Jesse Raub

Insomniac After Dookie, Green Day were faced with a variety of options. Poised to take over the world if only they re-wrote another alterna-anthem like “Basket Case,” the band took a step back and looked through their back catalog. In order to fill the stadiums they were about to play with a full sound, the band bumped up their […]

Dookie There’s a collective thought that once a band sign a major label contract, they take the money and run, letting their major label debut fall flat among high production values and A&R men searching for the single. With Dookie, Green Day seem to attack that myth with a vengeance. From the opening drum fill on “Burnout,” the band rip into a fierce slacker anthem […]

Kerplunk Out the gate, Green Day are trying to prove something with Kerplunk. “2000 Light Years Away” comes polished off with new drummer Tré Cool’s unpredictable and precision rat-a-tat fills, Mike Dirnt’s dominating bass and Billie Joe Armstrong’s newfound sense of perfect pop hooks. The band take full advantage of their secret weapon—a solid rhythm section—through the rest of […]

1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours Origin stories tend to give insight into comic book characters that helps explain the choices they’ve made, the directions they’ve taken, and the importance of their past. For Green Day, 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours shows the band using upbeat three-chord pop-punk songs to manifest their scorned love, budding alienation and youthful scrappiness. Billie […]

Repo Black Dice's track record could be distracting. A group that used to incorporate noise into their hardcore lost their song structure when they lost their rhythm section. Playing like dub music channeled through SETI transmissions, REPO is seemingly devoid of any organic instruments. Or rhythms. Or melodies. Instead, Black Dice present a wide array of ambient […]

Static Tensions Following three albums' worth of crusty metal fused from the spare body parts of the band's revolving lineup–and after adding a second drummer-Kylesa return with Static Tensions, an album that pushes further into new melodies and refinement. Though some might fear the band have lost their edge, their latest album is more focused and, […]

Be One Of Us And Hear No Noise Metavari are stuck in a drawer full of early Death Cab For Cutie melodies and emotive electronica. While this could make for a troublesome combination of the predictable and the well worn, the group are able to play their music with strong conviction and a solid backbeat. […]

Daughters After shedding their art-grind style from 2003's debut Canada Songs and expanding into more avant-noise territory, Daughters have finally added the missing piece to their sound–a crushing low end. The drums and bass on their new, self-titled album create a punishing bedrock for the songs to set in, there's a semblance of melody in some parts, […]

Gravity Though the album might have more hooks than a meat locker, Time And Distance’s Gravity begins to slide unwaveringly into predictability after the second track. What starts as well thought-out and catchy pop quickly turns into a game of “Wait, didn’t I just hear this song?” At the same time, the band force into […]