By Josh LaVoie
It’s been quite a while since I considered stopping a CD just so I could finish a review. Finding yourself daydreaming about a beach-front ska show in California as you find yourself singing along every 30 to 45 seconds gets downright annoying. Less Than Jake’s Anthem is one of the fruits of 10 years of… Continue reading Less Than Jake
By Josh LaVoie
I can tell you one thing for sure, at least they’re honest. This is damn close to the most boring rock album I’ve heard this summer and 14 Shades of Grey is a remarkably good way of describing it. Every last track on this disc reeks of a heavy Pearl Jam influence that the band… Continue reading Staind
By Josh LaVoie
Don’t let it be said that time doesn’t heal all wounds. It took over three years for All Systems Go to recover from the departure of songwriter and original bassist Frank. Field testing and experimentation were the events of the day as the band strove to find a replacement bassist who did more than just… Continue reading All Systems Go
By Josh LaVoie
Four weeks of contemplation and it came down to the selection of my ride home from work last night. Bad Astronaut’s Houston: We Have a Drinking Problem is the best selection to calm me down after an endless day at work and is a perfect selection for album of the year. The band successfully mixes… Continue reading Bad Astronaut, Houston we have a drinking problem
By Josh LaVoie
From a land of seemingly endless winter and not a hill to be seen comes some of Canada’s best music. Winnipeg has given bands like Propagandhi and The Guess Who a chance to show the world what Manitoba is made of. Since the fall of 1999, the trio of Jo Snyder, Paul Furgale, and most… Continue reading Winnipeg isn’t all bad
By Josh LaVoie
I’ve been listening to MXPX for the large part of a decade, but sometimes I feel like driving down to Bremerton and delivering a good ol’ fashioned ass-whooping to Mike, Tom, and Yuri. Their latest album Ten Years and Running is their fourth half-assed disc since 1998’s Let it Happen. The collection of remixes and… Continue reading MXPX, Ten Years and Running
By Josh LaVoie
I’m a firm believer that intelligent music fans out there want their favourite bands to diversify and that this desire intensifies the longer the band has been around. With ten years of experience it’s about time for Avail to try something new. Front Porch Stories represents another dose of the jagged, semi-melodic punk-rock displayed on… Continue reading Avail, Front Porch Stories
By Josh LaVoie
Widely regarded as the kings of rough around the edges neo-hardcore, Hot Water Music delivers their second release on Epitaph Records into eager arms. The band is one of the few that has delivered a consistent level of quality through every disc they have ever released. Their last album, A Flight and a Crash, emerged… Continue reading Hot Water Music, Caution
By Josh LaVoie
What do you get when you mix punk with indie-rock and add a pinch of classical? With no way to accurately describe this genre mix I’ll allow you to make your own conjectures. However, in all certainty Bad Astronaut can be described as nothing other than unique. With a seven-man cast from all walks of… Continue reading Bad Astronaut, Houston We Have a Drinking Problem
By Josh LaVoie
I had a dream last night that I watched the scariest Star Trek episode ever. Nickelback was magically transported into the future and in a transporter accident they get split into two identical bands. To avoid confusion between them, one group of guys grows mustaches, puts on leather jackets, and decides to call themselves Theory… Continue reading Theory of a Deadman, Theory of a Deadman