Every Bridge Built

Bridge 9 in my opinion, is currently the best small label. The label combines the best elements of music which of course is punk and hardcore (and a little bit of rock). In this blog I'll talk about one of bridge 9's best releases and then I'll list the other CD's you should be buying... or downloading. I've been surprised recently about the diversity of people reading the blogs, so this time I'm gonna be a slight bit more diverse in my reviews. Who not better to start off with than Polar Bear Club.

Polar Bear Club are fantastic, they're a rock band with post-hardcore, indie and punk thrown in the mix and it creates a good sound that I think is a lot more accessible for people that don't regularly listen to punk rock or hardcore. The vocalist Jimmy Stadt has a gruff voice which sounds quite a lot like Tim McIlrath from Rise Against. Chasing Hamburg is the follow up to their debut album Sometimes Things Just Disappear and is their first on label Bridge 9. Compared to the last this album has a couple of more "poppy" tracks but also features the track "See The Wind" which is as close to hardcore as it gets - although you would expect more from a band on bridge 9. It even includes Have Heart's vocalist Pat Flynn doing a spot of guest vocals but the album never really gets hardcore. Initially once I got over the fact this band was never going to get any heavier I looked at it in a different way and picked up on the fact that these guys are just an exceedingly high quality rock band. I would definitely recommend getting your hands on both PBC albums. Check Polar Bear Club out at Captain's Rest, Glasgow with Shook Ones and Title Fight for only £9.50. A brilliant line up which is set to be a really good night.

Download:

Polar Bear Club - Chasing Hamburg

Polar Bear Club - Sometimes Things Just Disappear

Tickets:

http://www.seetickets.com/see/price.asp?filler3=id1safe&code=435209

Heres some other Bridge 9 releases to get in whatever way possible - legal or illegal.

Dead Swans - Sleepwalkers (Yes AGAIN, it is that good)

Have Heart - Songs To Scream At The Sun

Defeater - Travels

Verse - Aggression

Outbreak - Failure

Thats another blog finished, thanks again for reading and catch you next time!

Instru-Mental

So it's that time of day again when I sit in front of my computer trying to think 0f something useful and punk related to say to less than ten people! Good times, so far it seems to be a small success as I know Niall Robb and Jamie Green both now have The Steal on there iPods. But hopefully a few other people are reading this and discovering new music. But to the point, tonight's topic is going to be "power violence" which is a sub-genre of hardcore (which is funnily enough a sub-genre of punk rock). So yeah, punks Grandson has come to visit and he's fucking mental.

Band one of two is a band I recently saw live and they are totally amazing. Trash Talk took up the support slot of Gallows U.K. tour and when I heard the news I gave them a listen but wasn't really a big fan. Seeing them live soon changed this as they were absolutely nuts. Within 5 minutes the lead singer had managed to swing from the ceiling, strangle a young girl, spit in the faces of a group of 14 year olds and mosh and scream through around 7 songs. They blew me away with how intense a show they put on, one that even Gallows couldn't match that night. Recently the band has released a CD which compiles two previous CD's and an EP into one - the songs being so short and intense that 29 songs takes a mere 30 minutes. The style of the music is something that takes a few listens to, kind of like a stepping stone between normal hardcore and converge. The songs start of slow (with a kind of sludge feel), but they build and built and then explode into the fastest hardcore known to man. Good shit.

Download/Buy: Trash Talk - Shame

Band numero two is a band called Ceremony, the veterans of speedy quick hardcore. This band is quite new to me so I don't really have much to say about them. They share a similar style with Trash Talk as they shift between really fast hardcore and slower more ambient metal. The vocals share a very similar sound with Trash Talk as well, in fact when I say similar I mean identical. Could be the same person for all I can tell. The only difference with Ceremony is the hardcore influences are much more obvious and sometimes I can here a bit of Have Heart in them.

Download/Buy: Ceremony - Violence Violence

So thats another 2 great hardcore (power violence) bands to check out, if you fancy reading more of my blogs come back tomorrow where I'll be talking about Bridge 9 records.

So Much For Honour Among Theives

In the post I'm gonna be linking you to some free downloads, and this time it's completely legal. Excellent.

So, the first band I'm gonna link to you is a band called The Steal. The Steal are an English hardcore punk band with quite a distinct style. The vocals are shouting/screaming but unusually they don't come across as overly angry or violent which makes them very easy listening hardcore. At times the band sounds like Lower Than Atlantis but more obviously they sound quite a lot like another English hardcore band called Our Time Down Here (who are fucking awesome). It's hard to not repeat myself when I'm writing about hardcore punk but this band is very fast with songs barely breaking the 2 minute barrier, which makes for the best type of music. At times in the album "Bright Grey" the band sound like an indie/rock band but with an obvious change in vocal style. So yeah, get your mitts on the 2 full lengths I'll link you as this band is brilliant and total bro's for giving out their CD's for free. Exactly what the music industry needs.

www.thesteal.co.uk

Band number 2 is a band called Cutting Class who describe themselves as melodramatic hardcore pop punk, I couldn't tell you what that is but what I can tell you is it's a genre I definitely enjoy. In my opinion the vocals aren't very good, probably just the bad quality recording. The guitar takes more of an old school style with riffs that remind me of 90's hardcore punk and with some added gang vocals it's a pleasing mix. It's free so my advice is download it, listen to it and either delete it or keep on listening to it. Simple. This link is provided by the band:

http://www.mediafire.com/?t2mqzjhy5ri

Those are the only 2 bands I'm aware of that are linking to free music but I'll list record labels that are giving away samplers.

