Goodtime Boys – Are We Now, Or Have We Ever Been

listen to Goodtime Boys ' Daylight as a preview to the record.

Goodtime Boys (myspace) is a modern hardcore band with the emotional intensity of screamo music (but the comparison to that specific genre ends there). it seems to suit them that Tangled Talk is releasing this record, as they somewhat remind me of Kerouac, because of the angsty voice and accent. they spew a dark furiousness with nuances that make the overall product sound very delicate and desparate. their mix of those influences with this heavy and dark modern hardcore is refreshing to say the least. very appealing on first glance and very infectious in the long run.

Last fm tags as hardcore, screamo, british, ukhc

click the image above for a chance to support them!

Out Of The Box On Sunday XIV

a sneak peek of Hip Hop. I started listening to this band, after discovering the video below. When I recognised one of the members I got a copy of the cd to show some support. I started paying close attention when I noticed his english/american accent is impeccible and, with it, quikly also became convinced this is one of the best albums in its genre. so much, that the instrumentals stand firm by themselves. click the image at the top of this post for a download of each song's instrumental version and check for yourself. check Beat Drunx on myspace, here. They are four indivduals that are heavyweights in their scene, individually, and together a powerhouse of a team.

Last fm tags as hip hop

click the image above to buy stuff from the Beat Drunx' label

Beau Navire - Hours

 listen to It's Not an Art, It's a Myth by Beau Navire, with Punch guest vocals

Beau Navire (blog) get me excited, by doing what I love in bands like Orchid, Louise Cyphre, Shikari, Jerome's Dream, Usurp Synapse, Palatka, ... you get it. bands that haven't been around in a long ass time. that hyperfast screamo music with the hysterical vocals and layer upon layer of guitar-feedback. the revelation I felt by listening to their music, coincided with seeing them go berserk, throwing their equipment around the room while screaming like maniacs. and if that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what will.
Last fm tags as screamo, emo violence, hardcore, punk, real screamo

buy their record from the React With Protest records store

Grinding Halt - Sprookjeshof

 listen to Neem Het Weg by Grinding Halt

Sprookjeshof is what Grinding Halt released before their split with Drainland. it's packed with hits, usually comprised of facemelting sludge and grinding hardcore, both very heartfelt and tormented. this band (and this record in particular) is the culmination of all the dark hardcore / metal bands with their signature raw mix of screamo, hardcore, grindcore and sludge.

Last fm tags as screamo, emo violence, hardcore, dutch,emoviolence 

click the image above to order a copy from Robotic Empire (was the only copy I could find online).

Man The Change - Forgiver

listen to Them Knives by Man The Change

Man The Change (myspace) is a hardcore band from Germany and a pop punk band from America. so, about that german band... they play modern hardcore that entwines dark metallic and melodic passionate influences very succesfully. there seems to be quite a bucketload of of ethics and subject matter in their lyrics, about things like DIY, animal rights, etc. you know, the stuff that really matters.

Last fm tags as hardcore, melodic hardcore, hardcore punk,new school hardcore, punk

buy this record directly from their label, by clicking the image above!

Out Of The Box XIII

Letter To Raoul Peck by Black Eyes

What the actual fuck? Black Eyes (myspace) were a band on Dischord Records, that build their music out of little more than a funky bass, two drums and two manic voices, each doing their own thing with occasional horns or synths in a frantic way that would make Arab On Radar jealous. on the surface the separate sounds seem to clash with one another. underneath that surface you may recognize the brilliance in their minimalistic dancey noise music, and feel like their approach is more an epiphany, than what you may get from an awkard first impression. 

Last fm tags as experimental, noise rock, noise, indie, post-punk

outside The Box Week: Dillinger Four - Civil War (4of4)

 listen to A Jingle for the Product by Dillinger Four

What is commonly defined as pop-punk seems to change a lot frequently.and it’s like Anti-Flag blindly follows its trends. What are current popular pop-punk bands, make me want to refer to Dillinger Four as political punk rock, like Anti-Flag at their prime. Only Dillinger Four (website) kept aiming for the same basic sound throughout their different releases. And with good reason. When I started to get in tot hem I would have held this high as the perfect standard for poppy punkrock music. the perfect combination between good ethics and good sound. Catchy as hell, but with the preferable punk mentality and feel to it. Thought-provoking lyrics with occasional ironic lols interweaved, but alwaus making its valid point clear.

Last fm tags as punk, punk rock, pop punk, melodic punk, minnesota 

buy their latest cd's from Fat Wreck Chords. for the rest of their discography, check their website by clicking the image above.

outside The Box Week: Atom And His Package - Hair: Debatable (3of4)

LMFAO. This is still easily the most random music I enjoy THIS much.  Just one dude (who is now a teacher in chemistry and physics), with a guitar and sequencer. While the machine automates sketchy beats, bleeps and MIDI-drums, Atom plays awkwardly upbeat punk rock guitar tunes and blurts out random and geeky lyrics. About his mother’s disappreciation for his and his friends’ black metal lifestyle, a mousache stuck to a TV-screen, how his definition of anarchy is littering, a fictional person who consists of nothing but a head with arms attached etc etc, with song titles like “I am down right amazed at what I can destroy with just a hammer”. You get the picture. The vocals often remind one of The Simpson’s Dr Frink and the overall music of an over-the-top Blink 182 mock-song. these songs are crappy/fantastic live recordings from his last show ever. Atom was also a playable character in EMOGAME.
Last Fm tags as punk, indie, experimental, electronic, rock

buy his stuff from No Idea Records, here

Outside The Box Week: Big KIds – Phone Home (2of4)

Soundtrack to the summer of 2k11! Big Kids  (website) play a smooth transition between gritty and upbeat (pop)punk rock, with raspy vocals, gritty yet cheerful guitars and rousing up-tempo drums. The vocalist favors the (Hot Water Music’s) Chuck Ragan piraty voice, that clash with lyrics which hover somewhere in between optimistic and nostalgic sentimentality, like in references to childhood or loves lost, and everything that comes with that time in your life. The guitar compositions can effortlesly tumble into melodic sounding, which feels odd as the guitar’s overall sound is quite raw –almost lo fi (cassette quality), but in a positive way!

Last fm tags as punk, punk rock, pop punk, rad, wicked 

buy their stuff here, or here

Outside The Box Week: Hot Snakes - Audit In Progress (1of4)

This is probably THE most quirky punk rock music in punx-history. Hot Snakes (site) featured members from Drive Like Jehu, and those very members went on to form The Night Marchers. in this band, and especially this album even more than their previous, they delivered very peculiar post-punk (and maybe even noise rock) influenced structures into punk rock. It’s like punk for all the Liars or The Jesus Lizard fanboys and girls and a prime example or reminder how versatile punk music can be to any die hard (up the) punx. This band is long gone but dearly missed.
Last fm tags as  post-punk, post-hardcore, punk, indie, rock

buy their stuff from Swami Records, right here