Eat to the Beat
For a punk turned chef, 1977 is more fun to look back on than it was to live through.
By Anthony Bourdain 09.19.07 3:00 AM
Don't let anybody tell you different: 1977 was not a good year. Not a good decade, not a good time for New York City. Remembering now, it's easy to wax rhapsodic -- the year gave us, after all, the first important explosion of punk rock and hip-hop. If you weren't there, through the pink-tinted prism of irony, even the clothes might look
SHARE THIS:
New Model Army, 'High' (Attack Attack)
Anger's still an energy for never-say-die Brit punks.
By Ira Robbins 09.18.07 3:00 AM
Sounding more like pissed young men than a principled band in its third decade, England's New Model Army still makes fervid, dramatic punk rock that stops just short of overzealous hectoring. The powerhouse drumming and forceful vocals on their tenth album have a cranked-up sophistication, guided by a strong sense of melody.
SHARE THIS:
Atreyu, 'Lead Sails Paper Anchor' (Hollywood)
Post-hardcore Ozzfest grunts unchain their melodies.
By Kyle Anderson 09.18.07 3:00 AM
On their fourth album and major-label debut, this metallic California quintet prune some thorns from their prickly sound, overtly moving in a more pop-savvy direction. And considering the rote barking and generic riffage of 2006's A Death-Grip on Yesterday, it's a wise decision.
SHARE THIS:
Minus the Bear, 'Planet of Ice' (Suicide Squeeze)
Indie-rock musos finally craft songs worthy of their chops.
By Peter Gaston 09.17.07 3:00 AM
Despite a flair for alternately quirky and languid prog pop on their first three albums, Seattle's Minus the Bear have always undercut themselves with awkward moments of juvenilia, like branding their shifty ditties with shudder-worthy, Fall Out Boy-style titles such as "I Lost All My Money at the Cock Fights." But the band's latest is sublimely elegant and more maturely conceived.
SHARE THIS:
David Dondero, 'Simple Love' (Team Love)
The influential whistle that only the Bright-Eyed can hear.
By Josh Modell 09.15.07 3:00 AM
The world has David Dondero to blame and to thank for Conor Oberst. The Bright Eyes singer/songwriter clearly emulates the alt-rock journeyman's lip-quivering vocal style and straightforward, narrative lyrics -- and now even releases his records.
SHARE THIS:
Still Remains, 'The Serpent' (Roadrunner)
Christian guitar grinders exult in keyboards in beats.
By Kyle Anderson 09.15.07 3:00 AM
Ostensibly, this Michigan six-piece carries the metalcore torch lit by Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall. But the band's synth-heavy sound doesn't reflexively fall back on jack-hammer riffs and Cookie Monster bellows.
SHARE THIS:
