Paul Baribeau - Unbearable

Artist Website: Paul Baribeau
Netlabel Website: If You Make It

Track list:

1 - If I Knew

2 - Eight Letters
3 - How Could That Be True
4 - The Wall

5 - Rolling Clouds

6 - Blue Cool

7 - The Mall

8 - Poor Girls

9 - Black Strat

10 - Wild Eyes


Download links: [MP3]

While Paul Baribeau's unique, stripped down take on folk-punk certainly won't appeal to everyone (including some fans of the genre), his newest album Unbearable was recently offered as a free download through the indie/DIY website If You Make It, making it worth at least a listen or two.

For those listeners who haven't encountered Baribeau's work before, it's just Paul singing over his acoustic guitar. Most of his past songs (including the first few tracks from his previous album Grand Ledge) are played at an incredibly quick tempo, hence the "folk-punk" label. However, Unbearable marks several changes for Baribeau's sound; the overall tempo of the music being one of them. Right from the first track If I Knew, it becomes apparent that the feel of this album is decidedly more laid-back than his last full-length; with a more "rock" sound than punk. This isn't really a bad thing, and is actually quite refreshing, but fans of Baribeau's earlier music might mistake it as a lack of energy.

Another big change between Paul's last album and this one is the use of overdubs for the vocals. With Grand Ledge, it was a single vocal line and a single guitar line for every song. On Unbearable, several of the songs utilize a second vocal track during the choruses. Granted, most of the overdubs are just unison vocal lines, but it adds a bit of depth to the melodies, and makes it easier to stay focused on the music.

Track number four, The Wall brings about the last noticeable change between the two albums. The song opens up with Baribeau's signature acoustic guitar strumming, but also adds an electric guitar to play a few bars of melody before the vocals come in, and then also a little later in the song. This caught me a little by surprise, since every song of Paul's that I've listened to up to this point were just his voice and his guitar.

Other than the differences listed above, Unbearable still retains the simplicity and charm of Baribeau's past work. Most of the songs either focus on, or are indirectly about love, while other songs like The Mall and Rolling Clouds deal with activities that almost everyone did when they were younger, like riding bikes and going to the mall.

Even though Paul Baribeau's music might be considered "stripped-down" or "bare bones" by some, his easily relatable lyrics and charming vocals make Unbearable more than bearable to listen to.

Bad Religion - 30 Years Live

Artist Website: Bad Religion

Record Label Website: Epitaph Records

Track list:

1 - Fuck Armageddon, This Is Hell

2 - Dearly Beloved

3 - Suffer

4 - Man With A Mission

5 - New Dark Ages

6 - Germs Of Perfection

7 - Marked

8 - A Walk

9 - Flat Earth Society

10 - Resist Stance

11 - American Jesus

12 - Social Suicide

13 - Atheist Peace

14 - Tomorrow

15 - Won't Somebody

16 - Los Angeles Is Burning

17 - We're Only Gonna Die

Download links: [MP3]

I adore Bad Religion. After discovering them through their songs in the video games Crazy Taxi and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 I started grabbing all the music of theirs I could find. The fast-paced mosh pit-inciting guitar riffs, combined with intelligent lyrics covering a variety of social, political, and religious topics appealed to me in a way that, at that point in my life, no other music had. Needless to say, when I found out earlier this year that Bad Religion was releasing a live album in honor of their 30th anniversary as a band (for free!), I was incredibly excited. While the setlist isn't perfect in my opinion, the album is quite solid.

I think that choosing to open and close the album with songs from their debut LP How Could Hell Be Any Worse? was a great idea, especially with two of the more popular songs from the album, We're Only Gonna Die and Fuck Armageddon...This is Hell. Both songs represent the more raw, adrenaline-charged youth of the band, and while the original studio versions of the songs are classics, its nice to hear them redone by the band with 30 extra years of practice under their belts.

The album goes on to include several songs from their latest album, New Maps of Hell, including Dearly Beloved, an atheistic anthem, and Germs of Perfection, which showcases Bad Religion's trademark thesaurus-like lyrics. Also included are songs from Suffer, The Empire Strikes First, Recipe For Hate, and several others.

The sound is as good as you'd expect a live album to sound in today's industry. It's easy to tell that numerous studio touch-ups were made, especially in the "oozin-aahs" (backup vocals), but it doesn't detract from the overall listening experience. It was nice to hear some of their older songs performed with Brooks Wackerman, their newest (and in my opinion, most talented and energenic) drummer.

