When I hit the blog.

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the seventh installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and the rest) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

Ace Enders & A Million Different People's When I Hit The Ground
THE SCOOP: Holy hell, do I love this disc. I didn't get down with Ace Enders' former band, the Early November, until their triple-disc magnum opus, The Mother, The Mechanic And The Path, but I'm stoked that I get to be on the ground floor for Enders' newest batch of brilliant emo-rock songs. This sprawling album (14 songs over nearly 52 minutes) features balls-out rockers, piano ballads and plenty of bouncy pop-rock, all of which sounds like the best album Jimmy Eat World didn't make. Seriously, buy this thing right now.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Where Do We Go From Here," "When I Hit The Ground," "The Only Thing I Have (The Sign)," "Take The Money And Run"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), Amazon (digital)

GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:

NOFX's Backstage Passport DVD
THE SCOOP: Sure, it's not a new album, per se (although I did get an advance of Coaster last week and it's pretty great), but NOFX's Backstage Passport Fuse TV series has been ported to DVD, along with a bonus disc of hours of footage deemed "too hot for TV." Even if you don't like NOFX's music (bummer for you), there is still so much entertainment to be found in these episodes, as well as plenty of a human element most people probably figured Fat Mike didn't have. Highly recommended.
CRUCIAL JAMS: Um, it's a DVD. However, if you don't already own Punk In Drublic, you're totally blowing it.
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical)

"WE SAID MEH! M-E-H, MEH!"

This Providence's Who Are You Now?
THE SCOOP: The above Simpsons reference pretty much perfectly sums up my feelings toward This Providence and their new album. It's background music for a swooped-hair dentist's office: patently inoffensive with nothing out of the ordinary that would risk scaring the patient--er, listener. Honestly, do you really want to associate getting a root canal with this band's music? Too late, I already do.
CRUCIAL JAMS: Go buy a Gatsbys American Dream CD instead. Any Gatsbys American Dream CD.
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), Amazon (digital)

ALSO OUT TODAY: Catherine's Inside Out, Graf Orlack's Destination Time Today, I Killed The Prom Queen's Sleepless Nights And City Lights DVD, Kylesa's Static Tensions, MSTRKRFT's Fist Of God, the One Thought Moment's Deaf In The Dead Zone, Sum 41's All The Good Shit

What did you buy today? Leave a comment and tell us!

What have I blogged?

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the sixth installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and the rest) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

Cursive's Mama, I'm Swollen
THE SCOOP: Tim Kasher mines his fractured psyche once more for the enjoyment of thousands with Cursive's latest LP, the absolutely stellar Mama, I'm Swollen. The album is probably the best example of a bridge between Kasher's work in Cursive and his folksier band, the Good Life, as the mid-section of this album could've come right off of Album Of The Year ("Donkeys," "Caveman"). "Mama, I'm Satan" even comes off a bit like mid-period Radiohead. However, the loud, angsty parts are louder and angstier than ever before -- I've previously blogged about the epic scale of the disc's closing track, "What Have I Done?" and I will continue to rave about its absolutely incredible composition and weight. Tim Kasher's best-ever song? It's certainly in my top five.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "What Have I Done?" "I Couldn't Love You," "We're Going To Hell," "From The Hips"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:

New Found Glory's Not Without A Fight
THE SCOOP: I've always respected New Found Glory (hey, any band who like Chamberlain is a friend of mine), but to be 100 percent honest, I never liked them before 2008's Tip Of The Iceberg EP injected some much-needed hardcore back into their shoulda-been-patented pop-punk sound. I'm stoked that NFG's Epitaph debut, Not Without A Fight, somewhat continues that trend. The disc falls off a bit toward the end, but first five songs alone (especially the Lifetime-esque "Truck Stop Blues") make this a solid investment (moreso than Citibank stock, anyway).
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Don't Let Her Pull You Down," "Truck Stop Blues," "47"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

REVOKE MY PUNK MEMBERSHIP CARD:

Propagandhi's Supporting Caste
THE SCOOP: To borrow an old Punknews.org meme, words cannot express how much fuck this band. Never liked 'em, never will -- the only good thing they gave us was John K. Samson and the Weakerthans. Granted, that's one of the best things in the history of the world ever, which is why I will say one nice thing about Supporting Caste: It sounds kinda good, in a totally "I still don't like this band" way.
CRUCIAL JAMS: A Wilhelm Scream's Ruiner.
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

ALSO OUT TODAY: Anarbor's Free Your Mind EP, Riverboat Gamblers' Underneath The Owl, the Number Twelve Looks Like You's Worse Than Alone, Austin Lucas' Somebody Loves You, Burn Halo's Burn Halo, Razorlight's Slipway Fires

What did you buy today? Leave a comment and tell us!

Things too visible to blog.

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the fifth installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and the rest) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

Of Machines' As If Everything Was Held In Place
THE SCOOP: Love the label or hate it, Rise Records has done one hell of a job of mining the newest and hottest in metal and hardcore bands. This is the label that discovered the Devil Wears Prada, Fear Before The March Of Flames, Drop Dead, Gorgeous and plenty more, so it's usually a smart decision to pay attention to their new releases. Case in point: As If Everything Was Held In Place, the debut album from Of Machines. The band takes much of their influence from the Underoath (circa Define The Great Line) as well as Translating The Name-era Saosin, meaning these songs are head-spinning, atmospheric post-metalcore with electronic flourishes and absolutely insane clean vocals. (Dude sings higher than Anthony Green, for real.) This will definitely be a band to keep your eye on.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Things Too Visible To See," "It Must Belong Somewhere," "Lost In Translation"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:

Neko Case's Middle Cyclone
THE SCOOP:The sometimes-New Pornographer returns once more with a delightful album full of wistful alt-country, delicate folk and plenty of fun pop, all bolstered by Case's gorgeous, smokey voice. This is something you and your parents can totally get down with. Plus, it has, by far, the best cover art of 2009 thus far. For real.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "People Got A Lotta Nerve," "Middle Cyclone," "This Tornado Loves You"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

OH, RIGHT, THIS IS ALSO COMING OUT:

U2's No Line On The Horizon
THE SCOOP: I've never heard of 'em. I hear they sound like Angels & Airwaves, though.
CRUCIAL JAMS: Anything besides "Get On Your Boots." That song is the worst.
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

ALSO OUT TODAY: Buried Inside's Spoils Of Failure, Say Hi's Oohs & Aahs, A Plea For Purging's Depravity, Drag The River's Bad At Breaking Up, Revolting Cocks' Sex-O Olympic-O, Wretched's The Exodus Of Autonomy

What did you buy today? Leave a comment and tell us!