Chris Parker

The Duke Spirit Kusama EP   Third albums frequently are coming-out parties for artists (OK Computer, Let It Be, Born To Run), so this EP prelude to the forthcoming Bruiser offers a potential peak into the future for intriguing British quartet the Duke Spirit. Now whether they’re likely to release an amazing third album is […]

The Scene Aesthetic Brother   To be honest, however big the Scene Aesthetic might perceive their potential audience to be, it’s bound to be pretty narrow. You definitely have to have a stomach for earnest sentimentality and a preponderance of lovelorn balladry. Eric Bowley and Andrew de Torres (Danger Radio), who formed the band in […]

The Composure Strings Attached   Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, quartet the Composure are like a TV spin-off of vocalist/guitarist Paul Menotiades and drummer Cory Muro’s other band, Punchline. The content, characters and approach are pretty similar; they even released their debut on Punchline bandmates Steve Soboslai and Chris Fafalios’ label, Modern Short Stories, making it quite the […]

Fake Problems Real Ghosts Caught On Tape Taken on its own, Fake Problems’ Real Ghosts Caught On Tape is a fine album. It’s a catchy, foot-tapping disc with strong melodies bolstered by frontman Chris Farren’s discovery of his actual singing voice, eschewing the oft-gruff delivery of earlier work. However in doing so, he’s cost the […]

Tweak Bird Tweak Bird   The world is naturally comprised of the high and low. Yet when it comes to culture one frequently encounters suggestions, implicit or otherwise, that the two are incompatible. That somehow it’s inconsistent to appreciate the sophomoric humor and juvenile antics of AC/DC or Beavis & Butt-head while enjoying the more […]

Punchline Delightfully Pleased   Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, quartet Punchline are no joke. Their entire fifth album courses on a river of crisp pop-punk, mildly amusing lyrics, and pulsing rhythms as persuasive as they are effortlessly punchy. In no time at all, your head’s bobbing like it’s at the end of a bungee cord. While it’s perhaps […]

You Love You After 2008's We Love You and now You Love You, it would seem Semi Precious Weapons are quickly exhausting all the possible permutations. The same goes for their music. It's an approach as uncomplicated as Toby Keith's patriotism–a fist-in-the-air glam act, with a dash of garage-punk, wrapped a trashy pop ethos reminiscent of Mötley […]

Lets Be Honest… EP Atlanta quartet the Status aren't going to make the girls swoon with their moody impatience, volatile nature or billy-goat face scruff. They're not rebels. They're more the clean-shaven, earnest-type pitching big chords and choruses that resolutely reside on the right-half of the punk-pop spectrum. The music swells from the verse to […]

Druglords Of The Avenues – Sing Songs More than six years removed from the last Swingin' Utters studio effort, frontman Johnny Bonnel fills the void with a 12-track blast from the same old-school–punk past. Formed in 2004 as a side project, Druglords Of The Avenues took a backseat to Bonnel's other side project, the folk-punk Filthy Thieving […]