Vacation - Vacation LP

There are two albums right now that I am majorly obsessed with, and both of them happen to be called 'Vacation'. One, as you know, is Bomb the Music Industry's recent release, and the other is the new self titled LP by the Cincinnati pop-punk band Vacation. I've already reviewed BTMI's masterpiece, so now it's time for me to finally rant about Vacation's masterpiece. I throw around the world masterpiece a lot. But, it's totally 100% accurate every time I use it.

(The best way to read this review is to be listening to the album at the time time...which is easy enough since you can stream it online FOR FREE. You can't skip around tracks or anything though, this is the internet version of listening to the vinyl, bro.)

You may notice immediately upon turning this record on that it's going to be a pleasant mess of noise from start to finish. The recording quality isn't the greatest thing in the world, but I think it fits the songs and suits Vacation's style a lot better. I think it'd be way less entertaining and a pretty dull if this was recording in The Blasting Room or something like that. Despite being pretty lo-fi, the quality is still miles better than it was for The Do Shit Tape/CD Vacation released on If You Make It a while back. I love all the songs on that release, but I couldn't bear the quality for the most part. However, this LP sounds perfect to me. It's like music to my ears. Well, it IS music to my ears.

All the songs on this release are so catchy that they could catch polio after having been thoroughly vaccinated. They're so catchy that they could catch a baseball thrown by Kenny Powers in his fucking prime. There's not a single song that doesn't fit in and there's not a single song that overstays its welcome. There's 33 minutes of what is honestly going to be in the top 10 releases of the year. Listening to this record feels a lot like being at an actual Vacation show...if you've been to one, you're definitely going to have a lot of flashbacks while playing this album. And if you haven't been to one, you need to get a move on it.

The unfortunate part about listening to the trackless stream of the album is that I don't know any song titles so I can't be like, "this track is awesome!" with you knowing what track I am referring to. Actually, just fastforward to nearly 16 minutes in. That's my favorite song on this album. It's kind of soft, it's extremely infectious, and the lyrics represent the band very well. Vacation are great dudes, who have this habit of putting on really good shows at various house venues and bars in the Cincinnati area. They used to have this place called the Bike Haus, and it was everyone I know's favorite venue in the world. The shows were always 5 bucks, the money went exclusively to the bands (with a priority to the ones who are travelling the furthest), and the dudes even fixed bikes for free. They even offered to let me try out their tall bike, but I never got around to it. I think I may've mentioned this all in the last review I did of this band. Point is, it's damn near impossible to find better dudes. And if you do, and they happen to also record music, you better make a point to listen to that music. Because if history repeats itself, it's bound to be fucking awesome.

So, you have this beautiful link to stream this album, and you can leave it bookmarked forever and listen to it as many times as possible until it ever gets taken down for whatever reason. And another cool thing is that soon you'll be able to purchase the vinyl from Let's Pretend Records and Mandible Records. I know I'm buying this vinyl once I quit being such a broke asshole.

10/10 slices of pizza!

-Idle

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You, Me and Everyone We know - Things Are Really Weird Right Now

It feels a little awkward to review a release by a band who is currently on an indefinite hiatus. It also feels a little weird to review a band that I only know exists due to my old roommate being really into them. She always played some sort of overly poppy music like all day long, and my response to almost every band would follow the same steps:

1. "God, this is annoying as hell."
2. "Oh, this band again? Ugh."
3. *sarcastically singing along*
4. Songs all get stuck in my head.
5. "They're alright."

(And in case of The Wonder Years and Fall Out Boy)

     6. "I love this band!"

So yeah, I've learned to not entirely trust my taste in music...and it's been working out a lot better for me. I don't have to be some elitist pop punk ass who thinks if something doesn't bear at least some resemblance to Descendents or Screeching Weasel it isn't worth a damn. You, Me, and Everyone We Know bears roughly zero resemblance to either of those bands. But, they do bear resemblance to other bands I've enjoyed in the past, namely fun., Motion City Soundtrack, and Panic at the Disco. I should probably mention right away that I really dig YMaEWK's new EP 'Things Are Really Weird Right Now', despite how annoying it is to abbreviate their band name. They're poppy, annoying, full of itself, and just as equally infectious and fun! My friend mentioned yesterday that the songs with the most annoying melodies are always the ones that get stuck in your head, and that's definitely true. "Syke! Life is Awesome!" by Bomb the Music Industry, "Linger" by The Cranberries, and "Us" by Regina Spektor. I love the first and third of these songs, but regardless they all get stuck in my head for a year at a time. This is kind of what YMaWEK do to a fellow. I don't think the songs on this EP are planning on vacating my thinking-dome anytime soon. Fuck.

