Shook Ones
The Unquotable A.M.H.

Amongst positive feedback, it only takes a couple message-board publicized disappointments to have your curiosity sparked and an expectation set. The new Shook Ones LP The Unquotable A.M.H. has already been deemed “too pop-y” and been compared to Blink 182. While some wouldn’t find the latter to be insulting, it’s assumed the contributor meant it as such.
Depending on your stance on pop-y-ness, an initial anxious listen might prove to be a relief. While they’ve infused guitar riffs with more harmonies, slowed the tempo and pumped some …

Punk Goes Pop 2
Various Artists
Fearless Records
7/10
Oh, Fearless. I will always stand by your side, even if you misname your compilations. I understand where you are coming from, I really do. I get evolution of a genre and all that, but not one band on this compilation would fall under my idea of punk. A Static Lullaby? Nope. Four Year Strong? Not particularly. August Burns Red? Definitely not. Escape The Fate? Not a chance. Does this mean that I hate the album? Not at all.
I love cover songs so much, and, …

Iggy Pop
Préliminaires
Astralwerks
8/10
Now, I understand that many artists like to expand their range and push themselves and all that, but jeeeeeeez. Fucking Iggy Pop. So, Iggy reads The Possibility of an Island, a book by Frenchman Michel Houellebecq, and decides to write a hypothetical score for it. So far, I’m all for it; it sounds like a fun and novel project. What ensues is the Godfather of Punk dipping his toes into the realms of early jazz, but swimming in and out of French. I don’t speak French, knock it off …

Alaska In Winter
Holiday
Milan Records
7/10
If we took a holiday, just one day out of life… Instead of spending it with Madonna, it would be so nice with indie pop artist, Alaska in Winter. One-man show Brandon Bethancourt releases Holiday with no memory of making it. His official Myspace page tells the story: Bethancourt wakes up after a dance party from the previous weekend that lasted 16 hours straight and finds a finished album on his laptop. However, the party animal does remember synthesizers, lasers and haus musik. Dankeschon for this random …

Annabel
Each and Everyone
Count Your Lucky Stars Records
9/10
I had an ex tell me once that she had never met anyone from Ohio that she disliked. This was maybe 2002, and since then I have been hard pressed to find anyone that would make me disagree with her. Every person I have met from Ohio has been wonderful. So it’s no surprise to me that I can not stop listening to Kent, Ohio’s Annabel. With layers of luscious guitar sounds coupled perfectly with cymbal-heavy drumming, Annabel comes out with all the grandeur …

On May 15th, I will get to combine two of my favorite things: women and soccer. Make that three things if they have beer there. I only follow this one sport for a variety of reasons:
- I have terrible hand-eye coordination. This led me to play in AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) as a child.
- I LOVE snack bar food, so another bonus of playing in AYSO: Nachos.
- The ball is almost always moving. Baseball and football takes too long.
- It makes the most sense to me.
- Judging by the amount I yell while watching …

While many people opt for the more traditional morning church or dinner with family, some carpool out to South Street for the Philadelphia annual Zombie Crawl.
The Zombie Crawl is a pub crawl which takes place every Easter. People dress up in full zombie make-up and costume, and hop from bar to bar- while scaring the general public of course.
Devi Do has been doing the Zombie crawl for the past few years, and was excited at the anticipation of Zombie Crawl 2009. Devi planned her zombie school girl outfit for …

Hatebreed
For the Lions
E1 Entertainment
8/10
I’ve always had a soft spot for cover songs. I love seeing how the same lyrics and chord structure can be interpreted so radically by different bands. I admit, however, that I was surprised to see a cover album by the br00tal guys of Hatebreed. Calling it For The Lions, Hatebreed pay tribute to influences ranging from old school hardcore (Madball’s “Set It Off” and Judge’s “Hear Me”) to punk legends (Black Flag’s “Thirsty and Miserable” & Misfits’ “Hatebreeder”) to modern metal (Sepultura’s “Refuse/Resist”).
The best part …

Living With Lions
Dude Manor
Adeline Records
8/10
First of all, this is a 10”. No one releases those anymore, so kudos to that. Some of this reminds me a bit of Fun Size, this incredible band from Richmond, Virginia back in the mid to late nineties. They never made it very big, even by underground punk standards, but the lead singer did go on to form River City High, who garnered a hefty bit more attention. The vocalist sounds a lot like Gabe Saporta from Midtown, not a bad thing in the least. …

Strung Out
Prototypes and Painkillers
(3/10)
There’s a reason that not all prototypes make it into production. Someone should have told this to the pop-punk outfit Strung Out before they unleashed their latest compilation album Prototypes and Painkillers.
This recent release is a mix of b-sides, remixes, and previously un-released material that pans the band’s 17-year tenure in the pop-punk community. Tracks like “Novella” and “Novocain” will come as no surprise to followers of the band, but some previously unreleased tracks like “Mad Mad World” or “Forever is Today” sound like they’re probably …

Star Trek
Paramount Pictures
10/10
I am a Star Trek nerd, I admit it wholeheartedly. I have had eight hour make out sessions to the third season of TNG, had the playboy with Denise Crosby in it, and have offered up the following Star Trek themed sexual innuendos:
- Are you a Data on the streets and a Lore in the bedroom?
- (In reference to taking a virginity) Can I go where no man has gone before?
- I want to put my dilithium crystals in your warp core
And while it is obvious that I prefer The Next …

Adventureland
This Is That Productions
7/10
The Emperor!: What looked like a pure comedy flick in the previews turned out to be a seriously fucked up romantic comedy. Dealing with adultery, anti-semitism, and drunk driving, you would not think this would be the same movie that the previews show Bill Hader suspiciously sniffing a corn dog that had been left out all night. Now, as I explained to Racket’s own Caitlin Elgin, it’s not that the movie was bad, I just felt like I was mislead and I was mentally prepared for a …

I was introduced to Winston from Parkway Drive, and although he only had about 5 minutes to spare, he was excited to talk to Racket non-the less.
RacketAnn: Wow, it’s definitely hot out today. You look hot, in a sweaty kind of way.
Winston McCall: Haha, yeah it is hot, I’m all sweaty and not just because I was just on stage.
RA: Haha… I can hear you have an accent, is that from New Zealand?
WM: Australia actually, our band is from Australia so we have come a long ways.
RA: Very …

I ran into Pat Brown, the singer and guitarist for Sing It Loud, by chance while hovering by the Epitaph tent. He had been signing autographs; this was my chance to steal him away for an interview. He cordially accepted my offer.
RacketAnn: Hey Pat, thanks for talking with me today. Let’s start off with you telling me a little bit about what you guys are doing here at Bamboozle Left?
Pat Brown: Well let’s see, this is our first ever headlining tour along with The Friday Night Boys, The Morning …

The Lonely H
Concrete Class
The Control Group
8/10
In computer science lingo, a “concrete class” is a class that is neither derivative nor meant to be used as a foundation for other classes. Thus, The Lonely H’s newly minted, third album, titled ironically enough, Concrete Class, is in, well, a class by itself. With a mix of guitar, piano, violin and 100% soul, the record invites comparisons to rock bands of 70’s lore. Yet this is anything but derivative. And for that, we owe …

Andy Shauf
Darker Days
P is For Panda
6/10
Andy Shauf is a mystery man. There are few traces of the singer-songwriter on the Net, and the folk musician isn’t exactly known for giving interviews. Yet the Canadian has garnered his own, small following with his blend of folk and hard rock. Now he’s poured all that introspection into a new album Darker Days, a mix of acoustic and electric guitar, and a few samples for fair measure. However the record ultimately proves to be derivative and underwhelming. …