THANKS, SORRY - DEATH ROSENSTOCK Holy shit this may be one of the best live albums I’ve ever heard? I’m trying to think of ones that stand up to it and I mean there’s no legendary performances like Nirvana unplugged or fishmans live but the energy here is just unbeatable. Such a fun album full of songs I love. His stage presence seems absolutely awesome
SELF TITLED - PUP Ahhhhh teenage angst. I have a lot of nostalgia tied to this album as pup was one of the first modern punk bands I got really into as a teenager. I love the grungy sound on the riffs here and the lyricism though again angsty is really good I think I have a soft spot for this little project. Still probably my least favorite thing I’m reviewing this week but it’s not bad by any metrics
ULTRA PANIC - MU330 I actually found this album because one of the songs on it is played on the Jeff rosenstock live album and it’s a real earworm so I went to check it out. Best ska I’ve heard since operation ivy self titled I love this shit. Specifically the horns and vocal performances really stand out to me. Good fun masking intense anger at the world, this is what all ska strives to be. Fantastic album
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL - LARRY JUNE, 2 CHAINZ, THE ALCHEMIST Right off the bat 2 chainz over alchemist beats is something I never knew I needed in my life, it’s positively delightful. This album also has a strong theme of fatherhood in it, there’s a lot of bars about raising your kids which I honestly think is a really cool angle for rap to take I wish more rappers were vocal about their relationship to their kids in their music. This album is mellow, soulful, and beautiful. I highly recommend checking it out if you like rap
DOPETHRONE - ELECTRIC WIZARD
Holy stoner metal Batman. Though I’ve seen metal heavier than this i think this is the exact heaviest you can go while still remaining melodic and more than anything else: groovy. The grooves this album finds itself in are unlike any other. I really cannot get enough of this beast of an album. It’s so good that when I finished it I immediately went and started making a playlist of music like this. It’s truly incredible if you’re a stoner metalhead and haven’t heard this your life is about to change
TRANSGENDER DYSPHORIA BLUES - AGAINST ME! (Relisten!) Growing up as a young punk this was probably the most important album in the world to me. In 2016 in Zia Records on thunderbird rd I saw this record in the rock A section and the cover alone stood out to me I knew I had to listen to it. So I would go home and listen to it and I had never felt more seen by an album. This album’s depictions of life as a trans woman are unlike anything else. A year later and I had bought the album, laura Jane graces book, and seen them live. That leads me to now where I can say this album truly holds the test of time. Nearly a decade later and this album is as important to me as the day it came out. I can’t recommend this enough for any trans person to listen to it truly is a life changing experience. Long live LJG
GANG OF FOUR - ENTERTAINMENT! Idk how this album slipped by me back in the day this is my exact flavor of British punk and it rules all the way through. I honestly think if I listened to this in the eighth grade instead of the fucking Sex Pistols I would’ve been better for it considering Sid’s dead and Johnny rottens a fucking trump supporter. Anyways. Gang of Four rules this album kicks ass and I really wanna get into their deeper discography so expect some of that soon
LOS ANGELES - X If Gang of Four was what I liked out of British punk this album is what I love from the American side of things. This album is pure Americana and it fucking rules. The rockabilly guitar frantically playing under the wails and woes of the singers painting LA as a dystopian hellscape is truly awesome. I also gotta give a special shoutout to the cover of soul kitchen by the doors on here it’s fucking. Haunting it rules so hard