I'm a sucker for lyricism, and a sucker for singers that sound like Joe from This Is My Suitcase, that's also why I like Tariq from Church & Chambers' voice so much. YMaWEK deliver some tight lyricism throughout this EP, and it's all belted out by over-confident sounding (for all the right reasons) vocalist Ben Liebsch. Oh, also, the first song on 'Things Are Really Weird Right Now' has that annoying vocal melody thing I was talking about. During parts of the songs the line, "bwah bwah bwah bwah bwahhhh" is sung high pitched and annoyingly. It's so catchy that it has to be breaking some sort of law. What's cool though, is that this song is followed by a rad acoustic number that's just short of two minutes long. Short songs are my favorite, and definitely pander to my short attention span when it comes to music. I could never get into Metallica as a kid because I'd sit there with my dad's Walkman and wait about 5 minutes for the vocals to start and it would never happen. I like when songs get to the point and then get out of my way. I'm kind of dumb like that.

This album is four songs long, and that's about the perfect length for it. EP's are my favorite releases because I can switch between bands so often. I mean, the only time this is an issue is when you're spinning 7"s, because then you have to get up every few minutes to change records. Liz Prince has expressed this issue in a better way than I could ever hope to:

-Liz Prince

But yeah, if someone were to for some reason approach me on the street or at a show and ask me what I thought about the new You, Me, and Everyone We Know album, I'd actually be able to give them a response at this point in time. I mean, last year I would've just had no clue what they were talking about or why they were talking to me about it. But now I can say that I think it's a fun little record full of catchy songs and interesting musical arrangements and fancy schmancy lyrics. I'd also say you can stream it for free at Top Shelf Records' bandcamp page. And I'd also tell them that I should probably just post this review and go get some breakfast in me. So there.

-Idle

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Through the Static- We Can Do It! EP

Through the Static is a great female pop-punk band from New York. This EP was released in April and they're currently recording a full-length.

The first track, "Chestnut Ave" is such a great song. It's very raw and stripped down, and has such an awesome tone to it. I feel like most female pop-punk bands feel that they have to be really cutesy. Not that I don't enjoy cutesy bands, but it's nice to hear a ballsy pop-punk band from females. There need to be more of us represented. ;)

"S.G.R." has some Kathleen-Hanna-esque lyrics, and the same raw feel to it. I love the vocals, and the instrumentals are catchy as hell. I can tell this would be an awesome band live just from the pure energy of their recordings. 

Lastly, "Mars" is a little slower than the rest of the demo, but it's still awesome. Very simple, but talented all at once. 

Awesome. Can't wait to hear the full length from these ladies!

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-Bear

The Copyrights - North Sentinel Island

The Copyrights are a big deal. Fact. They're from Nowhere, Illinois. Fact. They share members with Dear Landlord. Fact. They sometimes put on costumes and play as a band called The Dopamines. Fact. Honestly, I think their whole Dopamines-costume thing is just a way to get away with drinking twice as much as they should at their age. It's logic, really. These champions of the pop punk genre have decided it was a good idea to release another album. I have to disagree with this being a good idea, on account of it being a fucking awesome idea. 'North Sentinel Island' came out on Red Scare Records not very long ago and it's the source of a few my new favorite pop punk jams. That's the first time I've referred to a song as a jam, and I don't think I like it.

The Copyrights are basically a 90s pop punk that for some reason releases all of their albums in the 2000s. They definitely defined the genre in recent years, because almost every band that I catch wind of sounds at least 90% like The Copyrights. I mean, you go into their records basically knowing what to expect. Roughly four chords repeating throughout, a couple vocalists singing some catchy shit that will not leave your head, and occasionally a pretty simple pop punk guitar lead. Oh, and a lot of self-depreciating lyrics mixed with a good amount of proud-to-be-working-class lyrics. The cool thing about The Copyrights is that they can throw mostly the same ingredients into the pot every time and still come up with a new kind of awesome soup. Or whatever metaphor you prefer. 'North Sentinel Island' is a perfect example of this.

