all that into hardcore, but if I am going to listen to it, I’ll take the melodic stuff, please. One Win Choice fits into this category, the kind of hardcore that has its roots more firmly in punk than metal. The EP contains plenty of anthemic vocals, whoa-ohs and the like. The songs clock in at around two to three minutes instead of five, the vocals are (usually) sung intelligibly rather than screamed in slobbering fits, and their fans probably form circle pits instead …

Aaron Beaumont
Nothing’s Forever (Not Even Goodbye)
Milan Records
8/10
Singer-songwriter Aaron Beaumont’s musical journey will come full circle at the Hotel Café in Los Angeles on June 20th, 2009. The LA-based troubadour celebrated the release of his debut album Nothing’s Forever (Not Even Goodbye) at the Café last year and since then, the musician toured the country and according to LA Weekly, his record signaled the arrival of a new Elton John.
While those are some flamboyant shoes to fill, Beaumont’s record actually channels the spirit of music from the 20’s and 30’s. As …