One of my only gripes with this album is the fact that, although it is supposedly a representation of their 30 years as a band, there are seven Bad Religion albums that don't have a single song represented, including The Process of Belief, my favorite album of theirs. I found this odd, because there are several songs from that album that have been staples of their live shows since its release in 2002. At the very least, the inclusion of either Supersonic or Sorrow would have been great.

This album is a must-have for fans of this group, and for people on the fence or who have never heard their material, this might be a good place to start, as there are quite a few of their hits on this album.

Just a quick note about the distribution of this album: 30 Years Live was originally released as a free digital download through Bad Religion's website. However, the album is no longer available through the band, and there is no hard copy available for purchase. As such, I've taken the liberty of uploading the album to Mediafire so people interested in listening can download it. If for some reason anyone from Epitaph Records happens to read this and wishes me to remove the download link, please send me an email letting me know, and I'll be happy to take it down.

Dan Dectis - Deeply Superficial

Artist Website: Dan Dectis at Bandcamp
Netlabel Website: Copyleft Records

Track list:

01 - Helios
02 - Nothing Serious
03 - Deeply Superficial
04 - Gloom
05 - Unreliable Narrator
06 - Morning
07 - No Words
08 - Go Slowly
09 - Cool Off
10 - Grandparents
11 - Stray
12 - On A Roll
13 - Away Again
14 - Solid State
15 - Because
16 - Mystical Forest

Download links: [MP3] [FLAC]
Stream/donation link: [Bandcamp]


I don't mind being honest with you all and saying that sometimes when I post a new album in this blog, it just feels like I'm going through the motions. Sure, I'm always happy to find new music, and I feel that every album I've covered here so far has its own merits that make it a unique listening experience, but often the albums just don't carry the "WOW" factor for me that make me listen to it ten times in a row like some of my favorite major-label artists. However, I can assure you that this is not the case with Dan Dectis and his debut album, Deeply Superficial. I met Dan through a private music community, where I found out that this album had become a hit on the popular website Reddit.com. Despite the fact that Dan agreed to become a part of my netlabel and graciously offer his music for free, I still purchased a copy from him because it's that good.

There's really no single tag that can describe this album. Part jazz, part ambient, part rock, and part singer-songwriter, Dan performs every instrument featured on the album, including guitar, organ, and saxaphone. One of the reasons why it's hard for me to classify his music is because each song is a unique piece of music from the previous track. While this can sometimes mean that the album is lacking in focus, nothing could be further from the truth in this case.

The album opens with the upbeat Helios, setting the tone with a very singer-songwriter feeling. However, the album then proceeds to go in an entirely different, darker direction with the ironically named Nothing Serious. Third in line is the title track, Deeply Superficial, with jazz so smooth it'll make your head spin. Gloom is the next song, and again it goes in a different direction than the previous three tracks, taking on a somber, ambient feeling with echoing saxophone tones laying a subdued backing for the electric piano.

If Deeply Superficial was an EP that was comprised of nothing but the first four tracks, I'd still consider Dan's asking price of $8 a bargain. However, you get a total of 16 amazing tracks on this album, and the quality of the recording is such that you'll think you're listening to a professionally recorded album.

Like I mentioned above, Dan's work is available for free through Copyleft Records, but if you really like what you hear (or you'd like to sample it before you download), head on over to Dan's Bandcamp page (link at the top of the article) where you can stream all the songs, and purchase the album in any bitrate for a minimum of $8.

It's A King Thing - Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo

Artist Website: It's A King Thing

Track list:

1 - Old Hobbies

2 - Mush Mouth
3 - Baby Tantrum
4 - Everything Backwards
5 - Kira
6 - Bill Haverchuck
7 - Number One Option
8 - Vegetarian
9 - Hanging Out
10 - Wine and Ponies
11 - Tammy Faye
12 - Triple Jump

Download links: [MP3]

Hooray, another free indie album! Seriously though, I'm always happy to stumble upon new free music that isn't electronica (not that I don't like it, but it seems free rock/indie music is much more rare).

