October 4, 2006

Monty Are I Wall Of People [4/5] When it comes to pop-punk, there’s a very fine line between annoying and catchy. Fortunately, Monty Are I have established themselves in latter camp, despite taking chances with everything from horn sections to inspired production tricks. Their debut, polished to a sheen by producer du jour Matt Squire...

The Living End State of Emergency [3/5] Pogo-friendly Aussie exports get experimental and live to tell about it. When Aussie pop-punks the Living End are at their considerable best, they serve up catchy yet snarling pogo-fests with lyrical weight to match, made all the meatier by splashes of rockabilly, ’80s pop and classic British punk....

JR Ewing Maelstrom [4/5] The adage “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone” is a cliché only because it’s true. Just how true will be apparent when folks realize that JR Ewing is no more. The Oslo group have called it quits after eight years together-long enough to be a major influence on...

The Hush Sound Like Vines [3/5] The Hush Sound make an admirable musical effort on their second album, but you can tell the Chicago foursome’s tender age simply by their susceptibility to outside influence. “Lions Roar” could be mistaken for a Panic! At the Disco B-side; “Magnolia” sounds like an emo-fortified Eisley; and “We Intertwined”...

Drag The River It’s Crazy. [4/5] With all the recent appearances of faux-folk acts, it’s nice to know that Drag The River, a bunch of punks that popped the country-tinged cork a solid decade ago, are still offering a serious, meaningful antidote to all those less sincere operators. With a membership lineage featuring members of...

ActionReaction 3 Is The Magic Number [4/5] It would be easy to assume what former Further Seems Forever frontman Jason Gleason’s new music would sound like. But ActionReaction-rounded out by former Element 101 members Bella and Salvatore-actually sound a lot more like a cohesive singer-songwriter project played with a full band than it does a...