Deathwish Inc

Fat Wreck Chords

Hell Cat Records

Im also pretty sure Bad Religion are giving away a couple of tracks off of each album on there main web page so thats worth checking out.

Anyway, thats me for another day and thanks for reading. Hopefully everyone manages to find some new songs for free to put on that iPod and not feel the slightest bit guilty!

(Also I think the font changed half way through)

All In A Year.

It's a new year and also a new year for music. I'm looking forward to another great year of music, and it is looking to be promising with upcoming releases from Cancer Bats, Alkaline Trio, Sick Of It All, Bad Religion and Dillinger Escape Plan. But who's forgetting last year?

2009 was a great year. An especially great year for me because all my favourite bands decided 2009 was the year they would all release a new/deb

ut full length. The first of the releases that

caught my eyes, infact, ears was Propaghandi - Sup

porting Caste. What surprised me on my

first listen was how this amazing band had managed to go unnoticed by me for so long. With a similar speed and technicality to A Wilhelm Scream these guys manage to produce the perfect hybrid of punk rock and hardcore. They have the sing-along style and melody of punk rock but in an instant the singing will turn to vocal rants and the melody will convert to pure angry hardcore. Supporting Caste is an essential purchase for all punk/hardcore fans.

The second release of the year, which was my most anticipated release of all time was (of course) Gallows - Grey Britain. The Never Mind The Bollocks of our generation. A bold statement but I don't think a band has addressed the problems in Britain in this way for a long time. The first release - Orchestra of Wolves - was never going to be beaten, but the Watford lads gave it a good fucking shot. It combines fast hardcore, with some of the "meatiest" riffs with the standout tracks being The Riverbed, Misery and The Great Forgiver. Grey Britain featured a nice change with Simon Neil (Biffy Clyro) providing vocals on the eerie track Graves. Misery features a rare but colossal beatdown which I mus

t say was an experience when played live in a tent with 10,000 fans at Leeds. This isn't just an essential purchase to all hardcore fans, it's an essential purchase for all MUSIC fans.

The next release I'm going to talk about is The Ghost Of A Thousand - New Hopes, New Demonstrations. So what can I say about one of the UK's most underrated bands? Well aside from the fact they play the greatest live shows I have been too, they also bring so much into the hardcore scene. The album switches between slower songs and fast paced songs, both of which reflect a lot of the struggle the whole band has been through in the past few years. The opening track is an absolute face melter with a brilliant riff which slows in to Tom Lacey singing "Not Die Alone"where the song then crescendos and rea

ches its climax. Another stand out track is "Running on Empty" which is about the bands past few years and promotes a exceedingly strong message about friendship. You can not fault this band, they play honest, amazing music and put on the greatest hardcore shows.

The next release is going to be the last one I will talk about but I will list all of the "must own" CD's of 2009. So this is probably the most angry, emotional and talented band I have listened to. The talent has obviously been spotted as they got signed to Bridge 9 records where they released their debut CD. Any guesses? It is of course Dead Swans - Sleepwalkers. This album is what Bruce Banner would listen to had he wanted to go on a rampage. Hide and Seek is a blistering hardcore track lasting just 45 seconds. Other tracks such as Swallow and Ivy Archway usually end up with me 2-Stepping in the kitchen. There is not much else I can say about this album except anger, anger and more anger. Stunning.

So thats me talked about the 4 best ones, here's the rest of the albums of 2009 an iPod shouldn't be without:

Blackhole - Dead Hearts

Every Time I Die - New Junk Aesthetic

Trash Talk - Shame

Our Time Down Here - Love. Live. Let Go

50 Lions - Where Life Expires

Your Demise - Ignorance Never Dies

Strike Anywhere - Iron Front

Soul Control - Cycles

Shields Up - Shields Up

Rise And Fall - Our Circle Is Vicious

Reign Supreme - Testing The Limits Of Infinite

Poison The Well - The Tropic Rot

Architects - Hollow Crown (Guilty Pleasure)

Set Your Goals - This Will Be The Death Of Us (Guilty Pleasure)

Polar Bear Club - Chasing Hamburg

Ruiner - Hell Is Empty

Outbreak - Outbreak

Converge - Axe To Fall

The Chariot - Wars And Rumors Of Wars

This sums up the year in hardcore and punk, I'll keep you updated on my updates.

Cheers for reading!

Graham

Let's Start Today!

Alright folks, this is my first post in what should hopefully be a nice enjoyable read about the world of punk rock and hardcore and help everyone understand a bit more about the genres and maybe even pick up a few new fans along the way. It will also help the few people I know who like these genres to discover some new bands. Firstly though I'm going to point out that my english is atrocious, so bear with me. I'm also going to do a full length review of Groezrock 2010 which is a Punk/Hardcore festival Ali Macdonald, Cameron Beattie and myself are going to. That's the intro over so get reading, leave feedback and get those ipods rammed with the greatest music.