Seriously, there are so many fucking awesome songs on this record. "Well-Fed and Warm", "Hell Will Be Party Time", "Restless Head", "Expatriate Blues", "20 Feet Tall", "Crutches", and the rest are all pretty nifty as well. It's really hard to pick the best songs on this album, considering it's all pretty solid. You can buy it for only 9 bucks over at Red Scare, too. Awesome, right? You can also pick up a bunch other cool shit there, like previous Copyrights releases. So you should get on that. I'm going to take a shower before I turn crust punx on accident. 5 out of 5 pizzas.

-Idle

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Mall'd to Death - The Process of Reaching Out

There's this ancient proverb that states something along the lines of, "any 7" record that includes at least one song about playing Nintendo 64 is a damn good release from a damn good band." I would know, I'm an English major (I'm not an English major). So, with that proverb in mind, we approach 'The Process of Reaching Out' by Mall'd to Death from Minneapolis.

.
These guys are gritty. Like 50 Cent or something. When I first turned on this album, I immediately thought, "wow, these guys are gritty. This sounds like a song that would be on a Tony Hawk game...but it may be too gritty for that stuff." Something along those lines. And it's definitely true. These songs are catchy, delightful punk jams. Just like 90s punk bands, there's the standard inclusion of a ska bit at some point in a song or two. These songs tackle every facet of life, good and bad. The good being video games, the bad being almost anything else.

You can buy this six-song amalgamation of badassedness over at It's Alive Records. Isn't that swell? I full-heartedly suggestion you do this, too, because this album is awesome. Mall'd To Death are pros at what they're doing, and what they're doing is D4-core punk with subject matter that fits my brain perfectly. These dudes sound like they have beards, but they don't have beards. WEIRD.

-Idle

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The Maxies - Going Clubbing

Thank science for the privilege to review this album, seriously. Not much else can help a bad mood the way these super-infectious pop punk melodies do. Actually, don't thank science; I don't like science much. Thank Greenland, though, for birthing such an awesome band. And thank The Maxies for being fucking rad and making my life that much better.

The Maxies are ramonescore pop punk at its finest- meaning they sound a lot like Screeching Weasel. This four song album Going Clubbing is the epitome of everything desirable in the pop punk world. The songs are infectious, obviously meant to be danced along to, and it all comes with a good sense of humor. Seriously, there's a song on here called "The Clap" and it's about giving people 'the clap'. I mean, I totally suspect they mean it in the innocent way that it's demonstrated in. They're just clapping and it's catching on! Nothing at all to do with any sort of STI.

What is it with It's Alive Records and putting out absolutely wonderful shit? Is "wonderful shit" an oxymoron? And if so, who gives a shit? The point is, IAR clearly have their finger on the pulse of what's excellent, and they help us all out by putting out a bunch of vinyls of the best recordings to ever hit us in the face. 'Going Clubbing" is an excellent album, and The Maxies are an awesome band. I look forward to everything else they put out, and I know it'll be as fun and rad as this release. Go buy this record! Duh.

-Idle

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Brendan Rivera- Hole in the Curtain

Brendan Rivera is an extremely talented musician from Mammaroneck, NY. His music is a combination of folk punk, indie, and alternative, and it rocks. I love it. "Hole in the Curtain" is a single from the album No Ocean in Ireland and was released on bandcamp in February along with two previously unreleased b-sides.

"Hole in the Curtain" is such a great song. First off, the guitar is so, so awesome. I love his combinations of melodies and dynamics and it just sounds wonderful. Second off, he's an extremely talented lyricist. The biggest thing that hooked me with Brendan is his goddamn lyricism. Check it out.

"Sell My Soul" is a very, very cut-back, mellow track. It's just Brendan and his guitar, no bullshit to it. It's such a great song. It's relaxed, it's pretty, and I love it.

Lastly, and my favorite, "The Park" has an AMAZING melody to it. It's a longer song, but I'm glad it is, because as I said, it's my favorite out of this bunch. The slow, sultry melody goes so well with his voice. It's awesome.

Buy this, dude.

His facebook./Our facebook.

Soundcloud.

Official website.

Myspace.

Big Cartel.

Last.fm

-Bear