Highly Useful - Useless ID - Redemption Review

Compilations are great sometimes. You get a chance to check out a wide array of bands and sometimes are pleasantly surprised when you come across a band that you had not heard previously. On the Rock Against Bush comps, there are numerous stand-out tracks, but on Volume 2 it's "State of Fear" from Useless ID that made me want to hear more from this band. Hailing from the punk mecca that is Haifa, Israel comes Useless ID. I shouldn't say that, there may well be a thriving scene over there, but this is an outstanding hybrid pop punk / hardcore release. on Rock V. Bush "State of Fear" was a driving hardcore anthem and it's found on this release too. Having heard that, I expected more of the same, but I was pleasantly surprised at the variety. At times it's funny like on "Drinkage", other times it's quite serious for example on "Redemption" and at all times, it's melodic and memorable punk.

I sometimes use the word complexity to offer the reader the perspective that there are musical layers that get uncovered over the course of an album. The word simplicity is more appropriate for Useless ID. There is a very pleasing simplicity to this entire record. It's hard-charging punk, with some pop-punk harmonies and I find that the entire album as a whole is strikingly complete. The whole album is greater than the sum of its parts! This is in fact a great rock record. Great production, outstanding musicianship, solid vocals and it sounds like the band is playing music, just to play music. Again, it's very complete...there's some New Found Glory-esque pop-punk numbers like "Kiss Me, Kill Me" and "Everything Turns Red". There is some NUFAN influence on "It's Alright" and "Dying Love" and there is very intense hardcore, a la Strung Out on "Suffer For The Fame".

Having said all that, you might be thinking that the band is "all over the map" in terms of an identity? Not at all, I think that's the charm of the ID of Useless ID, it's simple variety. I'm reminded of Lawrence Arms. There is a Lawrence Arms sound, but each song is delivered in a distinct manner. Same goes for highly relevant Useless ID!

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Rise Against - Appeal To Reason

Clearly taking a leadership position in punk, Chicago's Rise Against return with their fifth album. I've been waiting for a song to hit me like "The First Drop" off of their 2004 album "Siren Song of the Counter Culture". "Sufferer and the Witness" was great, but there was not a "First Drop" equivalent. Well, on this release that aggressive, anthemic hardcore stand-out is "Kotov Syndrome". It's but one of many outstanding tracks on "Appeal to Reason".

Sometimes, major labels and punk rock get along about as well as Obama and McCain do and there's a pretty long track record of bands who don't necessarily thrive while playing in the majors (see: Bad Religion, Ataris, 7 Seconds). It's through no fault of their own, but often, it's just that those releases might not get a proper amount of care and feeding. That is however changing of late. Offspring, Green Day, AFI are putting out good-as-ever music and are thriving on majors. Rise Against certainly are the most hardcore of punk bands to fall into that latter category. I suspect that it's the broad appeal of Rise Against that makes them so very popular. For me, it's pretty simple. Rise Against write great songs! Each track on this album is thoughtful, complex, provoking, emotional and most importantly...memorable!

Surprisingly, this is the most "accessible" Rise Against release yet. It's actually a really good "rock" record. Not going to call them emo or lump them in with the hard rock that is popular, because this is a hardcore punk album. But, they do blend in melodies and harmonies that evoke images of other contemporary genres.

I don't know if I have much to offer on the vocals of Tim McIlrath, but I'll offer the following. He's probably the best pure singer in punk today! I hear no weakness in his voice, enough said.

There is a style to Rise Against. There has always been, but this record sees that style mature a bit while still maintaining the raw youthful power found on some of their early Fat Wreck releases like "Revolutions and "Unraveling". Whatever the differences in style between now and then, it's clear that Rise Against is writing great, rhythmic punk songs and they deserve all the accolades that the are receiving.

I'll wrap up with another observation. Frequency of releasing records is always interesting. Wait to long...you could lose some of the faithful. Put out records to quickly...same thing, but for different reasons. I find that when a new Rise Against record hits the shelves (yes, you can actually still walk into a record store and buy one...I did it just this morning!) that it's the right time. I'm ready to listen, the record so well done that it is clearly ready to be heard and it seems like it hits at a good time for punk. I didn't hear their debut until years later, but I can say that for the bands other four records, that has been the case. After all, timing is everything. With Rise Against, that's part of it, but it's more about talent, innovation and passion that has led them to this point.

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Hello The Used? It's Me Drive Like Jehu - Screamo Born

Or maybe this post should be titled "Hello, Bert? It's me, John Reis". Whatever the title of this post, hardcore and punk underwent an amazing transformation in 1991. Emo, Screamo, Post-Hardcore owe a tremendous debt to this band. Drive Like Jehu released their self-titled debut on Headhunter Records. Punk rock would never be the same.

In retrospect, it's hard to not call this a punk rock supergroup. With this pedigree, it's no wonder this band and specifically, this album would have such wide influence. Check out three of the members:

John Reis (aka. Speedo): Rocket From The Crypt, Hot Snakes, Pitchfork, The Night Marchers, Owner Swami Records and all-around punk rock hero.

Rick Froberg: Hot Snakes, Obits and Chapter 1 of "Screamo 101: A Lesson in Vocals". (note: can't wait for the Obits debut next year on Sub Pop!!!)

Mark Trombino: Night Soil Man, Aminiature, punk rock producer to the stars...Jimmy Eat World, Finch, Silverstein, Blink-182.