This week's album entitled Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo comes from the group It's A King Thing. On their website, they list their "sounds like" counterparts as "The first 2 Weezer albums, The Lemonheads, Nada Surf, Ben Kweller, Superdrag, The Shins, Guided By Voices." Unfortunately, the only one of those artists that I have listened to for an extensive period of time is Weezer so I can't agree or disagree with their other choices. I will admit that there were several points during the album that were reminiscent of The Blue Album and Pinkerton, if not in the songwriting, then certainly in the sound they managed to achieve. The distortion used on the guitars in Baby Tantrum could have come from Rivers Cuomo, and the 3-beat feel of Vegetarian reminded me of the classic Weezer tune My Name is Jonas. Other than those songs, however, I think it'd be a real stretch to draw any more similarities between the two groups.

The only thing I can think of that I didn't really care for in this album are the lead vocals. For the most part they seemed rather wispy and breathy, although I suppose that type of singing complements this kind of music better than someone with a really heavy tone.

I suspect that those of you who are certain that they don't like music that can be put in the "indie" genre are not going to get much from listening to this. You can tell the guys in It's A King Thing are fans of the genre and made this album specifically for people who also enjoyed their type of music. However, the tunes are easy enough to listen to and if you don't feel like actively analyzing the album, it makes a great background soundtrack for whatever it is you happen to be doing at the time, whether you're surfing the Internet or driving in your car.

Overall, not one of my favorite release, but I did enjoy listening to it several times through for this entry. If you aren't totally opposed to this kind of indie rock, give 'em a listen.

Winter Shutdown - Chocolate Milk Everyday!

Artist Website: Winter Shutdown
Netlabel Website: The Bomb.com Records

Track list:

1 - Filibuster
2 - ...As If They Were Monsters
3 - Paranoid
4 - Truckload of Assumptions

Download links: [MP3]


Hello fellow music fans, I apologize for not updating for so long, real life kinda got really busy, but I'm going to try to get back on track with this blog, because it's something I really enjoy doing. Expect from here on out to see updates every Friday (unless I'm away from a computer for some reason). Anyways, this week's album is called Chocolate Milk Everyday! and it comes from Maryland-based rockers Winter Shutdown.

At first listen, it'd be easy to write this album off. Recorded in a basement by the band in the span of two weeks, the indie production values are hard to miss. However, there are many redeeming qualities that make this album an enjoyable listening experience. For starters, guitarist/lead singer Max Schrack's voice is spot-on throughout the album, both in pitch and rhythm. His voice complements the band's style of pop-punk perfectly.

When an album is recorded in such a bare-bones style, it is crucial that the musicians involved are very proficient at their respective instruments, and it is apparent that the guys in Winter Shutdown are good at playing this genre of music, and what's more, they enjoy doing it.

Overall I really enjoyed listening to this EP, but if I had to nitpick (and what kind of reviewer would I be if I didn't?), there were just a few small things that stood out to me. There were several times when the drums and guitars seemed to lose their sync for several beats, and while it wasn't a deal-breaker, it was noticeable. Another thing that might be more of a personal preference was that I didn't love the sound of the guitars. This can be written off on the low-budget recording equipment, but it just seemed to be missing a little depth (although to be fair, I hear the same thing from almost every band when they first start out, and usually their sound fleshes out as they progress).

My favorite track was definitely Truckload of Assumptions, the most high-intensity song on the EP, and the sound reminded me of a cross between Bomb the Music Industry! and Blink-182.

A solid first album from a talented group of guys, I can't wait to hear more from Winter Shutdown in the future.

We Swim You Jump - We Swim You Jump

Artist Website: We Swim You Jump
Netlabel Website: Subroutine Records

Track list:

1 - Sharks

2 - Sparks Fade Out
3 - 1234
4 - Frames On The Wall
5 - This Thing Will End

Download links: [Bandcamp]


Over the weekend I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon a new music discovery website, thesixtyone and spent several hours playing around on it. The site is like an RPG of sorts, gain experience from discovering/listening to music, complete quests, grow in levels, etc. One of the many bands I discovered and enjoyed through the website was We Swim You Jump, with their self-titled EP.

According to one of their bios, We Swim You Jump draws influences from Elliot Smith, The Posies, and Loney Dear, but I've never listened to any of those groups before. Basically, We Swim You Jump is a five-piece indie/rock band with folk influences. One thing I enjoyed about their EP is that no point is their music too indie or too folk. They manage to maintain a nice balance throughout the five songs, which not only will help to make sure that they don't alienate possible listeners, but also makes the listening experience a more entertaining and exciting one, since you aren't exactly sure what the next track might sound like until it begins playing.

