River City Rebels -- Playin' to Live... Livin' to Play
Victory Records (www.victoryrecords.com)
BIO: This is by far the best thing I've heard off of Victory Records. Word on the street labels "Playin' to Live... Livin' to Play" as an instant punk classic, and for diehard Ramones style punk fans they're not far off. Tracks like Friday's Salvation and 6 AM will get you pumped and the action stays consistently furious through the whole album. These guys derserve more credit than they get -- this is old-school punk at its best in months. 'Nuff said.
The Wreckoning in one a long line of good indie CDs that's been released in the last month. Solid indie hip-hop though is hard to come by, so I was pumped when I heard Team Demolition's debut joint "Demolition Derby: The Wreckoning." Some tracks are forgettable, but the rest of the songs will hit you like a rocket powered jackhammer. The standout track (which coincidentally is the album's first single), "The Burbs," is a testament to how creative hip-hop can be, the beat is a throbbing bass track backed by showtune piano.
What's wrong with this CD is that most of the songs (with the exception of "Teamwork" and "The Burbs") don't have the hooks to make people come back. You'll listen all the way through once, then just skip through the CD to the tracks you like the rest of the time. With that said, I also hope in store buyers wanting to cop (that's rapper talk for buy) this record won't be scared away by the dull cover art.
Best Track: Friday's Salvation, because we all love Fridays, right?
Where they'll probably be in 2 years: In the hospital recovering from massive ear trauma if they ever tour with their tour with label-mates No Innocent Victim.
Rating: 8.5