A digression: In the early 90's the San Diego alternative scene was loaded! But the three bands that in my opinion had a large influence on the screamo and hardcore of today are these peers of DLJ...Night Soil Man, Three Mile Pilot and Truman's Water. Each, known for their own brand of sonic dissonance, they each shaped the future of punk, and rock in general, with their aggressive, dirty, yet technical music.

Back to our featured artist. Drive Like Jehu. The complexity of this music, to this day, leaves me awestruck. It's beautiful, rich, well thought out and well executed. "Caress" starts the album off. It builds to crescendo and while other tracks meander from the beautiful to the extreme, "Caress" is relentless from beginning to end. Next up is quick blast "Spikes To You". The shortest song on the album, but by no means the simplest. How do you describe the guitar sound of Drive Like Jehu? It's "off" in a way, no disrespect, it's what makes it amazing. It's almost like they use their dueling guitar lines to create some sort of mismatched harmony. It works perfectly on "Spikes". John Reis leads the way on "Step on Chameleon", a bit of a slower, sludgy track with those patented overlaying guitars. "Step on Chameleon" features some nice Rocket From The Crypt harmony and is a personal fave. "O Pencil Sharp" is a nine minute epic that captures the entire Drive Like Jehu experience. It slowly builds into a single guitar led melody and then into a mid-paced, somewhat somber progression. At around the 5 minute mark, the deluge that is Drive Like Jehu starts. Manic, pulsing, strained solos, complex percussion, it's got it all. As quickly as the deluge starts, you wander back into the darkness that began the track... and so it ends. It's a track like that that often can be the measurement of a band, but how well they can take the song from record to the stage is the real test. From personal experience, Drive Like Jehu were able to precisely capture "O Pencil Sharp" note for tenuous note. "Atom Jack" would fit in quite well amongst the Emo and Screamo of today and is probably the most structured of all the tracks. "If It Kills You" is a study in tonal instability. The pain sensed in Rick's voice is palpable but ultimately outdone by the guitar and bass work on this post-hardcore forebear. This track, along with a few others, feels at times like an instrumental. It wanders off in a direction for a few minutes and it's a wonderful journey. "Good Luck In Jail" is simply a really cool punk / alternative rock song. It's Melvins-esque and it's a treat! "Turn It Off" could have easily been written in 2006 and may well have influence outside of punk (Killers, Modest Mouse, etc.). This classic, noisy album wraps up with "Future Home of Stucco Monstrosity". "Wall of Sound" jumps to mind as a simple way to sum up this tune and probably is a fitting description for the work as a whole.

I know there are Drive Like Jehu fans out there that count this record as one of the best of the punk or hardcore genre, count me amongst that group!

There was a song in the 80's called "Video Killed The Radio Star". Sadly, we could probably say "Major Label Killed the Punk Rock Star" for this band and bunches of others. While there are always many contributing factors to a bands finish, in this particular case, I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Drive Like Jehu had stayed on some small, high quality San Diego indie label? I'd like to think that "Yank Crime" would be just the second in a long line future masterpieces! But hey, good news for all of us, the three main men continue to release and influence a tremendous amount of good quality, true to themselves punk.

Beyond Possession - Way, Way Beyond Crossover Skate Punk

We promised to cover it all and so I shall. At the opposite end of what's going on in alt / punk with bands like just the featured The Classic Crime, comes Beyond Possession. Their self-titled 1986 crossover / thrash metal / skate rock punk release blew the doors off of the genre, or did it? Their vinyl legacy is small, but for a brief moment we were all able to catch a glimpse of this grinding, aggressive, Canadian band and on this release they outshine many of their peers with a very complete, appropriately short and altogether rockin' crossover classic!

At some point, most of the bands on Thrasher Skate Rock Vol. 3: Wild Riders of Boards (hey, can they make the cd booklet be shaped like a board deck like the lp was?) will be featured here. I'm actually not one for compilations, but that one rocked. Boneless Ones, Christ on Parade, Accused, COC and the aforementioned Beyond Possession leading the way with "Skater's Life" and "My Disease". That comp. was loaded with skate punk classics, and among them is this scene-famous Canadian Rockies band. Death Records released the "Is Beyond Possession" record to, if I remember correctly, very little fanfare as I picked up an early cutout of this release at Lou's Records...had the genre been saturated by Accused, Suicidal Tendencies, Dr. Know? Who knows, but this band put together a record that does well when slicing against the grain (seems like a cooking theme is coming). There was some amazing stuff going on between punk and metal at that time with legendary releases from DRI, Excel, Verbal Abuse, English Dogs and Suicidal Tendencies. Why does this record merit similar praise?

Here is why: Beyond Possession took only the best ingredients of punk and metal, mixed in some local Western Canada flavor and mixed it all up with some truly solid, crisp cooking techniques (production). "Never Nothing New" leads off and is one of the strongest tracks on the record. For tempo-change driven blasts, check out "Depression" "Beyond Possession" and "Creeping Eruption". Nice background gang vocals are found throughout this release, as is the odd, short guitar solo. At that time, some of this crossover hardcore was sloppy and garage punk in nature. That's cool, but that is not this release. Making an impressive record, for very little money, is quite a feat. Making one that is true to the genre and still has the sonic clarity that you often hope for is even more rare. Perhaps they saved on ink, by omitting information about the band and focused their Canadian Dollars on production. Whatever it was, this was a frenetic, fuzzy guitar skate punk free-for-all and twenty years later continues to stand the test of time.