The album opens with Sharks, a lighthearted, shoegaze-ish feeling song. Right from the get-go, I was quite impressed with their tight vocal harmonies, and the fact that while the vocals were crystal clear throughout, they were not overpowering the band. After the first track, the mood of the EP immediately shifts to a more heavy-handed folk sound in Sparks Fade Out. This was my favorite track of the record, due to the presence of a piano and backing string section, as well as the somber mood of the song. 1234 resumes the faster paced, rock feeling of the first track, and Frames on the Wall follows suit. This Thing Will End is the shortest track on the album, but is the perfect closer, and a beautifully written song.

A great band with a great EP. Download it from their Bandcamp page for free.

Kudrow - Lando

Artist Website: Kudrow
Netlabel Website: Quote Unquote Records

Track list:

1 - Commutilation!

2 - Blink-182 Reunion
3 - Favreau
4 - Brooklyn Pool


Download links: [MP3]


Listening to the debut 7" Lando from Jeff Rosenstock's new side project Kudrow is a slightly surreal experience for me. While the vocals are obviously reminiscent of Bomb the Music Industry!, the tone of the guitars and overall feel of the music makes me feel like I'm listening to a late-70's/early-80's punk band. The best analogy I can make think of is to imagine Jeff Rosenstock fronting a reformed Dead Kennedys.

Personally, I find the low-fi, old school sound of the EP quite refreshing and entertaining. As always, Rosenstock has boundless energy right out of the gate. From the initial line of "An eleven foot cluster lacking the camaraderie communities foster and the breakbeat drumbeat bleakly repeats our bleating, "I GIVE NOTHING! I ASK FOR EVERYTHING!"", the listener is swept along, tapping their toe, dancing, or doing whatever it is that they do to feel the music.

Since there are only four tracks on the album, it's tough to choose a standout track (not to mention they are all quite good). That being said, The first track, Commutilation! is definitely a fast, fun opening to the record. The next track dials it back a bit, but the opening guitar riff is catchy enough to keep the listener hooked. The lyrics of Favreau are my favorite of the four tracks, and the final track Brooklyn Pool sounds like it was ripped right from Weezer's Green Album.

If you are a fan of Jeff Rosenstock and his various bands, this is a definitely must have. If you haven't listened to him before or you don't care for ASoB or BTMI!, I'd still recommend giving this one a listen, since it is different enough from his main material to warrant a listen from haters.

Isaac Graham - Empty Vessels

Artist Website: Isaac Graham at Myspace
Netlabel Website: Copyleft Records

Track list:

1 - Photographs and Histories

2 - Gold And Steel
3 - Karl Marx And The Reds
4 - This Old Town
5 - Empty Vessels
6 - Superglue
7 - Columbus
8 - Heat Exhaustion
9 - Hurricane
10- When I Find Gold

Download links: [MP3] [FLAC]

Australian singer-songwriter Isaac Graham is the perfect example of exactly why you don't need a major record deal or fancy recording studio to make wonderful music. Using only a Tascam 8-Track recorder and a "cheap microphone", Isaac has created one of the best folk-rock albums I've heard in a long time. The closest comparison I can draw for his music is Frank Turner, and considering that Frank has a real record deal and a professional recording space, I think it's amazing that I'm able to make that comparison at all.

Right from the first track Photographs and Histories, Mr. Graham draws the listener in with a gentle acoustic guitar riff and his lovely vocals. Gradually throughout the song, the momentum builds as more instruments are added and doesn't drop at all (I had no idea there were that many words that end with "ees"). While there are definitely some rockers on the album (Karl Marx and the Reds, ironically enough, brought to mind Paul McCartney's Снова в СССР album), the majority of the album is perfect for fans of traditional folk music.

My favorite track of the album is definitely This Old Town, the perfect blend of hard and soft. The song keeps up at a great pace and refuses to lose energy, the lyrics are superb, and when the chorus comes in, the song actually seems to grow stronger every time.

At the time of this writing, Isaac has agreed to sign on to netlabel Copyleft Records, and although his artist page is not currently active, the download links for his album work just fine, and can be found at the start of this review. I eagerly look forward to hearing more from Isaac, and highly recommend anyone who even remotely enjoys acoustic/folk/rock music or Australian accents to give this album a listen.